Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Military Parade


The streets were jam packed today. There was a special military parade, so they blocked all the roads. Luckily, it was no problem for my motorcycle. Traffic jam? What traffic jam?

Driving a motorcycle through traffic is a unique experience. Your attention is focused. You plan and plot your course... watching the taxi's back window (is there a passenger? will he suddenly open the door as I go by?)... watching the bus doors... watching for pedestrians... watching for other bikers... squeezing through spaces that look impossibly narrow.

It's like watching sand filter through rocks... 10 motorcycles parked on the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green... it turns green and we roar straight into the motionless cars ahead of us... it's a race to see who can find the best path through the cars... sometimes taking to the sidewalk is a necessity... eventually we all meet up again at the next crosswalk... waiting again for the light to turn green.

I worked my way to the front past the blockades... easily parked my bike in a tiny space between vehicles... and watched the parade. Here are a few pics...









3 comments:

HektikLyfe said...

Call me ignorant about world affairs but is Korea at war too?

Great shots. Are you a citizen of Korea or a resident or how does that work exactly. Are you an illegal alien or is that only an oxymoronic American term?

Charissa said...

So are those skis in their backpacks?

Excellent pictures as always! Miss you!

ryan said...

technically, south korea is still at war with north korea as no treaty was every signed. but there have been no "battles" for years. in fact, many people want to reunite the two koreas... this is nearly impossible right now.

i'm just here with an E-2 work visa. it's good for one year and then must be renewed. i'm not an illegal alien... i actually have an alien registration card which allows me to get a cell phone and a bank account. I was also able to get my korean driver's license.

and yep, those are skis.