Korea Bicycle Adventure 2017, Stage 2

2017 Korea Bicycle Adventure:

2^nd Leg: Busan - Jeju Island - Busan

After riding the idyllic countryside, it was some change and challenge to mingle with Busan’s traffic, a city of 3.5 million. 
Although a couple days out of the saddle and some sightseeing, was a rather welcomed alternate activity.

Getting ready for Buddha's Birthday

Yongdusan Park

Busan South Port

Jagalchi Fish Market (biggest in Korea)

Haeundae Beach Front

The journey continued by boarding the ferry to Jeju Island, which left at 19:00 for an overnight trip.

Jeju Island Ferry

A few more cyclists joined in for the 12 hour boat ride and quickly after boarding, a typical Korean picnic was established on the cabin floor. 
There was no mutual language between us, but gesturing was enough for me to join in with the group. They happily shared their Kimchi, rice rolls, chicken… and of course the Korean national drinks Soju & Makoli…

New found cyclist friends

On Board Picnic

I slept well as the ferry was crossing the Korea Strait...!

We arrived in Jeju City at 7am and the riding continued along the north coast heading west. 
It is always so refreshing to ride next to the ocean, inhaling that clean fresh air. 
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this!

Yongyeon Cloud Bridge

Korean Mermaid

Out of this World Cafe

Lovely Final Resting Place

Let's Go Biking Together

Drying Garlic (The Korean National Vegetable)

 

Double Caffeine Boost

Jeju is a volcanic island with Halla Mountain of 1950m the highest point in South Korea. I was happy to stay Oceanside though and just enjoyed riding some rolling hills, watching the mountain’s central dominance from the distance.

Halla Mountain

The pleasant riding conditions on Jeju continued. 
For most of the time, there is a separate bicycle lane as well. 
All around the island, signs are conveniently posted for cyclists to follow and the roads lead through parks, farm fields and many small fishing villages.

Follow the Bicycle

One of many small Harbors

Drying Seaweed "The Korean National Snack"

An Eye Catching Juice Bar

Garlic Fields & Mt. Sanbang

Idyllic Fishing Village

The island is famous for female ocean divers and their history, that goes back centuries. They collect a wide array of seafood, such as Abalone, Conch, Octopus, Oysters, Slugs… and all without any special diving equipment, except for a wetsuit and a diving mask. 
The average age is way above 50, some even in their 80’s and they are still free diving to 30m, just incredible!

With all the modern opportunities for the younger population nowadays, this is becoming a dying profession.

Female Ocean Divers

Balancing Problem Solved!

Many tributes to the divers are displayed around the island.

Because of that old tradition and strong fishing economy, there is no shortage of ocean delicacies on the markets, in all those small fishing villages.

Also dried cuttlefish is readily available roadside for purchase and is making for a great snack during a long day on the road.

Catching Cuttlefish

Drying Cuttlefish

Consuming Cuttlefish (My favorite part of the Process)

Tourism is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the islands economy and the bonus is; never having to look too far for the next meal.

My favorite restaurant is; “The Picture Point and Eat Kind”

Point and Indulge 😋

   

If somebody gets tired of cycling, or just wants to explore the island on foot, there are 21 hiking sections that circle around the island and quite often those trails are shared with cyclists. 
To eliminate the carrying of large backpacks while hiking, it can always be arranged to have the luggage sent to the next overnight stay.

Wayside Accommodation

With cycling also come some inconveniences such as road hazards and sooner or later it will result into a flat tire.

Fixing a Flat; looks more like a Roadside Yard Sale!

Culprit Deflation Spike

The wind was not much of a factor, as by circling around an island it is to be expected to turn into a headwind eventually. In contrary, I could hear the tires spinning on the road for most of the time, which is any cyclist’s dream.

This left plenty of time to scan about taking in all the sights.

The "Paulaner Sign" Made Me Stop Imediatly

Beautiful Pyoseon Beach

Happy & Happy Buddha

The proverb “small world” is ever so true, after a few days of cycling I bumped into the 5 cyclists from the ferry again, we just happened to go to the same restaurant.

A day of sightseeing in Jeju City concluded the island tour before boarding the ferry back to Busan again. It was the same procedure in reverse, leaving at 7pm for a 7am arrival.

Resting Pavilion

Table for 2 Anybody?

Jeju City

Sarabong Lighthouse

Back in Busan for the first time the clouds really decided to drain some moisture. For a while I waited at the ferry terminal, then I finally left in a slight drizzle. As it isn’t much fun riding in the wet, I was looking for some accommodation.

Because of some kind of event, no hotel rooms seemed to be available. Then at a stop sign I met another cyclist, who after some small talk (little English & a lot of phone APP translation) happened to go in the same direction and volunteered to be the tour guide through the city.

(Guess as an off duty Policemen, he felt obligated to guide a foreigner out of town 😄)

After a while as the rain was getting heavier, we decided to stop for some coffee. He used his local contacts to check out the hotel scene but came up empty as well. After a while he called his friend Captain Ryu who has a boat in the marina, explained the situation and it was decided to spend the night on the boat.
 

Since his friend used the boat for harbor sightseeing tours, I was able to join them in the afternoon. As the weather had improved in the meantime, it turned out to be lovely harbor cruise, passed Haeundae Beach, Gwangalli Beach and the spectacular Diamond Bridge (7.4km in length)

Floating Accommodation

Suyeongman Harbor Front

Diamond Bridge

Haeundae Beach

In the evening another policeman friend joined the group and we all went to one of their local hangouts for dinner and… (Just not enough space for the whole story, but it was a superb evening)

Keep the tires rolling, Tony