– I'm going to Korea
– Northern, he he he?
Okay – now that we have this joke out of the way, I can move on to the post. You have to get used to the fact that if you don't specify what time it is, everyone will jokingly ask if it's half timevaluable. Exactly the same as in the case Uganda, when asked if they would eat us there.
This entry is full of stereotypes and subjective opinions based on a 12-day stay. It may turn out that it has nothing to do with reality. Just like the rest of the entries on this blog. So let me remind you that this is not a manual.
Korea: introduction
When I was a student, everyone had a friend at Samsung. The irreplaceable joke then was the question: "has the boss gone home already and can you finish work?" Jokes like this don't come out of nowhere. The Korean passion for work is legendary. Can you imagine a better holiday activity than watching busy people?
Korea (South) has been following me for some time. It's one of those fascinating countries where, according to Google, there is nothing interesting. In fact, the more I looked for what to see there, the more convinced I was that there was nothing. Even in Finland I found more interesting places. The place seemed perfect for a holiday from the moment I saw: The 4 Rivers Path, a bicycle route along the rivers. It includes a 600-kilometer section diagonally across the country: from Seoul to Busan. Even though the country is hilly, the trail is flat. So it seemed like a perfect idea for a small bike. When driving without defined "points to complete", it is easier to focus on what is currently passing by. After all, Korea is exotic for us, so everything should be interesting.
There is something on bicycle routes that I envy greatly: red telephone booths with stamps. Apparently, after collecting all the stamps from a given route, you receive a diploma. Chad, like our stamps in shelters. It's a good thing we didn't try this, because according to my calculations, we saw on average one out of every 6 booths we passed.
Korea: reality
The plan was great, and it was verified before we even got off the plane. Because when you land at your destination airport in a snowstorm and -2°C, and instead of skis you have a bike with 16-inch wheels, it doesn't sound like a vacation. The main advantage of not over-planning is that changes are very easy to make. We only had a hotel booked for the first night. As close to the train station as possible - the idea of wet luggage or excessive transport combinations right from the start, after several hours of travel, does not sound like a successful vacation either.
Because in fact, I bought tickets "quickly", about 3 weeks before departure, and for some unknown reason I treated the "Seoul weather" result showing 6°C as a temporary weather anomaly. Each day, as the temperature dropped, I wondered what was driving me. Fortunately, I'm used to asking myself this question. This is one of those questions asked every December: "why haven't I still bought winter shoes?"
Beginning: fuck me
I will say this: Korea is like Japan stripped of everything that made it cool (except 7-Eleven). This means that there are no funny cars, no masses of abstract, cartoonish billboards, no strange people... and everything is somehow more difficult. They probably wouldn't be too happy with this comparison, considering that already on the first train we are greeted by an "advertisement" explaining that Japan stole an island from Korea Dokdo. It's okay, I don't plan to go back there until my employer invites me there.
Even buying a ticket or lunch in the center of Seoul can be non-trivial, because many machines do not accept foreign cards or cash. In fact, I haven't been able to book ANY accommodation online except Agoda (which works there much more efficiently than Booking - it's a pain for me because I can't post reference links here). What's more, even Google Maps works moderately. The maps are "as such", but limited to navigation other than public transport. True, you can check the trains, but the departure times are clearly false - practically all checked trains departed at different times. Alternatives are "Naver Map" (good luck with the Korean support), or "Kakao map".
In my opinion, there are two South Koreas (even the name of the country is difficult to pronounce): the weekend one and the weekday one. On weekends, hotel prices go through the roof and everything is booked. Do you think that since a fast train between the two main cities of the country (located diagonally, of course) runs every 10 minutes, you will buy a ticket on Saturday or Sunday? Good luck. When I want to buy a seat in any class on Friday evening, on any train between Seoul and Busan on the weekend - EVERYTHING is booked. Same with Jeju-Bus flights. On a Tuesday, for example, you can fly with luggage for PLN 50, on a weekend for PLN 250, and even then only if you miraculously buy a ticket.
As if that wasn't enough, when making a hotel reservation, be sure to check the check-in time. It turns out that MOST of the checked hotels have check-in from 7 or 10 p.m. This is due to the fact that rooms are also rented during the day - by the hour. Look for early check-ins in Agoda's more expensive options.
Browsing the Korean Internet is a disaster. For example, I recommend taking a look at the maps on both of the most popular websites: https://map.naver.com/ and https://map.kakao.com/. In general, the Internet looks like I did it in high school. I have a theory why this country supposedly has one of the fastest internets in the world: I suspect that everyone there goes to their provider and says: Hurry up, I can't stand it!
People are great, very helpful in direct contact, even though trying to communicate is bordering on a miracle. I found understandable English only in "serious" hotels and information points. The classic dialogue goes like this: a nice lady asks me about towels, and I explain to her that we didn't have time to visit the observation tower (tower != towel). It's worse in indirect contact. It is apparently the most sleep-deprived and overworked nation in the world (tell that to the children from the mines in Congo), and I will boldly add that it is the saddest I have ever seen. If you want to be Korean, wear a black down jacket, put on Crocs with white socks and go be a cunning woman from Radom while fighting for a seat on the subway.
Part two of things that are not talked about
Alternatively, you can walk along the bicycle paths. Because there are paths, there are quite a lot of them - those along the rivers are very pleasant, just like in Japan, Taiwan, etc. The ones in the cities are used for everything except cycling. You can put poles, stalls on them, practice tai chi or just stand there staring at your phone. It is also a local hobby, developed to such an extent that the lights in front of the lanes are also placed in the form of a glowing list on the sidewalk. I don't think I've ever encountered a situation where someone would get out of the way while getting to the front.
It's justified, however - I know it's November and it's coming, but a bicycle doesn't seem to be a popular means of transport. On the busiest weekend days, we meet 3-4 people on foldable electric bikes and a dozen or so MAMILs.
And all this is nothing, considering what other problems await you. Let me remind you that we are talking about a country where people mainly eat seaweed, cabbage and pickled things in a hundred ways. For example, shitters that clog almost immediately when visited by a classic bikepacker. The fashion for unblockers or toilet brushes hasn't arrived there yet, so good luck. I suggest including it during your visits reminder every 20 seconds with the text: "drain the water". Although if the fecal incident happens, there is no drama.
Many bathrooms have water drains in the floor - including those from the bathtub. This means that when you lift the cap after a bath, the whole thing falls straight to the floor... and that's how the cap was created. It's cool - especially when you're lazy and throw your clothes on the floor when you jump into the bathtub.
Clothes soaked by bathtub water wouldn't be a serious problem if it weren't for the fact that the fashion for radiators hasn't reached Korea yet. Is this a problem in a country where it snows in winter? Maybe. However, they often heat up the floors, which you should remember when leaving a bag of food on them overnight. Because yes, we went to Korea with the assumption that since it was located next to the south of Japan, the weather would be similar. In fact, it is as similar as a horse to cognac. A friend staying in Tokyo at the same time had about 15 degrees more. Oh, I dream of Yokohama.
I don't know what it's about either, but it's incredibly empty during our trip (except for short moments of the day when it's incredibly full). The country looks as if a nuclear bomb exploded 10 years ago and they had to rebuild it immediately, preparing for 80 million immigrants. Large, empty housing estates scattered between hills and cabbage fields and wide roads, empty to the horizon.
When planning 10 days in Korea, you should spend at least 12 days there. This is not a country for impatient people. The red light (at least for pedestrians) lasts there for 3 years, and you can sleep on the escalators - they go slower than I did at Mortirolo. Subjectively, I spent half of my vacation waiting for the green light.
And I understand all this, ladies and gentlemen. It's all local color, BUT...
The most beautiful thing in Asia is the milk tea sold at 7-Eleven in plastic bottles (which kill turtles). So when I run into the store on the first day and I take the only one available from the shelf, I experience the biggest disappointment since 2016. (when I used all the money in the world to buy jelly beans in Norway, which turned out to be licorice flavored). The difference, however, is that then I ate and cried, and now I couldn't drink what I bought. IT WAS NOT TEA, A: Makkoli. I quote: the most popular Korean alcoholic drink made from rice, mixed with a Korean fermentation agent, called nuruk. It is milk, slightly dirty white in color and sweet in taste. God damn it!
That's all about organizational matters, please read the report:
Have you ever been to the Seoul train station, it's so…
Two alternating videos on the hour-long train between the airport and the city center put us in a very good mood. Both the one about enemy Japan stealing islands and the fairy tale in which the lady farts on the gentleman, thus gaining his favor. What should a tourist alighting at Seoul Central do on Friday noon during a snowstorm? I don't know. The strategy of booking a hotel about 300 meters away probably made sense in my mind. However, she did not take into account the possibility of checking in only 4 hours later.
Like serious adults, flying to the other side of the world for unknown purposes, we go to visit Raphy's store. It sounds stupid, but it's not as stupid as it seems. Apart from the fact that we collect "cafe" hats of this company and we already have most of them available in the world, the stores of this company are usually located in the most "fancy" districts of cities. It's no different in Seoul - we land in the Gangnam district. Yes, the one from the song that made YouTube have to rebuild the view counter because it didn't make it.
The street with the most expensive shops is quite impressive. It's a long string of multi-story Gucci, Chanel, etc. buildings - just like our Vitkac, only more so. Unlike its second attraction, which is the equivalent of the Walk of Fame, but with K-Pop bands. Instead of handprints, however, there are sculptures. The most interesting of all, however, are the observations of young people taking photos in front of shops. I feel sorry for Tik Tok servers.
I will say this: driving around Korean cities is not a pleasure, unless we limit ourselves to routes near rivers - there are a lot of them. We arrive at the hotel in the dark, frozen to the core. Back then, we didn't know that the radiators hadn't arrived in Korea. Heating mattresses have arrived - the most beautiful winter invention in the world. So we crank it up to the max and go to sleep. About 4 hours later I wake up in a bathtub of my own sweat, about 6 kg lighter.
However, is there a more pleasant moment than when, after several hours of travel and several hours of driving in frost, you lie down on a heated mattress? I'm making a printscreen of this memory and I will come back to it when I look for a "nice place" in my head in the future.
Oh, sorry, before going to bed, we turn on the TV and watch a Japanese cartoon Gudetama. This is one of those discoveries that made it worth leaving the country. Because is there anything better than the main characters being a fresh egg with depression and a chick taking care of it?
The grayest day of my life.
Saturday is a day for which I have no idea. It looks the same, but it's almost impossible to drive because of the wind. We are probably the only people in the world who decide to take a trip to Korea on their first day in Seoul. Well, our Dimpa bags from this store, in which we transport our bikes, suffered a bit during the connecting flight, and we don't know how many more flights await us if the weather doesn't improve. So we set off north - Ikea is usually located in exactly the opposite place to Rapha. Let Targówek and Janki serve as an example here. And indeed, we reach the Asian Targówek.
Have you ever seen an Ikea with no cars or people in front of it? Well, I've already seen it. This is obviously a trick, just like everywhere else in Korea. There are two states in this country: zero people and lots of people. So it's easy to guess that the latter was already in control.
I'm constantly struggling with thoughts about whether to go on a trip to the demilitarized zone. This is probably the most obvious "tourist" point of this country and the first thing everyone will ask you about when you return. This year, some reasons to do so were eliminated by the American soldier Travis King, who decided to run across the border and get to our northern neighbors. Since then, it is no longer possible to symbolically set foot on their territory. So we decide to compromise and go north to: Odusan Unification Tower. The decision was quite spontaneous, because we were already on the train to the DMZ, when my complicated calculations in my head revealed that we wouldn't have time to see anything there anyway, and the tower was closer. Well, the morning ride into the wind took a little longer than planned.
At the above-mentioned tower, apart from, of course, meeting local company tours that appear at every important tourist point, we indulge in a local hobby: observing North Korea through binoculars. On the personal scale of "things that make me feel weird doing," it ranks pretty high. There are even arrows next to the binoculars, just like in our mountains: here is the house, here is the office...
The whole area is generally quite numb - a bit like a borderline in between Rwanda and Congo, but more. A lot of barbed wire, observation towers and information signs that if I find myself on the wrong side of the wire or frame the photo incorrectly, I will not get paid for the rest of my life. No matter how you look at it, these countries are still in a formal state of war.
We reach the next train after dark. I start looking for a place to stay and it turns out to be a not-so-trivial task. I can't find anything in downtown Seoul that fits our budget. To put it more bluntly: it's disgustingly expensive, and what is available is only allowed after 9 p.m. The best place to stay overnight is at the station we just passed - somewhere, but I don't know where.
In the evening, I go online to look for a train towards the sun (i.e. south, I assume), because it's longer this time. crayfish We're not going to sit down. Finding any connection with available seats on a Sunday morning is really difficult - just like buying a ticket online. However, something is working out there.
More like the grayest day of my life.
Do you sometimes go on holiday by bike and think to yourself: "I'd rather go to Gassy now, even though it's November"? Me neither before. However, a miracle happened, for most of the day we drove through places that resembled the area of Stare Babice crossed with Targówek, and then cut off all the things that could be positive - including the weather and the direction of the wind. However, from the beginning:
In the morning we go to the station in Seoul, then change to a fast train and check in to Iksan, located 200 kilometers below. An important note here: if you use Google Maps, the railway station is usually located in a slightly different place than the city itself - sometimes even several kilometers away. The plan is simple: about 50 km on a flat road, then beauty, relaxation on the islands, beaches, bridges, overnight stay at the SPA and, in general, holidays. The first light comes on when we get on our bikes at 12:20, and my phone reminds me that it's dark after 5:00 p.m.
We drive the first 20 kilometers for almost two hours - mainly through fields of cabbage and something that looks like chives. Then it doesn't get any better, because for the next 20 km not only is the wind blowing the same way, but we are also making our way through the city: it means more waiting at traffic lights than driving.
The next 10 km are some factories, warehouses and something that looks like the equivalent of a Mexican district in the United States, but in Asia.
Then comes what we came here for. The largest road abstraction I have ever seen. 30 kilometers of embankment through the Red Sea with a break for a small complex of islands. If that were the case, a bridge is being built parallel to the embankment, and everything is connected by another, several kilometer-long bridge. What the fuck?!
From the bicycle's point of view, it is an endless straight to the horizon with a view of the sea on both sides. It takes some time before we realize that we are riding on a side technical road instead of a dedicated bicycle path with a much better view (because it is higher). There would be nothing wrong with that, because we mainly see the wind, but at the end of the road it turns out that it is not possible to escape. The explanation is very simple: we should never be on it, because it is a road for testing autonomous cars and entry is strictly prohibited.
As compensation, we get a quite nice sunset and by the end of the day we will be riding on infrastructure intended for bicycles.
The infrastructure is good, but you can't lose focus - especially in the dark. The surface is just waiting to surprise you with something and destroy this "stupid face". We already know that we won't see anything from the best part of the landscape that day. It's good that we repeat these 10 km tomorrow, because somehow we have to return to the endless embankment.
We will stay overnight on the above-mentioned islands, and our expectations for it are at least high. The same applies to the islands themselves. And in fact, both the surroundings and the "SPA hotel" itself are great. We even have a bathtub on the balcony that we can look at helplessly from our bed. Alternatively, take a photo for the Internet to give the impression that you are relaxing in luxury. It was a hard day, although I feel like we've reached a place where I could spend a holiday week. But we don't have time for that, we need to rest!
If you don't drive the ugliest, you don't deserve the best
I will boldly say that the route that day is almost entirely one of the most pleasant I have ever traveled in my life. Not that there are any unique views, but it is just very beautiful: from the very start to the finish. However, I admit the possibility that it is simply due to the contrast with the previous day.
We start with a walk to the mountain, which is located right behind the hotel. It is perfect, and the atmosphere of the beach, sea and holidays accompanies us for many kilometers. There are plenty of such hills here.
The clash of emptiness and hotel infrastructure brings to mind our Y10 in the fall. We would have checked in to this area the day before, but finding accommodation on a weekend was almost impossible - it was a weekend. Now there is no one, nowhere. The only man we meet hangs on a rope under the sky:
Even the next dozen or so kilometers of driving along the "embankment" through the sea is pleasant. However, cycling in the wind and cycling without the wind are two completely different sports. The former only made me happy in the past when the power was great and I saw people behind me crying.
We don't know exactly where we are going, except that the plan is to tour the peninsula with Byeonsanbando National Park. In retrospect, we could have considered staying there for a day longer and including a walking route through the bamboo forests.
Somewhere around kilometer 80 (i.e. 8 hours after leaving the hotel room). I start searching the Internet for ideas and it turns out that we are several kilometers to the railway station, from which we can go further south, by train that leaves something like this just-in-time.
We reach it with time to spare, which of course turns out to be the case Korean. Do you remember how I mentioned that Google Maps reliably shows public transport, but the hours are average? I check in at the ticket office 7 minutes before departure, instead of 20. To make things easier - the ticket machine doesn't work, and I estimate the queue at the counter at 5 minutes.
A real miracle happens here, because it turns out that a few minutes later the same train is coming, only faster and more expensive, and the lady at the ticket office speaks fluent English. That's probably why her microphone is connected to the station's speakers instead of the window's speaker. Thanks to this, the entire station can hear our conversation. We go to Mokpo - you can't get any lower by train.
Shikoku from Shikoku, Jindo from Jindo
Not all ideas in life have to make sense, and the fact that I didn't quite know what to do next with Mokpo contributed to another one. It turns out that below us lies the island of Jindo, where dogs of the same name come from. This ties in nicely with last year's trip to the Japanese island of Shikoku to see the Shikoku dogs. The difference is that on Shikoku no one had any idea about the Shikoku breed, and on Jindo there are actually Jindo dogs. There is even a special amusement park with these dogs! How could you miss this?
So we put it on the list of must-sees and now when someone asks us "how can you be in Korea and not see the DMZ", I will ask them "how can you be in Korea and not see Jindo on Jindo". I'll tell you right away that it's probably not worth it, but don't keep repeating it.
I have nothing to say about the route itself, except that I accidentally checked the ferries going further south from Jindo and since the morning we have been fighting against time to arrive at 1:30 p.m. It's quite easy when you press 2-3 strands of selvedge. Of course, these are different countries than ours. Completely empty, except for moments when dozens of cars pass us at once because the light somewhere has turned green. Thanks to the borders, we miss all the good views and mainly see endless cabbage fields.
We arrive at the dog farm with enough time to spare. At least until I discover that there are two ferry terminals on the island and the one we are interested in is several kilometers away. The situation would probably be simpler if after entering "Jindo ferry terminal" any one was displayed - as is the case in Korea - such a query only returns a result from a completely different place.
We board the ferry with I don't know how much time left, because we are the last ones and the gate closes behind us. We have over 100 kilometers of route to the south, covering it at a dizzying pace of 1:30 hours. Before that, however, we struggle with understanding where we should sit. After a long and meticulous comparison of the badges on the ticket and seats, we give up.
At 3:00 p.m. we reach Jeju Island... or Jeju Island - I don't know yet. What I do know is that when talking about a ticket to... chekju I got a lot of laughs at the ticket counter. It is the largest island in the country and the equivalent of our Międzyzdroje. If, of course, the tour of Międzyzdroje was over 200 kilometers long and in the middle there was a volcano less than 2,000 meters high (Halla-san).
We spend the evening looking for souvenirs. It is worth adding here that the island is known for oranges (so you can become an orange man) and women divers. If you want to get something from this post (apart from knowledge about draining water), I recommend clicking on this impressive link and reading about them (or looking at the photos). Seriously, it's better than this blog.
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/zQUR-M5it2w0IA?hl=pl
Oh my gosh my gosh
We spend the next three days driving around the island. Normally, I would plan it for 2 days, but the weekend turned out so that it is not really possible to leave the island sensibly. So I buy a flight to Busan. Normally it should cost about PLN 30-50, but since we are flying early on Saturday morning - it costs about PLN 250 (it probably doesn't help that only the most expensive tariffs were available). I write fare because it has nothing to do with class - there is only one, and our ticket simply allows you to freely change dates and take checked baggage. For some unknown reason, the bike doesn't fit and we have to pay some extra money. It's not that it's too big - it's just a bicycle, and come on, man, argue in Korean.
I can't say much about the route itself, except that it is very pleasant and finally somehow warmer. I would even say it looks like a vacation. Along the way, you can even visit some walking routes, lighthouses, promenades and, above all,… the teddy bear museum, which, in my opinion, is a must-see on the island. The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, the landing in Normandy, the demolition of the Berlin Wall, Elvis concert, the creation of the world, the smallest teddy bear in the world... culture at my level.
Jeju looks like the Asian Tenerife. Unfortunately, we are unable to plan an entry to the volcano. The online booking system for such a trip is beyond me. The logistics of trying to get to the trail by bus, walk a reasonable route, and then get back to the hotel, as well.
At the end of the second day the weather changes a bit. Just when we finish the walk on the Seongsan Ilchulbong hill (the trail is paid and there are a billion people on it). It's still a holiday, but now it's probably only for people who like to sit on jars. It's so windy that if you sit on a bike and don't pedal, you'll go backwards, really. Our last 70 km were a struggle to reach a speed above 10 km/h. As a reward, we go to the center of Jeju in the evening to waste money and enjoy Black Friday. Of course, there is no promotion anywhere and we only take it to the hotel toilet a bucket of snout-burning chickens.
I have seen great cities
I'd say waking up at 6 a.m. isn't easy, but half the hotels in this city seem to have a view of the building next door (or no windows at all), so combined with the jet lag, it doesn't make much of a difference to us. If you are wondering whether it is better to fly or take a ferry, my answer is: plane. You can comfortably see how many islands Korea has (3,358 to be exact) and how crazy they are at building bridges. A moment later we are in the second largest city in the country - Busan. I spent about 24 hours on it in my imagination - in hindsight it seems quite funny.
The beginning is not easy, because we may be at the airport in Busan, but our bikes are not necessarily. That is, we stand in front of the baggage carousel and the more we look for them, the more they are gone. It takes some time to explain to the nice gentleman at the service desk that we are missing two bags from Ikea - a bit like the saying "the blind led the lame." Only when the guy notices that we have helmets in our hands, he exclaims with a lot of chagrin that it's not bags at all, but bicycles! This completely changes the situation: it was not the Ikea bags that were lost, but the bicycles that were in those bags. So he goes to the back of the airport, starts the tape and after a minute the bikes in bags leave. Then he explains to us for a few more minutes that it's not bags, but bicycles. In general, I have an irresistible feeling, in situations like this, that everyone there treats us like idiots.
The second challenge is trying to cross the river. Let me explain the problem: out of the 6 bridges I saw, only one could be crossed in any other way than with an engine. But it doesn't matter - it forces us to cover a slightly longer section of the Seoul-Busan bicycle route, and I must admit that it was accomplished. DOS-KO-NA-ŁA. I'd probably feel like Zwift after a while, but for an hour or two, it's great. Bamboos, river, large blocks of flats, mountains, empty road, trees... ideology.
When it comes to Busan – it's a bit like... Batumi. I can't say whether it's terrible or great. I mean, I can - it's great, but will I answer that way when someone asks me? I don't know. Subjectively, it's about 1000x better than in Seoul, but the plan to drive through the city along the coast in one day is really funny in retrospect.
Two days is an absolute minimum, so we decide to stay for two nights. Especially since now, in addition to standing at red lights forever, we have a second job: Sylwia takes photos of everyone, because we visit a surprising number of viewpoints, and at each of them, we know - a company trip.
It's really worth it because we experience everything. In general, if I were to spend two days in Korea, it would be Busan. Because Busan has everything: hills, local markets and food, sea, beaches, skyscrapers, factories, viewpoints - such a compressed country.
We check out on Monday morning and take the bullet train back to Seoul. High-speed trains in Korea are fast, but comparing them to Japanese Shinkansens is like comparing a Ryan flight to a LOT Dreamliner. They both seem to fly, but somehow differently.
I don't know what people do in Seoul
So we have one more full day in Seoul. We planned to get off the train a little earlier and ride a bike to the center, but the rain effectively discouraged us from doing so. So we spent the day first looking for food other than 7-Eleven, and then aimlessly driving along rivers. Because that's the only way I can not be nervous. Traffic lights and bicycle infrastructure regularly defeat me.
It's OK and we even manage to see some famous places (based on the number of local tourists). These are:
Naksan Park - a nice viewing point with a historic wall, but at the expense of a great pain called: driveway 25%.
The village of Bukchon Hanok - where the number of tourists reaches the limit - is like Korean Kyoto, only it looks like it was built recently.
Gyeongbokgung Palace and the impressive large square in front of it. The palace itself is nothing special - for an ignorant person like me, there is nothing special about it, apart from the fact that you can meet a lot of Koreans dressed in local costumes and recording Tik Toks. On the scale of long-term fatigue, we reach a strong 9 out of 10 in the evening and a state occurs in which I start to look forward to returning home the next day.
The summary that doesn't exist
I'm complaining here and you can conclude that it's not worth visiting Korea, but that's not entirely true. Of course, the country itself didn't particularly impress us, but holidays with small bikes are always great. In the walking option, we would probably rent a car and drive between national parks. Korea is definitely the saddest country we have visited, and at the same time the least interesting of all the countries we have visited in Asia so far. This does not mean that it is not worth visiting - it just seems to me that there are slightly more interesting places - especially if you fly to the other side of the world.
From Okęcie, where we usually return wondering how much the taxi driver will try to shorten us, we drive with smiles from ear to ear. We see lawns, colors, young people, and in front of the house there is a local bakery where we can buy crispy things - most importantly: no rice and no sauerkraut.
