"The Hawaii of Korea." When I first heard this attributed to Jeju-do, ("do" means island) I had my doubts. Korea is not exactly the most picturesque country in the world. The beaches here are quite different from Socal. The only long, sandy beach I've visited is down in Busan, about 4 hours away. Jeju was not at the top of my list when I planned a trip for my summer vacation. However, due to lack of funds and a possible quarantine for that damn swine flu if I traveled overseas, Jeju seemed the only plausible option. It was the only affordable getaway I could settle upon. I think I made the right choice.
Friends Keith and Bronwyn. Bronwyn is my co-teacher at school and Keith is her friend from home who teaches here also. They're Canadian so you know they're cool. Our first lunch in Jeju consisted of about a pound of samgyepsal (pork), 10 side dishes, and beer. And we thought we were going to hike around afterwards. Not a chance.
The view from the Hiking Inn, basically an international hostel run by a silly Korean man who spoke great English and looked like death every morning waking up from a hangover. He accidentally started 2 small fires throwing cigarettes in trash cans... within a span of 5 minutes.
Apparently some famous waterfall near our hotel.
Bronwyn and Keith turned into ghosts.
Notice the "Fixed Price Sale" sign. This ain't Seoul, where you can barter just about anything.
Jeju fashionista.
Some crazy Scots and Canadians atop the Hiking Inn.
The next day we went to an awesome beach, situated between the Hyatt and Lotte hotels. The water was above 70 degrees. The strange part was that the lifeguards would not let people swim more than 5 yards out, due to the strong current. So, we decided to lay on the beach and have the backwater suck us into the waves and we'd get crushed. Finally, the lifeguards gave up when everyone said f#$@ it, and went into the water. I bodysurfed for about 2 hours straight. I ended up having first degree burns, but it was well worth it. Here's a bungee sorta plaything that pulled this kid up and down for a couple minutes. He loved the first couple ups and downs, but then it seemed more like a form of child abuse.
What do you do when you're burnt to a crisp and feel like crap? Hike the tallest mountain in Korea, of course. Hallasan is a national park and a dormant volcano in the middle of Jeju. It's the reason why Jeju exists at all. We hiked 3 hours up the mountain to get this wonderful view of a wall of fog. I did feel like quite a champ at the top, though.
proof
A little lake in the middle of the crater.
On the way down we spotted a deer.
Of course the weather cleared up on the way down.
An cave where Koreans used to store ice, or soju, or something.
World Cup Stadium, Jeju. Looks like a cross between a crown and a shipwreck. Don't know what they use it for now. Jeju's soccer team plays at another stadium in the north of the island.
A huge temple I always missed when trying to take a picture from the bus.
The beast that is Seoul.
What do you do when you're burnt to a crisp and feel like crap? Hike the tallest mountain in Korea, of course. Hallasan is a national park and a dormant volcano in the middle of Jeju. It's the reason why Jeju exists at all. We hiked 3 hours up the mountain to get this wonderful view of a wall of fog. I did feel like quite a champ at the top, though.
proof
A little lake in the middle of the crater.
On the way down we spotted a deer.
Of course the weather cleared up on the way down.
An cave where Koreans used to store ice, or soju, or something.
World Cup Stadium, Jeju. Looks like a cross between a crown and a shipwreck. Don't know what they use it for now. Jeju's soccer team plays at another stadium in the north of the island.
A huge temple I always missed when trying to take a picture from the bus.
The beast that is Seoul.
