Jeju Tour - Day 2

View from our Jeju Hotel, note snow on ledge!

Our Jeju adventure continued today.  As we awoke this morning, we looked out our window and saw snowflakes!   So much for going to Jeju to enjoy some warmer weather.  However, Seoul had quite the snowfall and it was colder, so I guess we were lucky.  The weather in Jeju apparently changes quickly.  Shortly after the snow, there was sun.  That happened to us several times during out two tour days – it would be raining and we’d drive a few miles and then we’d have sun.  When the sun was out and the wind was calm, it felt very nice and we even took our jackets off for a bit.  But when the rain started and the wind picked up, the damp cold brought a shiver.


 

Since we were leaving after our tour, we got all packed up and ate our leftover pizza and lunch for breakfast.  Our room had a fridge so we were able to save those items.  Our first stop of the day was the Jeonbang Waterfall that falls directly into the ocean - the only one in all of Asia.  Ian fell asleep on the way so he totally missed that attraction.  But we’ve got pictures to prove he was there and when he’s older he won’t remember it anyway.

Jeonbang Waterfall

Ian asleep at the steps of Jeonbang Waterfall

 After the waterfall, we drove to the Seosokkak Lava Estuary.  This is a canyon-like creek bed formed by flowing lava from previous eruptions of the volcanoes that formed Jeju.  This flow is unique because half of it contains fresh water and half contains salt water.  The fresh water comes from rains and can be quite full after a heavy rain or it can dry up completely in drier weather.  There was just a bit of water in the freshwater side as we were not in the wet seaspon.  The ocean side always has water and we could see people kayaking and fishing in this area.  A short walk from the estuary is the ocean and a black sand beach.  The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and throwing rocks into the ocean.

Ben on the rocks at lava estuary - ocean water is in the background

Black sand beach at Seosokkak

Next up we drove over to Sunrise Peak in Seonsang (also called Seonsang Ilchulbong).  It was way after sunrise and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because it rained for much of the trip there and was cloudy when we arrived.  Dana and Ian ducked into Starbucks and grabbed a latte for her and a hot chocolate for the kids to share.  As we made our way up the 182m peak, it started to rain/sleet/snow, but at least it was a peaceful rain without much wind.   

Sunrise peak - where the sun?

Starbucks in Seonsang - for all the Starbucks lovers out there!

After our good workout climbing the peak, we stopped for lunch.  Our guide, Victor, ordered a few dishes for us to try - fish, bibimbap, and a seafood dish that kind of looked like a pizza or pancake.  We probably wouldn't have ordered the fish on own, but we're glad it was ordered as it was very tasty.

Lunch - fish

Lunch - seafood pancake/pizza

Lunch - Bibimbap

Before piling into the van, we walked over to the shore and noticed some women with live sea creatures near the shore that were waving for us to visit them.  These are the famous haenyo, or women divers of Jeju. We went down to investigate and the woman wanted to sell us an octopus.  She was ready to cut it's head off and boil it up for us; or we could eat it raw if we preferred.  While we didn't buy the octopus, she did let the kids touch it and play with it.

Homeschool curriculum for 12/6/12 - Biology - anatomy of the octopus

After our sea creature adventures, we moved on to the folk village in Seongup.  This is a living museum as the houses are still inhabited by actual residents.  We learned through Victor that the government subsidizes the replacement of the thatch roofs and that the residents don't pay any taxes in exchange for preserving the historic nature of this area.  The houses are made of volcanic rocks and covered with thatch roofs.  Properties are outlines with the ubiquitous volcanic stone fences.  We saw some black pigs and a cabbage patch as we walked through the area.  And near the entrance, there were some of the island's oldest dol harubang guarding the entrance, dating back to the 17th or 18th century.

Seongup Folk Village - people live in the houses so there are interesting contradictions like a thatched roof and a satellite dish.

Old dol harubang or "guardians" at the entrance to the folk village.

Our time in Jeju was quickly coming to an end, but we got one last taste of Jeju at the Seogwipo traditional market.  Vendors were selling all kinds of seafood, fruits, vegetables, food, clothing, etc.  We only had a few minutes to spend there so we couldn't take it all in, but it was quite the sensory experience.

Traditional market in Seogwipo

Our tour ended at the hotel.  We had a few minutes before we had to leave for the airport and the sky had cleared so we could see Mt. Hallasan.  We went to the hotel roof and got a picture, then got a ride to the bus stop and caught a bus that took us back to the airport.  

View from atop Jeju Eco Suites - Mt. Hallasan in the background

We had a bite to eat before catching our plane back to Seoul.  The kids were exhausted from all the touring and the kids all fell asleep.  Rather than take a train back to the hotel, we grabbed a cab to the hotel and checked back in.  To our surprise, we were escorted to the room by the manager on duty and our room had a bottle of wine, fruits, chocolates, and cookies waiting.  Before leaving on Tuesday, I had written a note of thanks to the manager complimenting the staff and they were so appreciative they gave us this extra special treatment.  I must say, that if you are ever in Seoul and want to stay in a first class hotel, the Seoul Millennium Hilton is a wonderful place to stay and the attentive, accommodating staff is what makes it so special.  However, I'd recommend saving up your Hilton points for the stay (or have someone donate some to you) as accommodations are not priced like a Hampton Inn.

It took a while to get situated after our travels and we got to bed later than hoped.  Not quite what we had in mind before our day of meeting Alex, but we'll take the sleep we can get and tomorrow we will meet our son!

Jeju Island

Today was all about our journey to Jeju Island.  The morning was spent packing and getting ready to leave the hotel.  We left most of our luggage at the hotel's bell desk and just took a few bags along.  Our place in Jeju has a washer and dryer so we had one bag almost full of clothes that needed washing.

Checking in at Jeju Air

Our flight was on Jeju Air out of the Gimpo Airport, Seoul's other airport used mainly for domestic flights and regional international flights.  We took the subway/airport express train to get there.  Even though our hotel is a short walk from Seoul Station, one of the main transfer points for transportation, we walked for a long time to get to our train as we navigated stairs, escalators, walking tunnels and such.  But once we got to the train, it was a nice, easy ride to the airport.

Ian with his Angry Bird chips

Our plane, a Boeing 737-800

We got checked in and grabbed some light snacks and lunch at the airport.  I like the security checkpoints in Korea better than the US.  We didn't have to remove our shoes or do a body scan or remove our liquids and they had no problem with the water and Coke in Dana's bag.  I did have to take out my laptop, but it was a breeze compared to a US checkpoint.  Our flight to Jeju was a short 50 minutes and Cami and Ian grabbed a nap on the way.  The flight gets into Jeju-si, on the north side of the island, but our hotel was near Seogwipo in the south.  So we caught a bus that took us around the island where we were met by a gentleman named Alex who took us to our hotel in his subcompact car.  It's a good thing we didn't have much luggage!  Our hotel is called Jejueco Suites.  It's a smaller place,  kind of like a bed and breakfast, run by a guy named Victor who is originally from Russia.  He studied Korean in college and 11 years ago decided to move to Jeju to continue his studies.  He's been leading tours for several years, but just a few months ago opened the hotel so it feels brand new.  The hotel is situated on a hillside among tangerine orchards and guest can pick tangerines from their garden.  We chose the place because the room came with a two day tour of the island and has free laundry.

Ian in the tangerine garden.

After we got settled in our room, Alex drove us into town so we could get some dinner.  We had a traditional Korea meal where we sat on mats on the heated floor.  Interestingly, there were also western style tables in the restaurant.  While we sat on the floor the Koreans who were dining used the tables.  We tried several dishes - Ben had a spicy seaweed and pork soup, Cami and Ian had stuffed dumplings and Dana and I had a spicy noodle and pork soup.  Cami liked the noodles so much we ended up ordering another bowl for her.

After dinner, Victor picked us up and returned us to our room.  We did some laundry while the kids watched Korean cartoons and then we went to bed.  Tomorrow we get to tour Jeju and see all it's natural wonders!

So my observation for the day is this:  When in Korea, remove your shoes before entering a home, but keep them on when going through the airport!