Too Much Banchan!
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When ordering food in a everyday Korean restaurant, you pick out a main dish, and they serve it up to you with lots of banchan. Banchan being side dishes which accompany the main dish. The most basic of banchan is of course kimchi! But there are others too, mostly vegetables served either too spicy or too salty, but always too much for me to handle!
But wait! This is not an article on Korean cuisine. This is the story of one man, one bicycle, nine cities, eleven days and six hundred kilometres in-between. This is about the journey I took to discover Korea, myself and how stupid I can be. This is about overcoming the language barrier, the psychological limits and the physical pain to fulfill a dream!
If the forum owner do not object, I would like to write out the draft of my story on this forum. I feel that this would be the best place since its marked for the bored. I cure my boredom by writing, and hope to reduce others by giving them something to read. It would most likely be in 13-15 parts. Everyone is invited to correct my grammar and spelling mistakes (except in the italic section!). Hope you people will enjoy it. For an idea of banchans see http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=184192. The first part would be up on sunday, 18th of June. Thanks! -
Go ahead, knock yourself out
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gogogo
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why not in food section?
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oh... a story?? i love stories... go ahead and dazzle us all.
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It was inspirational, hearing the stories of my seniors from the school's cycling club. How they cycled around Malaysia after their final term in the Polytechnic. They shaved their hairs off, and departed on a journey through Malaysia, surviving on nasi lemak and roti prata (or so they say!). Living in accommodations ranging from motels to temples to police station. In a nutshell, on that night in December 2003, I decided in my heart that I wanted to venture beyond the shores of Singapore to cycle
My first idea was to cycle in Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide, passing through Alice Springs. But after a short consulation with the "Oxford Progressive Atlas Second Edition", it was abandoned. The total distance of 4000km would take at least 40days to complete. Not to mention the logistic nightmare of getting much-needed water, considering that half of the route would be in the desert.
I flipped through the Atlas again, where else could I go? Malaysia? Too close... China? Horrible drivers! Europe? Too expensive... Japan? Good idea! Korea? Not bad either! Soon, it was down to those two, Japan or Korea. In the end, the decision was not too hard to make. Korea is not divided into multiply islands and is slightly smaller. Adding to its credit was my fascination with Korean movies and actresses. Another decision, another hurdle cleared. Korea it will be.
Back to the World Cup for now... More to come soon... Grammar and spelling corrections are welcomed!
A map was what I needed next. A few good maps popped up on the internet. Pretty good maps too! But there is one problem, its not easy working with a virtual map, a paper one is still required. An option was to print out the map, but all the printing, cutting and pasting would just make my life worst. Soon I found myself browsing all the major bookshops in Singapore.
Weird it seens, at that time I could not find a single map of Korea anywhere. In a moment of desperation, I posted a cry for help on the local internet cycling community. And help came...
A moderator of the website was due in Seoul for business. And offer is made to purchase a map from Korea. It was quickly accepted by me. On 13th May 2005, the map arrived.
Making chances here and there. -
Hello..a bit of track here ^^
howw much cost does it incurred during ur mini expedition?
do u get the bicycle at korea ( ithnk so) or do u bring it urslef???
i would love to do tht one day ^^
any advice to fellow backpacler or trackers ^^
Thnak you for your time...hoping to c ur story
Is it safe? wht kind of phsyical condition do u need to be to do this (professional cyclist)? -
one dude from the local biking site did what you did.
Came back, the airport peeps sawed part of his handlebar for no reason. -
Good news... That's me... Haha!Originally posted by seow:one dude from the local biking site did what you did.
Came back, the airport peeps sawed part of his handlebar for no reason. -
I spent about 2.2k on the trip. Brought my own bicycle over, fitted with touring equipments.Originally posted by new_b:Hello..a bit of track here ^^
howw much cost does it incurred during ur mini expedition?
do u get the bicycle at korea ( ithnk so) or do u bring it urslef???
i would love to do tht one day ^^
any advice to fellow backpacler or trackers ^^
Thnak you for your time...hoping to c ur story
Is it safe? wht kind of phsyical condition do u need to be to do this (professional cyclist)?
Firstly, do you cycle? On average I travel about 70km a day. Going at about 15-20km/h. Bike plus luggage would be about 25-30kg in total. Be warned, Korea is a hill of a country! I didn't train specificly(obvious spelling mistake... but you get the msg right?) for the event, because it was a sudden decision to go! I went in March, it was windy and cold... You would be freezing in the morning. -
You're dude cck?Originally posted by Hidden^OnE:Good news... That's me... Haha! -
2.2K in SGD,USD...??Originally posted by Hidden^OnE:I spent about 2.2k on the trip. Brought my own bicycle over, fitted with touring equipments.
Firstly, do you cycle? On average I travel about 70km a day. Going at about 15-20km/h. Bike plus luggage would be about 25-30kg in total. Be warned, Korea is a hill of a country! I didn't train specificly(obvious spelling mistake... but you get the msg right?) for the event, because it was a sudden decision to go! I went in March, it was windy and cold... You would be freezing in the morning.
hmmm...yep i do cycle...but rarely now since i am working ^^
btw..why to they saw of ur bicycle handle?? just curious
btw..thanks forthe reply -
SGD of course~! I though they sawed it off cause it's a clean cut. On futher inspection... It broke very cleanly. So I can say... My bicycle bang plane and broke! =POriginally posted by new_b:2.2K in SGD,USD...??
hmmm...yep i do cycle...but rarely now since i am working ^^
btw..why to they saw of ur bicycle handle?? just curious
btw..thanks forthe reply