O’Sulloc (오설록), Sanbanggulsa Grotto (산방굴사), Cheonjeyeon Falls (천지연폭포천제연폭포) (West Tour with Jeju Travel Lucas, Part 2) | Jeju

O’Sulloc Museum (오설록) is known for its tea. As a tea lover myself, O’Sulloc was a ‘must-visit’ location, along with the nearby Seogwang (서광다원) tea plantation. Apparently, Jeju’s weather condition makes it the perfect place for growing tea, which requires somewhat acidic soil.

As part of the tour, we headed to O’Sulloc Museum (오설록) for lunch, where we had delicious green tea cakes and lattes. I guess, for most, cafés and lunches aren’t the same, but for me, it was perfect!

Matcha cakes galore!

It was also during this time that I had a chance to speak to the Brazillians on my taxi tour as well. They were all cutely dressed in matching orange hats.

One of the various Innisfree signs.

Afterward, we meandered around Innisfree, where I learned that stuff wasn’t cheaper than at the Innisfree stores in town or Olive Young. Before I left, I also made myself a little Innisfree postcard using their stamps.

Innisfree postcard :)

Then, I had the chance to take some photos in the green tea plantation (서광다원), before rushing off to the O’Sulloc store to buy some souvenirs. I ended up buying a lot, since I knew I was leaving soon, and it was one thing I definitely wanted to buy that wasn’t available (to the same extent) in Toronto. When we returned to the taxi, we were quite late, as the line was really, really long. Whoops!

Green tea plantation!

Unfortunately, our next destination (용머리해안) was closed and under scheduled renovation. I kinda wish we knew that earlier, especially since the itinerary still had it there. Instead, we went to a Sanbanggulsa Grotto (산방굴사). The Grotto is a UNESCO heritage site, and the top of Sanbangsan. Legend has it that this was the ‘tip’ of Hallasan, which was ripped off by the Hallasan gods when a hunter accidentally hit the god instead of whatever it was hunting.

Of course, geologically speaking, this mountain was actually a mountain of lava, which cooled as it hit the surface, but continued to flow within, creating a good amount of little caves.

Unfortunately, I thought the grotto it was quite small, and not worth the climb if you’re not interested in making offerings or praying to it. The view from half way up though, was pretty nice.

View from half way up.

Reached the top! There were many nets, meant to keep the birds from nesting in the area.

Look at the sunlight shining through the clouds though!

Since we were running low on time, we skipped Songaksan Mountain (송악산), I think, and went straight to Cheonjeyeon falls (천제연폭포). 천제연폭포 is known for being a 3 tiered waterfall.

This was the first tier of the waterfall. Apparently, it was ‘closed’. I think this was the prettiest though. Super blue, even if there was no actual waterfall (only falls after the first big rainfall, apparently).

Waterfall, tier # 2. It is certainly a waterfall, and pretty. Howecer, personally, I liked the blue of the first, waterfall-less tier better.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time at the falls, so I didn’t see the ‘main’ one (tier #3). I guess the driver was antsy to get back to the city.

This bridge was really pretty though. It’s apparently called 선임교 and known as the ‘seven nymphs bridge’.

View of bridge.

A pictureque temple was on the other side.

Thus, we ended our tour and went back to our hotels/drop-off points. I dropped off my stuff at my hotel before heading off with my new travel buddy for dinner.

Overall: Nice and basic tour, with some flexibility and is more affordable than the rest of the tours. It provides the option of having lunch at O’Sulloc, which I liked, even though it really only has their cafe.

Some points:

First off, I should probably mention that the reviews on Tripadvisor… well, they weren’t amazing. I was fully expecting it to be cancelled the night before. Thus far, my luck had been holding out, and it continued to do for this tour. The tour on its own was actually decent – we had a driver drive us around, and we did the exploring on our own. The only thing I wished was that the driver (or more appropriately, the tour company) told which of the sites were actually open before the tour started/when booking, since I booked the original tour based on those advertised tour destinations, and there was no mention of what was actually open.

I wish they told us in advance that Hallim Park tickets need to be booked 40 min in advance if we wanted to use our credit card with discounts. Also, they had mentioned a discount if we went with them on the tour (and paid in cash), but we were not given any ‘discount’ whatsoever.

I have a feeling I wasn’t meant to message the driver the night before, although we were provided the phone number for communications, since he sent me the his entire itinerary from the company manager, including everyone’s phone numbers, pick up locations, costs he would be required to pay, how much he was to receive separately from us, etc. Hopefully it was just an accident, but it might be worth it to book with an alternate phone number instead of your day-to-day one for safety reasons.

We definitely skipped a stop completely, while we arrived at another one and was told it was actually closed due to construction/maintenance.

Hallim Park (한림공원) & Geumneung Beach (금능뜸햅변) (West Tour with Jeju Travel Lucas, Part 1) | Jeju

Hallim Park (한림공원) is a botanical garden that was recreated from a wasteland. It’s got a multitude of gardens, and is a great place for photos, even in the wintery rain (but you’d have to be a little more creative). When we first got here, I thought we actually had too long of a time planned here, but this place is bigger than it looks. I met a fellow solo traveller on this tour, and we hung out all day, taking photos and talking about our travels thus far.

Our first stop was a greenhouse cactus garden, with huge cacti, and home to at least two alligators.

Greenhouse Cacti Garden. Look how big it is!

After a short while, we also saw a lot of palm trees, which I loved. I guess they give off beach and warm summery vibes to me.

The weather was rainy, but some how, these palm trees still look amazing!

We then passed by the dol hareubang (돌하르방) area, and took some selfies.

Me and one of a gazillion dol hareubang!

Just a random walkway. Not sure what I’m doing there.

Surprisingly, the park also contained two lava tubes – Hyeopjaegul (협재굴) and Ssangyongul (쌍용굴). I think I only visited one, but since I didn’t take any time reading the signs, I’m not 100% sure.

It looks like two little monsters hanging out in a little cave!

This might be as close as I get to hexagonal ‘cliffs’.

Afterwards, we stopped by the folk village (재아민속마을) within the park. There is also a restaurant here, but we mostly just looked at the traditional architecture, and of course, took some photos.

Found the village!

I admire how they built houses using rocks, mud, and horse dung.

Then, we saw some peacocks, which we definitely thought escaped their pen. There is a chance that they’re just normally allowed to wander free though. We also saw some ostriches, especially one that was being especially playful.

You’re on the wrong side of the cage, buddy.

Oh, another one!

Hello Ostrich, you know we have no food for you, right?

At some point, we followed a path that lead us to a small waterfall (연못장원), which I loved, even though it was raining.

As we reached the exit, we ended up having some spare time, and so I wandered to the giftshop’s rooftop observatory to admire the scenery, before hopping back on our taxi to the next destination.

I actually thought part of the itinerary was to stop by Hyeopjae (협재) beach, or at least drive by it for a quick stop, but we didn’t. So when I saw the next beach on our way out, I asked the driver to stop there for a sec. Our driver was happy to do so, and luckily, my taxi-mates were also quite happy with this. This was Geumneung beach (금능뜸해변).

The weather looks much worse in the photos than it actually was.

It seems, despite not being able to swim, I love going to beaches and just walking on the sand and watching the waves!

Eventually, It was off to lunch!

Manjanggul Lava Tube, Woljeongri Beach, and Jeju’s famous Black Pork (East Tour with Core Jeju, Part 1) | Jeju

I think this was one of my favourite tours to date. Our guide, Angelo (and ‘shadow’-ing? guide, Lily) picked me up from a post office close to my hotel. Angelo speaks native-level English, which surprisingly, really makes a difference. After picking up a few others, our adventure began.

Jeju, apparently, is known as 감다도 (samda-do), the theee as it had 3 things in abundance – wind, stone, and women. Although Jeju Island is quite large, most individuals live in Jeju city. Therefore, there is sometimes “traffic” here, as we encountered during our journey out of the city, and back in when we left. Nothing quite as bad as on the DVP during rush hour or anything, though.

Replica of the lava column in Mangjanggul.

Our first stop was to Manjanggul Lava Tube (만장굴). Apparently, Manjunggul is so named because it sounds like “10,000 year old cave” in the Jeju dialect. This was my first UNESCO site of the day. The lava tubes are apparently created when the large amounts of lava carve holes, which then cool down on the surface while continuing to be molten and moving away from the central volcano. While obviously not all the paths are available for tourists to visit, this portion was open, leading to the ‘tallest’ stone column in the world!

A little grotto area near the entrance.

Fallen rocks.

Inside the lava tubes.

Apparently, these are called lava toes cause they look like toes!

There was a sign in the beginning about all the different spiders, bats, and salamanders that can be found in the cave. Luckily, I didn’t encounter any of them.

The lava column!

Walking into the abyss.

Back to the sun!

Some cool looking trees.

After going to the end and back, we headed back to tour van and headed to our next location. I did have a bit of extra time some how, so I found some tangerine trees and took some selfies.

Angelo and some of my tour-mates laughed, asking, ‘Don’t you have tangerines in Canada?’ The answer is yes, yes we do. I just love tangerines. And I didn’t get a chance to go tangerine picking.

When we all reassembled, we hopped on our bus for Woljeongri Beach (윌정리해변), a place I’d have preferred staying at for longer, although I understand it was probably cold for most people (I thought it was nice tbh). Apparently, the name of this beach stems from the fact that you can see the “moon” at all times of day. It’s also famous with surfers due to it’s amazing waves.

Look, I had to try writing in the sand.

On to lunch! This was my first time trying Jeju’s Black Pork, served family style with local fish, and banchans galore! The meat here was cooked much better than at the night market, and as a result, the flavour and textures were better.

All the side dishes and some veggies for the wrap. I particularly liked the tofu side dish. At 비자림길.

Black pork (흑돼지)! And also some very nicely cooked fish. At 비자림길.

We drank some of the free ‘mix coffee’ (pretty much an instant coffee that they drink after meals) and indulged in a few complimentary tangerines before heading to our next destination.

Decided to hang out on this repurposed pallet swing :)

To be continued…

Haenyeo Museum, Ilchubong, and Dongsan Herb Garden (East Tour with Core Jeju, Part 2) | Jeju

I’m not generally very interested in looking at things in a museum, so this was one of those times having a super engaging tour guide made this museum especially fun!

Haenyeo museum sign.

At the Haenyeo (해녀) museum, we learned about the history of Haenyeo, the women divers (who dive without diving equipment). Apparently, at some point, males did dive, but then when everyone started moving away to other jobs, the government/King ‘ordered’ the women to do the diving so they could keep having things like abalone, tying them to long ‘contracts’ (a bill/law) that required them to provide a certain amount to the King every year.

They have their own culture and way of life, as the ‘breadwinner’.

They were super skilled individuals, having even learnt about all the different types of winds in Jeju in order to ascertain how to dive safely.

Haenyeo statue looking for seafood underground. Did you know that they practice sustainability as well? They only pick certain seafood at certain times of a certain size to ensure a sustainable ecosystem.

Unfortunately, their rich cultural heritage is also on the verge of being lost, due to aging.

We then went to Ilchulbong (성산일출봉), also known as Seongsan Sunrise Peak.

A lot of people like coming here to watch the sunrise. This is also a UNESCO heritage site. Specifically, this peak was created by seawater and volcanic ash interacting with each other, and a lot of extra water to make the basin shape that exists today.

Seongsan Ilchulbong sign.

The trek up is about 1000 steps. It wasn’t difficult, and view at the top was amazing!

A cool looking formation!

More pretty cliffs.

The view from the top.

I also then went all the way back to the bottom to visit the Haenyeo area, where I caught most of their dance! Then, it was time to *very quickly walk* back to the bus for the final stop.

Haenyeo diving floater/net thing.

Most of the Haenyo dance – uncut version. Also, look how close I was allowed to get!

It was time to go to another Herb Garden (허브동산).

This one, however, comes with a footbath aromatherapy. We sat down along some coppery basins and plopped our worn, tired feet into the warm, soapy water. They topped it with peppermint oil for extra relaxation, and sprinkled our necks with peppermint for the ultimate aromatherapy experience. Then we sat, enjoying the warmth of the water while mesmerized by the view outside.

Angelo, our tour tour guide, wanted to say hi!

We then took the provided salt, made a bit of a paste, and used that to exfoliate our feet, all the way up to our knees, one foot at a time.

Foot basin. Each ‘station’ comes with a towel, salt and peppermint oil.

After drying our feet, we massaged our feet with peppermint oil. I’d never thought about the uses of aroma oil apart from as something I put in my diffuser, so this was interesting. Also, my hands felt super smooth after as well.

Once both our feet were done, they sprayed some rosemary mist on our faces, before meandering up the stairs for some tea. Then, off to explore Dongsan Herb Garden. Luckily for us, we were there before it got dark, so we also had a chance to see what greenery was left!

The garden at dusk.

Some camellia flowers.

Me posing under some sort of trellis.

Some more citrus.

Just thought this would be nice.

It was meant to lead to a tiny church. The cat came bounding to me when I knelt down. Sorry, I’ve got no food for you!

Sparkly lights are turning on!

Everything I needed was included in the cost of my tour, so I didn’t even really realize that I had left my wallet at home until we were almost to the city. I guess I was the only one meant to pay in cash, so I let them know I actually still had to pay. He laughed, saying that he had forgotten he had to collect any money from me! Luckily, they were very accommodating, and they even walked me to my accommodation to pick up the payment.

I’d definitely recommend this tour company (Core Jeju) for future trips to Jeju, even if it was technically above my budget. It technically isn’t mean for solo travellers, but the staff I spoke to were very accommodating and understanding, arranging everything for me in advance.

My only wish was that they had room for me for their South tour the next day, too (they said it was fully booked when I’d checked about days at booking).

Dongmun Market (동문재래시장)| Jeju

After landing the first night, I quickly realized I wouldn’t have enough time to go tangerine picking. Which, I mean, overall ended up being fine, as there were tangerines on the roadside I could take photos with. Taking photos of me ‘picking’/posing with a tangerine was the goal anyway.

A particularly wrinkly-type citrus.

Instead, I went off to Dongmun Market, the largest market in Jeju City. I chose to walk there, taking between 30-45 minutes. Quite doable, considering I’d still be doing a lot of walking even if I walked to the bus stop, waited for the bus, and then took it for it’s 6ish minutes before walking the rest of the way.

The market is covered from the elements, making it a perfect place for an evening stroll. I surprisingly started off in the fish area, where there were various types of seafood all over, and fancy super long silver fish. Don’t ask me the names of any of them, I have no clue. The floor was definitely wet, as the fishmongers were constantly cleaning the floor to keep it clean and not-fishy.

Long silvery fishies!

Lots of fishes for cooking!

This dog would like you to notice their hard work and buy some fish.

The octopi are trying to hide.

Sashimi, anyone??

Exploring further, there are two main ‘street food’ areas, one by exit 8 (which has more night market-style stalls), while the other one was nearby and had more ‘store’ style stalls. KAll of these, I found, surprisingly took my credit card as form of payment, making overspending… super easy.

Oops… kinda bought food already!

A typical tangerine juice and coconut juice seller.

A fried black pork and noodle dish (흑돼지 비빔면). Exit 8.

Some fancy kimbap. Exit 3 (ish).

Tangerine ‘ice cream’, but more sorbet-y.

The ice cream store also sells fried waffly octopus on a stick and soft serve in a cone.

Tangerine juice and tangerine milk. It tastes great!

My favourite stall was a dancing stall, apparently with the instagram @handsome_youngmen LOL. They dance while cooking your lobster, squid, or jeju pork roll.

Half a lobster with their sweet garlic sauce.

I wonder how long they practice to dance perfectly in sync and cook at the same time!

They also had many stores advertising Jeju style rice cake (오메기떡), which was featured on various KBS & SBS shows, including Return of Superman.

The market also has it’s share of tangerines everywhere. In fact, one exit was particularly lined with tangerine sellers providing you with samples.

Of course, they also sell banchan, tteokbokki, and various Jeju souvenirs, including the little Dol Hareubang (돌 하르방,Jeju rock figurine), tangerine/hallabong themed hats, keychains, clips, and the assorted. They also sell packaged souvenirs for foreigners, like dol hareubang shaped chocolates of chocolate, tarts, and rice-crispy like things.

Souvenirs!!

Ginseng, anyone?

Mm, side dishes!!

I’m glad I visited the market before going anywhere else, as then I could compare prices of typical souvenirs before buying them during my tours! I went back twice. And then another 2 times when my flight was cancelled and the weather wasn’t good enough for any outdoor activities.