Saturday, 18 August 2012 Dong Hae, South Korea (0 miles) Total Trip Miles – 4723. 0 hours riding

Weather Temperature in the mid 80’s and hot & humid with partly cloudy skies

Last full day in Dong Hae before boarding the ferry to Vladivostok tomorrow which departs at 2 pm local time.  Decided to spend most of the day touring around the city an shopping for some chain lube for the bike…ended up getting 4 small cans of WD-40 as my only option at the local equivalent to a small Wal-Mart called E Mart.  Did check on the net which indicated motorcycle chain lube as one of its uses…it will just have to do for now.

In the E Mart instead of a moving stairway as an escalator, they have an elevated moving sidewalk both up and down between floors…actually is quite convenient for a cart, stroller and the like.

The city has numerous street vendors with most being older women selling fruits & vegetables.  The area is highly westernized with many carrying smart phones, folks  neatly dressed, young people hanging out at fast food spots and families & small kids out & about enjoying the sights of the city.

I read a couple of reviews on the net about Soma Restaurant but it was closed, so I ended grabbing dinner across the street at a small spot called His Cook where I had the Mare Picantee – spicy pasta with squid, octopus, clams & vegetables…quite taste & topped things off with a Cafri beer.

Although it was a warm, humid evening there were people everywhere in the streets of Donghae on a Saturday night and I could not help but to try out some of the street vendor foods…in Korea street food vendors offer a traditional selection of foods that are often better than what you’ll find in a restaurant.

I tried the Fish Cakes on a stick that are cooked in a rice liquid…dip one in soy sauce and you have something yummy! All the street vendors serve Ddeokbokki which are cylindrical rice cakes in a red, chili sauce…quite spicy, but very tasty especially with the CASS beer I had stashed in my backpack!

The sad thing is I’m just starting to get into the Donghae, cultural experience after only a few days in the city; probably so much I’m missing – the city in the evening was becoming my favorite time.

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