Jeju Island!!!

After a red-eye flight at 1 AM, we arrived back in Korea at 8 AM Saturday morning. We quickly took a bus back to Daegu (hour or so) and unpacked. We got ourselves ready for part II of our vacation. A short 50 minute flight to Jeju from Busan! But first, we had to get there. We left Daegu early Saturday afternoon (after a shower and a quick unpacking/repacking) and headed back to Busan. Once there, we found ourselves  a cheap hotel near the airport for our early Sunday morning flight. We then realized we had a whole late afternoon/night to spend in Busan! So we went to check out Gwangali Bridge. When we got there, it was just about to get dark, and we were hungry...so we went to go look for some food.We found this amazing buffet place that reminded me of a restaurant I used to absolutely LOVE going to back when I lived in Japan. Basically, you sit down, and you have a grill in your table. You get up, and there is a large section of uncooked meat. Marinated beef ribs, bbq pork/chicken, sliced and different cuts of beef, and more. You fill a plate with these meats, bring it back to your table...and get cooking. They also had a sushi bar section, noodle section, and a cooked foods section (sweet and sour pork, chow mein looking stuff, fried rice, whatever, I spent no time in that section hahaha). Anyways, it was amazing. Jenn and I chowed down, and then we went to walk on the beach afterwards. Gwangali bridge was off in the distance, and it was definitely a sight to see. The bridge had colored lights, and it kept changing colors. The beach was also packed with people, and it just made for a really fun atmosphere. We wandered around for a little, then headed back to the hotel. We had an early flight next morning!

Sunday dawned bright and early, and we made it to the airport and our flight in plenty of time. Our flight went well, and we got to Jeju around 10 AM. That was when we called one of my friends from back home (we went to UCI together and played Lacrosse together as well) and told him that we were here. Yup. We were pretty lucky. My buddy was here in Jeju, teaching in Korea as well! He was nice enough to let us crash  at his apartment while we were in Jeju, and I was pretty excited to meet up with him too. It had been far too long since we had last seen each other! Anyways, we headed over to his apartment and chilled for a bit because he had to go do some things. When he got back, we were ready to explore Jeju! A little quick background info on Jeju...basically...it's awesome. It's in the running to be one of the 7 "Natural" wonders of the world, it's THE most popular place for newlywed Korean honeymooners, and it has killer beaches/natural sights. My friend's girlfriend was really awesome, and let us borrow her scooter. Then, me and Jenn, along with my friend and his gf (on his bike), went off to check out Jeju! Before you all get really worried, it is completely legal to drive a scooter/motorcycle in Korea without a license...as long as it is under a certain CC. Our scooters were 100cc's, and the limit I believe was 125. Anyways, Jeju is pretty spread out, so it was definitely nice to have the scooters. Not to mention that it was ridiculously awesome! It was like having a moped or something! Anyways, we hopped on our scooters, grabbed some lunch, and went to check out this sweet view of Jeju harbor. After that, we headed to our first beach (a recurring theme throughout our trip). Hamdeok beach. It was beautiful. And the ride along the coast was relaxing, empty of cars, and filled with just awesome scenery. The ocean looked so close. It reminded me of cruising down PCH...on my bus. Hahaha. Which did happen a lot surprisingly. Too complicated to explain. But yeah. Let me tell you this...it just doesn't get much better than that. A reunion with an old friend, a ride along the coast to an awesome beach...we were starting off Jeju right! After we hit up the beach for a while, we headed back to change and shower. Then...we realized we still had some time. So we went to another beach! Silcheon beach, I believe. It was a black sand beach, and pretty cool. We spent some time there, and went into the water. But since it was getting later in the evening, the water was too cold to stay in for too long. After Silcheon, we went to go get some dinner. And then after dinner, we relaxed for a bit, caught up on each other's lives, and called it a night. All in all, one of the best day's I've had in Korea period!

Next morning, we woke up bright and early. First things first, we went to get some much needed Dunkin Donuts. After chowing down, we went to check out another...beach! After another really amazing coastal ride (I now feel like all coastal rides must be done on a scooter/motorcycle by the way!) we ended up at Iho Beach. What to say, pretty much all the beaches in Jeju are beautiful. We spent a relaxing morning there and afterwards went to eat lunch together. After lunch, my friend and his gf had to go to work. Since they work private schools, their day starts when mine end. (Students go to public school during the day, private schools from 4-10). Usually my friend goes in early to get his lessons ready, so he always goes in around 1. Anyways, that meant that me and Jenn still had a whole day left! So off we went to explore. We took a bus down to the south side of the island (took about 50 minutes) and went to check out another...beach. But first! We went to check out Cheonjiyeon Waterfall. It's one of the most well-known waterfalls in Jeju, and when we got there, we had to hike a little ways. About 10 minutes. Anyways, we got there, and after dodging a bunch of other vacationers, we ended up with some pretty cool pics. Check them out!

After the waterfall, we headed to our second beach. Jungmun. It was nice. We didn't go in though, we had forgotten to pack our swim suits. Still, it was definitely one of the more scenic beaches. Plus, the waves were pretty gnarly. Anyways, after our little beach side trip, we went to meet up with our friend's gf for dinner. Unfortunately, my bud still had to work. 2-10 pm. Rough. (8 hrs, just like us, but what crappy hours yah?). Anyways, we went to Mexican, and had a pretty delicious meal. Some burritos, tacos, and nachos. Yum! Afterwards, we waited for my friend to come home and then just chilled out for a bit. That ends day 2 of our Jeju trip.

The next two days were amazing as well. Some highlights include of course, the amazing beaches, hanging with my friend and his gf, riding the scooter, and more. More specifically, the Jeju Trick Art museum. Pretty much a museum filled with pictures/paintings. You take a picture, and the art is "Trick" art. So...much easier to show than explain, but they have a bunch of pictures like the ones you will see. We took a lot, but here are the best ones. Aside from the museum, another highlight was...fireworks. Yup. Korea is awesome...because fireworks are completely legal. Anywhere! So where would you go light fireworks in Jeju? The beach of course! That was definitely pretty awesome. The fireworks weren't hardcore, just like little handheld ones, but it was still fun. Especially because it was probably around midnight or so and the beach was still filled with people setting off fireworks around us as well. It was like having our own little firework show!

Oh, and what would a trip to Jeju be without a trip to...Loveland? Yes, Jeju Loveland. A place for honeymooners that celebrates love. In a very strange way. Basically, there is no subtle way to put this. Loveland is a place filled with penis statues. Jenn and I went there just because we had been told that it was funny. And it was. Not the penis statue part, because hey, after one Penis statue, you've pretty much seen them all. No. The funny part was the groups of old people (women and men) walking around giggling at every statue. Or the other visitors to the park throwing up a peace sign and a big smile right next to a tall penis sculpture. Hahaha. It was great seeing how nonchalant and relaxed everything there was. And of course, you had to be 18 years or older to go in. And before you go on and on about how gross or weird that is, just try to remember that Korea is a completely different country than the USA, with a completely different culture. It's not strange or wrong, it's just different. Check out the entrance below! 

Anyways, that completes our Jeju trip. I forgot to mention one other place we visited! Hallim park. Huge eco-park that kind of reminded me a little bit of the Golden Gate park (is that what its called?) except bigger and with a lot more things to do. We saw rock gardens, lava tunnels, caves, Bonsai trees and more. It was awesome! But yes, it was a sad day indeed when we had to leave. It was just nice hanging out with people from back home ya know? We could all talk about stuff we missed, and the glory days of UCI lacrosse. He was there with me when we were actually good (Championship winner Freshman year...WHAT UP??). So yeah. Jeju was an absolute blast. Wish I could go back there already. Jenn and I definitely plan on going back to see it, and our friends one more time before we leave Korea! Good talking to you all, bye!