HIKING JEJU ISLAND Korean National Parks
Jeju Island | Hiking the Yeongsil trail at Hallasan National park
Posted on May 28, 2015Our day began like this: on one of the first buses from Aewol-eup to the Jeju City bus terminal. These weren’t the ‘city buses’ we were used to — they were older, had brightly colored curtains and seat covers and reminded me of buses I took a zillion years ago when I first traveled around SE Asia. The bus driver drove like a maniac and there weren’t any available seats. Sly and I stood in the back, swerving and stumbling back and forth as if on a crazy roller coaster. The bus driver narrowly missed hitting a guy as he stepped out onto the street, too preoccupied with his phone to notice a bus barreling by…
Eventually (thankfully) we found seats and about 40 minutes or so later our bus pulled into the Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal. If there was ever any doubt that we were in another country the bus terminal erased it. It’s not like bus terminals in the US are glorious — but this one, like the bus, looked trapped in time, Asia circa 1975 — and was so unlike all the super modern transportation hubs we had passed through in Korea. We were definitely not in Kansas anymore.
FOOD JEJU ISLAND KOREA
Jeju Island off the Beaten Path | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Posted on May 27, 2015
After a full day of last-minute travel frazzling, I stayed up late (as usual) packing, fell asleep on the couch with Max, woke up about four hours later, got ready, finished packing (STILL?), and fed the kitties. We walked to the bus stop, caught the stupid slow bus again, and made our way to the train station with (for once) time to spare.
As I was hauling my little, but heavy, bag up the stairs to the train station, an elderly gentleman reached down and quietly grabbed one side of my bag, He and I carried my bag up two flights of stairs while he asked me in English if I was American and if I was headed home. I replied I was on my way to Jeju. He smiled at the top of the stairs and wished me good luck. This small act of kindness would set the tone for the rest of our trip… but more on that later…
JEJU ISLAND KOREA TRAVEL
How (Not) to Plan a Trip to Jeju Island in Less Than 24 Hrs
Posted on May 24, 2015
When it comes to trip planning, I am usually in charge of the research and planning phase and Sly is in charge of execution + logistics. This arrangement suits us — I like the tedious work of scouring obscure websites to find interesting places to visit, Sly enjoys chatting with people..
For weeks we mulled over ideas of what to do over Memorial Day weekend. Time passed and we were uncharacteristically nonchalant about the whole thing, as if it would somehow magically plan itself or as if the holiday weren’t fast approaching. The planning for this trip — because we both dragged our feet, because I had to do the planning and calling, because all the websites were in Korean, because none of the travel numbers for ferries/local airlines/travel sites were staffed by people that spoke English, and because we wanted to leave the next day — was a disaster. Thursday morning, right before Sly left for work, Sly informed me that he had to travel to Seoul last-minute so he couldn’t help with any of the booking/reserving/calling like he normally did. Great.
DAEGU HIKING KOREA
BISEULSAN 비슬산 | Hiking The Wild Azalea Trail At Mt. Biseul
Posted on May 15, 2015Biseulsan or Biseul Mountain is part of the same mountain range as Apsan — the mountain park right by our house. Known for its beautiful field of wild azaleas set against the backdrop Biseulsan’s peak, it is a strenuous and very popular hike. Anticipating large weekend crowds we met up with one of our Korean friends, Mrs. C, at 7am, loaded up our things, and headed to the mountains.
The most direct way to get to Biseulsan from our house is to hike through the mountains on foot — from the top of Mt. Sanseong, its another 15km or so to Mt. Biseul. You can also drive around the mountain to get there. Which is obviously what we did.
We arrived at the entrance to Biseulsan National Recreation Forest around 8am, parked, and searched in vain for a place that sold gimbap. No luck. Nothing was even really open that early except for a convenience store that sold mostly chips and cookies. Mrs. C, who didn’t bring anything for lunch, picked up a few Korean style hard boiled eggs and some orange juice. None of us had been to this mountain and we were a bit confused as to where to begin our hike. Mrs. C asked the guard at the gate how to get to the azalea field. “Just go straight…then keep going up.”
Our other option was to take a shuttle bus to the top. For the briefest of moments our laziness kicked in and we contemplated doing just that. After looking at a map of the zig zag bus roads combined with the fact that the bus didn’t leave for another hour, we decoded it would be better to hike the entire way. I mean, that’s why we came right? To hike? Sometimes we are not so sure.
From the parking lot we walked up the road, past a Buddhist temple and across a bridge.
See that mountain in the back? That’s where we were headed…
