AMAZING KOREA!!!!

AMAZING KOREA!!!! 

The Koreans smile after third bottle of vodka (soju). But ...what a smile! Their vodka is as strong as their lives  ....unhappy.

I owe apology to my Koreans friends!  You are also Awesome! I spent only 1 year in South Korea. Too short to appreciate.

That's my Korean story. Very similar to "Tangban Perahu" in Indonesia. The simplest way to find friends. Just put you in a extremely shitty position ....then ask for help. And wait......Friends will come. They will find you!

So. First weekend in Seoul. I took my bike and without any preparation I attack nearby mountains!

They are really incredible these Koreans! Very different from Indonesians.

Indonesians are always happy. They do not need more in their lives. It's lovely to live among them but they don't need to progress.

Koreans. The opposite. Always stressed. Never satisfied. Work like crazy. But they are very efficient. They do not waste time in endless meetings (like French).

One Korean can do more in one day that one French (not too damaged) in a week!

The result is amazing. A country without natural resources (not like Indonesia), small size (not like China, USA ...). Very, very poor 50 years ago (not like France, UK, ....) today is one of the most advanced and powerful in the world.

And each level! Blind people who run in a forest is just a small example of their ability!

Yesterday (my first weekend) I went to attack on my bike the closest mountain to Seoul. Bukhansan. 1000m. Not much compared to my volcanoes in Indonesia. Weather was beautiful. Saturday morning. Many Koreans arrive. They apparently love hiking. Hundreds enter with me in to the forest. Complete families. Diffrent people: young, old, children .... Nobody with a bicycle. But it cant be difficult. Women and children can do. So I can also do it. Easy!

Big Mistake!

At first all goes well. I put my bike on my back (as usual) and I walk without a problem. But a few miles later it's getting worse.  Hiking path becomes a climbing track. A true! I need both hands and both feet. So I attach the bike to my backpack.

Almost vertical slope! My (cycling) shoes are not suitable! They slide.  I grind the teeth. I continue. Things get complicated. The slope is too steep. The path is too narrow. Bike too big. I get stuck. I'm sliding with my shoes. A nightmare. I can't move forward. I'm already tired. It's hot (30 degrees). I have not taken water. I stop. Dozens of Koreans  pass by me. All greeting me. Apparently they are surprised by my performance (or by my stupidity).

I decided to return. But already too tired. I can't move. Then I'm afraid. Really stuck. I'll stay on this fucking mountain!

And a miracle occurs. Koreans see that I'm stuck and they decide to help me. An old one with an approximate English tells me: "Stills some hundred meters to the summit, better to go up , reach the summit and on the other side the slope not as steep: so easier to go down "

My bike was rapidly dismantled (frame, 2 wheels separately). Each Korean  takes a piece. Two other assist me. Show the easiest path. Give advise how to climb. Fortunately we reach the top without any problems. We take the rest. They give me to drink and eat (I did not take anything with me). And then they accompany  me until I can continue alone.

What a great lesson of solidarity! And how stupid I was!!!! Go for climbing with bicycle and without equipment (shoes, water, nouriture), without knowing the path. Without knowing my own limits!

I think I have much to learn in this country!