Inbound ICN
 

Hi Joe. I am arriving April 16, 2014. Headed to Zarubino and Frankfurt, Germany. Your posts have been a great help for me.
Say a prayer the weather starts warming up. :freezing:

Siberia can snow in May ,, but then lot of folks did it in April as well. Bring warm riding gear!!!! Also frequent drizzles upto and past Khabavrosk,, after it dries out,, Mongol weather as you get closer to Ulan Ude.

Latest from ICN ..
All ATA carnet conference nations ,, no tax nada,,,
Non ATA conference countries a 10% stamp fee. Insurance is no problem for them unlike Japan.

Have Wendy get you the Korean bike insurance, before you ARRIVE!,, any insurer can issue for all nations,, minimum is 15 days but same as a month. USD45,, or 45,000 KRW. Pay her in advance via paypal,, so you wont run around the airport,, or go to DMV in the city of In Cheon ,, or get ripped off like Doogle and pay USD 150 for the insurance,, this is what we pay for a year. You will save 2-3 hours at the ICN.

You know how to get hold of me..

Hey Joe! I know I cant use a main road like Highway 50 from Inchon to the east coast but can I use 44 out to Sokcho? Or is that also a main road?
I have reservations on the April 20 ferry

Wendy says I am the first bike in this year that she knows about. So I get to be the warm up act for her.

Hey Red ,,
You are the first rider to hit Korea this year. Most come in late May.
Highway 6 out of Seoul ,, via W Hotel ,, Han River North side to 44 THEN to 46,,, to final 56 ,, over the So Rak mountain all the way to Sok Cho ,, over the Mi Shi Ryung Pass. Bikes never pay tolls, tunnels, local highways ,, stay at the most right lane,, wave or smile as you pass. Do not get on the freeway! Use only local highways.
Bring a smart phone,, download Navigator Free GPS app. (Good for whole world) Preload some way points or favourites before leaving home, while you have data.
Also take a look at Sygic App for USD 50 ,, Russia and Europe data free GPS. Awesome program.

Follow the ICN to local In Cheon ferry post above,, get hold of me ,, I will guide you out of the city, on my Harley. Wendy's office is 20 minutes from me.

You need to bed down in Sok Cho by 19th. Ride from Seoul to Sok CHo is good 4-5 hours, including getting lost. Tons of motel in Sok Cho for USD 30-50 a night. You must be at the ferry office by 9AM ,, on board by 11AM.
https://maps.google.co.kr/maps?q=kor...ed=0CCcQ8gEwAA

Also get hold of biker clubs in Russia,, great source for friendship, repair and emergencies.
Железные Ангелы :: Категория (Vladivostok ,, get hold of Illiya
Церберус Get hold of Shem

You can also stay for free,, make sure you repay back with booze or din din. We call it Ssagaji in Korean (Good Manners)

Always take a little token , may be small Route 66 pins ,, dollar a piece ,, Americana. Or even half dollar coins!
I took mobile handle strings, with kitchy Korean dolls on them ,, they loved it. Ran out after a hundred,, next time will take 200.

Remember ,, as soon as your bike gets shipped and you land in foreign country,, unpack and the get on the seat.,, half of your journey is done. Keep your wits about you ,, use common sense ,, rely on humanity,, you will have a grandest time of your life.

I miss Korea, I was there 1966 through 1968. Coming back for a vacation is on my bucket list

Flyred,

Seouljoe was such a help to me and my travel buddy last year! He's right on :)
Enjoy Sok Cho for a few nights. Good sea food and sights for sure! It's such a lovely little place.
Please will you give Wendy a hug from me when you meet up with her? Wonderful lady.
Seouljoe, when are you coming to Canada? i have a bottle of good scotch to share with you!

Safe and wonderful travels to you all.

Nevil

Round the World 2013 on motorbikes
MotoExped - Home
Nevil | Nevil Stow | Travel Blog

Tie down straps needed?
 

I have taken the ferry across the Adriatic with my bike from Ancona Italy to Split Croatia but never a Sea voyage like this. Do I need tie down straps and are there "eyes" on the deck (floor) to strap the bike down to not tip over in rough seas?
I am guessing the answer is no to both questions but I had to ask:helpsmilie:

Close your eyes and remember the ferry ride from the Elbow (Ancona) to Dalmatia! (Split)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38jDQkkaxT8

All the strapping is done by the crew,,, under the deck!

Good old days,, 5 star hotel was 8 dollars a night ,, girls were natural (plastic surgery capital of the world) ,,people much more humane. Government sucked big time though.
Come back any time!

Hi Joe,

I've enjoyed reading your posts and they have been a big help in answering many of our questions. My wife, a friend and I plan to ride our motorcycles across Siberia and then on to South Korea and home to the US this summer. If I read your posts correctly we should plan on booking the Stena Daea ferry from Zarubino instead of the DBS from Vlad. Our planned ferry crossing date is around July 30 and then we will spend a week in Korea. It appears we should contact Yuri and have already contacted Wendy for a ro-ro to California. It looks like we will need to call to make the reservations as the on-line reservation systems don't seem available.

It would be great to meet you in Korea. One question! If we only get to spend a week in Korea, and including the prep for the ro-ro, what are the highlights to see (and/or roads to ride) for those who have never been to Korea and will be going from the ferry to Busan?

Thanks for your help!

All the best,
Paul

Hello Paul,,
From Russia to Korea ,, it really does not matter which ferry you take. Both Vladivostok or Zarubino gets customs cleared fast, in Korea. Only when entering Russia,, the preferred port is Zarubino,, because the customs and stevedoring takes only 2-3 hours. Problem with Vladivostok is simply the sheer volume of the inbound cargo ,, that it takes 3 -4 days to get your vehicle off the ferry.

Only the DBS operates between Donghae and Vladivostok, as of June 26, 2014
http://www.dbsferry.com/eng/02_ticket/ticket03.asp
(Please note. Boatdoc on July 30th, 2014 posted that YOU must have Russian customs inspect your bike 48 hours before the DBS departure for Korea! He ended up using Yuri after all, even though we have never heard of this from Korean bikers returning back from Russia)

Use both DBS and Daena schedule ,, and you will have 2-3 day window to catch either one. For leaving Russia ,, you do not need Yuri's service,, you simply buy a ticket,, pay for the bike transport ,, you show up ,, you ride up the boat ramp. They tie down. All crew on board are Koreans.


If you catch DBS ,, the cook on board is a Korean HUBBer ,, he will give you an extra egg or two. ;
Also Vladivostok, would be more civilised to wait a few days for the ferry ,, have din din with Yuri , (nice guy)
Arrival port of Sok Cho or Dong Hae is almost same distance from Seoul. Remember July - August boats are full. Have Wendy make the reservation.

To USA,, Wallenius Ro-Ro is the most fast to US,, either west or east coast. You have choice of Pyung Taek port ,, south of Seoul some 80 KM or from the port of Masan 450 KM south of Seoul ,, west of Bu San,, some 40KM ,,

One week in Korea ,, off the ferry 3-4 PM ish ,, get a room right away in the local village. Head out to Seoul next day (Gotta see the economical miracle of this tiny war torn country) 2-3 days ,, then head south ,,, either by the seaside or right in the middle,, takes 12 hours non stop ,, so better do it in 2 days ,,, arrive Busan or Masan and wait for the boat.
Or spend more time in Seoul and catch the boat out of Pyung Taek ,, south of In Cheon. Ask Wendy,, check out the Wallenius schedule ,, it is all there.

https://www.google.co.kr/search?q=mo...B9%98&tbm=isch

You have my details ,, let me know, before you arrive.

Hey Joe. I'm landing in ICN on the 16th. I may have to meet a friend in Seoul so I need a hotel in the financial distict near one of those Korean Bath houses you talk about. Any recommendations? Someplace with safe parking.

Red ,,
I got pissed off earlier on such a random question ,, calmed down I will explain, for I also see benefit for others coming to Seoul.
First of all ,, the Google is your best friend. Also many mentions of hotels and motels in the earlier posts FYI.
There are three major business districts in Seoul.

Downtown, by the city hall,, mostly financial ,, news corp and diplomatic.
Yoido Island, in the middle of Han River ,, Finance and insurance.
Gang Nam ,, hi-tech, e-commerce and fashion. A city of 15 million people ,, larger than London. Also many of these business intertwine in various districts. In fact the whole city is a huge business district.
Ask your friend where he is.

Also two types of bath houses ,,
Sauna - bath house (목욕탕), it is found in every neighbourhood ,, simply ask for sauna ,, and scrub (때밀이) .. three types of tub (Hot, Med Hot, Ice Cold) ,, two types of Sauna (Steam and Dry). Do a due diligence ,, there is a Korean bath houses now in every major cities in the USA, Canada, Australia and UK.
https://www.google.co.kr/search?q=ko...83%95&tbm=isch
Always take the shower first with soap, before entering the tub.

Then there is Jjim Jil Bang ,,, notice double J (찜질방) ,, these have special special earthen cavern, on top of all the tubs and are huge ,, where both men and women go into the cavern,, wearing shorts and shirts provided by the establishment. This is an all day affair. You sleep ,, eat , sauna,, sweat ,, scrub,, lay around and open 24 hours. In fact ,, for some of you riding Korea,,, can go in at all hours,,stay over night for USD 8 + scrub fee of USD 15 (scrub not required,, every one sleeps in a big hall, on a mat) ,, tooth brush,, razors (a buck each) ,,you have own secure locker. One or two good ones in every city. I have done this several times,, when riding till midnight.
https://www.google.co.kr/search?q=ko...B0%A9&tbm=isch

All the hotels and motels have secure and covered parking. Every single one ,, since customers need to hide their license plates.

More specific question
 

Since I will be riding Rt 6 heading to Rt 44 a recommendation safe hotel along that route would be great. My friend lives in Yongsan-gu.
I have already spent several days looking at hotels in Seoul. But Seoul is just one stop on a 12,000 mile trip. A bigger problem for me now is a trucking strike in Vancouver that might delay shipping my bike and 100,000 Russian soldiers along the Ukraine border.