Spring Scoot: A Trip to the Gyeongju Cherry Blossoms.
It’s official, Spring is here! Everyone from shoeless Matt to our Spring fevered bunny knows that the sun is out and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. My wool clothes that got me through a bitter winter, are on the slow boat home and our back patio is undergoing a transformation in eager anticipation of sipping cold meakju on humid summer evenings. To celebrate the sudden turn in weather and mood, Matt and I, along with our other scootering friends, packed a picnic lunch Saturday morning and followed the scent of cherry blossoms to the historical town of Gyeongju about an hour and a half away. Not only was this our first “long distance” scooter trip but the first time this year we’ve been so scantly clad while taking her for a spin. Hurray Spring!
Gyeongju is the capital of the former Shilla dynasty, and I use the present tense “is” here because for Koreans, these dynasties are still very much remembered and appreciated. The landscape is dotted with what appear to be rolling hills, but are in fact mounded tombs of previous rulers. We spent the early afternoon wandering the Bulguksa temple, now surrounded by soft pink cherry blossom puffs, and went for buckwheat bibimbap at lunchtime, only to find that a mis-translation left us with plain ol’ bibimbap. This happens a LOT and the truth is that it is all delicious so there is never an ounce of disappointment.
You know you are in good company when with others who view a scooter as the superior form of transportation. Sort of the “hip to be square” mantra I guess. Scootering in Korea becomes even more “Square” when you top it with an odd helmet, aviator inspired goggles and little to no understanding of Korean road law. Our rag-tag scooter gang is made up of people who strive to fit in to our surroundings while poking a little fun at the surroundings we find ourselves in (at least that’s an attempt at a mission statement). While with excellent company we parked our scooters and strolled along Boman lake, only to find that every Korean living in a twenty mile radius was also strolling around Boman. The pathway was packed with babies on shoulders, oma-jis, ice-cream eating westerners, a few ATVs and a couple on roller blades, making our “stroll” more of a dodge and flee to the nearest open space. Regardless of the overcrowding, seeing the cherry blossoms that I have been anticipating since our arrival in Korea eight months ago, reminded me that change abounds wherever you find yourself in the world. The seasons still move along, and living somewhere a full year is so worth the commitment because of these changes you get to witness.
I guess I have become pretty comfortable riding on the back of our scooter, or maybe it was the warm sun on my face and the sweet smell of Spring, but I fell asleep and nearly tumbled right off the back end! Wouldn’t have been the first time I’ve fallen off the back of a small moving vehicle in a foreign country :). Lucky for me I have a snazzy helmet and a big strong driver to hold onto for all of our future long-distance scooter trips…and as the weather continues to warm-up, there will be plenty!
Happy Spring Scootering to the scooter gang back in B-town!
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Hi, I found your blog from lonelyplanet and I really loved your blog. 😀
You look like a person who really loves travelling. And so am I.
Hope to hear from you soon. bye. xoxo