Grant and Barbara

JttE Andong

The magpie is the national bird. That said, perhaps the ones we have seen most often are egrets and herons, topped off by the odd cormarant. Hearing the sparrows chirp today raised the thought “does the same species of bird sing in different languages across the world”? A google search gives the answer “yes”. Not a daft question then, I feel chirpy now!

I was starting to compose a limerick about Andong. Soon deteriorated. Suggestions welcome.

Breakfast was a reminder they don’t do a lot of porage oats. As in none. The rawish egg on rice was a highlight. The speciality of the area is Andong jjimdak (steamed chicken) : the locals in the market cafe had fun watching us (though giving encouraging hints) – and tonight in the Korean BBQ. Next time I’m going to just wear black clothes so the splashes don’t show.

A cultural mootch in the Andong Folk Museum – a mini St Fagans. A lot of the buildings had been moved with the building of the local dam in 1975. An interesting insight into the design principles, though I think they were more for the wealthier families. It was a contrast to the main part of town – everything seems relatively new or renewed – and working.

Fans today – a family took interest and chatted. Turned out to be 3 sisters on an outing with some of their kids. Just my luck it was the older, slightly decrepit, one who was eyeing me up. Though Barbara was on hand to make sure I kept my standards high. I should have asked them if everyone’s hair stays black or do people make a fortune selling dye? Next time.

They are proud of the Woryeonnggyo wooden bridge, the longest such in Korea. Old, no. Constructed in 2003. Fun nevertheless.

Tomorrow back to the road. Good rest day.

Cycling, Journey to the East, South Korea

D3 JttE Suanbo – Andong

Andong is a major culture centre, according to the blurb. Famous for a chicken dish, no pheasants. Is this culnirary speciality something decided by committee and shared out amongst the cities. Anyway we’ll explore these tomorrow on a rest day.

After mooching along river paths, today’s couple of climbs came as a rude awakening to some muscles. Delicious descents, very pleasant even if I chickened out and used brakes.

The bulk of the day was amongst incredible irrigation fields, presumably for rice. Looks very labour intensive and back breaking work, though just now is mainly water.

Have I mentioned coffee and coffee shops. In cities the large number is apparently driven by real estate costs..so they are meeting spaces. They serve us well along the route.

Amazingly, the toilets are still with us. As are the cycle paths or designated bits of the hard shoulder. Drivers are courteous.

So Andong explore tomorrow and to meet a few of its 160000 inhabitants.

Journey to the East, South Korea, Uncategorized

D2 JttE Yeoju – Suanbo

Suanbo is a “historic, quiet hot spring town in Chungju, South Korea, known for its natural alkaline water used for centuries”. Taking recycling to extremes. “Located near Woraksan National Park, it serves as a tranquil base for hiking, relaxing in hot springs, and enjoying local specialties like pheasant, offering a rustic, nostalgic getaway. ” Pheasant was good, not sure about the rustic – rusty maybe.

Cycling continued along cycle paths – sometimes segregated, sometimes on side of road – following the river. We’re heading deeper into the rural areas towards the Busan Alps.

A great variety of things to look at. From alpine landscapes to farming and the general paraphernalia of people leading life’s. The K-pop dancing in a field was an early highlight – a bunch of happy kids watched by some older cyclists. Then we left to cross and look at a great selection of bridges of all shapes.

One thing I’ve noticed compared to Europe is the relative paucity of churches: a search followed. For comparison in the UK 46% Christian and 37% no religion.

“South Korea has a religiously diverse, yet largely secular population, with roughly 50% of residents reporting no religious affiliation. Among those with beliefs, Protestantism (approx. 20%) and Buddhism (approx. 17%) are the largest, followed by Catholicism (approx. 11%). Traditional Confucian ethics and Shamanistic practices heavily influence daily life.”

We have crossed quite a few hydroelectric dams, which prompted the question how important an energy source is it. As of 2024–2025, South Korea’s power generation is led by nuclear energy (approx. 31–32%), which overtook coal for the first time in 17 years, followed closely by coal and natural gas. There’s a growing reliance on low-carbon sources, including over 10% from renewables. Surprising – I expected more.

A fine day, fueled by good coffee stops.

Journey to the East, Spain

D1 JttE Seoul – Yeoju

Leaving Seoul gives a space for reflection. Whilst we only saw a very tiny slither of a huge city it was a great place. The city planners and investors have done a great job. Two of our group were here 25 and 40 years ago and are astounded by the transformation.

The infrastructure is great – everything works well. Although it’s very dense on paper, the reality feels different. Busy in places, not congested, everything including traffic flows well. OK it’s very rule based and pretty non diverse. People are friendly and helpful. The multitude of multistories don’t feel oppressive.

It took some 20 miles to cycle out of the city on our first day. Whereas leaving a city is usually a start stop left right stop affair, today was a delight. The 4 Rivers Cycle path meant we were on a dedicated cycle way all day. along the Hangang River. Toilets galore to save the bushes. Ourdoor gyms being used. Flat. Better not get used to this!

So after the city it’s like a sharp knive says “now it’s rural”. Slightly poorer, certainly lower buildings. Paddy fields. A working landscape. The cycling infrastucture continues though. Some words are universal on the signs. Stop, Slow.

Destination Yeoju. A smaller city of 114000, specialities: rice, melons and ceramics. Hosts the World Ceramics Show every year – hope theres no breakages. We had rice for food tonight: the special bit was a tad missing. Luckily it was conjealed so I could get some onto the chopsticks. Melons didn’t appear. Tomorrow’s speciality if pheasant – hope that’s not be mishearing peasant.

Lovely start to the journey as we head south eastwards.

Journey to the East, South Korea

JttE Seoul D4

Obligatatory and Mandatory. Former the tour briefing. Latter the bike building. Meet the lot doing this, forget my name nevermind theirs. Seem fun group.