Currency: Korean Won
KWN, 100,- USD = 95.680,- W
1000,- KWN = 1,05 USD

Fuel: 95 Octanes - 1 L: about 1.300 W

Shipping:
Busan / South Korea - Vancouver / Canada: 492.178,- KRW ( 514,40 USD per Bike)

Truck Transport:
Sokcho - Busan: 167.440 KRW (175,- USD per Bike)

All transports we made with Schenker-Korea and can recommend them!

Entering and disappointment

We looked so forward to this small country; to get around with our bikes without registrations and bureaucracy, enjoying freedom. Now it will be the first country we'll visit as backpackers.

Entering passes without problems - three months without visa.
Mr. Sung-Chon, manager of Dong-Chung Ferries, please us to follow him to his office. With this typical Korean smiling we are told not to be allowed to drive our bikes in South Korea.
Surprised we tell him about Tommy, Rosa and Lars, all German Bikers who has visited Corea last year without any trouble. Yes, that's right but these have been mistakes and now the custom check bikers.
Nothing helps - the custom say: No!
A call to our embassy confirms this stupid law; they also can't help us. Mr. Sung-Chon is very helpful but even he's not able to make the customs officer change his decision. Only if we make the Korean driving license we will be allowed to drive motorcycles.

Lucky we are knowing Ralf Müller working for the international cargo moving firm Schenker in Seoul. He is also out of Freiburg, our home town in Germany and helps us where he can. Together we manage the transport from Sokcho to Busan and further to Vancouver.

Free lunch in supermarket

At the first evening we take a walk to E-Mart, a huge market where we will find cheap food, as Mr. Sung-Chon told us.
Next to the huge market we find small shops where can buy cheap and tasty Korean food, in fact.
For buying some new supplies we visit the supermarket after dinner and are "shocked" about the enormous choice of foods and things! We are already thinking at the Russian stores and cities.
Here they have really everything; nothing which they don't have!

But best thing is that many sellers preparing small portions of food they offer. You can test them for free. So we are going from one to the other and eat a lot of tasty and unknown foods. It's exciting to eat all these things, sellers have fun with us and so we leave the market after two hours with a full stomach. :-D

At 26th of May we are told by Schenker Busan that we have to wait about one or two weeks untill a ship will go to Vancouver. Mr. Sung-Cho offers us to let the bikes in his warehouse for free. That's great because of in Busan we would have to pay for it.

National park of Seoraksan

So we take the bus to a camp ground at the beginning of the national park on next day, a rainy day. We are not prepared for backpacking and our luggage is really big.

Instant soup and rice-waffles for dinner, clothes wet, rain becomes very strong with storm and our tent has to work hard for keeping water outside.
We are not alone - a group of American children and adults who live in Seoul and spent the weekend here suffering with us.
Afternoon of next day the rain finally stops, weather becomes warmer, wet clothes and sleeping bags are hanging all around.

The friendly Americans feel sorry for us and bring us lots of food, invite us for barbecue in the evening. When they leave next morning they offer us a big bag full of foods as a present. We are stuffed for days - thanks a lot!

Facts, Facts, Facts

Just we thought about staying one or two weeks at the camp ground, we are now preparing our departure to Seoul.
Everything works quickly - we just wanted to check our emails in a cyber cafe. But at first we got an email from Ralf, Schenker Korea. Offering us two dates of departure for the freight ship from Busan to Vancouver he asks which one we want to take; 2nd or 4th of June. Uups, today we have the 29th of Mai!

After a long session most details are fixed. We will take the bus to Seoul day after tomorrow for paying the fare and searching a cheap flight to Vancouver for us. Our bikes will be picked up by truck in Sokcho and loaded on ship in Busan.

So we spent the sunny 31st of May with cleaning the bikes (we heard about that they should be clean for getting out in Canada) untill the truck arrives and picks them up. We will see them in Vancouver again. An unknown feeling and a little bit sad...

Next big town - Seoul

A comfortable bus brings us from Sokcho to Seoul, for cheap 16.500 KRW. Hilly landscape of Northern South-Korea we are passing. If there weren't so many Koreans, unreadable letters and many military stations it may seems like in Italy, Maccia Valley. ;-D

Mountains with forest, many rivers and few of even grounds. These are full of small houses or fields of rice plants. Road is nice, winding through mountains with fantastic views. But mostly one huge road work.
Naked bridge posts announcing new bridges building - Korea is building up a lot and fast.

Three and a half hours later we reach Seoul. Soon we are sitting in a taxi, which is full of our luggage.

Ralf invited us to stay in his apartment for a while - we take this offer with pleasure and at 31st of May he and his family welcome us warmly.
Badische Zeitung, WLAN (we are able to connect to internet with our small Palm :-D ), potato-soup and Badischer red wine - where we are?

Seoul

We spent a nice time with Ralf, Antje, Nils and Inga, before we leave this small country at 6th of June.

About 15 mio. people live in the South-Korean capital!
So there is a lot of traffic, people and dust. Nevertheless for us it seems clean and quite - we still compare with Russian towns.
We need some days to arrive completely in this modern high-tech city.
Mirrored skyscraper, colorful markets, huge and small parks and rebuild palasts and temples let us wondering again and again.

Namdemun market and Seoul-Tower

Every small alley has its own range of items; paper, fish, meat, clothes, shoes, spices, toys and crockery.
Tasting there and here, smelling different spices and looking around we stroll through the alleys and enjoy it for some hours.

Next forest is not far away; we're looking forward for some green. Even if it's only a park - it feels good to escape from the dust of the streets.
So we take the tiring walk up to the Seoul Tower, sweating.
Small signs next to the way declare "Wildlife area". We are in the middle of Seoul; they are really funny! ;-D

Sometimes we are overtaken by heavy breathing Coreans dressed suits, others jogging, some running uphill zigzag. Some have covered mouth and nose with masks, also wearing gloves - for not getting brown.

On our walk up hill we take a look over the town from a platform. It's the most beautiful view over Seoul a sign declares. Might be if there is no smog...

At tower place many children and people are around, we leave this crowded place and take the way down at the other side.
After a long walk we arrive some when in the afternoon at the "Freiburger oasis" in UN-Village.

Changgyeonggung Palace and Insadongil Str.

Some many palaces - we can't be here without visiting one. So we take the metro for visiting the world culture heritage "Changdeokgung". But this palace can only be visited with guides for 3000,- CRW. This we don't like to do, therefore we walk a few hundred meters away and take a walk in "Changgyeonggung Park" for 1000,- CRW.

The whole park is made by human, it cannot be hidden. But we enjoy it to bee in green surroundings again. Passing a small bridge we get into the next park. "Jongmyo Royal Shrine" is smaller and soon we reach the exit. All buildings inside are rebuild - Japanese destroyed everything during last occupation. All looking same, reminding a little bit to buddhistic temples. These we saw in Mongolia have been much more colorful and nicer. So we soon finish our sightseeing.

Next to exit or entrance of the Jongmyo Royal Shrine many elderly people are dancing, karaoke and rice wine with them. Laughing they greet us as they see us wondering.

Passing many small stands we walk along main road until we reach Insadongil Str. It's made for tourism, very crowded and everything expensive. But we don't have to buy something and can enjoy watching all the things, foods and people.

Korean dinner at last evening

Together with Ralf, Antje and the both kids we are sitting in a typical Korean restaurant, on the ground and enjoy traditional Korean food.
Ralf orders what he already knows, meat, fish served with many tasty vegetables and sauces.

With fast hands and the typical smiling the friendly lady serves these tasty things. Meantime she's preparing meat and fish on the grill, placed in the middle of tables.
Table is not only looking nice, everything taste interesting and fine!

Leaves of salad are filled with meat or fish, sauce and some vegetable, before it went into our mouths. Interesting way of eating and so comfortable!
A glass of tasty rice-schnapps shouldn't be missed (even if the schnapps with 15 vol% might be a wine) for closing, of course.


Further we go to Canada!

Our stay in this small country was very short, therefore very warmly!
Thanks a lot to Ralf, Antje, Nils and Inga for the nice time we spent with you!
Next station will be Vancouver, where we will fly to at 6th of June.

What we will experience there you can read in the next report - just come back next weeks!

Cheers from Korea
Alex & Carsten