R&R @ Daegu, South Korea

After biking more miles in four days than any of us had ever done in a month our legs were begging for mercy. Acknowledging that the bike crew could use some solo time we made the decision to split up for a rest day and reconvene at dinner. Eduardo used his rest day to sleep and get the missing spoke on his tire replaced. Matt and Ali explored the city center. We decided to walk to the wetlands eco learning center. Before we left we remembered to put our soaking wet bike shoes in the fancy closet steamer with the cycle on dry. Congratulating ourselves on our brilliant foresight, we struck out for the wetlands.

The wetlands were wetter than anticipated. Halfway there it began pouring rain. We trudged through the puddles to the learning center. Once there we learned that the center was more geared toward Korean families than American tourists. This left us dodging the occasional child and pretending to read korean while we stared at the pictures in the infographic plaques. At least it was free.

For lunch Adam found a handmade dumpling restaurant that we could walk to. When we got there we were surprised by the space; it was smaller than many home kitchens, with just enough room for a counter and 2 tables with 2 chairs each. We hesitated as we walked through the doorway. An older man, meticulously folding his way through a large pile of dumpling meat, sensed our unease and calmly gestured toward the open table; before turning back to his sole task of folding dumplings. 

The only other person, an older Korean women, took a break from doing everything else that a restaurant needs doing to take our orders. Adam pointed at the dumplings he wanted and soon hot steamed dumplings were sitting in front of us. Adam, quite hungry at this point, reached for a kimchi pork dumpling. The first bite was heavenly. The acidity from the kimchi was mellowed out by the fat from the pork. A touch of soy sauce brought the flavors to crescendo—a symphony the likes of which Adam’s palette has never known.

Four empty plates later Adam decided he was full. We paid our bill, rubbed our stomachs and smiled in an effort to communicate our satisfaction.

For dinner we rejoined the bike crew. Eduardo’s best friend’s dad lives in Daegu with his wife and they offered to take us out to eat. They brought us to a Korean barbecue restaurant where we had some of the best pork we’ve ever tasted. Perfectly cooked by the chef on a cast iron griddle right in front of us, it was truly delicious. We ate until our stomachs were ready to burst.

Afterwards, our hosts took us on a digestion walk to see the neighborhood and to show us their condo. The condo stood on the 46th floor overlooking the city. Coming from San Francisco and New York it reset our expectations on what condo living could be. They told us about Korean culture and weren’t afraid to brag about how affordable luxury living is in Korea.

After a short whiskey tasting, they ordered fried chicken from a delivery service. We barely made a dent in the fried chicken, but let the record show if you visit a Korean home you will not leave hungry. After our 2 dinners we taxied home with full stomachs and a new appreciation for Korean city life.

Back at the Hotel, Adam opened the steamer closet to check on our shoes. We were immediately hit with the unmistakable stench of wet feet. We nervously laughed, impressed that we had the power to create such a concoction but a little concerned that the steamer might not survive this abuse. Fortunately the shoes were dried. We left the door open to let it air out trusting all would be well by morning.