Arriving bleary eyed after the twelve hour overnight flight from Seattle, the street scene around our hotel, near Hongik University, blows us away. The streets are pulsating with K-Pop, Euro-Pop and American hits and the streets are packed. It’s a warm late summer Saturday night, there’s a street music festival on and there’s a party in the air. We watch an all female dance troupe bang out a tightly choreographed hip hop routine and then a moody boy band in all black do a romantic ballad featuring a great deal of falsetto and cute guy poses.

The bars and restaurants are packed, with delicious smells wafting from hot pot joints and chicken skewer carts. Tables are crowded with friends laughing, eating and amassing impressive collections of empty soju bottles. And on every block there are photo studios beckoning in the Instagram generation with costumes and crazy props (like pig hats) of all kinds. #fabulous

We enjoy a delicious dinner of spicy (!) chicken hot pot with a gochujang chili broth, braised cabbage and glass noodles and then wander back to our hotel, the party outside still gaining momentum.

We rise early, well rested, assemble our trusty Bike Fridays and head out for breakfast. The street party is just winding down. People stream out of clubs and wander the streets, some drunk, some crying on the shoulders of friends, some still dancing. It gives us a whole new sense of what a 24-hour city truly is.

On our bikes, we make our way to the Hangang River, the wide body of water that bisects Seoul. There are excellent bike paths on both sides of the river and on this sunny Sunday morning, they are well used. Cycling is big here, from fancy roadies in Rapha kits to families out for a leisurely roll with kids. The infrastructure is outstanding, with clean public bathrooms and water stations along the way, frequent calisthenics stations and even bike roundabouts at busy intersections on the path. We get lots of friendly waves and help navigating, including a couple on an electric bike that escorts us for five miles to ensure we don’t miss our turn.

Further along, we cross the river again and make our way into the countryside beyond Seoul. The bike path continues to amaze, with a series of six bike and pedestrian only tunnels bored through hillsides, which avoids what would otherwise be big climbs.

We meet a lovely brother and sister from the country of Georgia (by way of NYC) who are cycle touring the country. They have seemingly cycled everywhere and give us some great tips. Cycle touring is an obscure hobby to say the least, and we are delighted to find a few of our tribe.