Chip and I took a train out to Gangchone (outside of Seoul). We had no idea about what time the train would leave, or even what train to take, so we just figured it all out when we got there. This wasn’t great, because by that time there was only standing room left on the train. But not wanting to wait around, we took what we could.
It was pretty interesting, and almost reminded me of India a little bit. People just kept on packing in, and taking up any available room (especially in the space between cars). So it was pretty packed, and then I noticed a guy with a food cart coming through- I have no idea how he made it through some of these areas with people and bags and food covering the ground.- but he did. It wasn’t a long train (at two and a half hours), but still I was getting frustrated with the ride, and made sure to get seats on the way back.
We went to Gangchone because back in the time when Chip had a job, some of his co-workers went out there, and said they rented scooters and it was a lot of fun. So our big plan was to rent some scooters and just drive them around for a while.
When we got there we didn’t really know what to expect, so we just walked a little bit, then got some food. Eventually we met a guy who spoke English, and talked with him, and then rented some scooters from his shop. It was pretty interesting that there were not prerequisites to renting or driving these things. I was taught how to turn the scooter on, use the brakes, and accelerate, and then sent on my happy way.
It took about 15 minutes of riding around until Chip crashed his. My scooter stalled, and Chip tried to turn around to find me (the key word in that sentence is “tried”). Somehow during that attempted turn he hit a guardrail, and ended up taking a short flight- damaging only his big toe and the scooter.
Eventually we continued on our way (and after some electrical tape the scooter was in good enough shape that the shop owner didn’t notice the damage) and enjoyed the rest of our time cruising through the beautiful little town and countryside.
When we got back I noticed a very nice and large ATV and made some comments about it to the owner (most were like the one pictured below). That was enough to get me a free ride on that bad-boy. He showed me how to shift gears, accelerate, and brake, and then once again sent me on my happy way. This time I was a bit more nervous, but that didn’t stop me from seeing what kind of power that thing had (and it sure did have some power).
All in all it was a pretty enjoyable trip, and the train ride back was much nicer having seats the entire way. I hope I will be able to make it back there again some time in the not to distant future.
1 comment:
Sounds fun, Kyle! Glad you and Chip made it through your trip safe & sound.
I rode on a scooter this past week too! It was on Madeline Island in the Apostle Island National Park off the coast in Bayfield, WI. Actually, they called it a moped - it was very fun! Dad rode his bike and I scooted along side of him at 13-15 mph - we went to a park on the island that had a beautiful beach and some breathtaking scenery!
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