Jeju-Korea (Day 3 - June 2012)

The hotel served decent coffee at breakfast today.. coupled with  colourful sugar crystals. Since it was a buffet.. we had a choice of the usual international fare.. bread, sausage, bacon, eggs.. or the local rice, pumpkin porridge, kimchi and pickled radish.. or BOTH??! The former probably suited our palates better.. ha ha! After filling our stomachs, we were driven to the famous Jeju orange groves. Unfortunately, summer wasn't the right season for picking oranges (they were apparently a winter harvest).. and we had to settle for some locally made orange and cactus-flavoured chocolates instead.

We were told that the inhabitants of Jeju Island didn't have a need for locked gates or fences around their compounds in the old days.. despite being a place where the court exiled nobles who commited offences. Instead, they placed stone slabs with large holes to insert logs and used this ingenious method to inform villagers of the home status.. NO bar meant that the host was prepared to greet and welcome visitors.. ONE lower bar meant the adults were out and only the children were left at home.. TWO bars meant the owners were somewhere in the vicinity.. and THREE bars meant that the folks were away and wouldn't be back for a few days or even weeks.. so they shouldn't wait around any longer...

One of the duties of the Jeju women was to fetch water from the mountain springs or waterfall using large jars.. which could weigh up to 20kgs.. OUCH!! I could feel my back aching already. A man would only carry one of these jars if he wanted to declare divorce with his wife.. what a male chauvinistic society?!!

The Harubang statutes (made from porous volcanic rock).. visible everywhere on Jeju Island.. were once deemed to have spiritual powers and used in scared rituals. However, in modern times.. these significant statutes have become mere souvenirs for tourists like us. According to folklore (or our tour guide).. married couples who desired to have a son would scrape the nose of the Harubang during their honeymoon vacation to Jeju.. and hence its flattened appearance.. but we were advised that the current practice is to only touch the nose for a boy.. or the ear if you wish for a daughter.

The bus passed by some Canola fields and made a stop.. we quickly jumped out.. waded into the flowers (plus a few bees).. and happily snapped some photos. This is definitely a MUST-DO for visitors to Jeju Island.. especially if they've watched the K-drama 'Spring Waltz'. A word of caution though.. it's probably not a great idea for someone with allergies or hay fever.. unless you see handsome guy playing a white grand piano in the fields? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Just pop a couple of anti-histamine pills!!

Then we took a 10-minute ferry ride to the submarines.. it was a windy day.. beautiful weather to be enjoyed on the deck. When we got to the jetty on the other side.. we had to climb down a vertical ladder through the narrow hole..  and into the submarine that was bobbing unsteadily with the waves. We took our seats on the long bench and soon the underwater adventure began.. we peered out the round port hole to look at the marine life.. fish darting and swimming around.. rocks..  anemone.. corals.. and kelp.. thankfully, everyone in our group managed to keep their breakfast in.. despite all the lurching around.. PHEW!

The next place on the itinerary was Seongsan Peak.. since nobody seemed keen to walk all the way up the mountain.. we just explored the surrounding area at the base.. and took in the magnificent view of the massive cliffs and waves breaking on the shore.

It was DIY BBQ pork wrapped with lettuce leaf and rice wrapped with seaweed for lunch.. YUMMY! Then we were whisked off to the stables for horse-riding. This was my second time on a big horse (the first was in Melbourne many moons ago).. so I got on.. then my sister.. then Frances.. we all thought Lay Choo was right behind us.. but her mum rode up instead.. and Lay Choo was nowhere in sight! We learned later that she got cold feet at the very last minute.

The All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) was next. Initially, the rest weren't keen to try this.. but agreed to it after some persuasion (since it has been already PAID for). So, I drove one with Lu Sean behind me.. and Lay Choo drove another with Frances as her passenger. It was quite fun bumping along gravel and dirt roads.. just as long as we were careful with the throttle and didn't go too close to the ATV in front of us.. or we would end up eating the dust churned up by the wheels.


The 7.4km Manjanggul Lava Tube was made by molten lava following a volcanic eruption and discovered during a cable-laying expedition.. however, only 1km of the tube was accessible. It was cool and damp inside the cave-like tunnel.. and we could hear the constant sound of water dripping and running along the grooves.. which made walking on the lava-engraved stones rather wet and slippery. Then, I overheard a little girl exclaim.. 'WAH! Here got aircon!'.. without a doubt.. she was from the same region!

The last stop for the day was Yongduam (Dragon Head) Rock.. a rock formation which resembled a dragon looking back at its own tail. A legend was told.. that this was once a real dragon who tried to steal a treasure from a fairy and was turned to stone as punishment. 


We were given a special sashimi dinner treat.. along with unagi, abalone, octopus (both dead and alive).. and LIVE slugs! It was unappetising to see them squirming slowly around in the dish.. so it was a relief when the lady sitting beside me covered them with a plate.. literally out of sight.. out of mind! Ha ha! What an eventful day indeed! YAWN.. I need my beauty sleep..