It all started when my family was feasting in a Korean restaurant at Serangoon and my sis randomly asks me if i wanna go Korea. And of course at my first reaction was a loud YES. Because firstly, who doesn't love holidays? Secondly i have never been to Korea.
After 3 months of saying without action, we finally booked our air tix about a month ago and departed on the 14th of Sept!
I spent a good 10 days in both Jeju Island and Seoul in Korea. Generally wise, i prefer Jeju. Weather was better, places we visit was beautiful. Other than the fact that you had nothing to do at night and not much shopping available, i guess i know why everyone raved about Jeju because it was a tranquil experience, peaceful, and picturesque there.
Unlike Seoul, everywhere was crowded, people were uncouth and inconsiderate. Pedestrian crossings are for cars first, pedestrians are second. When you browse through a store and exit empty-handed, they may even shoot you that death stare. They ain't like those KPOP stars you see on TV, they ain't all angelic and nice. But one thing i like about them is their Korean accent, everyone sound so lively when they speak to you. I still had my fair share of fun in Seoul, and alot of heritage and cultural places were quite an eye-opener.
Without further ado, i guess i should get started!!
14th Sept:
Landed safely at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, took the airport express train to Gimpo Domestic Airport, and on board our domestic flight to Jeju! Collected our rental car at LOTTE Rent-A-Car and off we drive to our first destination - yummy pork broth noodles for lunch!
FYI, if you're planning to visit Jeju, you should definitely drive around!! Public transport are not encouraged because driving is more convenient in Jeju. Whereas in Seoul, public transport is very convenient so you're discouraged to waste money on cabs.
After some filling lunch, we took off for our first sightseeing, the JeongBang Waterfall!
Jeju Island is rather famous for their natural rock formations such as waterfalls, lava caves, craters etc. There are mainly 3 famous waterfalls in Jeju that many visits, The JeongBang Waterfall, Cheonjiyeon Falls, and Cheonjeyeon Falls. Our itinerary was to visit the first two, but we end up only visiting the first one due to lack of time :(
Afterwards headed to Jusaangjolli Cliff but only to realise it's closed a few mins before we reached (closes at 7pm) :(
^ I heard this is where the Korean drama "Secret Garden" was filmed!!! but not a korean drama fan here
^ We coincidentally caught the sunset and it was so beautiful :(
I have a fetish for sunsets (more than sunrises), so therapeutic to just stare at it, it's as if every trouble or negativeness is subconsciously taken away with it :')
^ Dinner was abalone porridge at the bottom right, but i didn't really like it because it taste like oatmeal....but the Korean pancake was quite good!!!
This concludes our first day!!
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15 Sept:
With barely 4 hours of sleep, an hour of drive, we finally reached the foot of Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak!!!
After grabbing a cup of Iced Americano (my fav drink in Korea), my sis and I started hiking our way up to the top of the mountain (while my mom sleeps in the car)!
The climb was a mad one because the stairs were quite steep. After about 45 mins of torture and alot of my sis's encouragement, we finally reached the peak!! I SWEAR THE VIEW WAS SO WORTH THE CLIMB.
^ While waiting for the sun to peep its way through the clouds
^ Wind too strong hahaha
^ The sun is finally out!!!
^ The sunrise was reaaaally pretty, we couldn't stop snapping pics
^ View of Jeju when we were hiking down
Seopjikoji is located at the eastern shore of Jeju island, and it was a nice walk from the carpark to the lighthouse where we were walking alongside the beach, this is the time when i'm beginning to love the weather more and more :')
^ My Mom was saying sth funny about our hair smacking her face and we ended up laughing in this picture
^ HAHAHA my mom's face when she said in chinese "Stop taking pictures of me!"
I swear my sis and i are laughing everyday there at my mom's auntie-like facial expressions and actions (we call her ajumma), and those are jokes only we two get it but outsiders completely don't understand haha
^ Had stew kimchi tofu hotpot for lunch!!
Next up is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Manjanggul Cave!!
Overall the cave had nothing much but only a walk through a lava tunnel that is a natural monument. But the temperature in the cave was roughly around 11 degrees (colder than outside; 19 degrees), which was a super comfortable atmosphere!!
^ Prefere Ice Cream was SOOO good!!! My sis told me that United Square used to have this ice cream stall too, but now you can't find this anywhere in SG. But when i first tried this, it was really super good.....SG should not have stop its production...
Drove back to our hotel, had a good 2 hours nap, and drove back out for some good anticipating dinner!!
PS: My sis had a minor car accident, but the insurance company took care of it.
Dinner was settled at the famous Black Pork Street! I saw many internet reviews and Triplets at The Return of Superman (hehe), everyone said that if you have never tried Black Pork in Jeju, then you had better take the plane back there and eat it at least once.
I must say, our Black Pork Korean BBQ dinner was one of our best meals in this 10 days in Korea!!! Not kidding a single bit!!
We found the right way to savour the pork, which is to dip it in some ssamjiang sauce, wrap it in a lettuce with some beansprouts/kimchi, slice some green chilli into it, and then pop the whole thing into your mouth!!! The thought of this combination and that heavenly meal makes me miss Korea already :'(
This sums up our last full day in Jeju!!
Will try my very best to complete all the posts for Korea by the end of October before school starts and lots of other things kick in! Please bear with me :)
Till then sweeties xx.
