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Published: February 8th 2012
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Chuseok is a very famous holiday in Korea. It is a major harvest festival and three day holiday that is celebrated all over the country (a bit like thanksgiving/Christmas type celebration!) And of course, gives us waygooks a chance to see more of this wonderful place with our days off. So... a bunch of us decided to head to "Korea's best kept secret" Jeju Do Island for Chuseok (yes, it is pronounced 'chew sock'😉 and what a time we had.
We ventured to this adorable Island (and by venture I mean a 12 hour trek that involved heading to Seoul about 8pm on Friday night..and keeping ourselves entertained until 2am when the bus came to pick us up to take us to Mokpo (where we would FINALLY take the ferry to Jeju Island!)
By the time we got the bus I was famished, and nearly missed it by running off to McDonald's to buy a Big Mac Combo. Refusing to share it with anyone! And than getting yelled at on the bus because I was "too loud" NOW of course I was too loud.
After 12 hours a bus, ferry, and another bus, we touched down on
Jeju Island. Our Accomodation was 'Korean Style' so we had blankets and sheets and were sleeping on the floor...FOUR per room.
On our first night we went out for Jeju's Speciality - BLACK PIG! Had this on our own little barbecues. And it just so happend that it was a brilliant stormy night but we were able to sit outside under shelter. Quite magnificent really watching lightning ripple across the sky, as we devoured black pig (which looks completely the same as 'normal' pink pig) and talked about life. We drunk soju that night too, and woke up for our tour of the Island a bit worse for wear.
We than toured these amazing underground caves, and than went to yet another little Island AND rented ATV's and drove around the Island for about three hours. I of course freaked everyone out immediately by telling them I could drive (what! I used to drive these bikes...about 15 years ago but now days...) and ofcourse put on WAY too much power. We went flying at first, but we were fine. Seeing the Island was beautiful. And it was SO MUCH FUN! riding the bikes around the place. oh I loved
it!
The next place we visited was the Trick Art Museum - and boy was this a treat. From bizarre multi-coloured zebras, to enormous elephants, bunches of monkeys, and god knows what else.
Inside, was another sight for sore eyes, as their was trick art of every description. Some made you look like your head had been cut off, others were enteractive - all resembling 3D art so it looked like you were actually part of the pictures! SO many pictures were taken. But the best of the bunch I have put here...my personal favourite was the room all one size. One person stands at one corner, the other person at the other. The trick is the person on the left looks HUGE....while the person on the right looks super tiny. Coco and I tried this trick art. And I don't think I've felt more like Daryl Hannah from the Six Foot Woman movie!
That night we decided it was time to hit the party scene. Went to a neat little bar with shots in test tubes. Than it was DANCING TIME! now let me tell you, the next day I was mildly horrified at some of
the songs I had danced too. And I mean this....I'm talking Dr Dre, Eminem etc. There's a bunch of great places to drink on the Island. And many koreans to chat too. Danced with a few Korean men. and than realised one rather wild character may have had a thing for me...but I was ready to escape...so I made a run, rather 'dance' for it halfway through the Macarena! Don't pretend you don't know that song.You do. And you've danced to it. And good lord was I dancing up a storm that night.
All in All Jeju is a spot NOT to be missed. So much fun stuff to do and such mint nightlife. Even went to a *brace yourself* Indian restaurant one night. How I love Korean food BUT every now and then! I WANT/NEED a break from it. Insert a delicious Tikka Masala here! And there seems to be a great scene going on in Jeju - very cultured with lots of variety of places to go and check out. There are positions for teachers on Jeju Island too. And lots of foreigners frequent the place throughout the year.
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