Jeju Day 3: Last full day in Korea, Jeongbang Waterfall, Seongsan Ilchulbong

Thursday, July 6, 2023

We started today with some much needed free time in the morning.  We used the time to let Max get some rest and to walk the beautiful grounds of our hotel.

At noon, we got on the bus and took a short bus ride to the Jeongbang Waterfall.  The waterfall was beautiful. From the falls we could see some Haenyeo (women divers).   The Haenyeo divers are pretty interesting.  Some of the women are in their 80s.  They hold their breath, diving up to 30 feet to collect in season seafood off the coast of Jeju.  There was also some Haenyeo selling freshly collected seafood at the waterfall under a tent.  

Next up, lunch.  Kurt and Max had a pork cutlet dish.  Dede was a little more adventurous and went for the seafood soup hotpot (haemultang) served family style.  The soup contained live abalone, prawns, clams, conch and octopus (I think).  All fresh ingredients from the area.

After lunch we took a long bus ride to a volcanic tuff cone/mountain called Seongsan Ilchulbong.  Here Kurt and others in the group made the 550ft climb to the top of the tuff cone to see the preserved bowl-like crater.  Max still wasn't feeling well, so Dede and Max explored the beach area.  After the climb we all enjoyed some fresh tangerine juice made from the local tangerines.

Out last activity of the day was a stop at a foot spa.  Here we soaked our feet in a refreshing tea bath, rubbed our feet with a salt scrub and then finished by rubbing our feet with peppermint oil.  A great activity to finish a long, but awesome trip.

As I mentioned earlier Jeju-Do is known for a special breed of black pigs.  So, it was a fitting to finish our trip to have dinner at a Korean barbecue restaurant that serves grilled black pork.  We had two kinds of pork.  One was marinated and the other was not.  We cooked the pork over the grill in the middle of our table.  The grill used wood charcoal for heat.  It was one employee's job to walk around the restaurant and replace the charcoal when it starts to dwindle down.  Made me wonder how often some one gets burned as it can get pretty crowded especially with a large group.

Jeju Island Day 2: Buddhist temple, scarf dying, Beach, World Cup Stadium

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Another early start on this day as we had a full agenda.  The first stop of the day was Yakcheonsa Buddhist Temple which is pretty close to our hotel.  This was the fifth temple we have visited.  There was a buddhist monk doing prayers at this temple.  Super interesting.  We were able to take pictures of the inside of this temple.  Not sure why some allow pictures and others don't.  Anyway, most of the pictures were took were from the 2nd floor, so we didn't disturb the prayers. 

Second stop of the day was at a location where we dyed traditional scarfs.  We couldn't all dye scarfs at the same time, so we split into two groups.  This led to a guys vs gals competition.  The gals won easily, but the fix was in.  The gals went first and took all of the time.  So, the guys received little direction and were rushed.  I call foul!  Still fun though.  It was another hot day.  They brought us a delicious tangerine drink while we waited for our turn.

For lunch we stopped at a restaurant that served Shabu Shabu which is a Japanese hotpot dish.  The dish is made at the table.  It consists of thinly sliced meat (pork in our case) and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces.   Towards the end of the meal they brought out ramen noodles which were added to the now flavored water/broth.  For the GF folks, the owner made what she called rice porridge.  This didn't sound like it was going to be very good, but was awesome.  I would describe it as seasoned wet white rice.  I'm not doing it justice in my description.  Despite being very full, we ate it all!

Next up the beach!  We only had a few hours to enjoy the beach, but we made the most of our time.  There were many surfers at this location.  We didn't have time to give it a try...next time I guess.

Next a quick stop of that the World Cup stadium.  This is where the professional soccer team, Jeju United, plays.  There were quite a few soccer fans in the tour group.  Luckily the pro shop was open and we were able to get some Jeju United souvenirs. 

Last stop of the day was at a local market to pick up some food for supper.  Unfortunately, Max was feeling awful (we've had an illness going through the group).  He had a fever and was really tired, so we found a local coffee/smoothie shop with air conditioning and rested while the rest of the tour group did their thing.  The tour guides were nice enough to pick us up some Gimbap (Korean seaweed, vegetable, rice rolls) for our supper.

When we got back to the hotel we just camped out in the room and tried to get Max feeling better.  Many of the members of the tour group went out and captured the sunset at our hotel.  We've included a few of their beautiful pictures.

Tangerine Tree - Tangerines are not ready yet.  
Harvest season is between October and March.

Yakcheonsa Temple

There was a Buddhist monk praying while we were there.  This temple had a second floor.  No one was praying on the second floor, so we were able to take some pictures without disturbing anyone.

Super interesting!

This is a newer temple.  I believe it was built in the 1980s.  
The level of detail is amazing.

Statues from the temple grounds.

You want to rub his belly, don't you?

Onto Scarf dying...ladies first

Bibs and gloves were provided.

Beautiful Mountain in the background for photo ops.

Fighting to dunk their scarfs in the dye.

Patting their scarfs to ensure the dye distributes evenly.

Guys turn..Hurry up, we're running out of time!

A work of art!

Not bad.

Note: Max wasn't feeling well, so rested during this activity.

Dede's smiley fork

One of the nice things about this tour is the restaurants are all set up when we arrive.

No waiting necessary.  We eat and leave.  The plate next to Dede is thinly sliced pork.  The plate in the lower left is the vegetables.

The dish on the left is like coleslaw.  It's really good!

If I remember right, there is tofu in the middle dish.  It's okay.

After putting the veggies and meat in the water for awhile you dig it out, dip in sauce and then eat it.

'Americans and Europeans were the only ones with no shirts.

Jeju United's stadium. They weren't playing, but we could view the stadium and visit the pro shop.

One tour member visited Jeju ten years ago.  The pro shop wasn't open then, so he has been waiting ten years to purchase a Jeju United jersey.  His daughter was also born on Jeju.

so sick!  😢

Good smoothies, tea and juice though!

Sunset pictures from the shoreline by our hotel.