Day 5 Korea Cross Country Cycle Route
Yangpyeong to Yeoju
Today we kept up our international theme from yesterday and started the day with a Parisian breakfast - savoury baguette and danish - lucky we are cycling it off!
It turned out to be a day of trying new foods & drinks, and a day of animals too.
Alex sampled a drink supplied in our room, flavour of which he described as "earthy". He also ate the sweet chicken radish which we hadn't eaten from last night's dinner.
It was a calm morning cycling along the river admiring the beautiful reflections.
After a short slog over a 10% gradient hill, we were again transported to another country - this time Africa. A game park to be precise, statues only 😆, but a variety of African animals, plus a kangaroo and some pandas thrown in….
Further on we reached Ipo Weir, which features the shape of an egret, with its eggs on the wings. Along with a boat-shaped building at one end of the weir, made for great photos.
The highlight of the day was next: a ‘flight club’. About 20 beautiful, colourful macaws were taking flight and returning to their owners. We got talking to someone who placed his macaw on my arm. Amazing birds, and fantastic to see.
We carried on to Jeoju weir for lunch and collected our 2nd stamp of the day in our bicycle passports.
After that it was on to the royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the two kings (King Sejong) buried here created the Korean alphabet. The grounds also hold some interesting sundials and astronomy instruments dating back to the 1400s. We walked King's Road between the two burial mounds, a really interesting & beautiful place.
Then on to our hotel, which has lovely views across the river. The bikes had to be stored outside, but it seems safe.
For dinner we wandered down to the restaurant district and found a place serving pork backs (like slow cooked ribs). We also ordered a side of cheesy fried rice. Well we didn't need to do that! So much food was placed on the table alongside the pork - numerous small bowls of assorted vegetables plus a large bowl of soup. The rice had unknown vegetables in it and I would describe the taste as ‘earthy’ like Alex's drink earlier today. The pork was ‘melt in your mouth’ tender but very spicy and garlicky - perfect for Alex, but I drank quite a lot of water with dinner! Alex made a good effort to clear the table but couldn't manage it so we took the leftovers with us.
Tonight we fall into bed with the city lights sparkling and the moon reflecting in the river below us.
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