Jeju-do

So with the passing of another month, it came time for another Adventure Korea trip. This time, we went to the famous Jeju-do, or Jeju Island. It is off the south coast of Korea and is often referred to as 'Honeymoon Island' or 'the Hawaii of Korea'.



The latter may be a bit of a stretch, although it is true that the weather in Jeju is usually a good 10 degrees warmer than the Seoul area. And there are palm trees.

We hopped a plane at 8am on Saturday in Gimpo for the one hour flight to Jeju. The group this time was about 20 travelers and one guide. Everyone quickly became friends and by the time we got to our first stop in Jeju, everyone was able to intermingle comfortably and it was clear it was going to be a fun weekend.

I'll be honest, my zest for blogging is waning here in the 19th month of my stay in Korea. So I'm not going to be quite so detailed about this trip as I have been in the past.
Here is what we saw and did in Jeju.

* Trick art museum
* Horse back riding
This was complete with dorky cowboy hats and red vests. And decrepit, flatulent horses. And cantering around a horse track a few times without any prior warning. it was extremely fun.
* Sunrise peak
This is a dormant volcano that is now one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the world.
* Lava tube caves
* Eating of the 'famous' Jeju black pork. Basically just really good samgyeopsal.
* Staying in our hotel on the beach...which was a UFO.
* Another volcano hike
* A tea farm
* A ferry ride around the islets
* A waterfall they tell me is the only one in the world to flow directly into the sea
* the 'ghost road' where supposedly cars and bottles and other round things can roll up a hill. A tiny, barely detectable hill. Biggest tourist trap since the corn palace.
* Love Land, a statue garden dedicated to love and sex. The kids weren't allowed in.

The weather was interesting. At the Sunrise Peak and the ferry ride (basically our two coastal ventures) the sky was blue and no coat was needed. However if we went a bit inland it got cloudy and cold. Which may not seem strange but considering it's only 40 minutes from north coast to south coast, it was a bit odd.
But overall the weather cooperated and it was really nice.

Everyone got along great and lots of new friends were made. Everyone agreed it was one of the best trips. Everything we saw and did was interesting and a lot of fun, and the group really meshed well together. It was a really relaxed atmosphere.

I think my favorite thing about Jeju was how GREEN it was. I didn't even fully realize the lack of green until I got there. There's actually GRASS. and palm trees and evergreens and flowers. Also, there were horses all over the place. And goats. I even heard a mourning dove. I'm so glad I finally made it to Jeju. In fact I think I may try to return this summer. I know now that it's easy enough to do in the course of a normal two-day weekend. So, will probably make my way to the beaches there at some point this year.

Here's a link to my facebook album for photos.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101814418417880.3407556.13916757&type=3&l=e14c08d896