The Han River (한강) in Korea needs no introduction. On most sections in Seoul, you’ll find pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths on both sides of the river. The banks are also dotted with numerous rest stops with convenience stores, restaurants, cafes, picnic areas and scenic photo spots.

Most bridges across the river are only for vehicles and and subways, but on some, for example the Banpo Bridge (반포대교), you can ride a bicycle or cross the bridge on foot. It’s a great way to see the Rainbow Fountain from another view.

On weekends, you’ll find families, couples and groups of friends camping out in the parks on Han River. For the more adventurous, there are also water sport facilities nearby. A couple hundred metres from Yeouinaru Station (여의나루역) on Line 5, you’ll find a floating Ashley Restaurant and the Hangang Leisure Sports Club.

This is where you can wakeboard, jetski, ride a motorboat, or even try the new Flyboard.

A quick break down of the costs per session:
Motor boat - 10,000 won (adult), 7,000 won (child)
Water ski - 25,000 won
Wake board - 25,000 won
Banana boat - 40,000 (4 pax)
Jet ski - 50,000 won (2 pax)

The staff here speak a little English and are absolutely friendly folks. But if you’re a total newbie trying a new sport, you still need to understand Korean for the staff to be able to teach you. The wakeboard boat comes back to the dock after every ride (or session), so it’s not the most efficient use of time, and petrol. Not too sure if they allow you to rent the boat for a full hour and stay out in the waters.

Even though you’re not riding in the open sea, the river is still more than 1km wide, so the water can be rather choppy at some parts. And it’s cold.

Didn’t get the chance to try the Flyboard, but it seems like extreme fun.

And the jetski rides come with a healthy serving of screams and applause (from the dock).

It’s a great way to chill out for an entire afternoon and end the day with a picnic at the park. Highly recommended.

June marks the beginning of summer in Korea where Seoulites head out of the city to cool off. It’s also the time where beaches in Korea are peppered with colorful giant brollies, but that’s for another story. The good thing about this country is you can escape bustling Seoul with a short drive (disclaimer: sans the traffic on weekends).

Slightly off the beaten track, and probably not known to many, is the Piano Waterfall in Namyangju (남양주). It’s about 38km east of Seoul and an hour’s drive from Gangnam (강남) — an easy day trip for a picnic.

The landmark of this place is the giant piano which is really a glorified toilet — a lavatory with a view. Matching the theme of this place, which by the way is also a water refinery plant, are steps that play tunes when you step on them. It’s a short flight of steps, but one that keeps children entertained. Here you’d also find families with their sprawling mats in the shade chatting away and enjoying the scenery. There’s something to do for everyone.

When it’s time to cool off the summer heat, you can walk down to the foot of the man-made waterfall. It’s 92m tall, measuring 10.2m at its narrowest and 26.2m at its widest.

There’s also an environmental museum where you can find out more about water refinery and treatment process. The plant itself is capable of processing 43,000 cubic metres of water.

The Piano Waterfall is closed during winter months between December and February. For the rest of the year, it is open from 9am to 6pm daily.

How to get to the Piano Waterfall
By car: Take the Seoul-Chuncheon (서울춘천고속도로 마사IC) expressway and turn off the Huado (화도IC). There will be signs along the way once you reach this area.

If you are using GPS, type in 경기도 남양주시 화도읍 금남리 폭포로 562 although the Korean GPS should recognize the place if you type 피아노 폭포.

By public transport (according to Naver Map): Take 8001 from Gangnam station Exit 4. The journey would take about 1 hour and 17 minutes. You’ll reach Maseok station (마석역) where you have to change to the local 30-9 bus which is another 35 minutes ride. The bus will drop you right at the entrance of the Piano Waterfall.

Washing a car by hand can be strangely therapeutic and is relatively inexpensive to do so in Korea. You can find many of these 셀프세차장 (self-help car wash centre) or 손세차 (hand wash car), and some operate 24 hours a day. Of course, you could also leave it in the good hands of professional cleaning services at petrol stations or shopping malls.

These self-help car wash centres are designed for two main purposes. One, to wash the exterior, and two, to clean the interior of the car.

The lots are designed to fit a mid-sized sedan perfectly. Drive into one of the lots and you’ll find a slot machine mounted on the side of the wall. For 2,000 won, you can use the spray jet for 3 minutes and the timer will start to sound once you have a minute left.

For a quick clean, spraying the car with strong jets of water would suffice. But if you want to really scrub it clean, then you’d have to wash it with foam.

After that, you simply drive forward to the open air section of the car wash centre. This is where you wipe down the car with a towel. There would also be a wash basin nearby where you can clean the towel too. How convenient.

This section of the centre is where you’ll find an air spray and a vacuum cleaner which cost 1,000 won for 3 minutes. You can flip the switch and pick which one you wish to use. Needless to say, you use these to clean the interior of the car.

At some centres, you’d also find dedicated machines to clean the car floor mats.

In the day, most people would leave once the car is wiped clean. But at night, you’d usually find groups of friends coming together to wash, scrub and polish their cars. It makes for a pretty inexpensive gathering, and not to mention, a good workout of the arms.

A short distance from Namiseom Island is a French cultural village set in the Korean countryside, a scenic 10km winding lakeside drive after turning in at the Cheongpyeong Dam. Littered along the way are numerous pensions and water sports facilities that let you ride the banana boat, bungee jump and wakeboard. (Reminder to myself to come back here soon.)

According to the visitors’ brochure, Petite France is both a French cultural village and youth training facility, and houses 16 French-styled buildings where people can live in and experience everything French, from food to clothing and household culture.

And for the K-Pop, K-Drama fans, this is also apparently where Ju-won meets Ra-im for the first time in the Korean drama Secret Garden (2011). This is also the filming locations for Beethoven Virus (2008) and Personal Taste (2009). I’ve watch none of these dramas.

Rose. Asteroid. Le Petit Prince.
The concept of Petite France revolves around flowers, stars and the Little Prince.

Inside the football field-sized village perched on the slope you’ll find an amphitheater, bistro, gallery, French residence, guest houses, and most importantly, a memorial hall dedicated to Saint-Exupery, the author of the celebrated French novel, Le Petit Prince (1943), earning its name of Little Prince theme park.

Don’t get confused with the regular theme parks with roller coasters and rides that come dosed with ear-piercing screams though. If you’re here on a weekday, it will likely be very quiet and peaceful. Expect tourist crowds on weekends when tour coaches arrive in droves. Note to drivers to be careful at winding bends as there can be unexpected speeding buses at blind corners.

Koreans seem to really like “locking” their loves.

The Observatory where you get a sweeping view of the entire area.

There is an admission fee of 8,000 won for adults, 6,000 for adolescents, and 5,000 for children. However, if you’re putting up at the guest house, the fee is waived.

Unless you drive here, it’s probably a better idea to join one of the day-trip tour packages where you’ll get to see both Namiseom Island and Petite France as only public buses and Gapyeong city tour buses service this area. And these apparently are subject to cancellation and delay depending on the weather and traffic conditions.

Semiwon (세미원) is a botanical garden built on the principle of natural purification. It is said that one can cleanse his mind by looking at the water, and enlighten the sprit by looking at the flowers. Or at least that’s the literal translation of the words inscribed on the stone plaque in the garden.

The garden is located in Yangpyeong, which is less than an hour’s drive east of Seoul. On a good day, you can probably reach there in 40 minutes. On a weekend, with traffic, expect a journey of 2 hours. In fact, one needs to account for traffic time for any trip.

Semiwon is home to a myriad of water plans such as lotus flowers, water lilies, etc. But I saw none of it simply because it wasn’t the season yet. Aside from the ponds that weren’t very well maintained, the rest of the garden was pretty “cleansing”. There were pots of mini fountains, paths made from traditional washboards, greenhouses, and scale models of famous mountain ranges in Korea.

Walk further into the garden and you’ll come to this crossing bridge where the scenery gets more picturesque.

Where a vast piece of land and waterway greet.

You can pile the stones to make a wish.

Or take a picture-in-picture with the giant photo frame.

There is an admission fee of 4,000 won to the garden, and the best time to visit is apparently early June to early August when the lotus flowers bloom.