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Jin’s Around the Block, Day 2 (Suwon to Onyang Hot Springs)

Rain showers were expected across Korea during the day, so Phoebe and I prepared for some rain during our sight seeing foray in Suwon. We set off for the dominant structure in the city, the Hwaseong Fortress (화성수원). The Fortress is an impressive and massive structure built by King Jeongjo, the 22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty. Walking along the Fortress wall offers a very scenic and quiet path in some areas and a grand view of the city from others.

From Jin’s “Around the Block” Tour

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There was a trolley that drove around the Fortress and we jumped on it with out any hesitation, as our legs need as much rest as they can get. The trolley was a quick and effortless way to see many parts of the Fortress, including an archery area that we had to try. Watching the Korean National Archery Team sweep the medals in multiple Olympic Games had me thinking shooting an arrow would be a piece of cake. However, just pulling the string back was hard. Phoebe hit the board at least three times, but I only hit it once. After these somewhat disappointing results we risked running into rain and jumped on our bikes and continued south. We picked up our bikes at the jjimjilbang and suddenly the angry/hostile parking lot man was very nice. He showed us the way out of Suwon and onto Interstate 1. So far it seems like the second encounter always brings the friendlier side out of people.

From Jin’s “Around the Block” Tour

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We headed south on Interstate 1. In Osan we were told by a police car to get on the bike lane, but once we stopped and looked for the lane there was none to be found.  Our weather luck was good as we encountered only a slight drizzle, a big improvement from the crazy wind we had yesterday. In Pyeongtaek we took a nice long break at a McDonald’s/Newcore for water and to make sure we were going in the right direction!

We arrived in Cheonan around 5:00 pm and went to our first “PC Bang”, the Korean name for Internet café. There we found out that the nearby Onyang Hot Springs (온양온천) had some amazing water. We were too tired, which is probably why we decided it wasn’t cheating to jump on the subway from Cheonan to Onyang. Our logic was that our final destination for the day was Cheonan and we reached it via bicycle, and since Onyang was an addition to the route it was okay to use other means of transportation. We boarded subway line 1 at Bongmyeong Station (봉명역) and got off at Onyang Hot Springs (온양온천). It was a humbling experience to realize that after two days of hard biking we were still within the reach of Seoul’s subway system.

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Like last night, we searched for another jjimjilbang to spend our second night. I was asked about my gender three times (reception, entrance of the female locker room, next to the lockers). After safe passage through the questions we were pleasantly surprised to find a three stream water pressure massage inside. We both took turns under the water massage trying to ease the muscle pain. We also tried rubbing salt on our skin in the hot sauna to exfoliate. We also enjoyed some very unhealthy tonkatsu chicken cutlet at the bathhouse restaurant.

From Jin’s “Around the Block” Tour

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Despite a talkative couple who stayed up all night chatting, I fell asleep after only a few minutes. Sleeping and staying at a jjimjilbang is becoming more and more natural and comfortable. I am becoming a true believer in the jjimjilbang!

From Jin’s “Around the Block” Tour

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To summarize, Day 2 was a much better than the first one. I realized that I am more of a sprinter than a long distance person. I think that long distance runners/cyclists are very strong mentally. Conversely, I am only able to bike for about two hours before getting totally tired. I’m hoping that things will get easier as the kilometers pile on.  Thanks to the comforts of cars, buses and trains, I had forgotten the actual concept of what a kilometer was. I could be back Seoul in a little over an hour from here if I just hopped on the subway. It’s very humbling to realize the limits to my physical strength.

Thats it from 동네 한 바퀴..
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