Jeju island is the perfect destination when you are desperately in need of peaceful and serene gateway from your hectic routine. Besides, Jeju island is always on the list of places to go when you have more than 7 days travelling to Korea.
I went to Jeju for three days in my last week at Korea. Jeju gives totally different feeling with Seoul. Not only the people, culture, and routines but also the landscape. When you asked me to give recommendation of beautiful places in Seoul, it'd be hard for me. There are not much of breath taking view of nature in Seoul. Seoul is more into ambiance and lifestyle. In Jeju there are a lot of beautiful panoramas. If you only have three days to go to Jeju, don't worry! It's enough. I was only there for three days too.
There are three things you need to prepare for your Jeju trip:
1. Do research
Google places to visit in Jeju. You only have three days, you need to make sure that you visit the "It" place there which also suits your interest. Places that you want to visit also determine your place to stay (hotel/guest house). There are two big city in Jeju: Jeju city and Seogwipo City
2. Rent a car!
Like seriously, transportation in Jeju is not convenient. There's no subway. The bus system is really complicated. The distance between each tourist attraction is really far. It takes more or less 2 hours. Sometimes, you need to transfer bus three times and wait for another 15 minutes depending on each bus schedule. Thus, it's better for you to rent a car. It helps you to save time and energy!
3. Find a must food to eat!
Each city in Korea has its typical traditional food. Seoul is famous for its Seolongtang, Busan is famous for its Pajeon. What about Jeju? Jeju is famous for its black pork and hollabang (orange) ice cream. If you are the real food lover, you'll be willing to find the best restaurant to eat that dish. As for me, as long as i can taste it, eat in not so famous restaurant is fine.
4. Plan your itinerary!
Walk the talk, peeps. If you made itinerary, stick to it. Time is ticking.
So, here is my short itinerary.
Day 1
I arrived at Jeju airport at 11.30. It takes almost 1 and a half hour to go to Good Hotel Inn at Seogwipo City. I like the hotel that I stayed. The fare was cheap and it was easy to find food there. My first destination is Cheonjeyeon Waterfall. At Cheonjeyeon, you can also go across the bridge. Cheonjeyeon is pretty! I love the color reflection of the its water. The best part was that I could play water splash with my friends.lol.
It took only 10 minutes by walk from the waterfall to Teddy Bear Museum. Honestly, it was far from my expectation. The teddy bear museum was not amusing at all. The ticket price was expensive which was 10.000 KRW.
For the dinner, I tried black pork near my hotel. Ehmm, to be honest. I can't really differentiate the black and regular samgyeopsal. Don't expect that the meat is in black color. I guess, black pork is juicier than the regular one. It's more delicious, indeed.
Cheonjeyeon!
Day 2
Me and my friend rent a car (and the driver of course). It's the best decision we made during our trip! The taxi driver could not speak English at all, but he was nice. Our first destination was Seongsan Ilchullbong Sunrise Peak. It took 1 and a half hour from our hotel to go there. That is my favorite place at Jeju! It's like a super big garden with calming ambiance, greenish surrounding and fresh weather. It reminded me of Windows 98 desktop. So green! People said that it's the prettiest during the sunrise. They usually rent a hotel nearby the Sunrise Peak so that they can hike to the peak before sunrise. We also tried Jeju orange ice cream. Honestly, it was not really that special for me.
Then, the taxi driver brought us to Samgyetang (Korean chicken soup with ginseng) restaurant. The good thing about Korean food is that one portion is too much for one person. So we bough six for eight persons.
Our next destination was Joosangjeolli Cliff. For me, it's really unique since it's a hexagonal shaped cliff. Our last destination was Osulloc Green Tea Museum. I am a fan of green tea. So, i really love the place. Green tea scent everywhere, calming music, large space. It's just perfect for me.
You can also buy Osulloc product there. Don't forget to try a dessert called King O'Fredo. It's a must! Right next to the museum is Innisfree House. Innisfree is one of the most popular Korean cosmetics brand. It's famous for its natural ingredients. In front of the museum, you can find the green tea garden. Don't forget to take picture there! You can have your own green tea CF (advertisement) stills. lol
I'd never forget that day. My friend just realized that he left his bag (his passport and all of his important belonging) in Osulloc Museum when we arrived at the hotel. We rushed there by taxi even though we knew that it's already closed hour. Luckily, we could still find the employee. It was my first time bargaining taxi fee in Korean! So glad that we could get his bag just in time.
The hexagon joosangjeolli
Joosangjeolli Cliff with the girls
Osulloc Green Tea Garden
Seongsan from the top
Day 3
Honestly, we did not go to any tourist attraction place on our third day. Our flight was at 1 pm. We needed to go to the airport early. Actually, we could have gone to either Cheonjiyeon or Jeongbang waterfall since it's only 15 - 20 minutes away from our hotel by foot. However, we were too lazy to wake up that early.
After all, it was a really nice trip at Jeju. Don't be afraid to ask to the local people. They are sooo damn nice and kind. They were really helpful. If you have more days at Jeju, go to Udo Island. All of my friends who've been there said that it was really nice and worth it to stop by Udo Island. Sadly, I don't have the time. Anyway, have a nice trip to Jeju! Feel free to ask me regarding your trip to Seoul, Busan or Jeju.
Labels: jeju island, korea, travelling
