Arriving at Jeju was so pleasant! It looked like a tropical paradise and the airport smelled like tangerines!
I decided to spend an extra ~$20 USD per night for an entire ocean view room and am glad I did!
I really loved this hotel. It was so clean and pretty. It had a roof deck and was in a great, convenient location.
Spicy beef noodles and my first Korean beer at a local noodle shop near the hotel
Starting off on my first of two tours of Jeju over two days. This day starts on the East Course. We had the most enthusiastic and kindest and most knowledgeable local tour guide, Elin, for this leg of the tour.
After talking with people coming from Jeju on the Gyeongju tour the previous day, I felt I’d get the most out of it and be less worried about bus schedules by taking a tour. I booked Yeha East and West on Lisa’s recommendation.
Elin shared snacks on the bus. This yakgwa cookie quickly turned into one of my favorite snacks of the trip!
First stop on the Yeha East course was Jeolmul Forest
Second stop on the Yeha East course was Seongeup Folk Village
We had a black pork stir fry lunch as part of the Yeha East course bus tour, complete with makgeolli and tangerines.
I sat with my new couple-friends, Lucy and Felix, from Veracruz, Mexico.
Third stop on the Yeha East course was Seongsan Ilchulbong - Sunset Peak. Elin told us to be ready because it’s 600 stairs up and 600 back down. I really underestimated how hard it would be! But I did it! And it was worth it! It started pouring rain right as I turned around to start heading back down from the summit. Apparently this is typical Jeju weather. I was wet the rest of the day…
We stopped at the Jeju Haenyeo Museum as the fourth stop on the Yeha East course bus tour. It was originally planned for us to meet the haenyeo and see their performance but the rain cancelled that.
I still learned about their practices, rituals, songs and clothing from the museum.
Our fifth and final stop on the Yeha East course bus tour was the Majanggul Lava Tube.
First stop on the Yeha West course bus tour was Hyeopjae and Gumneung Beach. It was here I met tour mate and new friend, Arianti, from Australia.
Second stop in the Yeha West course bus tour was Ssangyong and Hyeopjae Caves. Or as interesting to compare these cave to the Majanggul Lava Tube from the previous day. These caves are lava and limestone thus giving them a more “traditional” cave appearance.
The third stop on the Yeha West course bus tour was Hallim Park. We walked just some of the many attractions in this large park, including the sculpture and bonsai garden, palm tree avenue, the folk village, the bird garden, and the water garden.
We had a well-being buffet lunch including Jeju black pork and veggies as part of the Yeha West course bus tour.
It had started raining by our fourth stop on the Yeha West course bus tour, the Osulloc green tea fields. This stop also included a cafe and an Innisfree cosmetics store.
I was really looking forward to this stop as a tea lover. It wasn’t what I expected (it was more cafe and shopping) but the tea and snacks were good and it was beautiful and peaceful so turned out enjoyable nonetheless!
The fifth stop on the Yeha West course bus tour was Songaksan. It was really breathtaking to walk along the trail going up the looking at overlooking the ocean and the nearby land masses. it started pouring rain coming down this mountain, too! I’d learned by this point, classic Jeju!
The sixth and final stop on the Yeha West course bus tour was Cheongyecheon Waterfalls. There was a choice between the teddy bear museum and the falls. I’m glad I chose the waterfalls. They ended up being really gorgeous and mostly empty due to the rain very shortly before. It wasn’t even certain they’d remain open until minutes before we stopped due to the rain. Again, I’m so glad I chose this and it was open; I can’t emphasize enough how pretty they and the observatory built around them were!
Instead of being dropped back off at our hotels by the Yeha West bus after the tour, Arianti and I chose to go to Dongmun Market in downtown Jeju City for dinner. We had a hard time choosing among the street food stalls but ultimately took advantage of the change from solo travelling to there being two of us to sample a few things. We got fresh grilled lobster and stuffed crab, tangerine garlic fried chicken, and I had tangerine ice cream for dessert.