17th - 18th of November - Jeju island

We had an early start to catch a flight out from Yeosu to Jeju, Korea's biggest island just south of the mainland. The flight was uneventful - a short domestic flight; less than 5 minutes after the spiel about staying seated with the seat belt fastened even if the fasten seat belt light was off, the cabin crew was asked to ready the cabin for landing. 

 

The first day was spent focusing on north and east, whereas the second day was primarily west and south. 

 

Arriving in Jeju city around 0930 the weather had changed dramatically from when we were on the mainland. Overcast, windy and cold - and with the occasional drizzle to mix it up. The weather could change quite fast, and despite the limited size of the island it could vary quite a lot depending on where you are. Being exposed and the tallest point in South Korea, Hallasan mountain, located in the middle of Jeju, certainly had a say in the weather conditions. 

 

Hamdeok beach. 

 

We headed first towards the popular Hamdeok beach and the next door cafe Del Moondo. The weather being as it was there were obviously not anyone out swimming in the waves, and the beach was covered by a tarp-like material to prevent the sand from blowing away. We all retreated to the cafe before returning to the bus. From here we continued to Seongsan Sunrise Peak where, after we had our lunch break, climbed to the top of the volcano crater where we had an excellent view of the surrounding area. Despite of the overcast-ness of the situation visibility was still good. It was a nice walk up - from sea level to around 180 meters the view was unobstructed for quite a bit. We were supposed to also see the local woman pearl divers do their thing while here, but due to the weather conditions it had unfortunately been canceled. 

 

 View of Seongsan-ri from the summit of Seongsan Sunrise Peak.

 

 Looking into the crater of Seongsan Sunrise Peak.

 

We then continued on to Seongeub folk village, a small town (well, village) that primarily still consisted of old traditional houses as they were built centuries ago. It was weird walking past the buildings, getting a open air museum-feel, and turning a corner and seeing modern cars parked outside a house. We were also told that when they in the past went to the toilet they always brought a stick; as they did their business into the pigsty they needed a stick to keep the pigs away long enough to be able to finish their business (obviously they use modern tech these days and do not have to rely on their pig-bonking skills). Apparently they have a local breed of pig on Jeju island; black pork. One can only wonder how they ended up being considered superior to normal pork.

 

Seongeub folk village.

 

A demonstration of how it goes when you lack proper pig-bonking skills.

 

Before getting to our hotel and checking in we had an hour to walk around the Dongmun market in Jeju city - not much different than any other market we have been through, but apart from black pork Jeju is very known for - and proud of - their tangerines. A lot of stalls sold them and/or goods that involved tangerines and chocolate in different shapes and sizes. And if you're looking for a tangerine-colored hat, ear warmer, buff or similar this is the place to be! 

 

Outside Dongmun market.

Statues representing the woman pearl divers on Jeju island. 

The one to the right is clearly fighting the strong winds.

The next day we left for Hallim park, a large area that was more than just a park; lava tunnels, botanical gardens including palms (Jeju is the only place in Korea that has palms) and a bonsai garden, birds and a folk village with Korea's largest Dolhareubang in Jeju. A Dolhareubang is basically a Jeju statue that is placed in a village or gates to project power and as guardians against evil spirits. The first ones were made more than 500 years ago. We had close to 1½ hours to walk around which I at first thought was a lot of time, but I found myself rushing through most of it, including the bonsai garden. They had surprisingly many bonsai, it felt endless, but due to the season (I assume) many of them were bare trunks with no leaves, leaving a slight less impressive impression. Some of them were very nice, but overall the average quality seemed significantly higher in the bonsai museum I visited in Tokyo. 

 

 Lots of bonsai.

 

 Careful you don't trip on the way out of the building.

 

Dolhareubang. 

 

From here we went to visit the Soesokkak to see the Estuary. Honestly; there wasn't much to it - we arrived at local tour boat company where we were introduced to life jackets and then spent an hour or so on a small flat-bottomed barge (with a roof) and benches along the sides together with a bunch of other people. Our guide then pulled us all the way down to the end of a small canyon where we had plenty of time for selfies and photos. He also handed out tangerines (of course) and talked a lot about the area and geological features (most of it is lava rock) - unfortunately we depended on our tour guide translating for us - and while I can't say for sure we didn't get half of what was said, our tour guide talked way less than our local boat guide.

 

Soesokkak estuary. 

 

Having had lunch coming back to land we continued on to Cheonjiyeon waterfall - a waterfall hidden 20 minutes' walk away from the road. It was a nice walk along paths in a wooded area but while the waterfall was nice to look at it was just a waterfall. 

 

Cheonjiyeon waterfall. 

 

Following this we visited Sanbangsan Bomusa temple located at the foot of Sanbang mountain. The temple had a nice view south of Yongmeori coast and the sea. It was admittedly a temple like the many other we had seen on the way, but they had a lot of small buddha statues and figurines placed everywhere, and even seemingly gilded quite a few. With the weather being heavily clouded, the few times when the sun got through the layer of clouds the light really made the gilded statues shine. 

 

Sanbangsan Bomusa temple.

 

 Looking out from Sanbangsan Bomusa temple south at Yongmeory coast.

Someone seems to have been good. 

 

From here we returned to the hotel and our guide to the entire group out for a final dinner together - which of course was barbecue with black pork. This was the last day of the tour of the 6 of us who had been doing the 2 week tour, while the 9 "new" people would return to Seoul and have a few days there before going their separate ways. 

 

Big thanks to Robert for being an excellent guide throughout the tour. Big thanks to Lisa, Anne, Bebe, Ailie, Vivian, Christine, Laurence, Kathryn, Miranda, Colette, Sarah, Nikky, Mary and Mandy for being awesome people - at least for the time we were traveling together in South Korea. It was nice meeting you all and I hope we one day get to meet again somewhere.