Finally left at 0845. A beautiful morning-- clear 50F and a nice quartering tailwind from the NE. I went down to Uljin and had a supplementary breakfast of rolls and coffee in a bakery on the main street. Uljin is the most modern and prosperous town that we have been through. The prosperity is perhaps related to the power plants. Left town about 1000.
From Uljin I went south on the coast road for about 15 km--absolutely perfect conditions--warm pleasant weather, tailwind and interesting roadside things to see-- fishing village, coastal scenery, etc.
I was eventually forced back on to hwy 7 but tried several other times to find an alternate coast road. Not successful, but I lost a bit of time doubling back. Hwy 7 is not bad--moderate traffic and some shoulder. But it's better out on the shore.
I bypassed Pyonghae by getting out on the coast--a nice string of interesting squid fishing villages, and the road was pretty good--only about 1/2 km of dirt. and some rough asphalt.
I had a picnic lunch on the waterfront at Hup'o, watching the passing parade along the harbor area. . 1315-1345. Then back on 7 for a while. Before Yonghae I tried to find an unmapped coast road that I imagined might exist.. Got off hwy 7 for about 4 km and than ran out of road. I went down to the beach and took my bike through about 1 km of sand, but ran into a creek that I couldn't ford, so I had to double back. An army work party installing barbed wire on the beach was surprised when I struggled by, lugging my bike through the sand.
I lost about an hour on that excursion.
Fish processing
Click on the picture to view the photograph
Coastal scene near Hup’o
Click on the picture to view the photograph
South of Yonghae there is a nice coast road but it is very hilly. Several 50-100 m hills, very scenic but slow. Many small villages, all setting out squid to dry. Finally cut inland about 5 km north of Yongdok, hit hwy 7, and got into town about 1745, just at dark.
I met Peter at the edge of town, and we went into the center and got a $15 yogwan. About the worst we have had. It seems to be about the only one in the center of town. I was too weary to try to negotiate down. The management seemed friendly, if perhaps a bit drunk. Not much hot water either. But their phone line worked just fine for my internet connection.
We went out for tofu and veggie stew and the usual trimming for $5 each beer included.
105 km for the day. Perfect weather.
Peter left at 0815, I followed at 0830, after my second cup of coffee. Yongdok was a pretty dull town last night, and daylight confirms my impression.
Our yogwan in Yongdok
Click on the picture to view the photograph
Not much to see, even though the highway runs along the shore. I left hwy 7 at Chongha and went off on 925 then 68. Just before the turnoff, there is a joint Korea-US Marine Corps Memorial that is well done. I was the only visitor. Hwy 68 had light traffic until Angang. Several easy climbs and gentle descents, but visibility continued poor in the smoke and haze. I had a short picnic lunch along the river in Angang, and then rolled into Kyongju at 1430. Met Peter at the station and we got some maps and other stuff at the Tourist Info place.
We decided to splurge on a hotel. We rode out to the west side of town and checked in at the Hyub Sung Tourist Hotel, a quiet clean place for $33. We probably would have gone further down the road, but the manager of the hotel saw us, ran across the street and graciously "welcomed" us.
Then I wandered around the business district for a while, changed some money and studied the town. We had dinner at a seafood place--squid hoe (sashimi) and trimmings for $9 each.
I took another walk along the lively streets with Friday night crowds, went to a computer shop to plug in and read my mail, and turned in at 2100.
75 km for the day. No rain after 0900. 50-60F. Not much wind.
This is a day for excursions out of Kyongju. Peter rode south to Pulguk-sa (temple) and way points.
I rode north to Yangdong, a "folk village" 20 km north of town. I had an easy ride north on Hwy 7, 4 lanes of busy road but with a good wide shoulder. I missed the turnoff for Yangdong and rode north as far as Yugum before figuring things out.
Yangdong is about 150 buildings, dating from the period 1500-1800, very well maintained and restored. Unfortunately, they are not accessible to the general public. I was under the impression that tours were available, but the HQ building was closed and locked and I seemed to be the only visitor in town. My guide says that the government has put a lot of money into restoration. A few of the locals were walking around, mostly dressed in traditional style, but I got the impression that this is a real functioning community and not a theme park or outdoor museum.
The village is very pleasant and interesting and in an attractive valley setting. Somewhat marred by the power lines running down the lanes. Underground utilities would have been a nice touch Anyhow I walked and rode around for about a hour, looking at the buildings from the outside. Unfortunately, most are screened from the road by high walls.
Then I headed back to town. I found an old bridge that provided a shortcut to Hwy 7. No traffic on the bridge--it was being used by farmers to dry their rice.
Got back in Kyongju at 1400. Had a big lunch of mandu-guk (dumplings in soup, with kim chee).
Then I rode down to the National Museum and spent about 2 hours. Some pretty good stuff. But full of hordes of high school tour groups, so not much chance to really look at the exhibits.
Back to the hotel for a short nap, then met Peter for dinner. A bit of grilled pork, and lots of rice, veggies and kim chee.
There was a loud concert in a nearby park (not Korean traditional music) so I walked to the bookstore near the Station and got a Newsweek and some maps. Then went to a computer place to plug in and read my mail. The shop was run by a couple of young guys that seemed to sell and repair just about everything. 55 km for the day. Clear, 60- 70F. Brisk south wind.
I left the hotel at 0915 and rode out to the Pomum resort area, about 10 km east of Kyongju. Very heavy traffic with everybody heading for the Kyongju Cultural Expo, sort of an international pop culture fair. Music, dancing etc from all over the world. But there is an excellent bike path along the river east of the city, so it was a very pleasant ride in the cool of the morning.
At Pomun, I visited the Hilton, looking for an English-language paper. No luck, but I ran into Peter who was there on the same mission. So we had coffee in the lobby and discussed plans for the week. A beautiful hotel, with lots of good art in the lobby and on the grounds.
Then I headed for Pulguk-sa, a temple about 10 km down the road. An interesting place, but too crowded to really see the place. Also, the temple structures were cluttered with quite a lot of modern signs and decorations, making it hard to appreciate the underlying original buildings. The crowds were heavy but not oppressive.
Then I went down to Pulguk-sa tourist village, a very tasteful tourist trap below the temple. Souvenir shops and restaurants and yogwans. All very nicely done, in a traditional motif. Good bibimbap for $4.
Then down the road to the Korea folk craft village. A cluster of traditional-style buildings with artisans doing traditional stuff. Some very nice items--ceramics-- on display, but too heavy to carry.
Then to the Cultural Expo. I decided not to go in, due to the price ($10), the noise, and the crowds. By this time (1500) the crowds and traffic were really colossal. The traffic was backed up for about 5 km in every direction. Getting along on a bike was much faster than by car. So I rolled back to the city, wandered around the north side of town, and got back to the hotel about 1700, in time for a short nap.
Later we went out to a nearby joint for some bibimbap--which seems to be be a widely varying dish, but generally rice, veggies, a bit of meat and/or fish, and of course an unlimited amount of kim chee. They threw in an excellent bowl of mussels with our dinner. $6 each including beer.
There was a street concert related to the Cultural Expo near our hotel . A good Bolivian group. Well received by a large audience, although the temperature had dropped to about 40F by 2000, so the whole scene wasn't quite as exuberant as it might have been, in warmer weather.
About 40 km for the day. Perfect clear weather, 45-60F
I left town at 0930, heading west on Hwy 4. Not very interesting--heavy traffic but a good wide shoulder. Hwy 4 is parallel to the big expressway--Hwy 1--but it (4) still has a lot of traffic.
So I turned off Hwy 4 on to 921, in the vicinity of Tochon-ri , at 1130. Met Peter at the intersection; he had been visiting a nearby temple. I had stopped off to look and the burial mounds down the road.
Burial mounds west of Kyongju
Click on the picture to view the photograph
Hwy 921 then 900 and then some unnumbered roads were much better. Essentially no traffic, with several easy hills and one 100-m climb and descent. The valleys are mostly grape-growing with cabbages between the lines of vines. Looks like table grapes--the grapes are now being carefully picked and wrapped in paper before being put into plastic boxes. Lots of grape picking going on. Some rice harvesting. A very busy agricultural scene, but very light traffic. The villages seem more traditional here than further north. Perhaps this is because this area is inside the Pusan Perimeter, and was not destroyed during the war.
A nice relaxing ride until I got into the Taegu metro area at Kyongsan, at 1300. From there on into Taegu, about 20 km, it was urban congestion, made more difficult by subway construction down the center of the highway. I couldn't find any good side roads because there are relatively few bridges. Kyongsan seemed like a grimy and dusty dump, with the streets torn up but very little construction going on.
Finally got into central Taegu just after 1600, and met Peter at the Chungango intersection. The hotel we were going to meet at has become a big book store.
We found a nice quiet yogwan for $19, right in the center of things but on a back street.
Then I took the subway up to the station and got some tourist info and shopped for maps at the bookstore. Later we had a dinner of mandu and kim chee for $5 each, beer included.
We took independent walks around the center. Taegu is quite a place. Endless shopping arcades and pedestrian malls with fashionable stores Selling mostly shoes, fancy clothes and cell phones. Countless coffee shops and snack places and fast food joints. Throngs of well-dressed people, mostly young, even on Monday night.
About 75 km for the day. Weather cloudy all day with brisk westerly wind, a headwind. Heavy rain for about 30 min just after we got to our yogwan. Clearing later in the evening.
So we took the subway to Tong Taegu Station and had noodles and machine coffee and discussed plans. We also found the Korea Herald at the subway news kiosk.
Peter wants to go north to Palgong-san and I want to go west to Kaya-san and Haein- sa. So we are going to ride apart for 2 days and regroup in Kimchon tomorrow night.
After an unsuccessful attempt to get on the internet, I left Taegu at 1030, on Hwy 30, the same road that I had arrived on, but now headed away from the city to the west. Much the same as yesterday on the east side, with the 10-lane arterial street torn up by subway construction, sometimes necking down to 2 lanes with no sidewalk, and mostly paved with steel plates. As yesterday I couldn't find any side streets that went through. I tried the sidewalks, but they were either rough, or crowded with people and motor scooters. Slow progress.
It took me about 1 1/2 hours--until noon--to travel the 12 km to Dasa. After that I did better. Hwy 30 is being widened to 4 lanes out there. The paving is done but the new lanes are still coned off. So I had a lane to myself for the next 10 km., until I turned off to the south on Hwy 905. The old bridge just before the turnoff is also closed to cars so I even had a 1-km bridge to myself.
After the bridge, at 1300, I had a quick lunch of bread and jam and headed south toward Koryong. This leg was very pleasant. A moderately rolling climb up the valley, mostly in rice and veggies, with very light traffic on an excellent road. One 200 m hill at the head of the valley and then a nice long glide down into Koryong. A busy dusty town without much of interest.
I continued south and then west and then north, on Hwy 26 up through Yaru, in a series of narrowing valleys. One 200-m climb just before Yaru, at 1600.
After Yaru, the valley was in the shadow, and the temp quickly dropped. I was hoping to get to the Park Village at Haein-sa, but decided to stop in the town of Kaya (about 8 km short of my goal), at 1700, about 30 min before dark. The temp was already down to about 40F, so I decided against camping with my summer bag.
I found a nice yogwan on the north side of town--about the only yogwan in town. The nicest cleanest biggest room I have had, and all for $11. Nice view of the mountain from my window, in the rapidly fading light. Up about 600 m here and very nippy.
The town of Kaya doesn't amount to much. Perhaps 3 restaurants, some small stores, etc. The smallest town I've stayed in on this trip. I had a good bowl of bibimbap for $5, beer included, and then bought some breakfast supplies at the Everlasting Excellent Bakery. [Bakeries, as a western import, have their signs in English--except for Le Paris Baguette, a chain not represented in Kaya]
About 75 km for the day. Perfect weather. Temp. 45-65F, but cooled to 40F at sunset. Clear, no wind.
Peter writes: My detour to Mt. Palgonsa was the most memorable part of the trip. After a 2 km granny-gear uphill to the village, came a much steeper and rougher 3 km hike to the mountain top. There, totally unexpected, I came upon a crowd of over 100 people worshiping at the foot of a large stone Buddha, led by a chanting monk. Truly moving and not to be missed, even if you don’t time it right for services. Apparently Mike’s route also was not to be missed; so try to work them both in.
