South Korea Pt.2 "Jeju-Do"

  Beginning the trip in Jeju was ideal for a few reasons one of which being Mountain Halla (a.k.a Hallasan). This mountain was not your average hiking to the peak for the sake of getting to the peak. This was a mountain that had a volcanic crater lake that could be looked in from the top. Minimal research (on our part) revealed that Jeju was known for a number of specialty foods which included Live Octopus; Horse; Jeju Oranges; and BBQ Black Pork. Jeju also had some wonderful hostels and villas available and open for travelers which were located throughout the city near some terrific sights. Our first night in Jeju-Do was spent finding chicken and beer with some pub street searching followed by a much needed rest in our villa “Pinetree House” which was located in Jeju-Si near many restaurants and other activities. The rest we had would prove necessary as the day after the next we needed to complete our trek to the peak of Hallasan.

  The next day led us to breakfast at a coffee shop “bene coffee”, and completion of a few minor goals we had set for ourselves before arrival. I find it always helpful in a new country to research the modes and costs of transportation beforehand so one can have an idea of what to pay for. Turns out that like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, Korea also had a universal travel card. The “Bee Cash” and “T-Money Card” were reloadable swipe cards that can be used to pay for travel in taxis, metro and even the bus! Not all taxis would accept the card (or at least the bee cash), so always keep some change on hand. We had an opportunity to find a cheap hostel as well “Hostel Korea Jeju”. We needed to find a place a little more affordable and available as we met up with a couple more friends and needed space for them as well. We took a cab to Black Sand Beach where a person could actually see fish jumping very close to the shore. The fish were close to the shore that when swimming, if you were not careful you would accidently dive into a small school. For dinner we found a tasty Black Pork restaurant in Jeju-Si. The horse meat restaurant was on the other side of the island in Seogwipo-Si and not everyone was as interested I.

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