Jeju Island - Korea Trip Day 6

Its day 6 of our trip in Korea! Sadly its our last night in Jeju Island. We explored some of the tourist attractions by foot! Yes by foot and that is what I love about Seogwipo. We didn't get lost either because maybe my friend navigates well or its just Seogwipo is tourist friendly! We first tried to find a place to eat for breakfast, and we saw Paris Baguette. Yum yum yum...Those drama PPLs (product placement) are surely effective. I don't know how many times I've seen Paris Baguette in dramas. After breakfast, we just followed the signs pointing to one of the waterfalls in Seogwipo. 

great way finding signage	a cloudy day, that's Mt. Hallasan right?
Paris Baguette addicts!	I really want to try all of their breads.

Jeongbang Waterfalls is the first one. Since its spring, walking is so pleasant. The temperature is not that warm, the sun is shining, flowers in full bloom! It tried so hard not to pick a flower but I did. But I assure you that there's no "Don't pick flowers" sign. Jeongbang Waterfalls reminds of a similar falls (though not that high) in my dad's province in which the water well of course falls near the sea. It is so memorable to me because I passed out for a minute because of dehydration. Entrance fee is 2,000 KRW.

The Jeongbang falls. Amazing!	abalone and soju juseyo!
nearly hitting the sea	If only we could get ourselves wet.

In Jeongbang falls, you'll find makeshift restaurant serving I believe abalones. The raw kind that they just dipped it in gochujang or hot pepper paste. Of course the good'ol soju is present the complete the meal. Neither of us is adventurous enough to try it, but thinking about it now makes me regret that I didn't.

harbor or falls?

Next we head to another waterfalls. I can't iterate enough how the weather is so perfect for walking that day. The streets were somewhat like deserted which makes walking (for me) better. Thinking about how far we walk is disbelieving. We passed by Chilsimni Food Street en route to our next destination. We reached the crossroad one pointing to Seogwipo Harbor and the other to Cheonjiyeon Falls. We can see from a far Seogwipo Harbor already so we opted to there first.

is that you Hallasan?

We got a glimpse of Mt. Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea and its situated on the center of the island. Its a bit cloudy that day and we almost missed it. We originally planned to go up the mountain but our schedule can't and maybe our feet too!

Coby the Explorer! Exploring Seogwipo by foot!

Seogwipo Harbor houses of course docked boats and yachts, Saeseom Island Saeyeongyo Bridge. We did not go to island at the end of the bridge because the wind was blowing so freaking hard. I was so afraid that the wind will blow us off from the island hehe! Saeyeongyi Bridge's middle portion looks very much the same as the Burj Al Arab here in Dubai. I believe both were inspired by a sail.

Then we walk again to Cheonjiyeon Falls has a park vibe. The walk from the entrance to the falls is a bit far, but the scenery around will let you not mind the long walk. There's more tourists here than Jeongbang falls and it is more tourist friendly but I like the rawness of Jeongbang falls. We bought octopus tentacles on stick, shredded squid and fish (the cooked one, I'll comeback for the live one). 

I don't know how many tourists I shoved to get this solo

No we did not eat it all, we saved it later for soju and makgeolli! Good thing I can read hangul a bit we were able to spot the right bottles in 7-11. We didn't get ourselves wasted, just tasted these two Korean liquors. I like makgeolli more because its just like drinking vinegar. While soju is like gin. Yea, I'd rather drink vinegar than gin. hehe! We ate the rest of the shredded squid  and spent the rest of the afternoon at the hotel and watched home TV shopping.

Jeju Island - Korea Trip Day 5!

Annyeong!

We opted to stay in Seogwipo City, the southern part of Jeju Island. Our room (based on booking.com) promised a view. Indeed it has a little view. A construction in on-going at time so there was a crane obstructing our view. We can see an island from our window. The hotel is not along the coast but was close enough to walk.

"Room with a view"

It's so easy to fall in love with Jeju Island. I like the laid back life there, but at the same time you don't feel any remoteness. That day we went to Jeju Folk Village, Seopjikoji, and Sunrise Peak (Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak). The hotel called a cab that we paid 120 USD (if my memory serves me right) for 8 hours. The driver don't speak English. Our communication was limited only to how long we can spend on that tourist spot. We really want to go see the lava tubes but they said that its very cold at that time. Bummer. We get into the cab, I really wish that I've remember our drivers name and the first guy that helped us in Seoul. But I was to excited to remember things at that time or ever.. haha!

First stop is Jeju Folk Village. Honestly I want to skip this place because I kinda get a glimpse of those houses in Seoul. But since we can't go to the lava tubes, we decided to go there instead. One good thing about going there was there's a few people there. Or perhaps we are early. Again if you've seen a lot of sageuk, it will be fun to see those houses in real life! As you read through the different captions, you'll get educated on how people in Jeju island lived on those days.

One thing I can't forget about Jeju Folk Village is the ostrich. I think its the first time that I saw an ostrich. Souvenirs are pretty cheap there so don't forget to grab a few for your friends. I bought  the phallic statue miniatures holding tangerines key chains 10,000 KRW for 5 key chains.

Annyeong ostrich!

Seoul - Busan - Jeju Island! - Korea Trip Day 4

Korail tickets

And we rode the train to Busan! That saved us a lot of money for 1) No overnight stay fee on a hostel 2) Cheaper fare (only 27 USD) while KTX costs around 57 USD. I remember some budget travelers do this especially when they are touring Europe. The cons are of course its a bit tiring (not as comfortable as lying in a bed) and you don't get to see view of the countryside. I suggest that you bring something to cover your eyes for they are not turning off the lights. Well that is if you can't sleep with the lights on. Luckily I always bring my buff when I travel because its super functional, and in this instance I used it as a sleep mask.

We arrived at Busan maybe around 5 in the morning and there are no lounge (or we don't know) or even seats with back rest that we can doze while waiting for the city bus tour -- another way to go around Busan in an easier budget friendly way.