Jeju 3

Our 2nd full day in Jeju was not entirely beautiful. It had threatened to rain the day before but we were still somehow rewarded with great weather on the Tuesday. Wednesday was a different story. To be fair, the day started off alright and it wasn’t till closer to lunchtime that the clouds opened up. Once it started showering, it certainly put a damper on things but that didn’t stop HJ and me from exploring.

The day started off on the right foot for another reason as well. We took a little ferry to an even smaller island off the east coast of Jeju. This island was called U-Do, which roughly translates to “cow island” in Korean. Both HJ and I couldn’t really make out a cow shape though. Must take some interpretation. The ferry ride itself was fast and short. It already started to sprinkle at this point. However, once arrived on U-Do, we were able to behold one of the more beautiful beaches on or around Jeju.

The water was crystal clear and the sand was immaculate. Not exactly perfect for swimming but awesome to soak up. This beach was also famous because its seaweed was world-renowned due to the unique geography and water levels between Jeju and U-Do. I’m not sure about the sand – if it was shipped in or was volcanic rock that had been smoothed out. After a brief stay here, we moved on to meander through the narrow roads of U-Do. If we thought some roads on Jeju were tiny – we had much to learn.



We eventually found what was called Lighthouse Park. It wasn’t much but a lighthouse on a hill and a path around that you could look off the cliff walls. The problem with this destination was the increase of bad weather. The rain really started to come down and with the winds roaring over the cliff walls – we couldn’t stay long. Muddy shoes later, we quickly ate some Korean food and boarded the ferry back to the main island.

At this point, we headed for some caves. I can’t say I’ve been in any sort of extensive cave before so I didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully, this one wasn’t very claustrophobic. It had nice high ceilings. That said, it wasn’t exactly the coziest place to be. It was dark, damp and generally dull and lifeless. I always imagined caves as brighter and more colourful – don’t ask me why. We were rewarded at the end though, as we got to take in a cool-looking structure. Apparently, this one was the 2nd biggest in the world (if I remember correctly). Most other tourists gave up before the end so I was proud.



The last destination I’ll mention in this post was a special garden/forest. Now, I can’t remember the name of the famous tree – but it looked somewhat like a pine tree except with much lighter and greener needles. Anyway, some of the trees had been there for hundreds of years – and one close to 1000 years. It was beautiful but, truthfully, I wasn’t too enthralled. This was really HJ’s idea and I went with it. I guess the nice thing about this stop and many others was the lack of people. Off season coupled with rain meant ample wandering time.

I’m gonna stop here. There was only one more thing we accomplished on this day. I will educate you all on that and our last half day in the next and final post about Jeju. I apologize for how long-winded this all is.

Cheers,

-Paul