Day 3 - 19 May 2011
Annyeong! 2nd day in Jeju Island. A full day of activities and sight seeing at this beautiful volcano island.
We stayed 2 nights in this resort in Jeju. Beautiful view around the resort.
Buffet breakfast in the resort cafe
We had a good breakfast at the cafe. It was one of the better international buffet breakfast we had in our entire trip.
Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (UNESCO World Heritage) rose from under the sea in a volcanic eruption over 100,000 years ago. Located on the eastern end of Jeju Island, there is a huge crater at the top of Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. However being me, I'm too lazy to trek up to take a peak. The surrounding view is as magnificent too and we were warned not to wear skirt as the wind was really strong. This was a filming site for Korean drama "My name is Kim Sam Soon".
Snack Corner at Seongsan Sunrise Peak
We couldn't resist ourselves from trying some freshly made pancake and cuttlefish even though we just had breakfast.
Seongsanpo Integrated Passenger Terminal
Next we proceed to the ferry terminal. We took a ferry to the deep sea to transfer to the submarine.
Submarine Tour
The submarine ride is subject to weather conditions. At times one may not get to see anything due to the strong current. We were quite lucky that day, at least able to get a glimpse of the fishes and coral. The whole submarine ride last less than 60mins.
Jeju Tangerine Farm
We stopped by the tangerine farm on the way to lunch. Jeju's tangerine is very famous in Korea. The fruits are yummy and can be seen every where. Though it was not the season & harvest time but it's such a signature of Jeju that the farmer put up fake tangerine on the tree for us tourist to take pictures. Other than tangerine, the tangerine chocolate and biscuits that were sold in the farm was a must buy souvenir at Jeju. Each box at 5,000 won.
Grilled Spicy Marinated Pan-Fried Black Pork & Squid
@ Yetjeongui Gol
We had a very nice lunch at this restaurant serving pan-fried black pork. It's popular to the locals too.
Seongup Folk Village
The folk villages in Jeju are supported by South Korea government. People who still living there and upkeep the village has special privilege. This particular one we went was where the famous Korean drama "Dae Jang Geum" did their filming. The village showcases the traditional houses in the olden times and their lifestyle.
Jeju Live Pure Honey
One of Jeju's local specialty is honey, a nice souvenir to bring back. After the folk village tour, the villager will give a talk to promote their honey and tea. I bought a bottle of pure honey, quite a big bottle (1.2kg) and cost around 40,000 won if I remembered correctly. Packed in a glass bottle in the shape of Jeju's 'Dol Hareubang'.
Go Kart Ride
I think this was just to add some activity in the itinerary as there's really nothing much to do at Jeju except sight seeing.
Famous Jeju's symbol - 'Dol Hareubang' & 'Mermaid'
The left statues are located at the entrance of Yongdaum Dragon Rock, it's God to the Jeju people and they called it 'Dol hareubang'. It was carved from volcano rock that symbolised protection and fertility. They believe by touching the stomach, you will be become wealthy. If you want a baby boy, touch the nose and a baby girl, touch the ears. Since Jeju is a Honeymoon Island, many newly weds love to come here. There is a beautiful 'Mermaid' statue too which I think symbolise Jeju's women divers.
The Dragon Head Rock, a famous and must see tourist attractions of Jeju. Situated to the north of Jeju City, Yongduam was created by strong winds and waves over thousands of years. However, there are plenty of legend stories of how it came to be.
Coastal line Seafood Stalls at Yongdeum
As we walked down to the shore, there are seafood stalls operated by the Jeju's sea women/women divers, the Jeju's mermaids. You get to savor live seafood sashimi like abalone, sea cucumber & octopus. Looks at the korean kids, really enjoying themselves. A pity due to lack of time, we didn't try.
Authentic Korean Homestyle Dinner
A heart warming dinner. We were served boiled black pig slices, steamed egg, perfectly grilled fish, cooked kimchi and all the side dishes.
Cute and hungry looking dog outside the restaurant...
Jungang Underground Shopping Centre
@ Topdong Shopping Street
After a satisfying dinner, we went shopping at Topdong. Nothing much to shop around here as the stuff here was quite outdated as compared to Seoul but the marketplace was quite interesting.
Market Place near Topdong Shopping Street
It's always interesting to take a look at local market as it's usually reflects the culture of the country. The market operates to late night.
Fish Market
Our Korean tour guide brought us to the market to buy value for money fresh sashimi.
Korean Style Sashimi
We chose a sole fish that weighed almost 1.5kg and cost about 20,000 won. The fishmonger will clean and cut into sashimi. Packed with ice pack and all the sauces nicely for us to takeaway. This stall was frequent pretty often by the tourguide.
Sashimi Supper
We had Korean style sashimi in our hotel. The Koreans love to dip in chilli sauce instead of soya sauce and wasabi. And they love to wrap it with lettuce. For us we still prefer the Japanese style. As for the fresh sole fish, the texture was a bit rubbery and not as sweet tasting as expected. Anyway it was a great palate experience!
Stay tune for more updates as we left Jeju for Seoul the next day...
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