Blogs from Jeju, South Korea, Asia - page 4

I 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 ... read more

Fifty miles off the southern tip of the Korean peninsula exists its largest island, Jeju-do. It’s often billed as “the Hawaii of Korea”, which I think is a bit of an exaggeration, but nevertheless, it is a remarkably beautiful and charming getaway from the hustle and bustle of urban Korean life. Arriving on Jeju-do after a few days spent exploring Seoul, Jenn and I were looking for simple R&R with some nice scenery and a few memorable adventures. Because the island is volcanic, most of the beaches are quite rocky. In a few places you can find narrow strips of white sand to lounge, but the real beauty is found in the island’s numerous waterfalls and stunning views afforded atop steep cliffs which overlook the valleys or the ocean. And while, as you'd imagine, the seafood ... read more

Well I am still listing this location as Seongsan (had to get the blog people to list it so better use it twice) and did spend only the evening in Jeju after all. Having wisely headed off backwards towards Jeju to the lava tube yesterday (it would have been impossible to park my bag back there etc ) today it was a relatively simple matter of leaving it at my hotel while I headed up Ilchulbong, which is the rather abruptly rearing green mountain outside my window . Regardless of the hour the path is always crawling with tourists and the car park full of tour buses. The ticket office actually opens at 4:30 AM because for Koreans it is a rite of passage to climb it and see the sun rise -- it's English subtitle ... read more

for a change this is a morning blog, perhaps because I am trying to make a record for brevity and get out of this hotel. However the main thing was that yesterday was sort of a washout so to speak in terms of the weather. I awoke in Wando somewhat surprised to see that the floor under the window was wet -- there had obviously been sufficient rain to penetrate through the screen on the open window. It was indeed fine but still heavy rain as I raced to the ferry terminal (because I was running late). However got on with only few minutes to spare on to the fast boat to Jeju = the Blue Nara which should be pictured here somewhere. That only took just under two hours so I was able to change ... read more

'It's the "Hawaii" of South Korea' we kept hearing about this tiny little island off the southern peninsulas' tip. But how good could it be? Lonely Planet only submitted 22-pages of information. Nonetheless we booked roundtrip tickets on Jeju Airlines http://www.jejuair.com for 120,000 won per person. "Set against a tropical backdrop of swaying palm trees, sandy beaches and towering volcanic features... are quickly discovering this island paradise and the warm hospitality of its native population," states LP's writer Cesar Soriano. Sounds wonderful doesn't it? I read Jeju's chapter twice adding yellow highlighter to interesting bits of information then forced Shauna to read it. Our good friends Uro and Justin, reassured us transportation was easy-peasy on the island with the vast network of island buses. But we'd heard f... read more