Daily Miles: 47
Total Miles: 74
Start: Itaewon, Seoul
End: Hajapo-ri
The day started out well as we made our way back to the 4 Rivers bike path. The sky looked better today and we could see blue patches of sky and stray rays of sunshine comming through the clouds, bouncing off the bike path and warming us from the cool morning air.
The Han River was glass as we strolled on its south banks. It was Saturday and everyone was out cycling or running or walking, or helping plant trees and flowers in the numerous parks along the path. The people here seem to love to be outside and this is refreshing to see.
We road through Seoul until the skyscrapers and high rises thinned out, and finally we found ourselves outside of the city. Small plots of farmland now dotted the path but non of them were very big, and all of them were barren and dirt brown. It is spring here and not many trees have buds yet. It is a cold and barren landscape with mountains rising above the river and winding in and out of view from the path. It is a beautiful place in a subtle but abrupt way, and something that is difficult to describe in writing.
We stopped for lunch around noon at a restaurant by the path. Non of the items were in English and this was a sign we were away from Seoul and the comforts of more English language speakers. The guy working the small restaurant wore a New York Yankees hat and we pointed at some items on the menue having no idea what we were getting. A bowl of noodle soup and another bowl of cold noodles in a tangy sesemee oil sauce was delivered to our table, and both were quite good. My chopstick skills are getting better and I find the wooden ones easier to handle than metal ones.
As we were eating a storm cloud passed over and started unleashing some fury on us. Luckily we were under an awning outside. A bit of hail showered the area and then the sun came back out and we began riding again.
We arrived in Yeuongsang around 2 PM and the sky looked mean. A few raindrops plopped down and then stopped, and we contemplated whether or not to call it a day and stay in a hotel in the city. We eventually decided against it and continued on to find somewhere to camp. There was a place listed on our maps, and when we got there we found the area closed and abandoned. We pushed on and after a few kilometers stumbled upon a large park that had some sort of fair going on. There were a lot of people walking around and there were food carts and live music and lots of ice cream. Down a hill behind the park we saw a spot out of view where we could stealth camp and we made our way down. It started raining again as we scrambled to put up the tent, and thankfully we put it up and got everything inside without everything getting too wet.
We unpacked our things and the rain stopped so we decided to check out th fair. It was like any fair in the US except all the foods were different, with the exception of a few food carts who were selling American Hotdogs from a cart that said “Italian Restaurant”. It is interesting to see interpretations of American culture here, especially so far from Seoul. Lots of people have baseball caps of American Baseball teams and wear American brands of clothes. The influence is large and it’s hard not to notice.
After the fair we went back to the tent and got ready for bed. Suddenly loud bangs erupted over head directly behind us. The fair was setting off fireworks in the field near us and they were very close. It was one of the most spectacular fireworks shows I’ve ever seen and it put to shame a lot of 4th of July fireworks I’ve seen over the years. The whole sky was a blanket of fire and bangs and sizzling eruptions. It was really impressive, and I’m glad our tent didn’t get burned down from the falling debris.
It was a good third day and sleep will be easy.
