It's been a dream of mine to go to Jeju Island ever since I first saw it in korean tv shows. It's like the Korean Hawaii, and it's famous for honeymoon trips, tangerines, and the ocean and mountains. Although I knew I wouldn't be able to spend more than a few days there (which is not enough, btw), I figured it'd be better than nothing and booked a flight there for the end of last week.
My plane! For Korean domestic flights, you just get your ticket 40 minutes before takeoff, and start boarding 20 minutes before. It feels crazy to those of us used to arriving at the airport 1-2 hours before.
It was cloudy and a little rainy, but I knew I wanted to go to at least one beach, and I probably wouldn't have time later since I had booked an all-day tour on Friday. So on the suggestion of one of the staff at my guesthouse, I took an hour-long bus ride to Woljeong-ri beach. It was a nice beach, but due to the weather, definitely not crowded.
Sorry, lifeguard. Ain't nobody swimming today.
Cute little kids playing in the sand.
Volcanic rock is everywhere, even on the beach, since Jeju is a volcanic island.
After a bit, I got a little chilled from wading in the water with sprinkles of rain here and there, so there were several cafes to hang out and warm up in.
Cookies and cream steamed milk...mmm...hit the spot.
View from my table
It wasn't worth spending many hours there, and I worried about when the local buses ran until, so I walked to the bus stop in the middle of nowhere, passing a lot of houses, fields, and rock walls made of more volcanic rock.
At the bus stop, another girl came up to wait for the bus, and we ended up talking. She was from a smaller town in Korea (can't remember the name), but taking a holiday in Jeju for a few days. She was so nice and spoke some English, so we could talk very simply. She was getting off at the same stop as me too. However - that bus was packed OUT. I've never seen a bus so crowded. We had to get off the bus to let people off at each stop, and then squish together to close the bus doors.
When we got off the bus, we decided to go eat dinner together. She asked her hostel's owner what place he liked to eat at, and let's just say I taught my friend a new english phrase: hole-in-the-wall. Most everything was just all right, but we got a pork dish that we cooked right at our table, and it was ah-mazing.
Kimchi stew, several side dishes, chilled soybean paste soup, rice - $4!
I can't remember what this is called, but this was the showstopper. It had Jeju black pork in it, bean sprouts and other veggies, in a spicy sauce, which we cooked right at our table. $5!
My new bus friend Hye In!
That night, I made another friend in my hostel room named Cici (ShiShi) from China. She spoke some english and some korean, so that's how we communicated. Then an older korean lady, which you'd call ahjumma, came in and exclaimed in korean how pretty we both were - which was funny for me, since I'd just washed my face and pulled my hair back for bed. She kept saying to me, "big eye, big eye". I didn't know what to do, but then she started talking to us in Korean with a few english words, and she, Cici and I began a conversation for 1-2 hours with limited shared language. Just goes to show, when there's a will to communicate, language barriers can be overcome.
The next morning, she was saying how she didn't like pictures of herself, over and over, then she turned around and asked to take a picture with me. Ok, ahjumma, whatever you say. Then she wouldn't take another one when it turned out to be blurry.
This ahjumma got about 6 inches behind me so that her head/face would look smaller in the picture. And I couldn't call her out on it because she was older than me, per the dictates of korean culture. But I'm calling shenanigans on this blog: cheater!
4 comments:
Can't wait to see pictures of the rest of your Jeju Island trip. Love the way that you keep meeting and making new friends! And I'm drooling on the keyboard again from seeing all the food!!
You make friends really easily. That is neat. Its so fun to see all of these places you are going. Glad you are safe and doing well! When does school start?
hi, would you mind to tell us the details of the bus to go to woljeong ri beach?
what number? which bus stop i need to go down and the direction from the bust stop to the cafe by the beach?
Sorry if i have too many questions^^ kindly waiting your reply
I took bus 700 headed westbound from Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal to Woljeong-ri, which also is the name of the stop. It is one stop after Manjanggul Cave, and it took about an hour to get there. It was about a 10 minute walk to the beach from the bus stop, and it is a small village, so it is hard to get lost. I suggest getting Naver Map app to help with directions anywhere in Korea.
Here's another website that might help: http://allaboutjeju.com/2014/06/17/rainy-day-woljeong-beach-cafe-street/#comments
Good luck, and hope you have fun! Jeju is so beautiful!
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