With a hydrofoil ferry I cross over to Busan in South Korea. There is quite a different behaviour on the road here I notice on the first meters already. People drive more aggressiv and there are no bicycles on the road anymore.
To find a good road map seems to be quite a difficult task here. I don't have one at least. On the very first day I already cannot find the road that I wanted to take but end up cycling on kind of a highway to the north. That's no fun. Here in Korea I really need to go off the main roads. I put together a route following the smallest roads that I can just find on my map. That works quite well and in the following days I cycle on minor roads from one national park to the next. Here there is hardly any traffic. Immediately it is very rural and green. Well maybe rather braun at the moment. Winter is well advanced here. The trees have already lost all theirs leaves.
People are more curious again and come asking me even if most don't speak english. In the towns and in the markets it is more lively, chaotic more asiatic. Especially on the fisch markets there is lots to explore.
Koreans like outdoor activities and hiking is a national sport. But when I tell them that I am still camping here they look at my at bit puzzled. There are many national parks here. The population seems to live very concentrated in the big cities. Thanks to that there is plenty of space with nature.
There are lots of national parks here. People seem be to living very concentrated in big towns. That has the big advantage that there is a lot of surprising untouched nature in between.
The weather is truly winterly. Very clear skies and stable. But it is cold, very cold. In the beginning that's about minus 5 Celsius in the morning and slowly getting to the positive numbers in the afternoon. Later, up north is is about minus 10 in the morning that even in the afternoon don't go over zero anymore. But the mere number is only one part. A very strong and icy wind that seems to come strait down from Sibiria makes everything even more cold.
Fluids I can soon not transport anymore as they constantly freeze.
But I can see it coming that the weather will turn soon. When I reach the north on the east coast the wind stopps and it starts snowing. The missing 300km across the peninsula to Seoul become a ride through snow, ice, and slush.
Accommodation is very unique here. Hotels and guesthouses can be found in bigger towns. But on almost every corner there is a motel, yes a love motel. Well I rather prefer my tent then... But when it gets really wet and cold I am happy for the option too.
After the bad experiences that I made with big roads I sit over my map to figure out a good way to get to Seoul. Taking the size of the town it works out quite well and I quickly find the way to the center of this metropolis.
For a change I enjoy some days in town. Seoul dos not have much sightseeing to offer. Mainly the town works day and night like a clockwork and it is like one big shopping center, a very big shopping center!
Enough cold for now. Time to get to the warmer south...