Jeju City
10/31, Thursday Flew from Shanghai Pudong airport to Jeju City. Only 1.5 hours. I chose Jeju because of it's close approximity to Shanghai (for me to obtain a free transit visa), and also for hiking. It has the highest mountain in Korea, and a long distance trail: Olle Trail that goes all around the island.
Took W400k from an ATM using my new Chinese Union Pay card. 10k & 50k notes. Too many 0s. Bought a transit card for W4000, I paid 10k, so 6k usable. Took a bus to downtown. W1150. Looked around for a hotel. Stayed at Hotel Prime. W40500 cash. The rain had started. Later in the evening, I was told that a typhoon was just going through Jeju. All flights were canceled.
11/1, Friday, rained nonstop.
Walked to Samsung Blood 三姓穴 (W4000), a museum fairly close by.
Even with an umbrella, my legs and shoes were drenched.
This is the birth place of the legend Samseonghyeol.
The 3 ancesters of the people of Jeju Island came out of 3 holes here.
This is the oldest monument on Korean Peninsular.
Met a school group hiding from the rain in a resting house for lunch.
Jeju Folklore and Natural History Museum is next door (W2000).
Thank god it's indoor exhibit only. A large non-descriptive concrete building.
I was very taken by the big screen when you enter. ~2.5m x 12m.
A short film about the island's four seasons is playing on a loop.
The exhibition is not bad. I like those traditional houses.
Bus 101 to Seongsan Ri, a small peninsular at the east tip of Jeju Island. Every 50 minutes. W2000, a nicer bus. Seems I waited for 50 minutes. The Google time is off. I'm unable to read the schedule posted in the waiting station. 9 columns, every day is different. By then, it was raining very hard. Couldn't see anything through the window.
Seongsan-ri
When I got off the bus, the wind had kicked up, so no umbrella. The short walk to the hotel got me drenched. I had reserved ahead of time at Sungsan Woori House. W130k (~$100) for 2 nights with breakfast. Raised wooden floor with slippers. There is a balcony with cooking range, which I never used. A dehumidifier! I changed out of my wet clothes and shoes. Put on sandals, and prepared to go out again for dinner. The proprietor saw me carrying an umbrella, just shaked her head. I opened the door, and hesitated. Rain was striking sideways. I retreated to my room. Ate trail mix.
11/2, Saturday.
Gloom and doom all morning. The rain finally abated off ~noon. I headed out for a late breakfast.
Hangover soup at one of the chains, with good review. W1100.
The table has a drawer that contains all the utensils and napkins.
There are only 3 choices, all with photos. No English.
The soup is hearty and boiling hot. A raw egg to dump into the boiling clay pot.
The kimchee set here is fairly simple, and I don't eat any of those.
After this late breakfast, I walked to the mainland (the village of Ojo-ri), looping around via different bridges and back on to the peninsular all along the almost enclosed bay.
Unknowingly I followed part of route#1 and route#2 of Olle, until I saw the trail icons.
Quite some sea birds. 2 fishermen. A rainbow. Very pleasant.
Walked up Siksanbong (a small oreum - volcanic cone in Jeju). Wooden steps all the way (12m?) to a nice wooden platform. Too treed for a good view.
The main attraction in this small town is Sunrise Peak (W5000), an extinct volcano off the coast.
More beautification is under construction at the foothill of the mountain.
Stairs all the way to the summit (182m/597'), where you can see a treed shallow crater.
The "trail" starts very gentle among a grassy lawn, mowed regularly.
Then steep but very short stairs. ~15 minutes from the gate to summit view-deck.
The nice thing is that the up and down are channeled to 2 different staircases.
Benches along the way for you to take a break.
A different path led me along the coast down to water, where Haenyeo Divers Resting Lounge is.
All a long, very good view.
At the waterfront, saw a lady washing the meat of unshelled flesh.
Very good view of the cliff from here.
Earlier in the day, there is supposed to be a free-diving demonstration - a dying skill for fishing the mollusks.
For W30K (~$25), I picked a small plate. A larger plate is W50k. Watch these ladies cleaning it, and I ate it raw.
Some are very chewy.
You can go ask for some sauce and leek and buy drinks at the counter.
A group of Korean guys who sat next to me gave me some liquer to try.
Bought some mandarins (W3500). Jeju Island is known for citrus cultivation.
Walked along the coast more to the north, and detoured back to the hotel. Dinner at a restaurant by the main road close to the hotel. Seaweed soup W10k. Again, I don't understand anything. No English. Picked from pictures.
11/3, Sunday. Sunrise at sunrise peak. I left the hotel before 6am with headlamp. Didn't really need headlamp, because of street lights.
Surprised to see so many people came here in the dark. Guards were there already! Only 6:30am.
Sunrise was about 7 today. Everyone found a seat, and sat down to wait, very orderly. More coming.
Walking down Sun Peak, walked along the coast north a bit more than yesterday.
Saw many places to sit including this funny looking chair/bench.
After breakfast at the hotel, I checked out: heading to the interior and then south.
First, bus 212 (W1150) to Sangumburi Crater (W7k).
Walking up a nice stone path between a mowed lawn and a large wheat(?) field to the edge of the crater.
No way of walking around the crater, only has view point at one side.
The rest is very overgrown.
The picnic tables here have nice roofs, very popular for tourists taking photos (not eating, only 10am).
The bus in front of the crater didn't arrive for a long time. So I walked ~2 miles to the main road to catch the bus to Seongeup Folk Village.
At one end of the village, maybe the main gate, saw a costum shop renting out traditional clothes.
A small group of tourists were taking photos with their new-old outfit.
Otherwise, not much activities, not many tourists. Feels like a sleepy village.
Traditional houses, well fixed up, some have people living here, with small yards. Some house are completely empty.
Even the main street where all the shops are, are quiet, and mostly closed.
Squash hanging over the fence, persimmon on trees.
Near the north entrance of the village, I walked into this restaurant that advertises horse meat.
One couple was feasting there, with many dishes.
The guy speaks good English, and translated the menu to me. He told me he was having the W38000 set, which requires at least 2 orders.
With no other customer, the lady of the house agreed to serve me the set meal for one.
It was a lot of food, nice presentation. Starts with tartar with pea vine in seaweed wrap,
cooked sparerib with salad,
burger with core (I really liked this one),
raw (small) steak with coleslaw,
self-fried fajita in a stone pot, accompanied by rice and soup.
Of course, a set of kimchees, which has non-spicy bean sprout and silver smelt that I'm able to eat.
Took the same bus, continued on to the main road, and transfer to a bus to Seogwipo City.
Seogwipo City
Walking towards the SE of downtown, checking hotels along the way. I had noted a few with better reviews. Settled at Jeju Hikinginn & Gudeok Guesthouse W64000 for 2 nights. The girl at the reception speaks good English, and full of tourist information. I consulted her a couple of times. Very nice. My room has a numeric lock and I was given a code.
Visited Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls.
Bought ticket (2k)from an office aligne the large parking lot, together with other stores.
It was getting late, still quite some people.
Walking up a creek, with trails on both sides.
Saw quite some ducks, one egret, a couple of fish.
Afterwards, I walked to Saeyeongyo Bridge for sunset. I was a little too late, and quite a few others.
The bridge gives a nice structure to the view. This is suggested by my hotel hostess. A good idea.
In the evening, I went to the market for dinner. More like eating snacks than dinner.
Very touristy.
A lot of stores, busy, mostly for snacks, less for souvenirs or grocery.
Jeju Island is known for citrus, so a lot of different oranges.
It's dinner time, so most tourists here are for food.
Being an island, seafood is common here. However, not cheap, not always fresh (those sold as snacks in markets are often frozen).
A lot of snacks: many different kinds of corn dogs, dough/noodle/rice mixed with roasted/fried pork, egg, (previously frozen) octopus...
11/4, Monday, all day in Seogwipo City.
Out early for sunrise. Walking to the coast. Added 3k to bus card.
Visited Xu Fu Park on the coast, commenmorating Xu Fu (徐福)
who's said to have brought 3000 kids and many grains and seeds to Jeju, on his quest for elixir.
A series of stone reliefs telling the legend.
The park or the extended park area is along the coast. Good views here and there.
Walked by Jeongbang Waterfall, but it was still closed (opens at 9am).
So I continued walking along the coastal road, and got on Olle trail (#6?).
There's a small waterfall marked on Google map.
Walked by a stone house called "Castle of Shell". Seems some kind of tourist info center now, but was closed.
Ended in an KAL hotel. Large manicured law with topiary trees. A small lake with a pagoda.
A serie of rectangular ponds (fish hatchery?) that's fenced off.
Now, 9am, I walked back to see the waterfall Jeongbang (W2000).
A long staircases walk you down to the pebbly beach.
Some tourists here already.
Afterwards, I walked to the north of city (along a creek for a bit) to catch bus 655 to Citrus museum.
Once off the bus, still need to walk ~1 mile to the museum.
On the way, walked up a hill for a view of the coast (not worth the trouble).
The museum itself is nicely arranged. Fairly new.
Other than the museum proper (history of the orange growing economy, apparently not very old),
there's a large greenhouse of various citrus species, and a different tall greenhouse for "world" plants.
Not too many people here.
There's a U-pick field with a special ticket.
On the way back, I got off the bus at the Five-Day Market.
This is a real market for locals. A lot of raw meat, fish, and vegetables. This kimchee vendor seems popular.
I bought some fried rice cake to try W1000, bought W2000 worth of persimmons.
Had lunch in one of the shops in the market. Very busy, a good sign.
I had an offal soup, W9000. The side dish is self-serving, in 6 large containers.
I picked silver smelt and bean sprout. The others looked too spicy.
Back in downtown, took more cash out of ATM, W3500 fee. Bought a large bottle of yogurt drink, added W1k to my bus card, prepare for a long hike tomorrow, and the last day on the island.
After dinner, I walked west, went to the coast for sunset. Got on a bit of Olle 7.
A few others had the same idea.
This rock is named: Oedolgae (lonely standing rock).
On my way back, I had to use flashlight.
Hike Hallasan
11/5, Tuesday Hallasan. To hike Hallasan, the tallest mountain in Korea, you need to make a free reservation at the government website for the day of your hike. There's a limit each day, so advise to reserve early.
Up early, took the first bus to Seongpanak TH parking (9.6Km to summit).
This is one of the 2 THs for Hallasan summit. This one is on its eastern flank.
I'll be coming out of the other TH (8.7Km from summit), on the north.
It's a large parking lot, mostly full already. ~7am.
The trail starts quite flat. A lot of hikers, of all ages.
Over-engineered path. A lot of boardwalks, wooden stairs.
Here's a group of workers laying stairs.
The rest stops here are large. At the first rest stop, there's a side trail to go up to a small lake.
Because it involves extra elevation gain, most folks skip it. It's quite nice.
At least some view.
The second rest stop is more substantial. Heated.
Odd, there's nothing for sale, not even a vending machine.
Yes, bring all your food and water (or you can filter from that lake).
Here is the gate with a turnpike with posted timeline in big letters. They want you to be able to leave the mountain in daylight.
So far, all is in the woods, no view.
Finally, you are out of the trees. More steps, with ropes on both sides.
I guess, you are not supposed to venture out of the designated trail.
Too bad, it was cloudy today. Otherwise, I should be able to see the entire coast line of the island.
The summit has wide wooden platform for sitting. Many hikers brought vacuume sealed food. Some cooked on the wooden planks.
A queue lined up in front of this stone plaque, on it, is the name of this summit pond: White Deer Pond.
The view of the pond is quite nice, but you are not allowed to venture over the fence.
This photo was taken ~10am.
I continued the boardwalk towards Gwaneumsa TH to the north.
This section is more scenic. ~1Km shorter, so somewhat steeper (stairs). A couple of bridges.
A similar gate half way up, with the same timeline posted.
11:30am is the cutoff for going up.
I was here ~11:25am, and used the large heated restroom.
Saw quite a few hikers going up afterwards.
Once back in the trees, some fall color.
A railway (for transporting tools and workers) goes parallel to the hiking boardwalk for awhile.
Saw a couple of "guests" zipping up hill in a cart.
Reached the TH before 1:30pm.
Again, large parking lot. Bus stop close by and easy to find. Waited for the bus with others.
Need to transfer bus. But it's fairly easy. At the major intersection (hwy 1131 on Google Map), I hopped on the next north bound bus. Some guy in my bus was clueless what he needs to do, asking around in English.
Jeju City
I got off at city center, walked around and checked into a hotel for W45K cash.
My last day on the island.
Walked north to the coast to check out the harbor and restaurants. Seafood restaurants are plenty, but very expensive.
Found a group of ladies in pink uniforms on this swing bridge.
We were all going to see the Yongduam Rock.
In the evening, I went to Dungmun Market.
Bought a bag of cracker from a corner store on the way (W5k), ate a dinner with a fried fish and a bowl of soup (W25k).
Tried some pan fried octopus (cooked as I ordered): 12k; fried tiny crabs 5k.
The rest of my cash goes to some packaged sweetsg.
You can use Chinese Ali Pay here.
11/6 Morning flight out of Jeju City. About 50c left on my bus card, about $1 cash left, which I bought some cracker in a convenience store.
Landing in China Pudong airport. Only this time, I noticed many wind turbines out in the shallow sea.
Summary
- I like Jeju, very walkable, Olle trail is a plus.
- Warm but not too warm.
- Nothing dramatic, but scenic and pleasant.
- WiFi internet is widely available, sometimes I can get it at a bus stop.
- I'm 99% iliterate. Difficult to communicate, unable to read the signs, or even understand the bus time table.
- KakaoBus, very useful app for taking buses. Google Map can tell me connections, but the schedule is totally wrong.
