Rise of the urban-explorer

Its been a really long time since I've had the chance to explore the labyrinth of a big city - not the skyscraper lined boulevards or the ritzy cocktail bars but the small part of the city that still retains its ancient charm. With the thread getting more entangled this semester, its been really difficult to find time to enjoy the spring in Seoul. But this weekend, the issue 19 of Quill was finalised and after some minor editing on the drafts, I was free for the rest of a nice Saturday afternoon and decided to head to Insadong. Though I've been living in Seoul for the almost 8 months now, I've never been to Insadong before. It is famous for its antique and art-work shops and galleries. So, with more than 2 hours to spare and a brand new aviator to screen my eyes from the sun, I headed for Insadong-gil.
Hundreds of shops line the main road and an equally large number of then ducked in the small lanes branching off. They sold Korean pottery, wood carving, silk paintings, bronze sculptures, jewellery. Certain things attracted my attention - an exquisitely carved jade horse, a hand-crafted wooden pencil stand, a couple of nice green caldron Korean pottery set. This placed has sparked a new interest in traditional Korean art and I'm likely to spend some more time from now onwards studying about it. But what I liked most about Insadong was the atmosphere. The main street is traffic free for most of the time on weekends, so no dodging crazy bikers or waiting for the light to cross the road. The atmosphere is relaxed and though there are a lot of people around, it doesn't feel crowded.
Exploring cities can be fun, if you choose the right place. Its been a long time, since the rainy days of Berlin, that I've donned the hat of an urban explorer. With life getting increasingly busy, its difficult to find time to go on extended trips, so in the days to come, the urban explorer is likely to persist, as opposed to the temple hopper that emerged in Cambodia, a few months back. Insadong a renewed my interest in Seoul and making good use of the weekends, and I'm likely delve deeper into the world on Korean art, thanks to that sunny Saturday afternoon.
To end, a few pictures of the spring flowers in Yoeido park.