Showing posts with label jeju. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jeju. Show all posts
Day 3: Jeju-si - North of Jeju Island
Pheng
Today, we are going to explore the north part of Jeju Island. We decided to checked-out from Goodwill Feliz Telcon Hostel and checked-in at HK Jeju Hostel which is near the airport. But before heading to our next hotel, we need to visit Teddy Bear Museum which is in Jungmun Resort. Do you still remember how to reach there by bus? 

We checked-out from our hostel at 8:00 am and we had Gimbap (Korean version of sushi) for breakfast. 

We took bus 600 to Teddy Bear Museum. Luckily, this museum has free lockers to deposit our luggages. There are  lot of teddy bears in this museum and a lot of kids and teens visitors too... What's special in this museum is their teddy bear version of "Princess Hours" drama characters and other Korean traditions. They also have Teddy Bears dressed like famous stars including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Charlie Chaplin and more. So I leave you to decide for your favorite... :) I recorded the Elvis Presley Show...

We took approximately 2.5 hours taking photos in this museum. Finally, we boarded bus 600 to airport and take taxi from airport to HK Jeju hostel (호스텔코리아 인 제주). We went to neaby E-MART (hypermart), noodles only cost 1690 krw for 5 packs... so cheap!!! We went back to our hostel and enjoy our instant noodles in pantry. Nothing beats hot spicy noodles on a cold day.

From this hostel, there are tourist attractions that are within walking distance: Yongyeon Pond (용연), Yongyeon bridge, Yongduam Rock (용두암), Chilsung-ro (동문재래시장) , JungAng Underground Shopping Center(제주 중앙지하상가). Here is the map...



Yongyeon Pond (용연) is also known as "The Dragon's Pool". This is often left off in tourist itineraries, but skipping it would mean missing out on one of Jeju’s best kept secrets.Yongyeon Pond, or Yongyeon Yabeom, is a spectacular find east of Jeju’s main airport. Stretching from the interior of the island out to the sea is a calm, yet beautiful meandering river. Visitors to this park are greeted by Yongyeon Bridge, a large suspension bridge over a gorge, which takes one to a large octagonal pavilion. From here, one may saunter along the river’s edge soaking in the quiet sounds of the water below. Yongyeon Pond has significant historical significance on Jeju Island. During the Joseon Dynasty, the area was used to host important state banquets because of its beautiful surroundings and tranquil setting. Rock walls that form a curtain with eight folds flank the river. Once a month, the full moon shines on the pond, creating one of the best sights on all of Jeju.

Yongduam Rock (Dragon Head Rock) is an unusual lava formation that lies on the coast just west of Jeju City. The basalt dragon's head with its open mouth is one of Jeju-do's popular tourist sites. Legend depicts that an envoy that the Dragon King had sent looking for medicinal plant on Hallasan when the Mountain God shot an arrow at the envoy & he fell & died. When the waves surge over the Yongduam Rock, it looks as the dragon is about to ascend to heaven

Chilsung-ro (동문재래시장) is known as Dongmun traditional market. There were loads of fresh seafood, meats and fruits, mostly tangerines.There are also row of shops selling cooked food. They seemed to all be selling the same thing, ramyeon, tteokbokki, gimbap and pork. For other traditional markets, refer to this link

JungAng Underground Shopping Center (제주 중앙지하상가) is an underground labyrinth of boutiques, name-brand shops, skin-care stands, small restaurants, and ice cream stalls. I don't find the prices to be cheaper that elsewhere in Jeju.


Here is cost breakdown.


ItemCost (KRW)
Gimbap800
Bus from New Kyungnam Hotel to Lotte Hotel1500
Admission to Teddy Bear Museum8000
Bus From Teddy Bear Museum to Airport3900
Taxi from airport to HK Jeju Hostel5000
Korean Noodles (5 packs)1690
Total20890


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Day 2: Seongsan - East of Jeju Island
Pheng
The strategy for day 2 tour is to take bus that travels counter-clockwise direction from our hostel and explore the east of Jeju island. The attractions to visit are Seongeup Folk Village (성읍민속마을) -> Seopjikoji -> Seongsan Ilchulbong -> Manjang Cave.

Seongeup Folk Village (성읍민속마을) is a small town that holds a vast amount of culture. Cultural properties in the folk village have been handed down from generation to generation and include treasures such as residential houses, Confucian shrines and schools, ancient government offices, stone statues (Harubang), large millstones (pulled by horses or ox), fortress ruins, and stone monuments. The local black-haired pigs and tongsi (pigsty / restroom) are especially well-known characteristics of Jeju folk culture. The Jeju black pork is said to be very nutritious.

Directions: From Seogwipo Intercity Bus Terminal take the Dongilju bus. Get off at ‘Pyoseon-ri samuso' (2000 krw). Go straight and turn left at the intersection. Walk straight until you get to the bus stop. Take Beonnyeong-ro bus. Get off at ‘Seupeup 1-ri.’(1000 krw). Travel and waiting time is approximate 1 hr.


Seopjikoji (All in drama)（섭지코지매표소）have one of the the best sceneries in Jejudo. The cape jutting out into the sea looks like a small dragon with a long neck. “Seopjikoji” is a Jejudo dialect word meaning “a narrow cape.” You’ll enjoy the impressive view of Sinyang Seopjikoji Beach and Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak in here. Seopjikoji offers pastoral scenery where the blue ocean, black cliffs and green pasture meet. As you walk along the fenced trail, to your left you will see the lovely ocean and striking cliffs, and to your right a wide green pasture with horses. Another attraction is the All-in House, a set for a popular TV show.

Directions: Take bus at  ‘Seupeup 1-ri.’ (opposite where you alight for Seongeup Folk Village) going Seongsan and alight at 'Sinyang-ri'. Journey takes around 30 mins. It is advisable to take cab to go to Seopjikoji from the bus stop as it is more than 2km by foot.

Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (성산일출봉) is also known as "Sunrise Peak". It is believed to be a holy spot for prayer, this beautiful area is one of the landmarks of the island and should not be missed. The name Seongsan, meaning "castle hill" in Korean, comes from its sloping form resembling a grand castle. It is the perfect spot to watch the sunrise,thus called Seongsan Ilchulbong (sunrise), some would say the sunset is even nicer.

It takes less than 30 minutes to get to the peak, and along the way you can see many flora that are designated as national treasures. You may also witness Haenyo (Women's Diver) performance on your right when coming down.

Although it is not that high, reaching its peak gives a very rewarding experience.

Directions: From Seopjikoji, go to the highway and take taxi to Sunrise Peak. 


Manjanggul Cave (만장굴) is also another UNESCO World Heritage. It is one of the finest lava tunnels in the world, and is a designated natural monument. A lava tunnel is formed when the lava that was deep in the ground spouts from the peak and flows to the surface. Manjanggul Cave has a variety of interesting structures inside including 70cm lava stalagmites and the lava tube tunnels. When we reached there, we realized that we don't have enough time as they close by 5:30pm. :( Here are some pics
Directions: Take bus from Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seongsallipgu bus stop towards Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal. Get off at Manjang Cave. Walk for 2 km to cave entrance or take taxi.
 
We took bus at opposite bus stop we alight earlier towards Seogwipo, it took more than 1.5 hours before we reached home.


Here is cost breakdown.


ItemCost (KRW)
Bus from Seogwipo Bus Terminal to Seongeup Folk Village3000
Lunch Set Meal / 2 at Seongeup Folk Village17500
Bus from Seongeup Folk Village to Seopjikoji1000
Taxi from highway to Sunrise Peak3600
Admission to Sunrise Peak2200
Bus from Sunrise Peak to Manjang Cave1000
Bus from Manjang Cave to Seogwipo5000
Total33300
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Day 1: Seogwipo - South of Jeju Island
Pheng
It was around 10:30 pm when we arrived South Korea. We bought and top-up T-Money card at GS25 (Korea's 7-11) inside Incheon International Airport. This card is mainly used as transportation card for Seoul and is also used in Jeju. We also grabbed some instant noodles in this store.

After our stomachs were filled, we took train from Incheon to Gimpo International Airport. Little did we know that Gimpo Airport closes after midnight and we were forced out, so we camped outside the very cold streets of Korea. :( It was the longest night of our lives. 

We were very happy when the airport opened around 5:00 am the following day. We excitedly checked-in for our flight to Jeju. Jeju Island, the Hawaii of Korea, where couples usually go for honeymoon, and the place of many UNESCO Nature Heritage sites, is really beautiful and romantic. There are several airlines flying from Gimpo to Jeju, and it takes only 1 hr to reach Jeju. Get detailed map of Jeju in here.


We arrived Jeju International Airport at 8:00 AM. Like any other tourists, we grabbed some flyers and maps at the tourist counter. We also asked for detailed directions to reach our hostel. We had pre-booked Goodwill Feliz Telcon Hostel through Agoda.com. The Airport limousine (bus #600) from Jeju International Airport to Seogwipo is around 1.5 hrs and alight at New Kyungnam Hotel, the hostel is 10 minutes by foot. I highly recommend this hotel for its cleanliness, facilities and location. It maybe hard to find at first but it is walking distance to Seogwipo intercity bus terminal, and few minutes bus ride to Jeju International Convention Center and Jungmun Tourist Resort Complex by bus #600. 

We checked-in at around 10 am but the room wasn't ready yet. So we decided to just leave our luggages and start our tour. We decided that we only explore Jungmun Resort today as we haven't slept yet <literaly>. We took bus #600 from New Kyungnam Hotel to Lotte Hotel.

Jungmun Resort
Jungmun Resort is a tourist complex filled with expensive hotels, interesting sites and some amusement museums. They are walking distance to each other, visit their individual sites for more details.
Places worth to visit inside Jungmun Resort are:


Alive Museum is the 2nd Trick Art Museum in Jeju, the first Trick Art Museum is in the Seongeup village. These museums are showing  optical illusion art. Trick art renders 2D paintings in 3D  by creating illusion. Each work looks differently when seen from different angles or spots. Its magic magnifies when seen from camera lenses. We can take pictures with various fun poses blending nicely with exhibitions, the museum even prepared sample picture beside each pieces of art on how to pose. We spent about 3 hours in taking photo and having fun in the museum and we were exhausted after posing with the arts. It is around 10 mins walk from Lotte Hotel, refer to the website for map. 

There's more...


Robert Ripley (1890-1949) traveled around the world, and collected strange facts and items he found. He created Ripley's Believe It Or Not franchise showing in newspaper, radio, and television. We haven't visited this museum this time around. The items and trivia inside this museum will leave you amazed for sure. 
Korean people can't get enough of Teddy Bear. There are many Teddy Bear Museums around Korea, and 2 of them are in Jeju Island, and one of them is in Jungmun Resort. Teddy Bears here were dressed like famous stars including Marlyn Monroe, Elvis, Charlie Chaplin, Lady Di and Prince Charles, and so on. My favorites are Teddy Bears in Korean drama Goong, and Teddy Bears in Korean traditional wedding. We shall visit this museum on Day 3.

Just 10 minutes walking distance from Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, there was a waterfall named Cheonjeyeon Falls (don't mistake it for Cheonjiyeon). On the way to the waterfall, you will pass Seonimgyo bridge. The bridge is also called Chilseonyeogyo (칠선녀교) or Seven Nymphs Bridge. The nymphs symbolize the Korean legend of the descent of seven beautiful nymphs from heaven  at night. Around the bridge, there are Cheonjeru, Korean traditional architecture style tower. On the surface of this huge Cheonjeru Tower you would find a painting portraying the legend of the nymphs and the mountain god that is associated with this waterfall of Jeju.
Seonimgyo bridge
 Obokchon or "Fountain of Five Blessings" - longevity (tortoise), wealth (boar), honor (dragon), love (mandarin duck) and sons (carp). Tourists may pray for luck of their choice by standing on the preferred statue and throwing a coin into the lucky bag in the middle of Obokchon. These coins are donated to help less fortunates at the end of the year.
The unique thing about this waterfall is it flows quite long and has 3 falls. You can hike a little bit to see all those 3 falls, really beautiful. Cheonjeyeon means Pond of God. 
The three falls of Cheonjeyeon


Here is cost breakdown.


ItemCost (KRW)
T-Money Card3000
AREX from Incheon to Gimpo2650
Snacks at 7-111500
Limousine bus 600 from airport to New Kyungnam Hotel5000
Taxi from New Kyungnam Hotel to Goodwill Feliz Telcon Hostel2200
Limousine bus 600 from New Kyungnam Hotel to Lotte hotel1500
Brunch at 7-111500
Admission to Alive Museum9000
Admission to Cheonjeyeon Falls2500
Limousine bus 600 from Lotte Hotel to New Kyungnam Hotel1500
Dinner from GS251500
Total31850
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7 Days Korea Autumn 2012 Itinerary
Pheng


I'm a frugal adventurous traveller thus going on travel with me means taking public transportation, a lot of exploration by foot and constant interaction with local residence. This I would warn my co-travellers before going on a trip, besides group tours doesn't give you the full travel experience.

The transportation system in Korea is easy, convenient and most of all cheap. But you must plan your route carefully as you should consider travel timing and distance between sites to visit. However, language could be barrier as few Koreans could speak English. A basic Hangeul lessons and body language would be helpful. Although you might not probably remember your Hangeul lessons, you can try to interpret what they are saying...hehe :p You can visit Talk To Me In Korean for some lessons, it really helped me a lot :) Also, write down the places in Korean in case you might need help with directions. Koreans are very friendly and helpful people, they will go to the extent of bringing you to the place you are looking for.


Here is our itinerary for 7 Days 7 Nights Korea trip from Oct 26 - Nov3. We took Cebu Pacific flight to/from Cebu-Incheon and Jeju Air to/from Gimpo-Jeju. Visit the links to check out the details for each day. :) I am open to hear if you have better itineraries for my next Korea trip :)


DayTimePlace
Day 03:55 PMCebu to Incheon

9:15 PM (KOR Time)Arrive at Incheon Intl Airport
10:30 PMArrive Gimpo Airport (김포국제공항)



 Day 1          6:55 AMGMP to Jeju (제주도)
8:00 AMArrive at Jeju
10:00 AMCheck-in at Goodwill Feliz Telcon Hostel
10:30 AMBrunch
11:30 AMLotte hotel
12:00 PMAlive Museum
3:30 PMJungmun Resort Walk
4:30 PMCheonjeyeon Falls (천제연폭포) & to the east Seonimgyo Bridge / Chilseonyeogyo (칠선녀교) or Seven Nymphs Bridge
6:00 PMHome Sweet Home


 Day 27:00 AMWalk to Seogwipo bus terminal
9:00 AMSeongeup Folk Village
10:30 AMBrunch
1:00 PMSeopjikoji (All in drama)（섭지코지매표소）
3:00 PMSeongsan Ilchulbong  & women divers performance
(성선일줄봉)
7:00 PMHome Sweet Home


 Day 38:00 AMCheckout at Goodwill Feliz Telcon Hostel
9:00 AMTeddy Bear Museum
12:30 PMcheck-in at HK Jeju Hostel and lunch
2:00 PMWalk to Yongyeon Pond and Yongduam Rock (Dragon Head Rock)
4:00 PMWalk to Underground traditional Market
7:00 PMHome Sweet Home


 Day 47:00 AMCheckout at HK Jeju Hostel and taxi to airport
8:30 AMJeju to GMP
9:30 AMArrive at Gimpo Airport
11:00 AMCheck-in at Seoul Hostel Center and Lunch
12:00 NNSeoul City Walk tour (Bosingak bell pavilion / Jongno Tower / Jogyesa temple / Insadong)
1:30 PMGyeongbokgung Palace (The Royal Guard-Changing Ceremony / Hanbok Experience)
4:00 PMNational Folk Museum of Korea
5:30 PMGwanghamun Plaza (statue of Admiral Yu Sun Shin(City Hunter) and Sejong the Great / King's Royal Clothes Experience)
7:30 PMN Seoul Tower
9:30 PMHome Sweet Home


 Day 57:30 AMDMZ Tour Hotel Pickup
10:00 AMDMZ Tour and Ginseng tour
2:30 PMCity Hall (Lotte Department Store)
3:30 PMNamdaemun Market
4:30 PMMyeongdong
6:00 PMCheonggyecheon Stream 
8:00 PMHome Sweet Home


 Day 67:00 AM - 9:00 PMEverland Theme Park


 Day 76:00 AMTrain to Gapyeong Station
8:00 AMWalk to Gapyeong Wharf
9:00 AMNami Island
2:00 PMGapyeong Station to Jonggak
4:00 PMPork BBQ at 2nd flr of Seoul Hostel Center Building
4:30 PMCheckout from Seoul Hostel Center
6:00 PMIncheon International Airport


Total Expenses:

ItemCost (SGD)
Plane from Singapore to Cebu  (return)105
Plane from Cebu to Incheon (return)80
Plane from Gimpo to Jeju Island (return)68
2 Nights at Feliz Telcon Hostel45
1 night at HK Jeju Hostel17
3 Nights at Seoul Hostel Center45
Total Daily Expenses260
Souvenir and Shopping65
Total685 per pax
Daily Expenses Breakdown:
ItemCost (KRW)
Day 131850
Day 233300
Day 320890
Day 412550
Day 543000
Day 647100
Day 741450
Total230140
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