Jeju: The Island of Three Many (Random Stuffs)

Korean Air

This was my first time flying with Korean Air. The first flight that I took was the connecting flight to Jeju from Gimpo Airport.  I was surprised to see that it was a huge carrier and thought that the flight would be empty.  Boy, I was wrong as the flight quickly became full a short while after that.  

The short flight was pleasant and I have no complaints.  But I noticed that the seats in the aircraft serving the locals are a bit small - if you're a slightly large person you can just barely fit in the seat. I also took Korean Air for my flight to return KL and it was at par with MAS except that the halal food served is at best edible. But I don't really mind about  that. What I do mind is that check in process at the Incheon Airport took so long and I'm kinda surprised with that. So next time make sure you have spare ample time for the check in process if you intend to do some Duty Free shopping after that.

our flight to Jeju

Gimpo Airport.

Renting Pocket Wifi

These days Wifi is something that I cannot live without. ;-) I have had good experience in Sydney with the Yes Optus! Data Sim Card so i decided to rent a Pocket Wifi. There are a few options out there but at that point of time I decided that it most worth to go with SRoaming Pocket Wifi. The actual rental fee was KRW7,700 per day but when I picked up the pocket wifi at the airport, the guy manning the booth mentioned that there was a further discount. So the fee was KRW5,000 per day which is so worth it! Do take note that if you intend to travel to Jeju, you have to inform the person manning the counter as it requires a different type of pocket wifi. It was fortunate for me that I asked that day as I was given the one which only works in Seoul! It was my mistake for not detailing it out when I make the reservation online. You can book the pocket wifi in advance through their website, just to be safe, make sure you do that. 

I was having trouble at first to find their counter at the Incheon Airport. It have moved from the arrival floor to the departure Floor (5th Floor if Im not mistaken - be sure to double check.) The booth was towards the end of the airport and the booth was one of the last booths behind. I went round and round the place so many times I almost gave up when I realized that they used a different name on their signage. Their booth is botth No. 35 but the name they used was SRT instead of SRoaming. Dang! When I came back to the place a few days later to return the pocket wifi, I noticed that it had changed the booth name to the correct one. So make sure about the booth number to save you from hassle. 

there are a lot of booths in this area. mostly travel agents

SRoaming Counter - #35. It's the last booth

My lifeline

(So called) Hidden Gem Shopping Place in Namdaemun

I only had a few hours to spare on Friday morning before my flight back to KL . My original 

plan was to head out to Namdaemun to buy some brooches and then to Dongdaemun to look for blankets (i have a knack for blankets). I went out as early as 9.30 am and reached Namdaemun around 10 or slightly before 10. It was just 1 stop away from where I stay. I was a little unsure as to wether the e-lengdang (the building which has a lot of stalls selling brooches and accessories) was already opened at that time but I was relieved to see that they were. If you're in Malaysia, most of the shops are still closed at this time of the day. They only open at 11.00 am and some even at 12 pm! Most of the shopkeepers were having 

breakfast and some are already at their stalls crafting jewelerries. It looked like I was the only shopper at that time but they minded their own business and it did not felt awkward at all. I only bought a few brooches as they were quite expensive. 

After spending like half an hour at the place, I proceeded out the place and decided to just walk around and do some ppl watching since it was still early. Some of the shops were open and some was just about to open but there were still not many shoppers and the roads were 

clear. I totally love the ambience at that time. Not far from the e-lengdang, I stumbled upon an alley where there was a shop selling Korean cookwares and cuttleries. At first I was quite unsure if I wanter to walk into the alley but somehow i did. I explored a bit further inside, and somehow went inside an entrance and bammm.. there it was a bazaar filled with local stuffs like comforters, clothes, accessories, toys, handphone casings, souviniers and everything in between! there were a few floors and there were even floors dedicated to wedding / bedding stuffs, souviners , cookwares etc. It was like i hit a jackpot! (yes, drama.. haha) It was like a wholsales centre or something. Im not sure if this place is actually popular but I did not know anything about it before this.

And after that, my KRW was drained in no time. huhuhu.. one of my most prized acquisition was the jewellery box which costed me KRW 40 k (if im not mistaken) . That piece easily costs KRW70k in Insadong. So I scrapped my plan to go to Dongdaemun and spent all the time that I had at that place. Half a day is certainly not enough to explore the maze of alleys in the bazaar *sigh*.. Boy, how I wished I had the whole day ! Just be sure to be prepared with cash money as some shops do not accept credit cards. 

On another note, I was surprised almost all shops in Jeju accept credit cards including restaurants and small souvinier shops. You'll be surprised! and one thing that amazes me the most is how fast it takes to swipe ur cc South Korea. In Malaysia it takes ages to verify ur cc at the cashier at the wrath of people queing behind you....

Arrived Seoul quite late the day before. This is Myeongdong at 11 pm.

The alley I was talking about is near the yellow signage

I love!!

Bundles of comforters. I did not buy any though as I have spent all my money on something else ;-)

Buying Korean CDs in Myeongdong

Those who knew me will know that I'm a K-Drama junkie. I also listen to some Korean music as well. Mostly i listen to kdrama soundtracks and I dig Leessang. During my last trip to Myeongdong in 20011, I was not able to find any CDs store in the area. So I googled and found this guy's blog post about buying CDs in Myeongdong and I succeeded in finding the shop! I agree with him that shop #2 is the cheapest. I tried to find Leessang old CD - Assura Balbata but it's really  difficult to find :( . However, I'm still contented with my loot of CDs during this trip :D 

Loot :D. Stuffs bought in Jeju and Seoul. CDs on the bottom right.

Sejong Hotel

I picked Sejong Hotel as the place to put up the night due to its location. It's situated in Myeongdong - a shopping heaven and very very close to the metro station and the Airport Coach Bus Stop is right in front of its doorstep  - what else do you need? :D I will definitely come back to this hotel in the future if I return to Seoul (hopefully). 

Definitely recommended! 

Sejong Hotel Entrance

Take bus 6015 to go directly to the airport. Super cheap.

Jeju Cuisines

These are some Korean Foods that I had in Jeju. I had one of the best bibimbap at one of the Korean Restaurant near the Lotte Duty Free area at the Jungmun Resort Complex. I think it's because of the sauce (gochujang if im not mistaken). The ahjumma seems pretty upset and refuse to give me a second helping of the sauce when I requested it.. me and my friends were perplexed but we guessed maybe the sauce is expensive or something.. But to tell you the truth, I may had to much bibimbap during this trip I've had enough of it after the 6th day. erk... 

I only can take the abalone porridge.

this one is a no go for me. too adventorous

this one too. i wish they had salmon or tuna

the yummiest bibimbap of all!

bibimbap (again) at the airport

fell in deep love with pascucci hot choc

New Year Hotel Prices

Ok this is digressing from the whole topic, but i just have to share this amazing finding. I found out very recently that hotel prices are very-very cheap this week (1st week of 2014). I'm not sure if this is the norm, but it's really cheap yo! (In Malaysia, that is) Even for 5 stars hotels the prices are really worth it.. So, I'm making a mental note to check this out early next year to see if my theory of hotel prices are really cheap during early of the year is actually true. :D

JEJU : THE ISLAND OF 3 MANY (Part 2)

I was in Jeju for a meeting in early November and I only had one day to spare for sightseeing. So I quickly did some research and I have narrowed down to 4 places that I had to at least visit while I'm there. Just to put things into perspective, Jeju Island can be divided into 4 areas. the city area which is located at the North (Jeju City) and South (Seogwipo CIty) and also the attractions area which is on the east course or the west course.

The hotel that we stayed is the KAL Hotel Seogwipo which is located in the South. Please take note that there is also one KAL Hotel in Jeju City. From what I heard, KAL Hotel Seogwipo is the first tallest and most modern hotel during its time in the 80s if im not mistaken. However, today, you can see that the design is bit dated and in need of some updating. Location wise, its not advisable to stay here unless if you have your own transport as there is nothing whatsoever in the vicinity of the hotel. and also generally, if you prefer a more lively environment, it is advisable to stay in Jeju City itself. It's better in terms of shopping, food and also proximity to the airport.

During my stay in Jeju, a few of the Koreans I met told me that Jeju is the island of 3 many which means that there 3 things in Jeju that is in abundance - rocks, women, and wind. This is because the Wind from the ocean blows steadily throughout the year and beautiful and unusually-shaped black rocks are all over the island due to its past volcanic activities. The island’s reputation of having an abundance of women dates back to the time when fishing was the primary means of income and many men were lost at sea leaving their widows behind. and also ive heard stories of how strong jeju women are in the past as they have to take care of themselves when their husbands goes to the sea.

Coming back to what i was talking (writing) about before, IMHO, its more convenient for you to rent a car or hire a driver to get around jeju as it is a big island and the attractions are not that close to each other. especially if you have limited time, taking the public transportation i.e. bus, is not an option. I was lucky at that time as I've managed to get Mr Moon as our driver for the day. I got his contact from trip advisor and he has a good reputation. Mr Moon is a nice guy eventhough his english is quite limited he tried his best to communicate with us whenever we asked him about anything. he is also very knowledgable about jeju and very 'proactive' in taking your pictures ;-) he's contact can be referred to here.

For my very short trip this time, I have picked out four places to go, which i think that I must not leave Jeju before setting foot at these places. But please bear in mind that this can be quite exhausting and not suitable if you are travelling with kids. Also, take note when you are in Jeju, do pack along your walking gear which includes comfy clothes and shoes and also disposable rain ponchos can be useful for certain seasons as most of Jeju's places of interests are nature attractions which involves a lot of walking and hiking. All of the places that I picked is located in the East Coast. We started the journey from Jeongbang Waterfall which is located very near to our hotel. It can be reached within foot from KAL Hotel via olle route 6, if im not mistaken.


Jeongbang WaterfallJeongbang Waterfall is a waterfall that falls directly into the sea. Size wise it is small but it'a rare thing that you won't easily be able to see elsewhere. When we were there, there was not so many people and there was even a rainbow at that time. Please take note that there is a flight of stairs to climb on your way back - difficulty - moderate.

 

Sangumburi Crater

After that, we went to the Sangumburi Crater which is about 45 mins drive from Jeongbang Waterfall. It is an extinct volcanic crater now filled with lush vegetation. Formed during Jeju’s fiery volcanic past, the crater withstood its violent eruption and is still perfectly shaped, making it unique. 

It takes 15 minutes light walk from the entrace to the crater -  Do wear comfortable shoes. At the top there is an area which they put a few swings and I totally fell in love with that. The ambiance is really romantic with the wind blowing in your face, acres of silver grass swaying as the wind blows and piped in music (i was really impressed with this - they thought about everything , even to the finest details). That said, it's really nice to be there with your loved ones.

Sangumburi Crater entrance

this is the swing that i was raving about.. ;-)

The crater - cant really see it from here

Seongsan Ilchubong

Seongsan Ilchubong is a peak rose from under the sea in a volcanic eruption over 100,000 years ago which is a UNESCO World Heritage. It is said to be the best spot to view the sunrise. However one must be up very early in order to climb the peak in time for the sunrise. Our mistake is that we had lunch just before the visit to the peak and we only managed to climb half way to the peak. Hmm, maybe not even half way, i think its more like a third of the peak. (by the way, Mr Moon took us to a seafood restaurant which is so so delish. we really enjoyed our lunch there...) To me, the level of difficulty of climbing the peak (for a person as unfit as I am) is DIFFICULT because of its height.  Im not really sure if its suitable for kids eventhough the path is lined with stairs, but i saw lots of kids climbing the peak on that day.

There is also a hanyeo (women divers) show at in the area which you can watch after the climb. You can also take a boat ride around the place but im not sure how much it will cost you.

The famous sunrise peak

 

Women Diver Show

Our lunch - best haemul paejeon evah!!

haemultang.. so delish....

grilled saba..

Manjanggul Cave

The Manjanggul Lava Cave is also a UNESCO World Heritage and it is is one of the finest lava tunnels in the world. A lava tunnel is formed when the lava that was deep in the ground spouts from the peak and flows to the surface and only 1km of the 13,422m Manjanggul Cave is open to the tourists. If you haven't been to any lava cave before, you SHOULD visit the Manjanggul Cave. I was really in awe with the sights in the cave. It makes you feel small and that mother earth is larger than life and it's beyond your control.

Manjanggul Cave entrance

you can see the trace of the lava flows on the cave wall. awesome stuff!

So that's basically sums up my take on the mut visit places if you only have 1 day in Jeju. Of course there are A LOT of other attractions in Jeju. Especially if its in summer you have to add a beach in your must visit places as the beaches in Jeju are stunning.

JEJU : THE ISLAND OF 3 MANY

I know I've been giving empty promises to update about our trip to Sydney. I have a least 2 more posts about that, but this end of the year is super hectic.. crazayyy.. Will try to find the time to finish up those 2 posts. Or perhaps I might cram it into 1 post. We'll see.

Why "the island of 3 many" u might ask. When I was in Jeju, I heard about this phrase so many times it kinda stuck in my head. But I will update on that later. I will also write on places to go if you have only 1 day to explore Jeju.. Catcha latersss...

Jeongbang Waterfall

Sangumburi Crater

Seongsan Ilchubong from afar

Manjanggul Lava Cave