I finally found the Korea I have been looking for!!

Since the day I landed in Korea, I have loved exploring and loved everything that I have seen, but there has been something missing. The small towns. The middle-of-nowheres. The big fields with nothing but mountains, not 15 identical highrises for a backdrop.

Everywhere I have been in Korea I have been very aware of the fact that I'm in the middle of a developed country. In Canada and the USA I love escaping into the Rockies, the heart of British Columbia or the middle of the desert in Arizona and be surrounded by nothing but nature...I have missed that feeling immensely since I got here. I also love small towns and villages. I'd never want to live in one again, but I was born and raised in one, and I think that's why I'll always have a soft spot for them. When you're relying on intercity buses and trains, however, you miss those things in Korea. 

Well, a few days ago, I messaged a few friends who have scooters and motorbikes here to ask them for a bit of advice in trying to decide what I should buy for myself. One friend, Jesse, an incredibly generous guy, offered to lend me his little Hyosung Rally 100cc scooter to get my feet wet on while he works. I can't thank him enough for this...it's not just the use of his trusty bike that I owe him for, but also for giving me an opportunity to find the kind of places I have been yearning for for 4 months! 

So, yesterday, (after transferring enough money to Canada to pay off a third of my student loans!!!) I grabbed the little Hyosung and headed for the hills...literally. 

The first gem I bumped into was this: a hidden little pond at the end of a beautiful twisty road not too far from my house, but too far to comfortably walk in an afternoon (I have tried before and always had to turn back because it gets dark so early around here):

So peaceful and unlike the rest of Korea I have seen!

After that, I fueled up the little guy and headed up the highway toward Namji for the sole reason that I have never been there. Now, taking a 100cc scooter on a highway on your first ride is probably not only idiotic, but also illegal, but hey...this is Korea, I really don't want to stand out by doing things like observing the laws of the road. And, well, I wouldn't be me if I didn't do idiotic things that made my poor parents shake their heads in disappointment :) 

So, up the highway I went and it was an absolute blast. Soon, the city was behind me and it was nothing but beautiful open fields, rows and rows of mountains and complete and utter freedom! At the time (around 4:30 p.m), there were almost no cars on the road, so I had a perfect 4-lane divided stretch of highway all to myself...I even managed to peg the speedometer and top out at about 83 km/h...interesting on a scooter, that's for sure!

I took a few detours, got off the main highway and found some stunning scenery...people toiling away in the fields, tiny little hamlets, a big river I didn't even know existed, and little creeks meandering through lush forests. This is the Korea I have been aching to see!

I mean how perfect is this...tiny little village behind a cute little pond with mountains in the background...very idyllic!

I made it to Namji and then crossed the river again (on a beautiful bridge I'll get pictures of on my next ride) and headed to Bukmyeon, a cool little town filled with hotels built on hot springs. En route I found this...a massive statue of Buddha at a beautiful temple...

Monkeying with the G9:

After Bukmyeon, I decided that I should head home before sunset...that's when the only scary thing happened...it wasn't too bad and I wasn't too concerned, but it was certainly a lesson. As I was scooting up the hill on a back road, a big 25 ton dump truck came up behind me and started following me way too close and honking at me...I'm not sure what he expected me to do, there was nowhere to go. As great as the 100cc scooter is in town, it shows its limitations between towns, especially when challenged by one of the hills here...Korean hills tend to be steep and there are about 94 trillion of them in my province alone. Something with more power and better gearing is an absolute necessity if you're planning on leaving town on a regular basis (which I am). So, as much as I like the little scooters, I'm on the hunt for a 125cc 5-speed cruiser that would be more suited to my needs without being crazy powerful or expensive.

On the way home, I saw one of my favourite sights...a beautiful valley at sunset filled with lush, bright green rice paddies, stunning mountains in the background and a lone farmer walking around...this humble picture truly does not do what I saw justice, but here it is anyways...

After covering about 110 km (not bad for my first ever ride!!...not counting riding dirtbikes with Jimbo a few times nearly a decade ago), I parked the scooter and walked home with a huge grin on my face.

I'm incredibly happy that I found the other half of Korea and I can't wait to explore as much of it as possible. I'm also happy that I'm on the verge of having my own transportation again. I got my first car when I was 15 and haven't been without a vehicle since. Having to rely on buses and trains, while neat at first, has been starting to wear on me lately. I really miss the freedom of having a vehicle of my own and, quite frankly, I wouldn't mind having something with an engine to call "my own." Considering how cheap bikes are here (a basic 125cc highway-legal motorbike can be had for around $400), I think this might be one of the smartest things I do in Korea. 

Stay tuned and have an awesome day everyone!

T