Seoul and Jeju Do , South Korea

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Day 1 flight to Seoul, South Korea



Well October break is here, Chinese National Holiday on October 1^st and I am going to South Korea: Seoul and Jeju island. It took us quite awhile to figure out where to go for several reasons. The first reason was I had to work on the Friday and Sunday after the holiday, leaving us with only 5 days of holiday time and too short to travel. Second reason money and travel expenses where very high. Third reason no tickets and hostels for the dates we could go. So with all these reasons we were about to give up and stay in Dalian. On Wednesday before the holiday we got the news that I no longer had to work Friday so we could go to South Korea and Jeju island as we had planned in the beginning. Said this, we booked out tickets through ctrip and estar airlines, Chinese and Korean budget website, and book one night in a hostel in Seoul and one night in Jeju city. The rest was up to us…a week of camping and backpacking adventure!







Friday night after my long evening at work, which ended at 7 PM, I met Kyle at my apartment to drop his backpack and head out for some food and drinks with friends. We were all in vacation party mood. So after a few beers in my apartment we headed out the two of us to eat Chinese chuar (version of BBQ) and met our friends. I went with the girls, he went with the guys and then we met at some random bar in Wu Cai Chang for a few mixed up drinks and headed home not too late to wake up early to catch a flight on Saturday morning.







Saturday morning came quickly and we woke up and had a small breakfast and got ready to leave for the airport. As I now live in Kaifaqu it is supposedly easier to get a taxi to the airport and cheaper. Backpacks on our backs we headed out the door in search for a cab for about 65 RMB, we had no luck and were running out of time so decided to get a cab for 10RMB to the train station to go to the airport. As our taxi driver was driving towards the kuai guei station, he suddenly stopped next to another taxi and told us to move to the other taxi that he would take us for 70. It turned out our original taxi driver did not want to drive to Dalian so he ended up paying the new taxi driver 20RMB to drive us. We were on our way to the airport.







Going out of China internationally is a lot less of a commotion then flying inside China. The line of Asiana Airlines was short and quick and soon we were sitting with two subway sandwiches on the waiting area of our boarding gate. The flight was pretty smooth, Kyle did some work while I read and slept the whole 1-hour flight. We go to Seoul Incheon International airport at 10:00AM and were ready to take bus to our hostel drop our backpacks and explore Seoul. The airport shuttle dropped us off at the right stop, but the hostel directions were really bad and we had a small map so with the help of two very nice and English speaking Korean men who stopped to ask if we needed help we managed to find the right street toward our hostel. We walked for about 10 minutes through main road and small alleys very similar to Chinese hutong and found our hostel. The guy at the reception was quite quiet and did not help much with tour information and others so we decided to do a Seoul tour on our own. We chilled for a bit in the room and planned our day; by 4 o clock we were out the door.



First we walked towards one of the Korea´s main palaces taking photos along the way and observing the Koreans around. We arrived to the palace but it was almost time to close so we decided to go the next day, which was free and had more time. So we walked along a small road on the side of the palace gardens and discovered a tiny Korean coffee shop were we stopped for coffee and treats and kept walking towards some alleys discovering we were in a traditional Korean home village, small stone streets, short and small house pointed rooftops, and some Korean antique shops. We decided to go see one of the most popular attractions, the Seoul Tower. With map on hand we navigated to the nearest subway station and hopped on the train all the way to the tower area. We had to walk quite a bit through a steep street until we reached the entrance to the cable car, which we did not take; instead we hiked all the way up through paths and staircases. As we were going up we saw the city under a sunset colorful sky and the night start to come out. The view was beautiful and breathtaking. As we reach the top of the sightseeing place there were many people from different countries and also Koreans. The place was totally built for touristic activity. There were souveniers shops (too expensive to buy anything), ice cream shops, fast food, candy and other. There was also a wall all covered in hearts and locks. They called it the love and friendship tower and people lock a heart to the wall and write friendship and love messages to each other. It was an amazing feeling being up there! After a few picture of Seoul at night we headed into the elevator and up to the highest point which actually is not that tall considering is on the top of a peak itself, it was about 200 and something meters high. We walked down the same path and tried to find a route to a famous night market so we took a bus that dropped us off at the main entrance, but as it was a Korean holiday it was all quiet and no one was there. We wandered along the streets and alleys seeing the few stand of different for sale objects, souveniers and street food. As we were hungry we tried to get street food but compared to Chinese street food standards the prices were too expensive and nothing seemed appealing. So we headed back to wards our hostel and wandered through that area. We walked to Insadong, the famous Korean touristic street. It was kind of creepy in the sort of way it was all quiet and no one was there just one or two people also trying to find a place to eat or get a drink. Finally, we decided to eat dumplings at a local place nearby our hostel and settled in for the night.







2^nd day September 30^th



A day in Seoul, a flight to Jeju-Do





We woke up and got ready to explore our day in Seoul. We head out to Seoul´s main palace and it´s gardens. It was a beautiful Sunday and lots of people where gathered at the entrance. We bought our tickets ad had to wait for about an hour, in the meantime, we walk and took photos of the annex buildings and ate some pastries fro breakfast.







It was finally our tour time and so we entered the palace´s garden. It was very natural scenery, with small pagodas surrounded by tall trees and bushes. There was a small pond where a couple of fish were swimming. We observed how some local Korean worker was submerged in the pond and was cleaning the algae and making the water flow. It was mostly old Asian buildings many looked like pagodas, temples and courthouses. They all had big tall wooden doors, pointed roofs, big and wide inside spaces and a courtyard in the middle or surrounding it.







After the tour we headed to a very touristic street called Insadong to find some souveniers. What a difference in how this street looked at night the day before from what it looked on a sunny day. It was packed with people, Koreans, tourists, etc. People everywhere! I had to keep my eyes on Kyle so I would not get lost! We found some very curious snacks. I ate an ice cream on a very long waffle cone in the shape of a candy cane and Kyle ate a delicious ice cream and berry waffle. We both ate some fresh potato chips very fresh cut in spirals and stuck in a stick. All three snacks where funckylicious!!!!







We decided to head back to our hostel to get ready to go to the airport as we had a plane to catch to go to Jeju Do island. We managed to get ready quickly and get directions to the subway and to Gimpo airport. We were pretty on time when I decided to check the tickets and to my surprised I had read the departure time wrong and we were almost going to make it on time! SHOOT ME!!!! Oh well I began to panic and kind of thought please let the flight be delayed! When we got to the subway station we ran and literally flew to the airport counter. Kyle on the lead and me behind! When we got there we were lucky they were still boarding and the flight was delayed… ufffffffff!!!! We made it!







An hour and 45 minutes later we were landing on the international airport of Jeju Do, South Korea!







First thing we did was getting a map and ask at the rent a car stand if we could rent a car. They were all booked and so we decided to head to our hotel on the airport shuttle and ask about renting a car at the hostel.







The streets of Jeju city were crowded and it seemed to be a college and very young city with lots of nightlife and also lots of expats. We hopped off the bus near the City Hall and had to ask a couple of people to help us find the hostel. Finally we reached it and were already checking in and relaxing on the bed!







We decided to ask the Korean lady at the front desk about renting a car. She was very helpful and called every single car rental company in Jeju city. We were about to rental car when they asked for an international driver´s license and since we did not have one. We could not rent it. I have to say the front desk lady in spite of her limited English she was very very helpful! So after no luck renting a car we went out for a walk to explore the nightlife. We found lots of clubs, bars, Korean traditional restaurants, fast food places, and even a bubble tea store. We each got one and wandered a bit more until we decided to go to bed and crash for the night.











Day 3



Jeju-Do to Manjangual caves and lava tubes by bus





The next morning, we had breakfast at the hostel, bread and jam and some tea (many memories from Mongolia came to our minds!). Then we divided our errands before heading out to our beach camping adventure. Kyle went to get fuel and a stove to cook and I went to get food. Walking around Jeju city felt natural, everyone spoke English and the streets were wide and with signs for their names. I had no trouble finding the supermarket. Kyle had a little more of an experience than me as he had to take two local buses and go to a department camping store, but it was also easy for him as everyone in Korea speaks English and is super open to foreigners (just like in China (NOT!))







We met back at the hostel, packed our new supplies and headed out the door to the bus stop to find the Majangual caves and lava tubes. The bus was a normal local bus, with no AC, small seats and you had to pay the driver so no change was given back. We sat comfortably and put our backpacks on another two seats and slept for most of the ride (well I did!) We got to our stop around 3 o clock and decided to walk to the lava tubes, which was about 2km away from the beach. On our way we hid our backpacks in some bushes to release the pain in our backs and so we walked faster.







The lava tubes and caves were impressive. Stalactites and Stalagmites inside. The floor was all made from volcanic basalt rocks. It was a really cool sight and the first one I had seen so far.







We finished our tour of the lava tubes and ate some apples, oranges and snacks and headed out towards the beach to find a place to camp. We walked on the main highway for a while without signs of a beach. Finally Kyle decided to go explore the area while I waited with the backpacks. It took him like a whole 45 minutes and it was very dark and I was getting a little nervous to be standing alone with backpacks and stuff in the dark street. A little while later he came back with no news. We decided to take a left road and walk along it. Seeing a huge neon sign that seemed to be some hotel or restaurant. As we walk in the darkness o the night we stopped to take photos of the moon, which was beautifully full and tried to do hand signals for cars to stop. Again we had no luck! After walking for about an hour we got the neon sign and a restaurant was there and in front of us the ocean but no beach. We asked some locals to get directions to a hotel the Lonely Planet recommends but they did not know it. We did get some beach news we were on the right track but we had to walk for a bit of time. When we finally reached the beach it seemed like a small town with no place to camp. So we continued walking and found a small hill property of no one and camped there. We had the view of the beach and the view of the town on each side.







I started to set the tent, sleeping bags, mats and Kyle started dinner. It was a small campsite, but a cozy one. We had noodles and veggies, warm tea, bread and Kyle´s music and the night sounds to accompany us. We went to bed feeling tired but actually pretty god with our accomplishment of the day. A new adventure!







Day 4



To Songsan Sunrise peak volcano





We woke up with the sunrays shining upon us. It was a beautiful sunny morning. We cooked breakfast, toast with jam and honey and some tea and packed our stuff to head to the beach.







It was a small beach with a platform and bathroom and rest area at the end and on the street there were a couple of hotels and two coffee houses mostly Korean though. So we set up our stuff and laid on the sand letting the white sand crystals reflect the hot warm yellow sun on our skin. There was a light cool breeze that gently caressed our skins. The ocean was calm with a few small waves coming and going in and out of the shore. We were simply enjoying a moment of calmness and relax by the beach. We decided to hit the ocean and go for a swim. As we got into the water it became colder and colder, seriously it was COLD! I kept saying 1,2 and then I will freeze instead of jumping in, until one moment I just did it I did not count 123 I simply jumped in the water and wow did it feel good! Oh Yes!!!! We swam and relaxed in the ocean looking at small fish and little crabs on the bottom and trying to float or swim the farthest. The we decided to go lay down again dry a little and play Frisbee. We played for about an hour and all the time I was working out my abs by bending up and down to catch the Frisbee. It was a fun day!



We drank some beers, ate some chips and took a quick airplane shower in the bathroom stalls and parted our way to Songsan to see the famous Sunrise peak volcano in the shape of a punch bowl.













We took the local bus to Songsan and arrived at the port in abot1.5 hours. We walked a few meters to the entrance of the peak and first tried to scout a good camping site. Then we decided to go up with our backpacks and watch the sunset. It was a beautiful evening sunny, breeze and cool not too cool but perfect! We climbed a bunch of stairs and eventually reached the top. We watch the sunset and stayed there for a while enjoying the cool breeze and evening time until we were the lasts to be there and finally headed down.



We walked towards the east side of the peak down towards some fishing port to a very secluded and small black sandy beach. As it was dark already and there were some men fishing in the area we tried not to look too suspicious that we were going to camp there (in case it was prohibited). We set up camp in the darkness only with our torches on and very subtle because we did not want to catch too much attention. Tent set, dinner ready we were all set for a very adventurous night.







Day 5



Songsand sunrise peak to Seogwipo





Woke up at 4:30 AM still dark outside, but with a slight sunrise light. We picked up everything quickly and headed up to the Sunrise peak to watch the sunrise. Apparently for Koreans watching the sunrise at this volcano peak is a rising, breathtaking and new beginning experience. We rushed to the front office bought tickets and left our backpacks there and started climbing the stairs. We reached the peak just a few minutes before the sunrise. There were lots of people waiting for it. The sky was getting lighter and lighter and the sun was shining and getting higher and higher. Then in just a quick second the sun came up and a huge breathtaking, rising, positive feeling filled my body and soul. It was one of those moments in my life that I have to say it was totally worth it. I felt renewed, optimistic, happy, blessed and at bliss.







Feeling great after the sunrise we headed down to get some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and take the bus to another city in the south of Jeju DO island. This time we were heading to Seogwipo, the largest city in the island.







We went to the bus stop where the bus from Songsan had dropped s the day before. Jejiu Do is a small rounded island and buses follow two or three routes. It is very easy to travel by bus because they all go to the main cities, the only problem is that bus drivers tend not to speak English and the buses do not have numbers you have to have your destination written down in Korean to ask the driver if he´ll go there. So that said I a back to telling our next adventure.







The streets were really quiet and lonely, we thought it was that it was early in the morning and probably people were sleeping since it was a holiday. We waited a few minutes until the bus came and one of us went to the driver and asked him if he was going to Seogwipo he said yes and so we hopped on. The ride was longer than the others and again Kyle watched his shows on his ipod and I fell asleep. Do you see the pattern? Hahaha I am always sleeping! We reached the city of Seogwipo and had to walk a fair distance until we reached the hotel the Lonely planet recommended. We passed some parks and waterfalls, stores and the diving shop Kyle wanted to check out to see if we could dive. We reached the hotel and booked a room for only one night dropped our stuff took a shower checked emails and Kyle did some work before we decided to keep it a low key day and go see the waterfalls, a natural trail park and enjoy the city.







We headed out to look at the waterfalls. We got to the area where the waterfalls were and could not see any signs of it, so we climbed down some stairs that lead to a little creek under the street and started wandering there until we found an entrance to some kind of theme park and at the end was the entrance to the waterfalls. We bought the tickets and went down again some stairs to see a medium size waterfall surrounded by big boulders. I decided to go explore and get near the waterfall so in my sundress and sandals I climbed and made it through the boulders all the way close to the waterfall. After people saw what I was doing lots of little kids and adventurous western tourists started copying me. I literally got soaked wet, as I was so near the waterfall. It felt so good kind of like the sunrise watching. After this we went to see if Kyle could dive, but with no luck we decided to go for a walk and se the area. So we started walking around the area and got to a nice little trail park and started walking following the trail to the waterfall. We could hear the river and from a distance we saw the waterfall, but we could not find the trail. After almost two hours of walking we finally started to think it was some sort of tourist illusion and were about to give up when we reached the end of the park towards a big parking lot with DD, Starbucks and a 7/11 and then we saw the tourist buses and ticket booth for the waterfall. By this time we were hungry and tired so we decided to get coffee and head back to the hotel to get dinner. On our way to the hotel we saw a beautiful bridge all lighted with colorful lights and of course stopped for a photo shoot. By the time we got to the hotel it was late so we decided to eat a quick dinner, I went and bought some food and eat on the terrace watching the night sky while Kyle did some work for school.











Day 6





Seogwipo to Hallim Park & Gneumneung beach





We woke up for the first night in a comfortable hotel bed with a hot shower and a bathroom in the room. We clean up and packed our stuff and headed out the door to find an airport shuttle to the bus terminal and then catch a bus towards the west of the island to a park called Halim Park near Gneumeng beach where we would camp. The hotel front desk man was not very helpful at all trying to give us directions but with a map, a compass and Kyle´s good sense of directions and a bit of luck we managed to find the airport shuttle just in time to catch the bus that was leaving at the moment. The bus ride was short and easy and we got dropped of at a stop near a big department store, where we bought some food, snacks, and other stuff. The store was huge and had tons of goods. We were just looking around seeing the difference between China and Korea stores. We ate some donuts for breakfast with chocolate milk and then cross the street to find the bus stop not realizing the bus terminal was right across fro us. When the first bus arrived to the stop I asked if it went to Hallim park and it pointed towards the direction of the terminal so we thanked him in Korean Kamsamidah and headed to the bus terminal. There we bought two tickets and waited for about 15 minutes, we had time to go check out the World Cup Soccer stadium and even checked our emails with the Wi-Fi of the terminal. At 12:45 we were on our way to the beach!!!! We had to seat in the same row but now next to each other de to our bags and space in the bus so I who had the map and was navigating at the time had to keep Kyle informed about where to get off the bus. We got off at the entrance of Hallim Park and had to walk a few meters to the beach. From the distance we could see a big area of green grass and palm trees and a couple of other campers, mainly Korean. So we headed that way with the white sandy turquoise beach on our right. It was truly a paradise, beautiful!!!







We were starving by the time we got to the campsite and so Kyle was in charge of lunch and I of the tent and setting everything else. For the first time, I set up the tent all on my own: the poles, the cover, the mats, sleeping bags and even carried Kyle´s almost 30L backpack inside the tent. We ate our lunch, noodles with beef and lettuce wraps very Korean BBQ style and headed to the beach. We spent all afternoon laying down on the sand, playing Frisbee, gathering and collecting heart shape pebbles and exploring the area. I took a walk into the rock area by the shore where a little pool of salt water formed due to the rocks surrounding it. We saw little fish, crills, hermit crabs and bigger crabs swimming nearby. It was a very relaxing day and at night we cooked our dinner by the fire and had some beers to cheer for a successful adventurous camping trip. Kyle builds a bonfire and it was huge, we actually had to cook half our meal by the fire because the fuel for the camping stove was over. It was exciting, finding thick and long pieces of wood to keep the fire going and then creating a sort of platform to put the pot and cook the soup and meat. We sat by the fire ate some chocolate and cookies and drank tea. A perfect night with a clear sky, a shining moon and tons of stars to watch laying down on the grass of the campsite.







Day 7 bus back to Jeju flight back to Seoul











We woke p at around 9 AM and ate breakfast and took a short walk by the beach to take photos and enjoy the early sun warming the turquoise sea and white sand. Then we headed to or campsite and started to pack. We were leaving the campsite at around noon to catch a flight fro the airport to Seoul. The bus ride was smooth and we got to the airport with plenty of time so we decided to go souveniers shopping to the main market in Jeju city. We took the local bus towards the market without realizing that the airport was the middle stop and we took the bus going on the wrong direction, so we had to get off cross the street and take a new bus towards the airport but this time we would get of at the market. We arrived to the market and first scroll over the food section, which stink of seafood and fish. Then went by some small souveniers shops but nothing we wanted to buy finally we reached the clothes section and Kyle and I started to look for a Korean traditional dress for his niece Naysa. It had to be pink, purple, flowery etc. for a 4 year old girl who loves pink and princess! We found one and it was too expensive so we left. Then found another one and tried to bargain with good luck the lady took off about 20 % of the price, which was not cheap, but it was good price for the quality of the dress. Dress in bag, and a few other souveniers we headed to the airport.







At the airport, we went directly to the gate area, bought some coffee and ate some snacks we had and were ready to board our flight to Seoul.







We got to Seoul and found a Wi-Fi area connection to find a hostel for the night We manages to find one around a university which apparently is a famous backpackers, artists, hippies, creative people area. So took the bus and subway there. We found the place and left our bags and went to get something to eat and drink. We got drinks a little bar with good music and nice ambiance. It was very western like. Then Kyle needed to do some work so we headed into DD, my choice, for coffee and Wi-Fi connection. Only did we find out when we were sitting down with our coffees and laptop on that they were closing in 20 minutes so we took our coffees to the room and crashed for the night. In our room there were 2 girls from Indonesia who were super outgoing and friendly and so we chatted for a few hours before Kyle got back to work and I crashed for the night.







Day 8



back to Dalian





Our flight to Dalian was at 9 AM so we woke up super early to get to the airport by subway. My tooth started to ache so I took some painkillers thinking it will pass, but all the flight it bothered me and the cold wind in Dalian made it worse. Our trip was awesome in a way that I had never experienced. Only bad thing was the toothache at the end, which made me take 4 trips to the dentist, a week of antibiotics and a whole bunch of painkillers in one week. Oh well I had a great time!!!!

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