Exploring Seoul, Riding a Hyosung GT650

'Why Korea?!' That's what all my friend asked me when I told them I planned to go to Korea. My standard answer: 'Why not? Korea has always been a big mystery to me. All I knew at that point was that Korea was somewhat similar to Japan, and was located somewhere East of China.

Once I started planning my trip to Korea, I also started gathering information about the place. Finally, after 10 log hours of travel, I arrived in Seoul. First impression: Clean. I knew beforehand that Seoul would be cleaner than your average Southeast Asian country, but I was surprised to see that the airport was cleaner than my expectations. After clearing immigration, I started my adventure.

Upon going out of the Incheon airport, we found the weather outside was nice. It was summer in Seoul, but the temperature was about 19 degrees Celsius. Just right for exploring a city like Seoul and its direct surroundings.

A Korean friend picked me up from the airport and he also helped me to borrow/rent a Hyosung GT650 motorcycle, this is the cruiser model of a local motorcycle manufacturer. It's powered by a liquid cooled 90° V-twin DOHC, 4-valve per cylinder, 647cc in total engine. The Hyosung GT650 produces smooth power with a maximum of 79 horsepower at 9,000 rpm. I not have much experience with Hyosung, but the bike looks good and will no doubt be bulletproof, the engine, with its 79 horsepower, is surely powerful enough.

My first destination was Lotte World. It is something where you go with a family and as I didn't see my friend and his family for long time we had the idea that Lotte World was a good idea. Lotte World as a world-renowned tourist spot, and is regarded as a world-class theme park along with the Disneyland of the U.S. Hong Kong and Japan.

After a quick breakfast the next day, the first stop of the day was the Deoksungung Palace. Deoksungung Palace was a former residence of a king's brother but when the main palace (Geongbokgung Palace) was burned, Deoksungung Palace was made the temporary residence of the king. Inside this palace, you will find several buildings and gates that served the kind and his servants for some time while the main palace was being rebuilt. For me exploring the surroundings, it was interesting to note that in the midst of all the Oriental-style buildings, there was also a building inside the palace with European-inspired architecture. It was built some time in the 19th century, and is now serving as an art museum inside the palace. Inside the museum, one will find artworks of contemporary Korean artists.

As I were in the heart of Seoul, exploring it on a motorcycle is probably the best way to have a look around and get the real feel of the place. I planned to go to Geonbokgung Palace , and the second location was Namdaemun Market. It should not take more than 5 minutes riding at allowed speeds, but not all road signs have English texts, so the short trip became a 1-hour journey, I got a little bit lost. Namdaemun Market is a good place to get souvenirs, as I was told you can find them cheap there. There were all sorts of things on sale, including socks, paper bags, and ginseng. While exploring the market, I found a small street where there were several food stalls.

In the afternoon, finally, I arrived at Geongbokgung Palace just in time for a show that they apparently have. They were showing the ceremonies that were performed during the old days.. I explored the palace without paying much attention to the show because it got boring after a while. There were several buildings inside this palace with nice architecture, but nothing struck me as spectacular.

On the way of trying to find my friends home, I explored the Gongnam area. This is much like Itaewon where you will find many stores after another with street vendors selling their wares on the side streets. Behind the main road are bars and small bistros. I got a bit desperate and grabbed a quick dinner and did shopped some more... By this time my Korean friend found me, I called him and the restaurant owner had told him where I was, we had a small beer while he was inspected the souvenirs I bought. After a day exploring Seoul on the back of a motorcycle, while not able to read all signs and traffic coming from directions I had no idea they could...I felt really tired, but it was all worth it.

The next day was spent traveling back home. It was a wonderful trip. Seoul was a place I hardly knew anything about, but I explored it, and learned that I need more time to explore it more...