South Korea Day 3-5: The Misadventures of Jeju-Do

From Gimhae, I took Air Busan to Jeju domestic airport which was less than an hour away. I had packed a haversack and wanted to store my luggage at the airport. Sadly, the locker facility will be closed on the day of my departure due to renovation. Darn, effort wasted for packing and I had to drag my luggage along.

From Jeju Airport, I have to get on the Airport Limousine bus to Seogwipo where the hotel is located. The bus service was English friendly as it announces the upcoming destination in 4 different languages. It cost SGD 5 from the airport to Seogwipo where it passes many great attractions and hotels.

Night view

Upon reaching Seogwipo, it was already dark to a point I can't see some building from a far. I lost my bearings even when I had to refer to the iPhone navigation. Thanks to my poor Hangul, I managed to get directions from a convenient store to the hotel which was on top of a freaking steep hill. With a luggage in tow, it was not an easy journey. I was panting like a dog when I reached the front desk of Daekuk Isleinn. After settling down, I looked out the window into the darkest. It was quite bare and dark all over. No wonder I got lost without the help of any building to navigate from.

Day view

Day breaks, the city was well illuminated and I can see buildings that disappears at the break of light. I was up at about 0530hrs in hopes to get to Seongsan Ilchulbong early to view the sunrise, which is also known as Sunrise Peak. But at 0530hrs, the sun has started peaking out. Dang! So I took my time and find some breakfast and made my way there.

I did my research on getting around Jeju island by bus but upon arriving at the bus terminal, it wasn't as straight forward as I had researched. Sure I can read Hangul but I can't translate well. Worst when I have to ask for directions. I speak like a freaking 2 year old. Given up, I hailed a cab and venture on to Seongsan Ilchulbong. Based on the map, it seems like getting to PasirRis from Vivocity but Jeju is like 1.5 times bigger than Singapore. I ended up to an equivalent of SGD 40 fare.

But once I alighted the cab, I totally ignored the fare as the view was mesmerizing. Screw the $40, the view worth more than that. Before venturing up, armed myself with at least a bottle of water and remembered to take a leak. Entrance fee is only SGD 2. Review states that the journey up would take about 20mins but I took longer, admiring the scenery. Once at the peak, the view was truly stunning but bare. After a couple more shots, I made my way down towards a valley were the women divers are located. The view there is mesmerizing too. There would normally be demonstration of the women divers around noon but I was there at freaking 1000hrs.

Satisfied with my first adventure, I wondered on journey back without taking the cab. I went to the bus stop and waited almost 20 mins and ended taking the cab again. I told the driver my destination, Jeju World Cup Stadium but he didn't understand my English. I don't know the translation of the place in Hangul so I showed him a map which still doesn't help because it was in English. I had to inform him of the attraction which was mostly in English till I remembered a Carrefour equivalent, E-Mart. That he understood. So off we went to my next destination.

As we exit Seongsan, I noticed that the driver took a different route, a more scenic route. I thought it was ok as it was beautiful ignoring the fact that the driver is knocking me off till I realized that the route went further from the destination based on my iPhone navigation. I then realized that I showed him the map inverted, facing the north and there is an E-Mart up North. Not wanting to create another miscommunication and a higher fare, I continued the journey.

As I alighted to God-Knows-Where E-Mart, I wondered around the area and got bored because there was nothing. I managed to have a Korean lunch and then took a cab to the airport (less than SGD 5) to ride the limousine bus to my actual destination.

The main reason for the World Cup stadium was actually to check out The World Eros Museum. In all there are 3 sex museums in Jeju and the one at the stadium was the least favorite. The others were quite inaccessible especially after my misadventures with the cab from Seongsan. The exhibition were mostly in Korean but I can sure make out the illustrations and figures.For SGD 7, it was okay and nothing spectacular or bizarre unlike the Health and Sex Museum that I've been researching on.

While I'm at the stadium, I did went in to take a look. Not much of a soccer fan, so I left quite immediately after some shots.

The bus is just a stop away from my hotel and there are 2 attractions nearby. Since I took the bus the night before, it wasn't that far so I decided to walk back and enjoy the scenery which was mostly dark the night before.

Along the way was Oedolgae, and I didn't expect an 8km walk from the stadium. Yup 8 freaking kilometers. I even encountered a nice chap offering me a lift on his moped while walking but I pleasantly turned him down in Hangul. He was shocked too, after knowing that I'm a traveller that speaks Hangul. Both of us had an awkward moment and continued our separate journey.

Oedolgae is just 2km away from the hotel. It's an off shore rock formation and a place where Daejangguem (Korean Drama) was filmed. Nothing fantastic but beautiful nonetheless.

At the base of the hotel is a waterfall attraction, Cheonjiyeon Falls. Based on the map, there is a road leading down but based on the sign at the intersection says otherwise. I followed the signed and didn't expected another 2km walk down a winding path. However I ended up to another attraction, Seoseum, an island meant for tracking. Beside the bridge to Seoseum is the submarine terminal but I do not have the time for it. I just crossed the bridge and took some pictures as Cheonjiyeon Falls will be closed within the hour.

Cheonjiyeon isn't that far from Seoseum, it was practically a stone throw away. Entrance is SGD 2 but you have to walked further to view the falls. The falls wasn't as wide as documented but I had 2 great views, the waterfalls and the ladies visiting the area.

By then it was 1800hrs and I needed to get dinner. There is a market in between the route to the hotel. Jeju is known for its tangerine and huge red strawberries. Again I dare not try due to my stomach condition which led me to the hospital after eating an orange back home. I called it a day after dinner.

I did planned to complete my itinerary by visiting Jeongbang Falls before checking out the following day but the weather wasn't friendly. It was raining and fogging at the same time. So I spend most of the time in the hotel till check out and then took a bus back to the airport for lunch.

Jeju is definitely a beautiful island. Getting around can be such a bitch. Best is to travel by tour, rent a car or charter a driver. I did planned to rent a car because it was cheap and the road are fairly easy but as a single traveller, it's not advisable. Plus, it's a left side driving which I'm unfamiliar with.

More of Jeju-Do.

Time to "Fly to Seoul 나와 Let's dance dance"...