We stopped for lunch prior to going into the DMZ and onto the border itself. The fence making the start of the DMZ was clearly evident, connecting the manned observation posts looking North for signs of invasion.

All along the fence were ribbons remembering the fallen, presumably left by relatives of the deceased. It’s a colourful addition to an otherwise austere land mark, though I suspect the fence marking the other side of the DMZ has no such enhancements.

In a documentary I learned about the amazing diversity of wildlife in the DMZ. Around 4kms wide and 250 kms long, it is the most heavily guarded and observed stretch of land on the planet. Despite this, no man is allowed to enter – which gives the wildlife a unique and unpestered preserve.

I took a trip to the border with North Korea. It was an organised tour, something I don’t generally enjoy. Being told what to do, where to go and what time to be back doesn’t really work for me! But there’s no alternative if you want to see it, so off I went.

First up was a trip to the Korean war memorial, which had an interesting museum. The tour was guided and an Engrish spreading guy took us through the history of the way. It was actually very interesting, as it’s not something I knew much about. It came very close to a complete victory for both sides, before reaching the stalemate at the 38th parallel.

Amongst the exhibits was the captured staff car of Kim Il-sung. Whilst it was quite an impressive machine, I much preferred this captured Russian reconnaissance vehicle. The Dnepr outfit is cool in any theatre of war, but cooler still in peacetime. I want one!! (In black of course!).

To give some sense of scale, here’s a picture of the gates to the temple. The walled area completely encompasses the compound, which is right in the heart of Seoul.

It was busy with tourists of course, but still large enough to find a quiet space for contemplation. For a while I sat under the trees by the lake and imagined being a monk. The meditation, inner peace and tranquility.

Unfortunately monks don’t ride motorbikes, so it didn’t last!

This is the kind of thing I was expecting to see in the country, off the beaten track. Unmolested by time and progress, a peaceful temple on an ornamental pond. In fact this is in the heart of downtown Seoul, just one part of a huge complex of many temples in a park on one site.

After walking down the Cheonggyecheon stream I found the place easy enough. There was an impressive grassed area outside with a couple of huge statues. Heading through the equally impressive Heungnyemun gate, I was greeted with a sign I didn’t like. Ticket office!!

The fee was modest and I doubt I’ll be coming back, so I paid and went in for a walk around. It had to be at least 10 acres of temple buildings, all very well preserved with the mountains in the background and the walls keeping out the city noise. Most incongruent, but a pleasant surprise indeed!

I saw this today and I’ve realised I’m on the wrong bike! THIS is what I should have taken. I like trikes anyway, but this hybrid bike, trike and truck is just great. Imagine how much stuff you could get in the back? Maybe even sleep in there? I’ve seen one with a windscreen too.

Being mechanically minded I had to see how it had been made. The bike engine had been turned through 90° in the horizontal plane. The drive sprocket now faces rearwards and has a shaft bolted to it. The shaft drives the wheels through a diff, but there’s also a second gearbox inbetween. It must have 10 or 15 gears and be able to pull some very heavy loads.

The back section reminds me of the wagons in the old cowboy films. Yee-Harr!

I arrived in Seoul City yesterday, which wasn’t as stressful as I thought. Being a Sunday the traffic wasn’t too bad, though it still took me an hour to find my hotel!

I needed to meet my agent to pay for the import of the bike. (I like saying that as it makes me sound like a famous actor or rock star!). I actually mean my shipping agent, or freight forwarder as they’re called.

Wendy has been awesome, making sure everything was in order. I’ve heard some horror stories regarding vehicle import, but so far, so good as they say. She knows my agent in Russia (Yuri) and reckons he’s pretty good too.

We had a Korean BBQ, which I really enjoyed. It’s a great idea where they plonk a genuine tub of hot coals in the middle of the table. You cook your own meat while the smoke is extracted by special ducted vacuum tubes.

Could you imagine the health and safety concerns back home? Or the risk assessments? Insurance premiums?

Prior to travel I tend not to do much research. I check out the visa and safety situation and then just go. No itinerary. It means I risk passing very close to something cool and missing it. But it also means I can blunder into something unexpected, like today.

The last thing I expected to see on a minor road in the middle of nowhere is a catholic church. Worth stopping to investigate for sure! This is the memorial to Father Choe, Yang-eop Thomas, the first recorded scholar of Catholicism from Korea. I’ll post his picture in a minute.

He wasn’t there of course, the memorial was built to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his death. However, there were a lot of Korean Christians, including a reverend who gave me a set of rosary beads and a nun. (He didn’t give me the nun, you know what I mean!!).

Standing out from the crowd somewhat I was asked a few questions, the trip is certainly raising a few eyebrows. A nice young chap called David came over to talk for a while, who translated the history for me.

Considering a trip to a church would be far from the top of my list of things to do on a trip, it was really good. That’s why I don’t over plan things, and what makes adventure motorcycling the adventure it is!

I’ve been here a while now, and after the initial pains of navigation I’m starting to get the hang of it. The road network is superb, with some major roads to get you where you need to go quickly. There’s also a whole heap of minor roads off the beaten track. I try to get the balance between good progress and seeing the real Korea, by mixing the two.

Today that worked well, getting me out of the city of Daejean quickly at the expense of scenery. Lots of industrial sites, but again it’s part of the country and you may as all see it all, right? I then hit up some minor twisty roads across terraced rice paddies. Three up mopeds were the transport of choice for the workers, all elderly people with a smile and a wave for johnny foreigner.

Some of the roads and scenery were just stunning. Just take a look at this….

One thing I like here are the flags you see everywhere. Most towns and all cities have the Korean flag flying from every lamp post. They’re not secured (I checked!), just placed in holders on each lamp post – usually two per post.

I like this for several reasons:

1) They’re nice flags. Quite pretty and bright.
2) People obviously like them, or they’d get nicked and vandalised.
3) The people in charge aren’t afraid to show it, but there doesn’t seem to be anything sinister in it.

I’ve had plenty of time to consider this whilst riding today. I tried to remember the last time I saw Union Jacks flying in England. It would probably be 1977 for the Queen’s silver jubilee. I’ve certainly not seen one for a very long time.

Granted you do see the English flag now and then, usually on churches for St. George’s day or pubs during football tournaments. But they’re soon taken down again. The only flags I recall seeing in England recently are the Nishan Sahibs outside Sikh temples.

Funny really. They’re just arbitrary designs on cloth that swing in the breeze, but people do get worked up about them! Even bike clubs have them. Maybe I should design my own and fly it from the bike??