Jeju 2

Hey! I’m back with another onslaught. I’ve got more pictures still from the first full day on Jeju Island. Even now, I’m shocked by the amount of photos taken. As a result, I’ve decided to put them into a slideshow and save me some time uploading them all. It really does take forever. It also saves you a bit of energy too – as you don’t have to scroll down a massively long page full of pictures.

I’ll start with the Jeju World Cup Stadium. I think both HJ and I were curious to check this out as it is quite noticeable as you drive around the island. As interesting as it might look from afar – seeing it close-up wasn’t nearly as captivating. It is beautiful in a way but without anything happening – it felt a little dead. It did remind me of the architecture of World Cup Stadium in Seoul. Actually, I just visited the stadium in Seoul (that’s another post) and there are definite similarities. You can’t really make out from the pictures but the Jeju stadium was only partially covered so it didn’t quite have the character of its Seoul brother.

We made a fast escape and decided to seek out more volcanic covered shoreline. This time, however, we took more of a scenic route and stopped at a few points to take some pictures. Jeju is naturally picturesque to be sure. Now, I can’t remember the name of this particular destination or why it was famous. Yet, there were one or two highlights. Easily the coolest thing about this stop was the short horse ride. In many locations around Jeju, it is possible to take a quick horseback ride for a small fee. HJ was keen and I followed her lead. I don’t think either of us was disappointed. I can’t remember the last time I rode a horse…or if I EVER rode a horse. Regardless, it felt so natural and relaxing. I’ve gotta get a horse sometime in the future..

Many pictures later, we embarked for our last stop of day one. How did we fit all this in only in one day? Seems like a lot right now - almost excessive. The last stop was worth it though. We found an old volcanic crater right near the ocean covered in green nature. It has been selected as a UNESCO site so the Korean government gave it the special treatment. It appeared to be well kept and it catered to non-Korean tourists as well because most everything was in at least 3 different languages. At this point in the day, both HJ and I were getting pretty tired. We climbed about half way up and had a decision to make. Do we head back down and call it a day or do we suck it up and make it to the top? There really was only one choice – go all the way.

To be fair, it may have been the wrong decision. Because of the vast mist everywhere – we couldn’t really see much of anything at the top. A bit of a disappointment but we did receive a truly exotic experience. Coming down was easier and we quickly found a restaurant for some much needed nourishment. We ate some local seafood dishes and then hit the road for home.

Now, this was only the end of full day one remember. I’m going to try and post more this week of the trip otherwise I’ll never get ahead.

Until then,

-Paul