Suwon!

I've had vacation this week and since I didn't have a big trip planned I decided I needed to find something to do on the cheap and near Seoul. So, I decided to go on a bicycle journey to Suwon, a city about an hour to the south of Seoul by subway. I didn't really know if this were possible, but there's a stream that runs from near my house almost all the way to Suwon, so I figured chances were good that there would be a bike path most of the way there and, since I couldn't find a map anywhere, I would just have to hope for the best for the remainder of the journey.

I failed to wake up early on the day I set off, so it was already really hot by the time I was ready to go. I packed my bag, geared up and headed out. I stopped by HomePlus to stock up on supplies and to maybe find a map. No map was to be found, so I just grabbed some bottles of water and some snacks for the road. From there I headed to the Han River bike path which is where I bike most of the time. That meets up with the Anyangcheon which was the stream I was planning to follow most of the way there.

I stopped under many bridges along the way....it was really hot.


And under this tent thing. It wasn't even cloudy for a bit.


And another bridge.



The Anyangcheon path served me well for maybe 25 kilometers until I was lured off the path by the promise of kimchi jjigae. I wasn't sure where I was when I got off the path, but I grabbed some jjigae at a little restaurant with cute diner-esque booths where I was clearly the first foreigner ever to have eaten. The woman was super-friendly and gave me a million side dishes--I'm pretty sure just out of fear that I wouldn't like most of them.

After finishing lunch I headed to replenish my water supply at the local 7-Eleven. I grabbed an ice coffee and chilled out for a bit while a dozen or so little kids and old men walked by and admired my bike or asked me "where a prum?" and then would give me thumbs up when I said America.

Me in Gunpo with my ice coffee while the children are staring at my bike.


Gunpo was probably my favorite part of the trip.


Then I got back on the path and rode another maybe 10 kilometers while the path got gradually worse and worse. I decided to get off and face the traffic after the path started to be covered in sections by swampy water. When I got off I found a map and tried to figure out a path to Suwon. I took off but ended up in a place where I could see nothing but highways and the sidewalk ended so I headed to a train station to ask for directions.

This is the train station where I stopped to ask for help and was fed watermelon and had a whole crew of Korean men printing out maps for me. They were very kind.



The maps they gave me at the station worked and I successfully made it to Suwon!
This is me resting at the perimeter of Suwon.


My bike made it too!


Proof that I made it.


The streets of Suwon are lined with ugly lawn-ornament butterflies!


Suwon is famous for a UNESCO protected fortress so I decided to bike around until I ran into it. It was beautiful and only cost a dollar to see.

The view of a part of the fortress from the bike path along the stream in Suwon.


I climbed many stairs to take a picture of this building.


Here is the view of Suwon from the top of the many stairs. I look terrible.


The walk along the perimeter of the fortress was really beautiful.


Temples and such are always painted these really nice bright colors.


Fortress!


After the fortress I headed to a sauna to get cleaned up a bit before meeting up with Trisha, a friend from Minneapolis who is living in Suwon for the year.

Trisha and her boyfriend let me sleep on their couch and I woke up the following morning refreshed and ready to head back to Seoul.

Before setting off, I stopped and grabbed a sandwich, some water and an ice coffee.

Leaving Suwon!


On the way back I encountered some graffiti in a tunnel. There is not much graffiti in Korea, really, so it is always exciting when you see some...even if it isn't very good.


dualism!


Anyway. I made it home and it was a good journey! I'll blog about my temple stay soon!