Long Road pt.1

This is a really big one...so get prepared to read in shifts if you don't have time, somehow the formatting got a little messed up during my quick editing, so forgive any weird chunks here and there...I think I got them all


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So I bought a Human yesterday. His complexion was very red and I liked how bad his english was. I simply couldn't say no. Besides, he promised to help me dream into my memory, again, I couldn't refuse.

With little coaxing, Human (I kept the name because I felt naming him anything else would simply be too confusing) and I went for a ride. I didn't feel like walking or running, so I rode atop Human. We quickly escaped the one hour walking border that I had previously been restricted to. We moved past the subdivision of bizarre single family dwellings and started our way up a giant hill. Reaching the top, I looked back. It was a nice vista, so I had to take some pictures. I can't wait until I get to some higher areas, to see what I can see.

After cresting the hill, I noticed a quiet staircase on the opposite side of the road. It led to a well trodden path. I surmised that it would lead to a temple. Specifically the one I have wanted to visit since I saw it two months ago. With Human, this seemed much more plausible. We crossed the road, I carried Human, due to the very precarious nature of our crossing, and got to the staircase. The pathway had a very quiet demeanour. I felt awkward taking my bike up it, so I quickly abandoned that idea. Turning back my eye caught sight of a very large spider. Sitting in its web beside it was a much smaller male spider. I snapped a couple of pictures, but the poor quality of my camera mixed with my fear of spiders prevented any sort of quality picture. Besides, I was more interested in finding the sea. Me and Human turned around and headed down the hill.

Now, the interesting thing about this city is that many pathways are made up of stone or clay tiles. Normally it would be a very beautiful way of paving. The only problem is that the tiles are simply set into sand. Sometimes they bulge upwards at odd angles, other times the shift as you go over them, and more often they tend to pike up into pyramids, deadly to the unwary. Thankfully this hill only featured the shifting kind of tiles.

We came across buildings that were very similar to the ones in my area. The only odd thing was that the air on this side of the hill had a sickly sweet smell and almost every surface had a touch of black or grey dust. Taking in my surroundings so that I could easily return, human and I started to come across some factories. Small and sporadic at first, the factories quickly grew in both size and frequency. To date, much of the Korea that I've seen has been fairly sanitised and almost disturbingly Western. The area I was entering was neither of those. Sounds of machinery inside the factories and the bellowing of boilers made it certain that there was life inside. But on the outside, there was a grime that made the area feel very unhealthy, dead or dying. It was a startling contrast to where I live, where things are fairly affluent. This area was definitely developed, but it felt very poor...very real.

Me and Human passed many factory complexes which were only split up by small forested areas and the occasional enclave of supply stores. The sea, the Sea...I wasn't sure where it was, only that it was near. Signage was sparse and all I had to go on was a curious intuition. At my first large intersection, the left turn seemed like it led to a collection of very large and inaccessible factories. The right turn led to a long straight road dominated by seemingly more accessible factories. Feeling like I needed to stay on a path/walk way I took the right turn. Almost immediately, I was welcomed by unbroken kilometer upon kilometer of factories. Employees from various South Asian countries dotted the walkways and sidewalks. Apparently they come here to escape from poor paying factories in their home countries to come to these less poor paying factories in this country. As Human and I rushed past them, I could only wonder what their working conditions were like inside these polluted factories. If the health conditions inside were anything like those outside...

This industrial park went on for several more kilometers until it was interrupted by a dirty and ill-developed industrial supply area. Cruising along, I eventually reached another large intersection. In front of us in the distance were familiar looking apartment buildings, possibly near Ansan station. To the right was a path that would eventually lead home, and to the left was seeming emptiness. We went left, crossing an 8 lane intersection with the aid of a traffic light that took several minutes to change.

Rural farms with open rice fields housing transmission towers quickly overtook the previously omnipresent factories. Though the sickly sweet odor of the district still hung in the air, it was now much easier to draw breath. Soon after cresting another hill I saw some farmers working in a field near the roadside. They wore straw hats, faded clothing, and had very tanned skin. I stopped with the intent of taking a picture, but stopped myself. I've heard that the main issue arising from this country developing so quickly was that the gap between rich and poor has become incredibly dramatic. Watching these people work away, a poorly built shanty beside them, the reality of that divide became all to real. I slung my backpack onto my shoulders again, refusing to take a picture of these people. Although it was new to me, they were simply working. They weren't a spectacle, and I certainly didn't need to show off their image to anybody back home. So me and Human just kept going, choosing instead to admire and hold them in memory rather than capture their image for display.

As we rode along a path, which was now more sand and gravel than tile, I saw only a few buildings and some oddly placed restaurants. There was also a quiet park housing a shrine which sat atop a small hill. With reaching the sea in mind, I chose to drive past the park. Besides my goal, the entry was blocked by a collapsible yellow barrier. At that moment, it was deterrent enough for me to keep going, but next time it probably won't. Slowly, we reached another intersection. Human and I slowly crept by an old woman who was walking around her truck, leaving what looked to be a junkyard. I coasted to the intersection and was quickly greeted by a barking dog. I looked behind me and was startled to see a tan coloured mastiff charging towards me. Not panicking, I simply uttered 'shh shh shhhh' and tried not to make direct eye contact. It soon left me alone. Likely because I wasn't on its property and thus not a threat. That, or it never intended to do anything in the first place.

At this intersection there was nothing straight ahead of me and to the right there were only a few buildings in the distance. I chose to go right. The rural feel of the area didn't leave but at least the path I was on was actually a path. I mentioned earlier that none of the smaller sidewalk tiles are set with mortar or concrete, and it was along this stretch that I first suffered from this lack of development foresight. Stones jutted upwards at weird angles, dove into abrupt pot-holes, and made it a bumpy ride for me and Human. But even though it was uncomfortable it certainly helped the area feel that much more real and raw. Occasionally I'd drive by bushes hiding garbage, poorly built huts on the roadside, and the occasional farm stall/shop. Then, I came to a scene which I had to stop and take a picture of. Behind an opening created in the greenery that bordered the walkway, was a lonely farmer's field. It sat empty, protected from the outside by green barbed wire and protected from the inside by scarecrows clad in the same clothing I had previously seen some farmer's wearing. It again reminded me of the divide between classes here. I still can't believe how it can be so invisible yet so obvious.

As I finished taking my pictures, a pair of cyclists passed me, using the road instead of the pathway. I thought that maybe I should follow the same route but my fear of Korean roads hadn't yet subsided. Instead, I kept riding on the haggard path, even when a long sloping hill threatened the longevity my legs, I just kept on the path. As I watched them crest the hill, I stopped paying attention to the many obstacles in front of me. Not unexpectedly, I crashed down into a jagged pothole. Human jumped out deftly and I inadvertently swore. A metallic sound echoed behind me and I dismissed it as nothing. I now figure that it was, at this point, that Human lost a nut from his seat. Poor fellow.

After I had reached the top of the hill I was dismayed to see another unending stretch of factories. By this point, the sun had started to set and the streets had remained persistently empty. The sickly sweet smell quickly came back, but the path I was on quickly came to an end. With the curbs being much larger and sharper than North American ones I simply decided to pick Human up and jog across the rode. Once on the other side, we kept going, into a new area, into the dark. Moving along at a quick pace I was just completely baffled at how many factories were here. It's no wonder that this continent is able to outstrip the rest of the world in production. Although it's a very broad generalisation to imply, I can be certain that I was not driving through the worst or most dense factory district in this region.

Crossing intersection after intersection I finally came across another road-sign, "Oido, Daebudo Island" and an arrow pointing in the direction I was going. A good enough reason for me to continue. Despite the encouragement of the sign, the factories continued. The smells and sounds persisted. Only now a new sight kept welcoming me; sporadic alleyways between buildings, black, save for the occasional headlights from a car or scooter. More than once I considered cutting through them just to see what I could see, but I figured I should simply keep on a direct path. Especially considering how my entire trip so far had been one giant detour. With the distance I'd travelled so far, it seemed like I'd never reach Oido. I was confused, lost, and determined. Maybe it would have been better if I could have panicked and abandoned the trip. But, I didn't, and that's when I came to, you guessed it, another large intersection. This time with a sign pointing to Oido (straight ahead) and Daebudo (to the left). I figured Oido was more reachable, so I continued straight ahead.

On my left was a big building that said "Steel Town". I figured it was just for that particular building. A Holly's Coffee and some other familiar stores sat on the ground floor and a fountain and steel-pipe orb sat on the outside. An encouraging sign. Non-factory life. Abruptly, my hope for a straightforward trip was again interrupted. Another walkway ended, right alongside a 6 lane road..at an intersection with malfunctioning lights. It was quite busy and I didn't want to go back to the lights I'd crossed just a minute before. I waited for a break in the traffic and ran with Human to a small lined median in the centre. Waiting again for traffic to break, I completed the run. Above the road was another sign, this time it said 'Oido, Daebudo, Sihwa Seawall' Left. Heck...sounded better than here, and all of the areas were listed as being together. It seemed closer than ever. I started going again, moving through the 'actual' steel town. A massive facility of...steel plants? It stretched for about a kilometer before dumping me out onto another road. with another ending path.

At the end of the path was a belt store with ridiculous fluorescent lighting. It seemed like a silly place to have a store, but there was so much car traffic along this road they probably understood their market more than I did. Losing my fear of Korean cars, I aggressively made my way across the road and kept speeding along. More factories. Somehow...more factories. The pathways here were also very poorly kept. Full sections of just sand and small sections of panels, having been heaved by roots, jutting out at dangerous angles. I kept biking along, feeling the air getting cooler and the sweet smell of the factories giving way to algae and maybe even water. The sea was close. I stopped paying attention again and narrowly missed snagging my face on some barbed wire coils. Jutting out aggressively from a fence were coils upon coils of razor wire. I thought it was a prison, then I saw a soldier walking towards the gates. He took a left turn and vanished behind some walls. As I passed by I saw some guards hurriedly closing the gates after having let the man inside. It was some kind of military installation. I wasn't sure if I should feel safer at this point but, considering the large amount of traffic going by I figured it was definitely for the better.

Feeling like I was closing in on my goal, I passed a big section of murals painted on sheet metal. They depicted the sea. I was close. Then I noticed that the murals were guarding yet another factory...great. Eventually I came to a large 8 lane intersection. It was packed with cars, trucks, and thankfully, fish delivery trucks. I had to be close. I crossed the street, ignoring the beautiful park in front of me, and took a left turn. A large sign sat above the roadway, "Oido" it said, a picture of a smiling child, standing in a mudflat, with a shellfish in hand. I was very close. The traffic stayed intense and I started to pass people on foot, people on bikes, and people with fishing rods. Then I started to smell poo. A sewage treatment plant stretched alongside the road. But...where there is a sewage treatment plant there is usually water. A good sign. I came to another intersection...good old intersections, and saw water on my right. On my left, a large wall obstructing my view. Above the roadway read a sign, "Daebudo Island (Ahead)12km. Oido (Right)" Since I was finally at the Yellow Sea (or the West Sea), I figured I might as well head to Daebudo. It had been dark for a while now, but that didn't worry me. As Human and I got to the top of a small hill I realised that I was about to bike along a 12km causeway to get to this Island. It was getting late and I hadn't ridden this far on a bike in a while. On top of that I'd forgotten to bring food with me (as I'd planned), I was running low on water, and my legs were just beginning to feel tired from the pedaling. I wondered if I'd be able to physically commit to the journey back. But, I only entertained this thought for a second. I'd come this far and I only had to work at 4pm the next day. I had plenty of time to stop and sleep if I needed it. Plenty of time to get back if I got lost. I pedaled onto the bridge, into the breeze, further into the night...



Getting to Daebudo and back...another day.