May 10, 2023
Today was our first rest day and time to take care of some chores and later explore. I started my day before breakfast doing a walkabout before the city was completely awake. It is nice to just experience the cool morning air and quiet of a city not yet ready to bustle. I quickly learned that the lack of street signs, a foreign language and alphabet coupled with streets that followed no discernible pattern can easily lead one astray. Fortunately I remembered my Boy Scout lessons and admitted I was lost and retraced my steps to the last landmark that I recognized. From there it was just a matter of returning the way I came. I was back in plenty of time for breakfast.
After cleaning and adjusting my bike and visiting a bike shop to replace a water bottle that did not survive being dropped, I had some time to explore, this time with a better sense of where I was going and with a map and plan. Andong has a population of just a bit over 160,000 and by the looks of the stores, they must shop like it was an Olympic competition. Nearly every street, avenue and alleyway is crammed with stores offering to sell you whatever you could possible need. Frequently the stores are so crammed with goods that they spill out onto and over the sidewalk. There are also a number of older style market streets filled with vendors who rent or lease the space.
In the afternoon I took a short bike ride to the Historic Andong Village, a reconstruction of building ranging from just over a hundred to many hundreds of years old. These building were relocated in 1976 when the thirsty and expanding city of Andong built a new dam that would have covered them with its backwaters. It has become a major tourist attraction and beautiful riverside park that is a favourite of young lovers.
The buildings, while similar at first glance represent an evolution of lifestyles and construction techniques ranging from ancient thatched roofs to more recent clay tiles. Most of the village reflects a mostly agrarian lifestyle with families and livestock living close together. The rooms are small and the ceilings low by today’s standards but they reflect the practicality of efficient design and use of hand labour. After visiting the village I made my way back crossing the longest pedestrian bridge in South Korea.
Tomorrow we are off on yet another day of long distance riding and frequent, steep climbs. However, the scenery promises to be inspiring.
