Jeju Island

Jeju Island is known as the "Hawaii of Korea" and is located a 12 hour ferry or 1 hour flight from Busan. We flew because the boat leaves at 7 PM and we don't finish work in time to catch it. This was our second time planning a Jeju trip because our flights in May were cancelled due to heavy rain and strong winds. We still didn't have great weather (got zero views of the iconic Hallasan volcano in the middle of the island), but it wasn't too bad either.

We took the "limousine" bus from the airport near Jeju city to Seogwipo, where we'd booked a hotel close to waterfalls we wanted to visit. When we boarded the bus, we weren't able to pay and the bus driver kept asking us a question (in Korean). Finally, he just waved us on. We learned later that the bus price was by zone so he was asking us where we were going. I had the familiar feeling of inadequacy for not learning Korean fast enough and missing the ease of communication back home. But there wasn't anything we could do and the bus driver just charged us on the way out so it was fine. My thoughts during the bus ride were "wow, it's so green!" and "wow, it's so foggy."

We had a Western style brunch before finding our hotel and dropping our bags. Then we set out to find our first waterfall. We were right next to a park and 45 minutes of walking later, we paid for our park tickets ($2 each) and saw Cheonjiyeon falls. We asked the one other foreign couple there to take a photo of us, and this guy went out of his way to take a photo with 3x on his iPhone 14 and then airdrop it to us. We returned the favour but I think his photography skills were better than ours.

After checking in to the hotel and going for a swim in the rooftop pool, we went out for Jeju "black pork" (named after the black pigs it comes from). As far as I could tell, it tasted similar to other pork but the barbecue restaurant we went to was really delicious. Then we walked around and stumbled into an open market where we drank beers.

The next day, (our only full day), we went to Yakcheonsa temple since it was the start of the Olle-8 trail. There are temples at the start of most hikes we do here and I generally find them to all be similar and not that exciting. But this one was surprisingly impressive. It just seemed huge and there were these gold dragons on the pillars inside. There was also music and chanting happening which added to the ambience.

The trail zigzagged through some small farms until you got the beach, and then there were tide pools and cool volcanic rock formations. Although it was cloudy, it was hot and humid and we were quickly sweaty even though the trail wasn't crazy hard. The trail was mostly paved and went through various parks and gardens. There were some random stone walls and pots that made us feel like we were in a Zelda game. Cam said he should smash them so he could see if there were arrows or gems inside.

We decided to end our walk at a cafe/lounge/bar. They had a nightclub in Hawaii vibe inside with dart boards and dim lighting and outside they had big lounge chairs. We got iced drinks and fried chicken. The fried chicken was covered in a black crispy batter so that it looked like the volcanic rock. Even though it was A/C inside, we decided to sit in the heat outside so we could look at the beach and enjoy the fact that it wasn't raining.

From the cafe, we took a cab (for $3.60... I still can't get over that) to Cheonjeyeon falls (yes, it is one letter different from the name of the first waterfall). It cost $2.50 this time but it was a way bigger park than we were expecting, with three (but only two open) waterfalls. We had fun taking pictures and staring longingly at the waterfall from our very safe lookout, wishing we could jump in.

We bussed back to our hotel for another afternoon swim before dinner. This time, we went for abalone - the super expensive superfood that is a bit like an oyster but bigger and chewier. I didn't like it very much, but Cam enjoyed it. By this point it was raining, and we had walked a lot, so we went back to the hotel and checked out the games room. Cam and I shot some baskets and played some retro fighters arcade game before going to bed.

Our last day, it rained. In the morning, we walked to Jeongbang waterfall which flows right into the ocean! It was really cool but also really slippery. Afterwards, we decided our main stop before our flight would be the green tea plantation and Inverness tea museum. It's free because it turns out the museum part is pretty tiny. It's mostly a cafe and shop where you can buy... you guessed it... green tea. Cam and I had cute little lunches and then matcha cheesecake and wandered around a bit.

We were planning to have an early dinner in Jeju city then catch our 6 PM flight but our flight was delayed 2 hours so we went to the market instead. My favourite part was a seafood stall labeled "handsome young men" where all the cooks were doing the same choreographed dance moves.

Jeju island is huge and if I were to go back, I would get my international driver's license so I can rent a car. I would also go in October or March to miss the rainy season. I remember how magical the view of Arenal volcano was when we were in Costa Rica and I feel like I missed out on Hallasan. That being said, it was still really beautiful and I loved the waterfalls. I mostly just wish we had more time off to explore.