Second day in Jeju Island!
This is Part 3 of my ’15 trip to Korea. Part 1 is available here, and part 2 here.
My second day in Jeju started with finding a place to eat breakfast at 8am, which was not a simple task. After 30 minutes walking around and calling random places, my friend and I found a 감자탕식당 (kamjatangshiktang) that was open.
The restaurant we went to, 통뼈감자탕신제주점, was special to me as it was the first time I was eating sitting on the floor.
감자탕 (kamja tang) is a kind of potato soup with pork and whatnot. Although it was delicious, the heaviness of the dish made it hard to stay awake for long.
Since my pass for the Jeju Golden bus expired, I decided instead to take the regular city bus to get to 사라봉 (Sarabong). Riding the bus by myself was quite an experience… The stops were so close to one another that pressed the button too late and, like a stupid tourist, missed my stop.
Going up on the hill was very tedious, as the slope was pretty steep.
At some point, a area of the sidewalk was paved with round rocks. I told myself “why would they put such rock, it’s so uncomfortable” as I was stepping on them. I learned by a screaming ajumma that it was actually stones that you’re supposed to walk barefoot on (지압길, path of acupressure treatment). After several rounds of bowing and apologies, I continued my way up the hill.
Although it is by no means comparable to the heights of 한라산 (halla-san), the views offered are nonetheless delectable.
Going down the path was way quicker than going up! I was down the mountain in about 10 minutes when it had taken me 30 minutes to go up. I then decided to walk all the way to the center of the city.
About 15 minutes into my walk in Jeju City, I was surprised by a excruciatingly loud alarm sound that resonated throughout the entire city. I first thought it was the beginning of a North Korean invasion and that I had chosen the worst time to come to Korea. Turns out it was just a military drill.
After the mandatory 20-minute complete stop was over, I could resume my walk and go to the sea, which was my last act of “reconnection” with Mother Nature. I wanted to see the famous dragon-shaped rock (용두암, yongduam) that all the guidebooks talked about. I was fairly disappointed when I saw what it amounted to.
I then took the bus back to the hotel, getting it right this time. The next morning was unfortunately my departure from Jeju ㅠㅠ but my arrival in Seoul!
The pictures and story of my first day in Seoul are available here!
Place: Jeju-Do
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