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Published: September 25th 2012
Seogwipo
view from the harbourI decided to have a full day today, partly because there is so much to do, and partly to make up for doing practically nothing those two days in Busan.
So, with the best intentions I was up and ready early and decided to take the bus into town. Oops. We headed off in completely the wrong direction and then stopped at some random high school for about 15 minutes. At which point the driver, bless him, decided (rightly) that I was lost and (hmmm) that he was going to help me. He was very kind but between his non-existent English and my non-existent Korean it was painful, to say the least. In the end, we did manage to agree that the bus would take me to the right place (once it got going again), so I got back on the bus and away we went.
All of which meant that I was slightly later than I had hoped getting to my first activity - the submarine tour. I had never been on a submarine before - even a little white (sadly, not yellow) tourist one. It was quite fun really.
The submarine was stationed a little out
Bridge to Sae Seom Island
the bridge I believe is reminiscent of the sails of traditional Jeju fishing boats of Seogwipo Harbour, by a coral reef next to one of the smaller islands that ring Jeju. We were ferried between the harbour and the submarine by boat (the guide felt the need to reassure us as we walked on to the boat that this was NOT the submarine - I think my snort might have been more audible than was polite).
The tour itself was MC'd (if that is the word) by a, from the sounds of things, highly energetic and charming man. Sadly, the entire thing was in Korean. I was there with two other foreigners (a Dutch couple), and he approached us at the start of the tour to apologise for not having any English and to compensate us with a lolly each. Well, that's all right then.
We saw a few fish - not quite the underwater safari I had initilly envisaged, but quite entertaining nonetheless. The tour company employs a diver to swim alongside the submarine and feed the fish / play with them so that the tourists have something to photograph. We were sat two to a large porthole window so had a great (if slightly engineered) view.
The sub only
dove to about 40m so it wasn't even as though we really needed lights. They did switch on red lights at one stage, so the coral showed up prettier, but other than that you could use the natural light.
Fun, but perhaps not a good substitute for diving if you want to see some real fish!
Between the bus and the submarine, it was now lunchtime so I stopped off in one of the harbour-side cafes for probably the best grilled mackerel I have ever tasted before moving on West of Seogwipo.
I stopped first at Yakcheonsa Temple, a comparatively new complex (built in the 1990s - but since most of the ancient temples I have been seeing were all restored at about that time anyway, I must admit I wouldn't have known it was so new had I not been told) but absolutely huge!
The central building spans four floors and the third floor (whcih is the ground floor as you approach the building) has beautiful engraved and painted wood shutters all round.
The temple complex is situated on raised ground with a stunning view of the sea. Sadly, I couldn't see a way
to climb up behind the temple to have the full view, but hopefully you can see something of its situation from the photos.
After Yakcheonsa I continued to the resort town of Jungmun, which is apparently home to the swankiest (and most expensive) hotels on the islands.
I headed (away from the hotels) straight for Cheonjeyeong. Yes, I know, it looks just like the name of the waterfalls I visited yesterday (Cheonjiyeong). Don't ask - how confusing can you get!
I assure you, though, it is a different place. Cheonjeyeong in Jungmun has not one waterfall but three. The site is said to be the place where seven nymphs descended from the Heavenly Kingdom to bathe. Frankly, seeing how fast the water was running, I have nothing but respect for anyone daft enough to try and wash in it.
The waterfalls were beautiful though (even if the steps up and down each time almost killed me), as was the beautiful bridge spanning the waterway with the seven (rather busty, I thought) nymphs carved on.
Jungmun, however, is most famour for its teddy bear museum. Having been pleasantly surprised by the museum in N Seoul Tower,
I was game to give this one a go, particularly as my guide book raved about it.
Sadly, I found it a bit disappointing. For starters it was quite small, much smaller than I expected. And there was a lot of camp, gratuitous cuteness which had(thankfully) been missing from the museum in Seoul (lured into a false sense of security, clearly).
The main attraction - a series of scenes from world history reproduced with teddy bears - was fun and cleverly put together, but sadly too short and also a bit random in its selection. The timeline actually started quite late (mid 19th Century) and chose some quite disparate events to commemorate (WW2 Normandy beaches and the excavation of the terracotta army, for example).
So, kiddies, if someone tells you that you simply *must* see the Teddy Bear Museum in Jeju, you can tell them from me to go to the one in Seoul instead.
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