Jeju Island, Sept.28-Oct.2, 2009

It was a pleasant surprise when Al found out he had a week off. October 3 is Chusoek, the biggest holiday in Korea, celebrating the Harvest Festival and for that week most schools are closed and businesses are closed for one or two days. We managed to book a flight and a room at the Shilla Hotel on Jeju Island.

Jeju Island is a self- governing province. It is often referred to as the Hawaii of Korea. The climate is sub-tropical, and scenery breathtaking. There are beaches, waterfalls, golf courses, cycling, hiking, and mountain paths, scuba diving, surfing, fishing and HUNDREDS of museums. These museums included glass, tea, African, teddy bear, chocolate, turtle, dinosaur, car, horse, and sound (just to name a few). We found the natural sights amazing and were confused with the Korean passion for museums creating artificial worlds.

We stayed at the Shilla Hotel situated in theJungman Resort on the southern side of the island. As you can see it is very posh. It was quite the treat for us!!






















































































































































The first day we rented bicycles and cycled the greater portion of the west coast. The weather was cloudy so it was somewhat cooler although the humidity was extremely high.










This is an elementary school ..... guess who took this picture.























You might be able to appreciate the HILLS, which are a challenge on a bicycle (for me). I am proud to say I managed them without assistance or whining.




































Al was in heaven!! He flirted with the Korean women and bought several bags of oranges, which, by the way, happened to be delicious.





































































The second day, was hot, windy and rainy. I was tired (big surprise after the bike ride!!) and Al decided to work out in the gym and try out the hot tub. We ventured out for dinner and chose a Korean restaurant. Clearly, this was a spot for locals, because when we sat down, people actually changed their tables so they could watch, comment on and sometimes help as we tried to order and eat our meal.








The third day we went on a bus day tour. What a day!! We thought the name of the tour company was appropriate.

















The first stop was a tea museum which was surprisingly beautiful.






































We then went to Hallim Park which is a MUST see if you are ever on Jeju Island. One could easily have spent the entire day here.

















We saw the Hyeopjae and Ssangyong Caves which were formed by the eruption of Mt. Halla.
















The Stone and Bonsai Garden included 300-year-old pine, quince trees, crape myrtles and azaleas.














The Jae-Am Folk Village is where we had lunch and Al was introduced to one of his all time favorites, Pumpkin Hotteok.












We visited the Bird Garden with mandarin ducks, peacocks, parrots and pheasants.








































The Water Garden,was made from natural lava –based rock, and the Subtropical Botanical Garden included over 2,000 varieties of flowers and trees.









































































Our next destination was Hyeopjae Beach where the water was unbelievably clear. At first I thought the black was mud, but it is black lava rock which is very unusual in shape and quite beautiful.










































These are called Jusanseioli Rocks.. This is a pillar rock formation located off the coast of Daepo.















































The Yakcheonsa is the largest Buddist building in Asia. It is difficult to capture the overwhelming size of this beautiful and intricate building.














































Jeonnngbang Falls, located in Donghhong-dong, Seogwipo City,is one of the top three water falls in Jeju. It is the only one falling directly into the sea in Asia. They consist of two colums of 23m falls flowing from the black cliffs.
























This young lady was an absolute treasure!!