There are a lot of fake "grandfather rocks" including the one in my photo but there are about 50 real ones. They are large volcanic rocks carved to look like grandpas!! They're really cute and I loved taking pictures of them.
On the way down, I made the trip part time on a bus (5 hours - not fun) and part on a ferry (4 more not-so-fun hours). The ferry was interesting because it was basically a huge boat divided into rooms full of about 30 middle-aged Korean people heading to the island to go hiking on the Olle trails (which go all the way around the island) and to climb Halla Mountain. There were no chairs, only a heated floor to sit on. There was a little girl sitting near me who came and played with me and was poking the rabbits on my socks, and then a little baby whose grandfather was offering her beer. (The baby said no, by the way, and the mom was really proud.) Upon arriving, I trekked around the city of Jeju and got a snack, then headed on the bus to my first hotel in Seongsaneup. Its name was Phoenix Island, and it was gorgeous there. In the morning there were several horses with carriages clopping by the window and the bathroom had a jacuzzi! I gave myself a facial and had a little spa night, which was nice. I had a good seafood pizza for dinner. One of the cool things I noticed about Jeju-do was that pretty much everywhere you go, people are drying seaweed. Including randomly on the sidewalk!
The first day I woke up, got dressed and went to U-do (U Island) via ferry (which was packed with annoying little high school kids - no offense, little brother Danny) and biked around the entire island! The man at the bike rental place said it would take a girl who exercises about 2 hours to go all the way around, but I only took an hour and 15 minutes. Clearly this man underestimated my power. (Heehee.) The scenery was beautiful and there were a lot of places where you could ride horses. There was also a lot of that little yellow flower called rape (which allows many people to make some very tasteless jokes) and a ton of rock walls.
I took a ton of pictures, and even met a friendly little puppy who came up and licked me! I couldn't pet him, though, because I could pretty much see fleas hopping around on him.
After biking for a long time I was feeling a little peaky out so I had some 회국수 (raw fish with veggies and noodles) which was spicy and delicious. They bring it out to you and you mix it up yourself on the plate with a plastic glove and your hand!
The next morning I woke up early, packed up, and hopped on a bus to go to 서귀포, or Seogwipo. The bus went through a nice little town called 중문 (Jungmun) which reminded me a ton of Florida; it was almost unreal. I dropped off my bags at the new (more conveniently-located) hotel, then went to 한라산 Halla Mountain to do some hiking!
I am not known to be the most enduring hiker; I chose the half hour up and half hour down climb because the next smallest was 2 and a half hours up and 2 hours down and after that was 5 hours up. Nope, definitely not for me. I reached the top of the little peak of Hallasan and was able to get a really nice view. You could even see the snow on the peak of the really big mountain! It was really cool. After that, I tried to go see a waterfall back in Jungmun, but the park was closed. So much for that.
Upon returning to the hotel, I got to do something that I would never get the chance to do in Ohio - visit a Korean bath house (you'd think I'd have been able to go there more, you know, living in Korea and all, but no one will ever go with me! *ahem, Hee-kyong*). I'll spare you the nitty-gritty details but basically it's divided by gender and there are no clothes allowed, so needless to say I was pushing the envelope when it comes to my personal comfort, but after a little while it was less awkward and it was really nice and relaxing. There are three pools: one hot, one cold, and one hot sea water with green tea in it (so awesome). There is also a hot sauna room and several open-backed shower stalls so that you can scrub off and everything before getting in the water with everyone. I spent about an hour there and then went to go have dinner.
Dinner was something I've been wanting to try ever since I heard about it - black pig meat. It's said that the pigs on Jeju island turned black after eating human - er - refuse? But as a failed pre-med major I know that can't be true, so I still really wanted to eat it. It was delicious!! There were a lot of good side dishes, and I wrapped it up in lettuce and devoured everything. I slept well because the bath house was so relaxing and the food was so tasty.
In the morning I got up extra early once again to head back in the direction of Jungmun. Today was supposed to be the return journey and was also the day that I did all of the things I had been holding off on. The first place I visited was the 천제연 폭포 (Cheonjeyeon Waterfall) which actually consisted of three places where there were supposed to be waterfalls, but really only two were running at the time. I was also able to hop the fence and climb up into the old aqueduct/irrigation line and take a picture in a little cave. Which, in hindsight, was probably not quite legal, and also I got covered in spiderwebs.
After leaving Love Land I finally made it back to Jeju-si where I boarded the 13 hour ferry that would take me back home. I got to sleep in a bunk this time and, although it was hot and stinky and the pillow was a pleather-covered block of foam, I was much more comfortable than when I was sleeping on the floor of the ferry on the way there.
And so, my Jeju-do trip ended. It was beautiful and fun, and I had a fantastic time.
If you want to see more pictures than what I included then check out my album on facebook by clicking [here].
Miss you guys!
Look for some more practical posts coming up soon!
Love,
Janet
