Jeju

Hi from Jeju! I got into Jeju yesterday evening after what should have been an hour flight that turned into a two hour flight because it was raining at the airport in Jeju and we couldn't land safely. After a few attempts, I gave up believing the flight attendants (don't tell Journey) and took a short nap. When I opened my eyes we were about to touch down. Yay!

I claimed my bag and caught a taxi to my hostel, HK Jeju 1 (there are three). After I checked in, I got some dinner and then took a lovely stroll along the sea wall about a block away. After a classy drink at the Ramada hotel bar, it was time for bed.

I woke up early this morning, mainly because I was excited for today, but also because the sun came in the window around 5:45am. The airplanes taking off and landing at the airport a mile away didn't help, either. Oh well! It just made me earlier to the car rental place! And wouldn't you believe, in a land where bright color cars are almost unheard of, and white, beige, silver and black cars are the norm, I got the only red one: a shiny bright red, brand new Kia Morning. With English navigation.

So I got in my 'little red car', input the only beach I knew of into the navigation, and started my adventure.

I arrived at Jangmun Beach on the opposite side of the island about an hour later. This beach is interesting because it's part of a few different upscale resorts. Each resort has some sort of private clubhouse on the beach, but for the most part the beach is undisturbed. Also, this is the only place in Korea where you can see a waterfall falling directly into the sea. Sort of. It's a little misleading. Actually, the waterfall comes off of a cliff wall at the back of the sand and then travels about 100 feet or so through the sand to reach the ocean. But it's still pretty.

I walked all around the resort area for a few hours and then got back in my little red car and drove to see the maze park that I'd heard about. When I got there, it was exactly as I imagined it! I paid my 3,000w entry fee (discounted if you walk there) and set off into the Harry Potter-esque maze. There were a few groups of people with schools and whatnot competing to see who would complete it first, and it was fun watch them. After one failed attempt (I ended up back at the beginning), I got the satisfaction of ringing the bell at the finish. Yay!

I left the maze park and went onto the lava caves, but I decided to do that tomorrow when I'm wearing proper shoes. So instead, I went to a nearby beach, Woljeong Beach, located in the north part of the island not far from the maze and lava tube caves. This beach was - by far - the best beach I saw all day. There were rock pools of volcanic rock scattered throughout the beach, soft, white sand, and the most pristine turquoise clear-blue water I've seen since... I don't know when. The other side of the street had a few little places to eat, but there was one cafe that looked completely out of place, Morabi. It could have been straight from Greece. So of course, I had to check it out. I ordered an affogato and a chocolatechip cookie and sat outside watch the ocean. Complete heaven. Even the cookie was 'real'. If you've been to Korea, you know what I mean by that.

I left sometime later and drove along the ocean road, stopping to check things out. I found a fabulous sunset spot and stayed to watch it. It, too, was pretty fabulous.

Tomorrow will be another beautiful day with caves, Loveland, and even more beaches. I won't be able to post photos until the weekend, but I promise, there are a lot of good ones.

Until next time, happy travels!