Welcome all, to Jeju Island.

I could just leave these two pictures here and call it quits now, because it kind of sums up how I feel about Jeju overall, and how my experience of the island unfolded. I have never been to a tropical-type island, but I imagine this is very much what they are like. I can now fully understand why everyone from the Korean mainland would choose to come here, whether for a weekend getaway or for a longer holiday. I get the hype.

My Jeju experience was actually a mixed one; while trying to enjoy what the island was offering me, I was also battling feeling unwell and also some unexpected sad news from home; but Jeju was probably the best place for me to be in respects of these things as it offered comfort and relaxation in droves when I really needed it.

From a practical point of view, getting to Jeju really was quite a doddle. I left my Seoul home behind, hopped onto the subway, and was delivered in about half an hour right to Gimpo airport. I simply looked for the signs for domestic flights and Jeju Air, where I was assisted by a nice Jeju Air lady who helped me print my boarding pass on the self-serve machine (managed this on my own on the way back) and pointed me to the bag drop-off desk.

The bag drop-off lady and I got through the check-in via basic Korean from me and the help of pre-written English sentences on her phone. The only bit I found a little interesting was that she told me I had to come back in 5 mins and see her again, as they would scan my luggage and she would tell me it was OK to go. I’ve never encountered such a system, but did as I was told, grabbing a fruit smoothie before getting back in the queue to see her again (cause I’m British and we excel in queuing). However, I was very surprised when she suddenly turned up at my elbow having spotted me, and told me I didn’t need to line up again and that my bag was fine before handing me a luggage ticket. It was all a bit odd, but I rolled with it, and appreciated the helpfulness of the staff.

I also particularly liked that when the plane went to take off, the nice Jeju Air ground staff lined up and waved to us as we left (before turning and bowing to each other). Not just a one-time thing either, it was the same on the return flight – and yes, now prepared for this occurrence, I totally waved back to them.

Arriving on Jeju, it was a simple bag grab and out the main door to the bus stop I had been directed to by my AirB&B host. Just a 5 minute wait and the bus arrived; I followed the crowd, stowed my bag under the bus (this is not National Express, the driver did not get off to help nor check any type of ticket), got on and told the driver where I was headed, tapped my T-card, and off we went!

It was as I was sat on the bus watching the scenery unfold that I suddenly realised something…I hadn’t seen the countryside in over a month. I hadn’t really noticed this fact while in Seoul, I suppose because there are parks and green spaces and mountains all around the city, but REAL countryside, the stuff with grass and animals and no skyscrapers, I had not clapped eyes on it since I left England.

This actually came as such a galloping surprise to me that when I realised it (prompted by the sight of a horse), I immediately had to text my mum to tell her. It was such a sudden visceral experience to comprehend how much I had missed the countryside, I could literally feel my mind and body relax as the miles ticked by, and was quite in shock that I hadn’t mentally twigged this fact earlier in my trip. So, 30 minutes into my Jeju trip, and the island was already working some type of healing magic on me.

I’d like to tell you my chosen guest house was excellent (Gudeok Guesthouse). My room was nice and airy, a total swap from the little enclosed Seoul cave I had been living in.

Everything in the surrounding area was quiet (despite being in the ‘city’ of Seogwipo) and it seemed as if there were no people anywhere. There were of course people, but compared to having just been in Seoul, this place seemed a ghost town.

It was perfect.

As I was milling about in the hallway checking out the noticeboard (as you do), a young chap rounded the corner, took one look at me and in English said ‘Do you want to get food?’ I immediately give him a thumb’s up, and that’s how on my first evening I ended up eating this amazing garlic and egg toast sandwich and a black pork croquette at the Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market with an Israeli bloke who was traveling around Korea too. And it was at that point I remembered that sometimes you get to experience small random stuff in life when be-bopping around the world that makes you smile.  

      

The following day, while still feeling a little worn out, I decided to just go a see what was around the locale with no real plan in mind. I set off with my handbag and cardigan in hand, pointed myself in the direction of Jeongbang Falls (the only nearby tourist attraction I had heard of), and that’s how I ended up walking Route 6 of the Jeju Olle Trail on my first full day on the island…

Jeongbang Falls is apparently noted for being the only waterfall in Asia that falls directly into the sea, so that had to be worth a visit, right? Being practically on my doorstep and for the small sum of ₩2,000, I figured I may as well take a look. Overall, it’s a pretty waterfall. I can’t tell though whether I got more enjoyment from watching the waterfall itself or the parade of people attempting to take cool/romantic/exciting/adventurous/quirky/modelling (delete as appropriate) photographs in front of the water feature. No lie, there were couples in dresses and suits clambering over rocks in order to pose, looking like they’d just come from some high-end evening party. People here never cease to amaze me.

Set slightly away from the falls was another hive of activity, equally interesting to watch. Under a rigged-up tarp and poles sat two little old ladies surrounding by bowls of water and rocks. One lady would dip her hand into a bowl of water and pull out some type of shell fish and with a sickle-shaped knife in hand, crack open and scoop out the contents of the shell. This would then been cut into smaller pieces, put into a sieve, swirled in another bowl of water, and then tipped out onto a plate where lady number two would then add kimchi as banchan and deliver it to waiting customers perched on rocks at makeshift stone ‘tables’.

I wanted to go try the food, and I was probably brave enough at that point to go and ask for some, however, it was raw shellfish and I have no idea what that tastes like and if I could stomach it. Without a second person to help cover if I couldn’t eat it (or had they at least been grilling it first), I just made do with sitting and watching the whole process.    

At this point I could have gone and found somewhere to plonk myself for the day and just relax and recuperate (ill, remember?), but right then as I emerged from the waterfall steps, I happened to spot a Jeju Olle Trail sign and thought ‘As I’m here, why not just walk a little bit of it to see what it’s like?’ Note to audience: this was very much how I ended up hiking the AT for 8 months.

And just in case you are wondering what this trail is I keep talking about, the Jeju Olle Trail is a walking path that goes around the entirety of Jeju Island. If you had about 15-20 days and nothing better to do with your time, you can hike the whole thing. And I would totally support that endeavour. The small bits of the trail I covered provided a chance to see different aspects of the island, form the stunningly beautiful coastline, to some of the inner workings of the island. And of course, there are stamps to collect along the way! Because I wasn’t intending on completing the whole thing, I didn’t buy the stamp book, but I did at least collect some as I went on the backs of my receipts for the day.   

The trail I walked wasn’t strenuous at all, it pretty much followed the coast, sometimes through wooded paths, through the gardens of hotels, or right on the water front.

Jeju is a volcanic island, so all of the rocks around the coast are black basalt, the type that have air holes in them, slightly like a pumice stone. In some areas of the island, you will even see hexagonal columns of basalt. The sea here is also various shades of blue and green and very inviting for swimming or diving.

The famous divers on the island are the haenyeo, the female free divers who make their living by harvesting molluscs from the sea around Jeju. According to the history books, harvesting by diving used to be a male led industry, but by the 18^th century, female divers outnumbered the men and pretty much took over the industry with families on Jeju becoming so reliant on the income from the haenyeo that they often became the head of the households.

All around Jeju you will see artwork or statues celebrating the haenyeo, but to be honest if you want to see them at work, all you have to do is stare out off the coast and look for the floating orange buoys, each one is a haenyeo at work. I spotted many while walking the Olle Trail, and a certain points you’ll even come across the town ‘welfare centres’ where it seems the haenyeo come to start or finish their work day. Plenty of restaurants around the island are also labelled as ‘haenyeo houses’ where they serve the catch from the divers. (OK, I can’t go any further without a drama recommendation featuring haenyeo – Our Blues on Netflix. You’re welcome.)

Almost 7 miles after I left my accommodation I came across Soesokkak Estuary, where people were happily spending the afternoon paddling up and down the river, and the bridge that marked the end point of route 6 of the trail.

Now feeling like a seasoned pro at public transport navigation, I whipped out my phone, located where I was, zoomed in to find the nearest bus stop and strolled on over to it. If you find yourself on a main enough route, you will get lucky and find a nice electronic board telling you of all the upcoming buses and their arrival times. A short 10 minute wait and bus 201 pulls into view, I hop on, tap that T-card, and in half an hour find myself back at the guest house for shower, Kyungsoo drama (live on TV!), and sleep.   

 

And to be honest, this day pretty much set the tone for how my Jeju trip went. With no real plan in mind, I just woke up and kind of decided what to do. And it pretty much worked out.

My second day I decided to brave the buses again (I should mention that on Jeju in general they are notorious for being random in schedule and very long to ride), sat on it for an hour and a half, gazed at the little villages we passed through, and was delivered to Seongsan Port; where I promptly bought a ferry ticket to Udo Island, an even smaller island of the north-east coast of Jeju.

My plan for the day? To walk around the island, of course. Udo is so small, that it is fully possible to walk the circumference of it in a day. It’s also course 1-1 of the Olle Trail, so it isn’t as if I even had to plan the route, I just followed the signs.

Udo was worth the visit. Bits of the trail I walked along made me reminisce about walking at home; there was grass underfoot, stone walls in abundance, a stiff coastal breeze, and cows.

There were also sights like these that 100% reminded me I was nowhere near England…

Yup. You can rent these. And many people did. Udo was very popular on the day I went and lots of people got off the ferry and immediately picked up bikes, little scooters, and the character cars.

You have to be a little careful as you traverse the island not to be run over, but I kind of enjoyed the colour and hilarity the cars added to the experience.

Udo has a white ‘sand’ beach called Seo Bin Baek Sa, that is noted for the fact it isn’t made of sand, but rather from the lime of red algae. The sign in front of it seems to suggest that it is only found here on Udo, in Florida, and the Bahamas. But I have a feeling that there may be a bit of a translation issue there.

While I am stood trying to figure out the sign’s meaning, I hear a “Hello!” shouted at me (and we know how unusual that is) and I turn to find my Israeli friend sitting on a bike and smiling at me, next to a Korean girl who waves at me. We both laugh at the odd occurrence of turning up on the island on the same day and meeting again randomly (he left Seogwipo the day after I arrived). I ask if he’s cycling with a group and he tells me that he just happened to meet this girl on the ferry over and asked if she wanted to ride bikes with him today. This made me laugh, and I thoroughly admire his straight-forward and open nature to travelling, not being worried or afraid to ask things or approach people. I found it very inspiring and to be honest, watching him in the market the other evening not being afraid to walk up and look at things or be worried about trying to communicate with people has kind of given me more courage to try more things on my own. It has smudged away a little of the fear I have been carrying about with me when it comes to approaching and trying new experiences.

Anyhow, we wave each other off and I continue my walk around Udo, fuelled by a pot of peanut ice cream, cause that’s a ‘thing’ here – they grow peanuts on Udo.

I see pretty sights; hills, houses, water, grasses, lighthouses, horses and even some transformers…yeah, I don’t know why, but there you have it.

I end my day with a return ferry and bus trip, and a stop in at the market to try more food – following my Israeli friend’s recommendation from the other night, I took a deep breath and asked for something that I haven’t had before (which happened to contain the HOTTEST kimchi to date).  

The following morning, I find that I have overdone it once again, not keeping an equal balance between trying to recover and trying to savour my Jeju experience. I’m feeling tired, congested, combined with a headache. I now have a big choice to make. I am due to hike Hallasan in two days, the highest mountain in Korea. It is so popular, I had to make a reservation for the trail a month ago, and cancelling is not an option for me. Therefore, in order to recuperate and be physically ready to hike, I opt to spend one day in my room blogging, and one day completely in bed, sleeping a full 12 hours and only waking up for dinner.

Was it enough though?

I guess you’ll have to find out next time…