Nuffnang Ads

Friday, March 15, 2013

South Korea: Jeju Island Pt. 2

Waking up early the next day, we enjoyed complementary breakfast of eggs and toasts before setting out to meet our taxi driver for the day. Our first stop was the teddy bear museum which boasts to a huge collection of bears of various Themes. The little darling decided to become a bear too!  She was beary beary happy! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWedding Bear!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANaughty  X Terracotta Bear!

Did a little traveling and we stopped by another tourist site but I was not sold by the stone formations. I preferred eating more :)! So it was fish cakes and hot radish broth along with some sweet red bean filled cakes along the way ;)! 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADelicious fishcakes in radish broth are everywhere! And that includes some or most 7elevens too!
One of the catchy tourist spot I enjoyed most was the mysterious road. An optical illusion where cars roll uphill and water flows upwards. A  bloody amazing sight. Or at least much more impressive than stones xD. Views of the terrain also caught my sight. The driver explained that the bulge were actually graves caused by the effect of the volcanic ground. Other places were flat because live stocks roam freely, applying pressure and keeping the ground flat. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe graves were unaffected due to the rock perimeter preventing livestock from entering.


Next was a UNESCO heritage site. A waterfall site which looked good but fell way short of majestic. Nevertheless, the rock sculptures formed out of volcanic rocks in the area were really eye catching yet so symbolic of knowledge and bravery!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWaterfall!  Told you it was not much… :(

We then went on to the Sunrise Peak but not before a lunch of locally caught mackerel cooked in the simplest manner on the grill.
  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhile the cooking was simple, it freshness was unbeatable!  But we got ripped off! Jeezus!

It was a gloomy day and it shows from this picture! But it was a good thing.  It was not really too hot or anything :)!
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Sunrise peak!

But believe it or not, the amazing part of this place was the “lady divers”.  People who carry on the tradition of catching seafood by diving despite this horrible winter chill!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATrue story!
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAs you can see, the ladies are pretty old! Even the youngest is about 60 years old.  Thus they joked the “between us, we share more than 300 years of experience!”.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMe and live octopus.  And only moments later….
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAbalone and octopus sashimi.  ACHIEVMENT UNLOCKED.  Almost died there… @@!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOn the way down, I really enjoyed the views of this little town.  Despite this trip being more than 2 months old now, I feel a growing sense of attachment.  South Korea really is a beautiful place :)!  Oh btw, the tent was setup for the first sunrise of the year event.  An event celebrated every new year’s eve!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMy last scenery shot before we headed back to the city area.   It was extremely pleasant!  Our taxi driver commented that n summer this place is full of chicks. NOTED.

And the most important part of the day, a delicious meal to end the night on a high!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnother meal of fantastic barbecue.  This time, even the cabbage and bean sprout kimchi goes on!  Not the healthiest thing, but as the belly crisps, its oil cooked the kimchee even more, giving it an unforgettable aroma.  All then gets wrapped in a lettuce.  ENJOY!

When we were close to finishing, the owner came out and cooked the remaining pork belly and kimchee with rice.  Cheekily, he made a love shape out of the rice.   Hospitality in South Korea is unbelievable.  Everyone here is so helpful and caring right from the start till the end.   Even from the start, an old aunty has been keeping an eye on us making sure we were alright.  Consistently asking her helpers to bring more food to us.  What can I say?  It was lovely.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA<3! While I wish I know the name of the place in English, I do not :(! Nevertheless, the owner left us a card:
IMG_1742Took this with my iPhone ;)! Hope this helps anyone who needs a good barbecue place in Jeju Island!

After that the little darling and I walked a bit more before settling down to relax over warm drinks @ Tortini cafĂ©.  Just the perfect way to end our last night in Jeju! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGreen tea latte, hot chocolate and….

A delicious slice of moist baked cheese cake! :)!
  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABoth the drinks and the cake were yummy. I do not drink coffee at all and luckily for me, green tea latte has no coffee.  Just really delicious matcha stirred into frothed milk! Delicious! The hot chocolate that darling had was not any lesser too.  It was creamy, rich and sweetness just at the right amount.  The biggest surprise for the night was the baked cheese cake which was so yummy.  It put most cheesecakes in Perth to shame!

Next stop?  Mount Sorak!

More soon :)

WenY