For spring break this year we thought we would try to see some more of Korea, and so decided to go to Jeju, an island off the southern coast of Korea. We had hoped it would be warmer, but the weather turned out to be perfect for what we wanted to do- explore, spend time outside together, and relax.
Jeju is a volcanic island, which makes it extremely hilly.
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| We stayed in the Jeju Hyatt, which is the closest hotel to a beach in Jeju. The hotel is up on a bluff and there are about 30 stairs and several steep switch backs to get down to the beach. |
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| This is the view from our room, the ocean was very calm. |
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| These are hareubang, stone grandfathers that watch over the island. They are everywhere and are supposed to be good luck. |
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| We <3 DD! |
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| On our first night we went for a walk up the road and found this group of hareubang... |
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| The next day we decided to walk part of the Jeju Olle trail that runs along the southern coast from the eastern side to the western side. |
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| The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, as were many other flowers. It was really beautiful! |
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| We just happened upon this buddhist temple with monks chanting inside. |
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| Another stop, to see 3 waterfalls. This is the first. |
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| Second... |
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| OK, the thing about Jeju is it is kind of a cross between Gilligan's Island, and the Flintstones... there is all that volcanic rock everywhere, and here the kids are having a refreshing snack- straight out of a coconut.... |
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| We never make it to waterfall number 3... we are distracted by these crazy bumper cars... |
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| I decided not to do it because of my recent hospital visit, but they all had fun. |
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| Last stop for the day... Chocolate Land.... |
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| where you, too, can see a chess set made of chocolate.... |
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or see some big bears....
uh, yea, that is about it...
oh yeah, and buy some chocolate... |
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| Dinner that night at Geckos, and pool... |
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| The next day we decide to explore the island the old fashioned way- public bus and lots of walking... this is our sweet ride... for about 45 minutes of the most winding, twisting, neck wrenching city driving you have ever seen... |
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| Our intrepid leader.... complete with English Language head set. Of course, I think he just needed some alone time, because any time I would ask him about the structures, or the history... he would just say... "WHAT?" and point to the headset... |
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| See, doesn't this look straight out of Gilligan's Island... or the Flintstones? Maybe it is one of those shows where the Harlem Globetrotters show up and they are finally going to get rescued... |
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| More hareubang... |
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| Flintstones dining room ... |
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| The kids were part of a captivating Korean mini-series, I think I see the Professor in the background... |
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| OK, this is the next day, we walked on our beach and found this waterfall... it runs straight into the ocean... |
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| Jeju has 3 sites on the UNESCO world heritage list, so we took a taxi tour (deciding that the bus was just TOO much) and stopped at the first one- the San-Gumburi Crater. Yup, that is it behind Pooks... yup... |
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| The second is the Manjanggul Lava tube, which was part of the creation of the island and has some cool things like a pile of lava shaped like Jeju, some lava toes, and a big column of lava... |
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| The third is the Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone... there it is... |
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| And this is the view from the top... |
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| After a hard day of sight-seeing we decide to stop for a DD donut... so spinach, or carrot... ??? |
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... or maybe glazed tofu.... or broccoli.... hmmmmmm...
maybe they'll go with original... |
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| Next day... R-Man's birthday. He decides he is going to make a list of what we are going to do that day... notice not once do we go to the Samgumburi Crater :) |
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| After a busy morning of TV watching and feeding the fish we go to the Teddy Bear Museum... where you can see a teddy bear recreation of a 1910 American Street, a recreation of Teddy Bears on the Titanic, the Teddy Bear Moon Landing, and the Mona Lisa Teddy Bear Portrait... |
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| You can also see THIS bear, the world's most expensive teddy bear, in complete Louis Vuitton attire. |
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You can also pose with bears acting just like your family... guess what Daddy is doing....
yes... posing..... |
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| Roan had an amazing birthday cake and made a wish. |
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| The next day, yet another walk, but this time we saw the haenyo, a group of women divers, who originally started diving to support their families while the husbands were off fighting wars... they are all over fifty years old and still dive every day. |
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| We stop to sample some fruits of the sea.... |
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| This is some weird snail things that are steamed, and you pick them out with a toothpick and douce with hot sauce... (shell on the left, what you eat, on the right)... |
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| R-Man "trying" it... |
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| OK, the snail things, a dish of hot sauce, then, the orange stuff comes from a sea urchin, not sure exactly what part, but you wrap it up in the seaweed and eat it.. |
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| Pooks can REALLY eat anything.... |
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| Last stop on the walk that day, the Jusang Jeolidae, a lava formation where you can see the hexagonal colums of lava as it cooled in the ocean. |
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| Dinner that night.... remember when I told you that the restaurant signs show pictures of what you are eating so you know what type of restaurant it is? Well, can you guess what we are having for dinner... look at the sign.... Oui... le chaval... |
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| Our chef... preparing our dinner... ok, so maybe it is like Gilligan's Island, the Flintstones, and Mr. Ed... |
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| The dinner was one of our favorites, and we got a second order... |
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| Yum.... |
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| I had to include a shot of out hotel toilet and its fabulous functions... the LooLoo... a good time was had by all... |
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| OK, here we are trying to sneak back into the teddy bear museum, 2 days later and without paying admission, because there is a cheeseburger place in the lobby. We decide we are going to use inane phrases like "Who ordered a squid stir-fry?" (eo-neu bun i o jing-eo bokk-eum-i-se-yo) from my Korean phrasebook to befuddle the guards into letting us pass... |
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| It works, and on our last night we eat like Americans... |
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Also on our last night they decide to fill the outdoor pool.... we go anyway, even though it is only about 56 degrees....
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! |
