Korea - I came, I saw and I went - alas so quickly (29 May - 2nd June)

Busan to Sokcho - 750km

I'm now in Sokcho Korea, around 30km from the DMZ and North Korea. I rode up from Busan over 3 days. Friday was a 200km journey from Busan to Daegu.

The photo below shows me hitting the streets in Busan, struggling to find the way out of town and the correct route to Daegu.

I managed to get myself into trouble by cruising down the freeway (yep, unbeknownst to myself, like China, bikes are not allowed on freeways in Korea either) and was promptly escorted off by two of Korea's finest!

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On Friday night I stayed with John from the Burgman USA forum, and his wife Rachel, who most graciously invited me to stay in their home in Daegu - I had a great time and a great introduction to the very thriving bike scene and shops in Daegu.

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Saturday was a 250km journey to Uljin. I needed a cheap hotel so I stayed in a motel which turned out to be a "love hotel"! The pink lights in the hallway, pink towels, frilly doona and pillow cases and bidet in the bathroom (yep, managed to squirt myself in the eye again!) were dead giveaways. Unfortunately I think my hotel room was the only room with a single occupant!

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Just prior to Uljin I stopped at a scenic lookout to find two Korean riders (one on an R1, the other on an ST1300) there to greet me.

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Sunday I rode a further 200km up the coast to Sokcho and this morning I have taken the Burgie on board the ferry to Zarabino (Russian port south of Vladivostok) and I board in 2 hours.I really like Korea - far more modern and sophisticated than China - and a lot like Japan. All the shop ladies bow when you enter the store etc., and it is really, really clean!

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All along the coast there are lots (and lots) of seafood restaurants and many local tourists.

As you get closer to the DMZ a lot of the lesser used beachs are inaccessible, however. Large razor wire fences are permanently located to repel a potential invasion from the North - a stark reminder of just how fragile the peace is in Korea.

The roads are fantastically smooth and Korean drivers are very courteous and follow all the road rules - there really is no comparison.

Unfortunately the flip side of the coin is that it is also quite expensive too. Petrol is now around $1.80 a litre, 2.5 times the Chinese price. Given that the Burgie drinks twice as much fuel per kilometre as the Haobon, my fuel costs are now 5 times higher.

We'll soon see how that compares with Russia. In any case, I have filled the tank on the Burgie before taking the bike on board the ferry, just to ensure I have plenty in the tank in the event I can't buy fuel between Zarabino and Vladivostok.

The Burgie lives again - long live the Burgie.

Hi, just a quick note to update everyone.

After arriving in Korea yesterday I have been down to collect the Burgie this morning.

After some minor hiccups with paperwork and having to get Vicroads (local vehicle registration office in Australia) to fax through copies of the registration documents to Korean customs, Mr Lee of Eagle shipping took me down to customs to collect the bike. The bike arrived in perfect shape and undamaged despite my concerns about how well I had crated and packed it.

It took me a couple of hours to uncrate and reassemble it before paying all fees (total around US$500) and riding the bike out the gate and into Korea.

The Korean customs people, as usual wherever I go, were polite and helpful. One of them even gave me a copy of a book he has written but I will need to brush up on my hanguel first!

I'm now about to go and find the International post office to collect the fuel filter and will leave tomorrow morning for Sokcho, where I take the ferry to Vladivostok.

It's good to be back on the Burgie - much smoother and more comfortable than the Haobon, but of course it is far less nimble and feels quite ponderous initially - that feeling will hopefully disappear once I get used to riding it again.

Anyone for a career in customs clearance in Korea? - 28 May 2008

I'm here in Busan after a 300kmh maglev train ride from Shanghai to the airport and a short flight from Shanghai airport. I've paid my shipper's handling fees this afternoon and if all goes well I'll be riding the Burgie away sometime tomorrow.

Busan is wet and rainy and so is my pack. It's all pretty damp even after only getting caught in the rain for a few minutes, so everything is spread out on the floor of the Zen hostel to dry. Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day in more ways than one. :-)

The Haobon is gone! Long live the mighty Haobon!.

The Haobon is gone! (sniff, snuffle)... Long live the mighty Haobon!.

It had to be! I feel so sad, as if I've lost a lifelong companion ... "Wilson, NO ... come back Wilson". Like Tom Hanks basketball, the Haobon has become my friend and companion in this foreign sea of non-English speakers.

I ended up selling it to a motorcycle repair man and his wife for AUD$150. They got a great deal, but frankly they were the only ones at all interested. I'm sure they will onsell it quickly and make a smart profit - good on them.

If I had been able to wait longer I'm sure I could have fetched a lot more but time doesn't allow me and overall my total cost for the Haobon for 1 month of riding has only been AUD$400, or $100 per week - excellent value.


I'm leaving Shanghai 9am tomorrow for Busan, Korea, and further adventures on the Burgie. :-)

Fanyang to Chuohe - Saturday 24th May

Another long and tough ride on a mix of roads but a great day's progress with another 500km covered after 12 hours in the saddle...

The day started bright and sunny as I passed through wheatfields and duck farms along with th usual mix of Chinese agriculture. I know I have said this before, but the sheer amount of energy and effort put into agriculture inChina is second to none, with every arable inch produced crops many times over each year.

However, the blue skies were not to last. This was an especially difficult day because today not only was I riding on bad dirt roads, but it also began to rain - in bucketloads.

I, along with many other vehicles, had to wait in a service station for almost two hours whilst the monsoonal downpour passed. The rain came down with such force that it was like standing under a high pressure hose.

Once I was able to get back on the road again, the roads deteriorated until they were nothing more than dirt tracks one lane wide. Whilst cars, trucks and buses were spinning their wheels in the mud I was struggling to keep the Haobon upright. The mix of dirt and water soon had the Haobon filthy, and me exhausted. Unfortunately just as night fell it also ensured I had yet another puncture. Fortunately for me I felt the rear end wriggle (as the tyre deflated) right in the middle of a small village and right outside the only tyre repairer in town. Whilst I waited for the tyre repairer to come back to town (it was night and he had finished work for the day) I was kindly invited by a local girl and her family of rice merchants to share dinner with them.

Once again Chinese hospitality comes to the fore and I was very graciously accepted as a total stranger into their group of family and friends. After repairs I was honoured to hear that I was the first foreigner to visit this small village and that I still had a way to go before I could reach a town with a hotel for the evening. I was soon on my way again and after 1.5 hours of hard riding I managed to reach the next major town with a hotel for a good night's sleep.