We arrived in Oregon on November 1st and made it back to our home sweet Van! Thank you to Roxana and family for looking after our precious van. We were grateful that it was one thing we didn't need to worry about. We stayed one night at Fernando's house, and immediately had nachos and beer! That is one thing Korea and Japan are lacking - really yummy BEER!

Overall we cycled 1,851km, and visited everywhere we wanted to. We climbed both Mt. Fuji, tallest in Japan, and Mt. Hallasan, tallest in Korea. Both of our bodies survived 6 weeks of cycling, sometimes over 100km, and boy did we eat a lot! We only broke: 6 spokes, 1 brake cable, 3 or 4 flat tires and 1 broken pannier. I had to leave my bike seat in Korea, it was totally eaten up by this trip.

A few thoughts about cycling in Korea - I wouldn't recommend it. We read other blogs of others cycling in Korea and dealing with the traffic and the buses and the roads. Korean roads are fine if it weren't for the cars. Some highways had medians, but there were these annoying little reflectors that stuck out from the road, which was dangerous to hit. The highways weren't the issue, it was the cities. Once we got into a city, chaos broke - weaving in and out of cars, dodging buses, that I swear were aiming for us, and avoiding taxi's who just weren't looking. Some cities did have bike lanes, I'll give them credit, but usually there were cars or trucks parked on them, people walking on them, street venders selling fruit, or motorcycles/scooters zooming on the sidewalks. Yes, and they looked at us like we were in the wrong! Everyday we cycled in Korea I wonderded if we'd be hit. By the end of the trip I followed some advice I read on a blog - take charge, and cut in front of the buses, and we survived.

One great thing about Korea is the fact that we never had to worry about where to sleep - just go to a bus station or train stations, where there would be motels everywhere. And the motels were cheap, and for a good reason, they were called "Love Motels" for a reason. They were 30,000 W for one night, and they had cable tv(English CNN!), nice rooms, and some of them were actually really fancy!

A few thoughts about cycling in Japan - I recommend it! Japan is very cycle friendly. We found out the second day, however, to pay attention to the "No Bicycles" sign, we were pulled over by the police on a freeway - they were very kind! Any place that has a No Bicycle Sign always has a route that bikes can take with signs pointing you in the right direction. Japan is clean, very clean, even the big cities. Japan is orderly, Japan vehicles are quiet, even the large trucks. Take note that when biking, the all vehicles are very quiet, so sometimes you can't hear them coming up on you. And Japan is expensive. The food is expensive, the hostels are expensive, everything.

We enjoyed cycling through Japan. We did have problems finding places to sleep, which is why we brought our tent. Guerilla camping is well known in the cycle touring community, and we were glad we did it. No one bothered us and it was free! A few times it felt like we were homeless, but I got over it quickly, as we needed to sleep somewhere and a lot of these little towns didn't have motels like in Korea.

Overall, a great trip, and what a learning experience! A trip I will forever remember for the good, bad and ugly!

Korean Bound

We arrived in Korea on Sunday, October 23, after about 41 hours on the ferry. We went from Tokyo to southern Japan, Kitakyushu, and then cycled about 15 km to Shimoneseki, where we caught another ferry from there to Busan, Korea. The ferry from Shimoneski was very rough, definately the roughest water I've ever been in. It was full of Korean toursits running to the bathroom to get sick. Luckily, thanks to a little dramamine, I didn't get sick.

In Busan we spent a day seeing some sights that we hadn't taken the time to see before. We weren't quite ready to cycle in Korea, and we had a lot of time before our flight out of Seoul, so we decided to stay an extra day. We made a day of sightseeing and hiked to Seok-Si, and temple that is hard to find, tough to get to, but well worth the visit. After climbing a peak, and walking around the mountain, passing many Koreans dressed to climb Everest, some little resturants on the other side of the mountain, we finally arrived at the Seok-Si Temple. A quiet temple outside of the second largest city in Korea, nestled in the mountains. It was breathtaking. The temple had large Buddha carving and the temple itself was set inside the rocks. Totally worth the visit.

We cycled out of Busan and decided to stop in Gyeongju, a tourist city, before taking a bus to Seoul. We had a lot of time, and have already over spent out budget, so we decided to do a night at Golgulsa, a temple which is also the headquarters of Sunmudo, a zen martial art. The templestay proved to be one of the highlights of our entire trip.

We arrived at Golgulsa at around 2:00 p.m., enough time to change into our monk wear, put our stuff in our separated rooms and head to our first session - archery. Archery is used as a form of meditation at the temple, and they were kind enough to give us a little lesson. Martin proved to be the star, and hit the bullseye a couple of times, I think he lost his calling. After archery we were to do "Community Work" however, the Head Monk was out of town, so we were let off easily. Dinner time was at 6:00 p.m. and the meal was fantastic! Monks are vegan, but, in Korea, they do like their pepper paste, which is very spicy. We then were off to Sunmundo training where we learned some kicks, stretches and a few yoga-like poses. We were in bed early since we had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. for our morning chants.

Day 2- Woke up with no issues, partly because if you were late, you had to do 1,000 bows, which is Not easy. The chants lasted 1/2 hour, and I tried to keep up, but giving that it is in a different language, I quickly gave up and just listened and bowed when i needed to. We then did a 1/2 hour of meditation. I thought this would be hard, but it was agonizing for me, partly because we had to sit in lotus position, which is crossing your legs and having one foot on top, ouch! Then we went into walking meditation. Both Martin and I agreed that we do much better at walking meditation. Martin is convinced that his climbing is a form of meditation, and talked about opening a temple of his own. ;) 6:30 a.m. was breakfast, again, delicious! After breakfast we had a bit of a rest before going into 108 bows. My knees really started getting raw after the first 50!

Overall, the templestay was a wonderful experience and I recommend it to anyone going to that part of the world. Yes, it was a tourist attraction, but we were able to get an idea of what life is like in a temple. I'm happy I'm not a  monk. ;)

Back to Korea, in Photos

off the boat in Kitekyushu, Japan. About to cycle under the water to Shimoneski and get on yet another ferry to Korea.

Martin had his Fugu, or pufferfish in Shimonoseki. Everyone said it was soooo good, we were disappointed.

Seok-Si temple. These sculptures were all over, and impressive. I was exhausted from the hike, obviously.

Martin in his "Monk wear" at Golgulsa temple, posing as a Sunmundo Master.



At Gulgulsa Temple, rubbing the Buddha for good luck. Do I look enlightened yet? 






From the top of Japan to the largest city

Well we did it. We climbed Mt. Fuji.






Martin at the top.

We had to wait in Fuji City for 4 days for the bus to go up to the 5th Station on the mountain. Actually, it was a welcomed rest to many days of biking and camping. We were lucky enough to find the one and only hotel room available, which was also the smallest hotel room I`ve ever stayed in. We decided to stay there for one night, and camp two other nights at a real campground (our first in Japan).   The day before we headed up the mountain, it rained, it poured. We were hoping to climb Fuji on Saturday, but had to wait the weather out.

  



Mt. Fuji on a perfect, yet windy day.



Finally we arrived at 5th station on Sunday morning at around 11:00 a.m. 5th Station is at 9,00 ft. It was windy, very windy. Hiking up we had thought we were going to eventually get out of the wind, but nope. The wind stayed strong. We made it to the cone of the volcanoe. Now the wind was stronger, and erratic. It felt like it was giong to lift me off the ground. It probably didn`t help that we were also at 13,000 feet either. The true summit was just about 70 or so more feet. I couldn`t do it, the wind was just too much. Martin made it to the top, with a little bit of strugglee and cold hands. The hike itself was easy and it was the first time I`ve ever been as high as 13,000 feet. I was concerned how I`d react to elevation, but it turns out I only had a small headache.

The next day, after spending a night in a warm comfortable hotel room, we headed out of Fuji City. We had about enough of that city, and wanted to get back on our bikes. Somehow we actually missed cycling! As soon as we started out of the city, things weren`t going our way. We had planned to head towards Tokyo and be there within the next two days. The only issue was that we may have had to go over a large mountain pass and we wanted to avoid that and stay on the coast as long as we could and avoid any mountain passes. Martin had a route planned out, but as soon as we started the route we had planned called for no bicycles. Then we had plan B and plan B failed, with our only option was to turn around and go over a 1,500 ft pass on our loaded bicycles. We camped in what we thought was a quiet area, but it turned out we were right next to a construction zone, of which was an all night ordeal.

We woke up early the next morning, with sights on the mountain pass that we had to bike over. The road over the mountains was actually really nice. We had the road to ourselves, and it was nice to be away from all the people and factories. The only noise we heard was the Japanese Military training in the distance, every once in a while, BOOM! Otherwise, it was one of the best roads we`ve cycled on so far.

After our very quick ride down and out of the moutains we were faced with 70km more to Tokyo, and we had already done 30km in the mountains. The wind wasn`t helping either. But, after 108km of cycling,  we made it to Tokyo at around 5:30 p.m. and found our hostel with no problems at all. The city wasn`t a headache to drive through at all, and it is actually very orderly. It reminds me of New York City, but polite, orderly and clean. Also Tokyo is pretty bike friendly. Of course, you always take a chance when cycling the streets of any city, but people are very polite and patient.

Today we spent the day visiting some sites in Tokyo and we finally made it to a Ramen Shop. I am disappointed that we didn`t try it earlier. It was by far the best noodles I`ve ever had. Tomorrow we plan on waking up early and heading out to the fish market. We leave Tokyo tomorrow night by ferry and we will arrive in Kitakyushu, which is southern Japan. That ferry is 34 hours long, so we have a lot of time to rest our legs, and catch up on some reading. From there we will try and catch another ferry to Busan, Seoul. We will most likely be there with in the next 4 days.

From my perspective

I was testing out the video on my camera, when we did the bridge to bridge ride in southern Japan. This gives you an idea of what my view is most of the time.

Drying off in Kyoto

We made it to Kyoto in the pouring rain. It was only 34km away from Nara, but it felt like a long ride. We arrived at the hostel soaked and had to wait for another hour to "check in". We did not have much time yesterday to sight see, so we decided to take a break and stay two nights. We first went to Gion Corner, last night, where we had a crash course in Japanese Theatre. It was good to see the Geisha dance, a traditional puppet show called bunraku, and some traditional Japanese music, but it was all too much to process.

Today we visited various temples, gardens, historical streets and shrines. A couple highlights were attending some sort of buddhist ceremony and an evening of Kabuki theater.

view of Kyoto behind me at one of the temples

streets of the Gion District

This is actually from Nara- Largest enclosed Buddah statue in the world.

another temple with traditionally dressed women.

From Bridge to Bridge, to Ferry!

On Sunday, October 2nd we headed for Onomichi, which is where we started our cycle tour of the islands. Onomichi is famous for a temple walk.  It was a short walk through the windy streets of the city, from temple to temple. We were lucky enough to catch a traditional Japanese wedding. I was reminded of my sisters wedding, when a bus load of Japanese tourists took photographs, so I didn:t feel guilty sneaking a couple of shots. Onomichi is also the start of the Shimanami Kaido cycle tour - which is a 70 km tour from small island to small island, ending in Shikuoku, a large island south of Osaka. The tour takes you on 7 or so bridges that offer brilliant views, especially on a clear day. That night we stayed in a guesthouse on Ikuchinjima Island, which had the best onsen yet, with views of the ocean. 

Have I mentioned the ferry system in Japan? It is more like a cruise ship then a ferry. We took an overnight ferry from Shikuoku to Osaka last night . The ferry lasted about 9 1/2 hours, but arrived at 0600 in Osaka, so we slept the whole time.　These ferry`s are nothing like Alaska State Ferry system, and I thought those were nice - the Japan ferry`s have hot tubs in them, and this last one even has a cold tub and sauna. Lets just say that it is totally worth it to take the ferry`s in Japan.　We are also pretty limited on what public transportation we can use being that we have bikes - we can`t take the trains, which is a bummer because those bullet trains look fun, and we can`t take a bus.

Today we made it to Nara. We are always surprised to see how many kilometers we`ve wracked up. 80km doesn`t feel as tough as it did in the beginning. We are also noticing how much we`ve been eating - seems like most of our money is going to food- yet, I`m always hungry!! Tomorrow we plan to cycle to Kyoto, which is an easy 47km away!

Martin with one of the many bridges that we cycled over.

one of the islands, great views, and great bike lanes!

When he looks at the map, I take self photos, I`m a big help.

Osaka Castle, and the most beautiful castle we`ve seen so far.

5 story pagoda in Nara.

Largest wooden building in the world, in Nara.

deer roaming in Nara, and I am fascinated!

I can`t fix this photo, but I had to share - Sake in a sippy cup. Not the best.

Photo updates!

Hsukushima　shrine, an UNESCO world heritage site.

the  deer on Miyajima island were like cats, you could pet them.

the A -Bomb dome.



one of many shrines in Japan



third class passengers on the ferry from jeju island to busan.

buddist temple in korea.

iwakuni bridge in japan. I am showing off dirt from the days events by bike!

this is for Laurie - coke in korean.

Japan: Shimonoeski, Ogori, Iwakuni & Hiroshima

We made it to Japan on Wednesday, August, 28th. The ferry from Korea was cruise- like, even in 2nd class. In Shimonoeski we already noticed some stark differences from Korea, for example, it seemed a lot more organized, less loud. People also seemed to stare less at us. After we found a map at a ¥100 shop we started to bike out of the city. We quickly found a shrine and stopped to take a look. We are starting to learn the differences between a shrine and a temple. After the stop we cycled onto Ogorie, a small town. In Japan it is possible to "guerilla" camp, so we found a spot under a bridge for free. After buying our first meal we found out how much the $ to ¥ was going to hurt us. We cycled 53km to get to Ogorie.

We woke up early and had early plans to make it a long day. The plan was to cycle to Hiroshima within the next few days. We decided to cycle to Iwakuni. The cycling in Japan has been pleasent so far. We've been able to avoide highways by cycling on sidewalks, and small farm roads. On the way to Iwakuni we were pulled over by police- for cycling on a freeway, the Japanese drivers are so polite to bikers we had no idea we were on a freeway. By te time we had gotten to Iwakuni we had done 91.47km. It was a long and hot day(90% humidity!)

Iwakuni had a beatiful bridge and is nestled in the beatiful green mountains. We were able to see another shrine and we are starting to get the hang of the traditions on Japan when visiting a shrine- pay, bow, pray, clap twice, bow again. We stayed in a hostel that night and had a much deserved Japanese style bath- we were the only ones staying in the hostel!

This morning it rained and we waited for it to subside. We stared biking out of town at around 10am. We stopped when we saw a sign for another shrine- itsukushima-jinja, a UNESCO world heritage sight. It is as beautiful as the pictures. It looks as if the red gate is floating in the water. We had to take a short water taxi to get there and a lot of the day was spent in Miyajima. We then went back to mainland and cycled our way to Hiroshima. An easy 39km got us to the hostel and we were able to catch the Peace Memorial Museum before it closed. Of course it was a somber evening but I'm glad we were able to see it- it's always an education. Tomorrow is another day of cycling and I'm excited to see what more beautiful sites we will see.

Getting by in Korea!

Despite the language differences, Martin and I are finding our way from city to city just fine. At first it was hard but alot is actually in English. They also use numbers for the roads and major highways, so it is easier for us to read the map and figure out where to go. In the beginning we were using my iPhone map, bu data adds up quick and costs alot. Surprisingly we haven't gotten completely lost, yet. One close call was when we got off the ferry too early and asked around if it was correct stop, we figured it out- while a few people were snickering at us. Another daily challenge is basic communication, obviously. Most people are very patient with us, and sometimes we find people that do know English that can help us.

Over the weekend we were in Jeju-do, an island off of Korea. They call it the Hawaii of Korea. The tallest mountain, mt. Hallasan, is a volcano that rises in the center of the island. The peak is 1950m and Martin and I hiked it yesterday. It was an 8.4km hike that took about 6 hrs. And was supposed to be a rest from biking. Tonight we hop back on the ferry and head to Busan, Korea's second largest city and also where we will be picking up the ferry to japan. We should be in Shimonoseki, Japan in the next couple days.

We are hoping the food will be a little different in japan. If we knew the language and weren't on such a tight budget then Korean food would be great. However. We are on such a tight budget we only hit the "convienent stores" and pick up ramen bowels, which are good but very spicy. And we eat them everyday, so it gets old after a while. Hopefully japan has more options.

Culture Shock!

We left Seoul on Sunday, September 18th. We had plans to bike from Seoul to Suwon, a "town" just outside of Seoul. Henry gave us really great directions and a lot of the time we were able to cycle on the bike path next to the Han River in Seoul. However, once we got off the bike path chaos immersed us, and Henry was no long there to translate for us. We were quickly confused by the noise, cars, korean language and writing around us. Culture shock hit us like a brick after we left our comfort zone of Henry's apartment.

We got our barrings and made it to Suwon with little trouble. However, to our surprise, Suwon seemed to be just an extension of Seoul. We biked about 37.4km that day, and I'm glad we didn't do any more - because we were exhausted from the hustle and bussle of the korean city. We visited the castle that evening, which looks a lot like the Seoul castle and walked the fortress the next day.

Day two of cycling we headed for Gongju. Our map does not do it justice with the distances. We cylced 98.39km that day. We were exhausted, too much for our second day of cycling. We decided to stay two nights in this "quiet" town and check out the castle there, as well as the fortress.

After a rest day and checking out the sites of Gongju we made it to Jeonju. We are getting the hang of the distances, though it was still 84km of cycling. Our goal was to have shorter days in the begining of our trip. Jeonju was beautiful, however. We walked around a Hanok Village.

Today we are in Naejangsan National Park. Our first night of camping, and we are the only ones at the campground. Martin and I are getting used to cycling, however I still don't think my butt is used to it yet - it hurts! Anyway, we are about to head to a temple and tomorrow we are planning another 65km to the next city. We have finally made it out of the cities and we are happy to have a little space today. :)

A Day in Seoul, in Pictures!

The Olympic Park right outside Henry's apartment. The Olympics were here in 1988.

Sang-Mae, Henry and Martin during our morning walk along an old fortress.

An Olympic Stadium behind us.

We went to the Gyeongbok Palace and were lucky enough to see the changing of the guard.

Gyeongbok Palace

The Bukchon Hanok village, traditional housing right in the middle of Seoul.

Bukchon Hanok Village

An Electric Bus, plugged in! Korea is 10 years ahead of US!

Martin and I on the North Seoul Tower, a local favorite. Great views of the entire city.

Locks with wishes attached on the tower.

From Cycling Victoria, B.C. and onto U.S. Soil to South Korea!

On  September 8 we took the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, on Vancouver Island with our bikes in tow. The ferry terminal was about 25k outside of Victoria, but a bike path leads right into the quaint city. We had high hopes of spending the afternoon touring the city, however, Martin kept getting flat tires. His patches wouldn't work and the spare tire already had multiple patches and blew threw them after only a couple minutes of riding. After we found a bike shop and purchased new tubes and patches we finally made it to the city. Victoria was impressive not only for the bike lanes but also because it had a quaint and historical feel. At the end of the day we found the brewery and some excellent IPA and nachoes!

On the ferry on the way to  Victoria. The weather was amazing!

Day two in Victoria wasn't an easy day. We stared out at the University of Victoria, where I was able to talk with the admissions office about some of their graduate programs. The school was impressive. After that we headed for the castle in Victoria and toured it's elegant rooms. Once we were finished with that we decided to bike downtown, however, that bike ride turned into a bike crash- with a parked car. I usually don't like to admit when I've done stupid things like this- but it was a hard earned lesson on biking the roads. No matter what the scenery is, always look ahead and watch for cars, parked or otherwise. Thankfully, all that happened was a very bruised knee, and ego. 

We made it out of Victoria and on the ferry on the evening of the evening of September 9th. We crossed the border and were on US soil by the 10th. It was an uneventful border crossing, even with all our stuff! We went to Pikes Place Brewing Company in Seattle and headed for Portland the next day.

Portland is known as the Rose City, and for good reason. We visited the Rose Garden and were impressed by the wide range of roses and colors!

Our arrival in Portland was a HOT one- it was 90 degrees and muggy! Our Portland tour guide and friend, Fernando, showed us what Portland has to offer. This city is so very different from east coast cities- it's super laid back! Their motto of "keep Portland weird" fits. Fernando took us on a 42 mile bike ride outside of Portland. The ride was a rail to trail system. It was cooler on day 2 and 3 in Portland, so biking was pleasant and exactly what we needed! After our bike ride we drove down the coast to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We were impressed at how many people were there! I guess the free samples draws in the tourists. Fernando then showed us some of the beautiful Portland Coast. We sat on the beach and watched the surfers and sunset. The Portland coast is exactly what I expected, beautiful!

Where we stopped at the Oregon coast was an old growth forest. I am impressed with the hugeness of the trees!

Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast, sunset and surfers!

Yesterday, after a grueling 11 hour flight, we arrived in Seoul, with our bikes! My buddy from college, Henry, picked us up from the airport.  A 16 hour time change is a little hard to adjust to, but we went out to dinner that evening at a traditional Korean restaurant. It was amazing and its been good to adjust to the Korean culture with Henry.

The Sea to Sky Highway, Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver

In Whistler.

Hiking outside of Whistler.



Biking out of Vancouver - Trust me, I am happy! :)


We made it to Vancouver! Martin kept saying how surprised he is that the van made it as far as it did with no major problems, knock on wood, the luck continues to Portland.

We drove the Sea to Sky Highway, through Faser Canyon and onto Whistler a few days ago. We had no idea that Canada actually had a desert, but it does, right in Fraser Canyon. The Highway is a beautiful drive, and quite nerve wrecking, through hairpin turns and right next to a deep canyon. We camped at one of the (FREE!!) state campgrounds. The next morning we rose to gorgeous weather! We had big plans of hiking most of the day, right outside of Whistler, but found some "out of the way" hotsprings up a forest road, and decided to calm our nerves by trying out the hotsprings. The guidebook says that they are free, but unfortunately, the Canadian Government now owns the land, so we had to pay $8.00 each - but well worth it! We spent four hours soaking ourselves, it was totally worth the long drive and the money. After the hotsprings we headed into Pemberton, a small farming community outside of Whistler. We did a hike to Nairn Falls, which was actually pretty impressive. We then camped for the night at another Free Campsite.

The next day we headed onto Whistler. We hiked 7km straight up to a cabin. I am pretty used to mountain scenes after living in Alaska and hiking all over there, but this was breathtaking. Probably the most beautiful area I've ever been in. Martin was also impressed and already mentioned that he wanted to get back there to climb some peaks. After our nice hike, we headed to Whistler. We had a cold beer at the Whistler Brewery and met a couple from KENAI! They were on their way out too - to Seattle. Whistler was less than impressive, very touristy, but that was to be expected. I still wouldn't mind skiing there.

The next day we headed into Squamish. Squamish is known for its rock climbing. We hiked "The Cheif", a granite wall, second largest in North America. The backside was semi-easy to hike, with chains and latters leading to the top. The view at the top was amazing. Squamish is nestled between the mountains and Horseshoe Bay.

After our hike we were ready for the city - we headed to Vancouver. We actually found a campsite right in the city limits. The first night we went into the city by bike, to seek out a local brewery. We were successful and even found our way back after dark! Today we toured the City by bike again (we are also trying to get our biking legs ready for South Korea). We visited the Aquarium and The Museum of Anthropology at The univerisity, which was amazing and overwhelming. Tomorrow we head for Vancouver Island to bike for two days. We plan on making it back to the States around September 10th.

Beautiful British Columbia!

We headed into British Columbia with beautiful weather. The leaves lined the roads like gold. It is offically fall up in the mountains here!

We stopped first at "Jade City", where they advertised free coffee, which lured us in. We learned that 90% of the worlds Jade is mined in the Cassier mountains. Then we stopped at a campsite along the cassier highway. Martin had high hopes of hiking a trail into the mountains, but unfortunately, the trail was unmaintained and a bridge had broken down. but our campsite was idea, set next to a beautiful lake, with a rainbow that lasted an hour! We've only paid for camping a couple times so far - its been nice to save some money in that way.

a photo taken right by our campsite, we are blocking an awesome rainbow.

Martin caught some good fish during our travels through the Yukon.

The next morning we got up and started driving to Smithers, BC. On our drive we saw numerous black bear and our second wild horse! We were able to find a campsite in Smithers right in town. Smithers is a quaint ski town with a lot of character. We went out for a drink and were able to meet the manager of the ski restort. It seems like everyone that lives here, loves this town. Today, we had planned to go for a hike to the glacier, outside of Smithers, but unfortunately it is raining, so we are spending the day doing stuff around town and plan to make our way to Prince George by the evening.



tucked away on a side road off the Alaska highway, one of our "Free" campsites