Sokcho South Korea

And on top of that.. a Welcoming Committee!!
(photo is not on actual arrival.. but wish I had got one.. Both these English ladies had on their Australia shirts - they have great taste!)

And after several days on my own, it was great to have someone to speak "English" with..

Anyway, these amazing adventurers (Sheonagh Ravensdale and Pat Thomson) contacted me by email yesterday in Samcheok.  I had sort of heard about them being in Korea and they about me, and through a contact in Japan, they got my email address.

And so glad they did!

I had first seen them months ago on my Horizon's Unlimited prep DVD's, clearly remember Sheonagh admitting on tape to sneaking in more pairs of underwear to her pack than she was meant to take... ! (If she can do it, I can do it!!)

Sorry, I'm waffling on... I must divert you back quickly to my time in Samcheok.. if I don't do it now, I will forget - and I don't want to cut a whole chunk out of my Korea blog. You would miss a lot with how small this country is.!

Korea is very mountainous, and I had some beautiful riding around this area in particular.

Stopped off a Asia's largest cave, Hwanseongul Cave.

Absolutely gorgeous and mammoth (reminding me of Mammoth Cave in Tennessee USA).. the Koreans sure know how to light it up!  It could pass for Hwanseongul Night Club!

And the quirky names included:

This is the Valley of Desire  

A rather odd experience in cave adventures, but I'm always up for trying something new!  I do have a rather cocky comment to make.. with the mass amount of Love Hotels in this country, not joking, they rival the amount of restaurants here.. AND with the mass amount of population in such a small space: 48,607,000.. and here is what Wikipedia says: South Koreans have had to learn to live peacefully with each other in small, crowded spaces, in which the competition for limited resources, including space itself, is intense. Continued population growth means that the shortage of space for living and working will grow more severe. 

My cocky comment is that I'm not surprised about the population problem!  The Hotels, the Valley of Desires, and this!

Where you go to proclaim your love for one another on the beach..

(I actually quite like this one.. well all of them really)... I'm just sayin'..

Now, back to Pat and Sheonagh.. once I got their email we worked out I was only about 100 km away in Samcheok, and they were staying at the same Hostel I reserved for on the 12th.. since they were leaving, I came here a day early.

Rode through pouring pouring rain the whole way.. but it was well worth it!  These 2 have traveled all over the world, and many times on motorcycle, and they had such great stories and advice to share.. I was soaking it up!  And off to dinner we went.. (yes, I ate the Korean food, and it was a delicious bbq meal!)

Next morning, it is time for them to pack up.

This is actually really great for me, because so far, even though I have had loads of great advice from many other bikers,  I have never actually been around any other motorbike world travelers currently living on the road.  And to watch and learn is huge for me!  Checking the tires, oil, packing up.. the whole bit I've been doing, but honestly just winging it..

We say our goodbyes and Sheonagh shares one last tip... "Make sure if you fall over, that you get a photo before you pick it up.. people love those photos!"

I am such a slow learner...!!!!!

Shortly after, Sheonagh gets on her bike, and falls right over!  I put my camera down and run over to help pick her up and she's shouting right out... "Get a photo!  Get a photo!"  Of coarse!  What was I thinking!

All good, a soft cushion of bushes to catch her.. and after that I won't forget again!  Such good teachers they are!!

And off they went..

Thank YOU!!  Hope to see you again!!

South Korea begins..

Sort of uneventful blog today.. but those will happen from time to time.. so I will keep this one a bit short.

After studying my Lonely Planet book a bit, I left Busan for Gyeongju.  Had a bit of a rough time getting there.. it was really hot, and not sure if it was the food, or adjusting to a new country, but sitting through the normal overcrowded city traffic for around 3 hours again, I nearly fainted a couple times.

Wearing my riding suit, plus gloves, plus helmet in humid heat combined with lots of truck and car fumes was doing me in..  I felt the tingling in my head and then I got cold and a bit dizzy.  It was not the sort of traffic or roads (10 lanes total) that you can pull over quickly.. so I toughed it out and made sure no passing out in a new country!

It was a relief to find Gyeongju and I didn't think much but to go to a hotel recommended in the LP book.

Once settled, and after not eating all day, I set out to find a meal...

This is what I found!

I can get some potatoes or a dress.. hmm, maybe go for the dress? Nah.. potatoes are better..

Or try some dead little dried fish..?

I went past restaurant after restaurant, and what really helps is they put a photo in the window of every meal they make.. Problem was, there was no way I was going to eat anything I saw in the photo..

I gave up and scuffled around the convenience store, I took home a cheapie.. Ramen noodles.

Made it in my room, and it was yuk as well... give up!

This is a small country and I have plenty of time to get to Sokcho, so I opt to stay another day to try to get used to where I am..

I decided the Museum I passed on the way in will help me get to know the country and the people - even the food.

I love this never ending question:  What came first the chicken or the egg?

Another common phrase I hear in Australia all the time is:  "bits and pieces"

I found the origin!  (Note: bottom right hand corner)

That's the bit and these are the pieces!

I saw lots of arrowheads and burial mounds.. so much in common with Native American Indian!

Okay I get it.. the Kings and Queens and Emperors... I'm glad I went to the Museum.

Now another attempt at finding a food.. this is starting to concern me!

I wandered around the city, and I found a McDonalds.  Honestly!  Nothing in there looked any good either, not that it normally does.. but they serve Shrimp Burgers!! Super yuk!

I got a kick out of their delivery mobiles though.  Won/Juan/John from the ferry told me about this.  McDonald's doesn't do so well in this country so to try to keep business up, they offer free delivery..

I finally got lucky... I found a Pizza Hut.. I know, I know, I am in South Korea, and should not be attennding such a place.. but I really just wanted vegetables.. a salad to be precise.  And this pizza hut had a salad bar.. Perfect!  I can eat!!

Plus, it was my birthday, and a fun meal of pizza and salad worked for me..!

On my way home I stopped into a bakery, and noticed they had birthday cakes.. If I could choose any cake in the shop, this is the one I would pick.

Instead of eating it, I took a photo of it... my body thanks me.. ;-)