Miyajima and Hiroshima

Our visit to the island of Miyajima was a soothing contrast to yesterday. The island is replete with Shinto and Buddhist shrines, pagodas and parks, beautiful scenery and a peaceful ambiance. One of the icons of Japan is the torii leading to the Itsukushima Shrine, which we were able to view at high tide.

Food notes: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki – savoury pancake cooked on an iron hot plate with egg , vegetables including cabbage, and noodles with meat or seafood.

Hiroshima 

Fukuoka to Hiroshima

Packing up our bikes for the train to Hiroshima, we decided that Rinko bags are designed for bikes without mudguards or back racks, both of which had to come off for the bikes to fit. We did end up with two reasonable packages that got us past the ticket barrier. There were no trolleys to be found at the station, so we had to do things in relays. We had purchased tickets for the green car as we had read that it has space behind the last seats for oversized luggage, ie, bikes; otherwise we would have had to lug our bike bags and panniers to the rearmost carriage.  A guard kindly helped us get our panniers on board and position the bike bags (permission is required for luggage to be placed anywhere but the upper luggage racks). The Shinkansen (bullet) trains are really fast and we were in Hiroshima in just over an hour. Two taxis were needed to get to the hotel, each with one bike and one person!

The view from our room is of the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.

Fukuoka

The bike bag saga continues! We intend to travel by train from Fukuoka to Hiroshima, where we will begin cycling to Kyoto. In order to take a bicycle on a train in Japan, it must be in a bag to protect the train and other passengers from any grit or grease. According to the blogs, every bike store in Japan sells Rinko bags. That is not strictly true, but we did find a choice at Y’s Cycles. The problem was that we could not read the labels and the staff were unable to communicate with us in English. We managed to find some information on the web and chose what seemed appropriate.

Busan to Fukuoka

One of the lessons we have learned in cycle touring is that “it’s never over until it’s over!” Often, this means that just when you think you’re getting near the end of a ride and beginning to anticipate that glass of wine or warm/cool shower, another hill suddenly materializes! In this instance, it was in getting ourselves and our bikes from Korea to Japan.

Busan

Our stay at Haeundae Beach did not permit any beach time, alas. The first day was rainy, so we spent the time doing laundry and planning ahead. We did have pleasant strolls along the beach front, however. Yesterday, we took the subway into the city to tour the high-end Lotte Department Store and Jagalchi fish market. We recalled the lively atmosphere of the market from when we had visited with Chris, in 2009. There is a an overwhelming abundance and variety of fish and seafood to choose from, all so attractively displayed. The vendors will cook for you to eat on site. We chose fresh grilled pollack, which was served with rice and banchan.

Yangsan to Busan (31 km by bike and 2 hours on the subway)

It is Buddha’s birthday today, a fitting end to our Korean cycle trip which we began on the anniversary of Paul’s accident in Italy. It has been really good to be back on our bikes on what has been the best cycle route of our trip! Kudos to the South Koreans for creating and maintaining such an impressive cycling infrastructure!

Hanam-eup to Yangsan (43km)

Our breakfasts have consisted generally of yoghurt, purchased the night before from a mini-mart, instant Quaker Oats and Dorset Meusli, (that we happened to find in Gumi after finally depleting the Terra Breads Granola). As no espresso stops showed up on the route map today, we made espressos with our travelling Wacaco Minipress, a prized gift from our children.

Video: Gimhae Nakdonggang Rail Park. Interesting use of the old bridge!

Cheongdeok-myeon to Hanam (58 km)

We were a bit optimistic in assuming that the trail was all “downhill” after the summit at Ihwaryeong Pass. Although we are following the Nakdong downstream, there are places where the path leaves the easy embankments and goes up into the hills. These roads are often extremely steep, forcing us to push our bikes.

Daegu to Cheongdeok-myeon  (67 km)

There were a lot of weekend cyclists on the path from Daegu. With a great tailwind, we sailed along, keeping up a good pace ahead of what appeared to be a local cycling club, all dressed in yellow shirts. We passed each other a few times throughout the morning. When we were asked our ages at the top of one of the two really steep hills, the younger cyclists were impressed! Their oldest member, a 67-year old man, seemed pleased that we three “oldies” were all holding our own! We also met another cyclist who had spent a year at U Vic as a prof.

The path was good although there were a number of steep climbs, the first with an incline of 12%. It appears that a tunnel is being built to replace this part of the trail, but unfortunately, it is not yet complete. The second long climb went below and then through and above a Buddhist Temple. As we struggled up, we could hear the chant of prayers being broadcast. It was calming for a short time!

Earlier, we had also passed the 17thC Dodong Seowon Confucian Academy, one of five built to pay tribute to a particular Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty.

When we stopped for the day, we happened to find another motel catering to cyclists.  So again, our bikes had their own locker. As we were told that the few restaurants served only meat dishes, supper was ramen noodles from a small shop, prepared by the proprietor and eaten outside with kimchi, courtesy of the restaurant next door.

Video: near the Buddhist Temple (Paul in the distance)

Daegu  

A 90 minute local bus trip took us from Daegu up into the mountains of Gayasan National Park where the  Haeinsa Temple complex is located.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the temple contains a number of national treasures, including a three-story stone pagoda, a stone lantern, paintings of Buddha and other figures, and the oldest known wooden statutes of Buddha in Korea. But, Haeinsa’s most famous national treasure is the Tripitaka Koreana (the Goryeo Buddhist canon). The Tripitaka, which  represents the three divisions of Buddhism: the Sutra (scriptures), Vinaya (laws) and the Abhidharma (treatises), has been preserved on more than 80,000 carved woodblocks, which took 16 years to complete. According to our “Smart Tour Guide” app, it is believed that for the 11 th century Korean Buddhists, “the project of carving the Buddhist scriptures was their only defense to protect their country against a formidable enemy via their spiritual and cultural superiority”.

After the first set was destroyed by Mongol invaders in 1232, a reconstructed set was completed in 1251. From carefully selecting appropriate wood from wild cherry or Korean pear trees, then soaking it in brine and boiling it in salt before drying it, to locating and constructing a sophisticated repository, the techniques involved are complex and the artwork intricate.  The woodblocks are housed and preserved in a 15th-century hall which, due to it’s ingenuity, also  has UNESCO World Heritage designation. We could see the carved texts through wooden slats in the building.

In September 1951, North Korean soldiers were conducting guerilla warfare in the Haeinsa area. UN forces were ordered to bomb Haeinsa but Kim Young Hwan, the leader of the Air Force’s pilots, worried about the loss of the Haeinsa Tripiṭaka Koreana, did not obey the command.

Lunch:

Gumi to Daegu (48 km)

The river path was lovely but it was hot (around 30oC) and humid and we had a headwind, so we we were glad to finish the short ride. We are staying in Daegu for a couple of nights to visit Haein-sa Temple, which houses the Tripitaka Koreana, or Goryeo Buddhist canon, one of the world’s most significant Buddhist sacred texts.

For dinner, after we could not find a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet, we stopped at a small Vietnamese restaurant and had shrimp fried rice (the only dish without meat!) and Hanoi beer.

Coffee notes: Cafe de Botton: best espresso in Korea so far 8.5/ 10

 

 

 

 

Nakong-ri to Gumi (37 km)

The  Four Rivers cycle path system is a small part of a massive rivers restoration project began in 2002, to provide « water security, flood control and ecosystem vitality ». We have pedaled many  kilometres  along extensive flood barriers, past artfully designed weirs, huge tracts of well organized agricultural land, parks and wetlands, underneath motorways and into cities like Gumi, that are home to plants of industrial giants like Samsung and LG and dominated by multiple high rise apartment blocks.

It is hard to imagine that only 65 years ago, this land was devastated. The Korean Peninsula had been under brutal occupation by Japan from 1910 until 1945. Following the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Korea was then occupied and divided by the Allied victors, the US and USSR. During the ensuing Korean War, armies representing north and south ( or east and west) battled their way across this land a number of times, destroying much of the existing infrastructure – roads, bridges, government buildings, including 50% of the houses. Civilian casualties were estimated to be 2.7 million. For those who managed to survive, most were destitute. At the end of the 1950’s, South Korea’s GDP per capita was less than $100. Life expectancy was around 54 years. In one generation, by what is referred to as the Miracle on the Han River, the South Korean economy has grown to become the 11th largest in the world, with a GDP per capita of $39,276. Today, South Koreans can expect to live at least 82 years. An emphasis on access to education has been a critical aspect of South Korea’s success story. In 1945, only 5% of Koreans had post-secondary or equivalent qualifications. By the 1990’s, this number was over 90% for South Koreans.

Over the past two days and evenings, the air was filled with the unnerving and deafening roar of fighter jets. We assumed this was a normal exercise, and not, we hoped, an escalation of tensions on the peninsula. We later read on CBC that North Korea had suspended talks with the South over US and South Korean air combat drills described as a “provocative military ruckus”. From the ground it certainly did not seem like a peaceful exercise!

Today, we met some fellow bike tourists, Lynn and Dave, from Bristol. They have been travelling since last year through Europe, Indonesia and Japan, and are now cycling/camping from Busan to Seoul.

Although the blogs and guide books don’t recommend the industrial city of Gumi, we have found a decent hotel and will take a day off to do laundry and, hopefully, avoid the worst of the thunderstorms forecast.

Mungyeong to Naktong-ri (49 km)

It was a hot day for cycling (around 31oC). We had hoped to do around 80km today to Gumi, but a wrong turn and the climbing temperature resulted in many stops and sapped energy. At the Sangponggyo Bridge, we joined the Nakdong River, the longest river and longest cycling path in Korea. The path was good but it soon divided and we learned later that we had taken the less good route. This involved a long climb up from the river, which was so steep we couldn’t push our bikes fully loaded, so had to wheel our bikes up and then return for our panniers. We know that we miss a lot not reading Korean and today we felt this more than ever as there may well have been warnings. The detour did, however, offer us really  good views of the river and a tour through Gyeongcheondae Terrace Park (meaning “Even heaven was taken aback by its beauty”) with its charming sculptures. We ate our sandwiches in the lovely grounds of the Sangju Museum. When we eventually rejoined the main path, we passed by a 17th C Confucian Academy and through farmlands of newly-seeded rice fields.

Suanbo to Mungyeong (51 km)

Each time we begin a new cycle trip, we wonder if we are finding it harder then last time, whether our stamina is decreasing. Starting this trip we were particularly conscious of these thoughts, having been off our bikes for a year. Happily, we felt great today, despite two arduous climbs, and confident that we could both put in much longer days again, when necessary.

Wildlife note: unidentifiable frogs

Chungju to Suanbo (32 km)

We decided to make it a short day, which was just as well as it rained steadily throughout the ride and for the rest of the day. The Namhangang River Trail ended for us at Tangeumdae Park just outside Chungju. This is where the royal court musician Ureuk of the Silla Kingdom used to play his gayageum (traditional Korean string instrument). Ureuk is recognized as one of the three most celebrated musicians of all time in Korea.

Yeoju to Chungju (66 km)

We have now been asked three times how old we are. The first was yesterday when a young man at Dumulmeori observed that our cycling is a “happy end of life”. This was a bit disconcerting, but we know what he meant. Today, at the top of a hill after a steep climb, we chatted with a couple of cyclists who appeared to be our age. He, in fact, was 75 and his wife was 72.  He told us he has cycled from Seoul to Busan every year for the past 7 years. Again, in the restaurant this evening, the proprietor asked Paul his age when we told him that we were cycling to Busan!

On the way to see  Silleuksu Temple this morning, we were cycling on the sidewalk of a narrow street. We were slightly concerned when a Police car stopped next to us and the officer rolled down his window. But, he apparently just wanted to say hello and wished us luck on our trip!  We noticed a lot of activity on the way to the temple and saw a sign indicating a World ceramic festival was about to open. Yeoju is known as a major center of contemporary South Korean ceramics, and hosts the World Ceramic Exposition every year.

Yangsu to Yeoju (58 km)

We were pleased to discover that the Korean chain, the Paris Baguette, is found in most reasonable-sized towns. Breakfast this morning was delicious whole-wheat fruit and nut bread with cream cheese, croissants and decent espresso. Not very Korean but a good start to the day! We did have Korean fare for lunch – a tasty dish of cold buckwheat noodles in a spicy red pepper dressing, with a boiled egg. This dish, “makguksu”, we later read, is the local specialty of Cheonseori Village, near Ipobo Weir, where we happened to go off the path in search of food. Paul was impressed when Lois went up to a military police officer to ask where we might find a “leseutolang” (레스토랑) (restaurant). (Lois only remembered this word, having learned it on the Air Canada Berlitz program, as it sounded to her like “sit down”!)

Seoul to Yangsu (50.1 km)

It is one year to the day since we stopped cycling in Italy. It was a real delight to be on our bikes again. After a second coffee, we set off on the bike route alongside the Cheonggyecheon stream. Initially, the traffic was heavy,  but soon we were on a dedicated paved bicycle path along the Han River (Hangang). The Hangang cycle path is one of four cycle routes recently constructed on disused railway lines along the major rivers of Korea . These paths will take us nearly all the way to Busan. We purchased a “passport” enroute and there are kiosks on the way where one can stamp the book to prove passage – very organized! Lunch was ramen noodles cooked on an automatic device outside the mini-market. We just followed everyone else’s example!
We booked a pension for the first night – on a small farm; one room with a kitchenette. This particular one is not very impressive. We will try a motel tomorrow!

View Marg’s obituary here.