Spring break is a great time to check out more of Asia.
The first time I heard of Jeju was last year, when my cousin, my mom's brother's daughter, told me she was going to be teaching there. I was definitely wanting to see her. I hadn't seen her since she was 7 and she lived in my hometown. After looking at pictures of the small island off South Korea, I was also happy to have a reason to visit Jeju. It was great to reconnect with my cousin and experience many of Jeju's beautiful places with her.
Jeju isn't as small as I thought. In fact it's bigger than Xiamen. I guess it needs space to have so many naturally stunning attributes, but it is a little hard to manoeuvre without a car. Taxis do not frequent the 'Education City' neighbourhood where many teachers, including my cousin, live. But even if you are lucky to find a taxi, they are pricey. I paid 70 USD to take an hour long taxi across the island. There are reasonably priced, regular buses, but they run relatively infrequently, which means if you have to change buses your route could take a very long time to travel. Add those things to the language barrier and it takes some energy to travel around the island, nicknamed the 'Hawaii' of Korea. I definitely got my fill of beauty during my time there, but I didn't see everything.
Things I saw either with Brittany or solo:
The top of Korea's tallest mountain, Mount Hala. It took us over 7 hours to ascend, and passing the snow was super tricky.
Canola fields- the flower that gives us Canola oil. I had seen countless images of the flowers on bottles of oil over the years, but I had never thought much about them before. They're pretty.
Jeju oranges. Yum.
Cherry blossom cups at Starbucks. And the actual cherry blossoms.
The aquamarine colored beach with sunrise peak in the rear.
Sunrise Peak- I went 2X. 1X in the afternoon, 1X at sunrise.
The Haenyo women.These women free dive down to depths of more than 30 feet wearing only rubber suits, flippers, and goggles. They’ve been doing this for hundreds of years and have become symbols of Jeju island. I saw them stroll out of the water carrying nets full of sea creatures. They sell them right on the beach.
Udo Island. We took a short ferry ride to another small island off Jeju island. It has amazing beaches and cute bikes. It took us around 2 hours to bike around its perimeter.
Udo is known for peanuts, so while we were there we ate a peanut Korean shaved ice desert, called bingsu.
Cousin, thanks for moving to such a great place to teach!
Next on the Spring break itinerary- Seoul. Though I like living in large cities, I prefer not to visit them that often. Consequently, I wasn't that excited to visit the second largest metropolitan in the world with more than 25 and a half million people. But as I tend to do, I ended up liking the mega-city known as Seoul.
l liked the shaved ice desert, spicy rice cakes and the cheesy rice food my cousin introduced me to. The staples, bimbibap and kimbap/gimbap, are delicious as well and, possibly, healthier options. Or is it bibimbap? I can never seem to get it straight. Whichever transliteration it is, it's a serving of white rice topped with sautéed vegetables, an amazing peppery red sauce, sliced meat and some form of an egg. Kimbap is Korean style sushi rolls and, it seems to me, the Korean fast food.
Seoul is a very international city, having food from every corner of the globe. I also ate at a pretty posh Taco Bell, which serves espresso and beer.
The first day, I spent with some fellow Xiamen-ites, also on the 9 day break from school. We visited a neighborhood with traditional houses, called hanoks, ate yummy food and went partway up the Seoul tower to experience the view on, the rare, crystal clear evening.
The second day I met up with a friend I met during my time in Kuwait. I'm happy she has relocated to this part of Asia. It rained on the day we hung out but that didn't stop us. First we hiked up a mountain behind her housing complex, and then proceeded to explore more of the city, on foot. A friend of hers, who she also knows from Kuwait, but who is now living near Shanghai, was also in town for the day, so she joined us.
On the last day of my Korean tour, I wandered around on my own, visiting many eateries before heading to the airport.
Despite Seoul being a city of over 10 million people, I really liked it. It has a convenient modern infrastructure and many international comforts, yet it still maintains enough of its history and culture to remain intriguing.
The first time I heard of Jeju was last year, when my cousin, my mom's brother's daughter, told me she was going to be teaching there. I was definitely wanting to see her. I hadn't seen her since she was 7 and she lived in my hometown. After looking at pictures of the small island off South Korea, I was also happy to have a reason to visit Jeju. It was great to reconnect with my cousin and experience many of Jeju's beautiful places with her.
Jeju isn't as small as I thought. In fact it's bigger than Xiamen. I guess it needs space to have so many naturally stunning attributes, but it is a little hard to manoeuvre without a car. Taxis do not frequent the 'Education City' neighbourhood where many teachers, including my cousin, live. But even if you are lucky to find a taxi, they are pricey. I paid 70 USD to take an hour long taxi across the island. There are reasonably priced, regular buses, but they run relatively infrequently, which means if you have to change buses your route could take a very long time to travel. Add those things to the language barrier and it takes some energy to travel around the island, nicknamed the 'Hawaii' of Korea. I definitely got my fill of beauty during my time there, but I didn't see everything.
Things I saw either with Brittany or solo:
The top of Korea's tallest mountain, Mount Hala. It took us over 7 hours to ascend, and passing the snow was super tricky.
Canola fields- the flower that gives us Canola oil. I had seen countless images of the flowers on bottles of oil over the years, but I had never thought much about them before. They're pretty.
Jeju oranges. Yum.
Cherry blossom cups at Starbucks. And the actual cherry blossoms.
The aquamarine colored beach with sunrise peak in the rear.
Sunrise Peak- I went 2X. 1X in the afternoon, 1X at sunrise.
The Haenyo women.These women free dive down to depths of more than 30 feet wearing only rubber suits, flippers, and goggles. They’ve been doing this for hundreds of years and have become symbols of Jeju island. I saw them stroll out of the water carrying nets full of sea creatures. They sell them right on the beach.
Udo Island. We took a short ferry ride to another small island off Jeju island. It has amazing beaches and cute bikes. It took us around 2 hours to bike around its perimeter.
Udo is known for peanuts, so while we were there we ate a peanut Korean shaved ice desert, called bingsu.
Cousin, thanks for moving to such a great place to teach!
Next on the Spring break itinerary- Seoul. Though I like living in large cities, I prefer not to visit them that often. Consequently, I wasn't that excited to visit the second largest metropolitan in the world with more than 25 and a half million people. But as I tend to do, I ended up liking the mega-city known as Seoul.
Korea Food Rocks
Bibimbap.
Spicy rice cakes with seafood.
The first day, I spent with some fellow Xiamen-ites, also on the 9 day break from school. We visited a neighborhood with traditional houses, called hanoks, ate yummy food and went partway up the Seoul tower to experience the view on, the rare, crystal clear evening.
The second day I met up with a friend I met during my time in Kuwait. I'm happy she has relocated to this part of Asia. It rained on the day we hung out but that didn't stop us. First we hiked up a mountain behind her housing complex, and then proceeded to explore more of the city, on foot. A friend of hers, who she also knows from Kuwait, but who is now living near Shanghai, was also in town for the day, so she joined us.
On the last day of my Korean tour, I wandered around on my own, visiting many eateries before heading to the airport.
Despite Seoul being a city of over 10 million people, I really liked it. It has a convenient modern infrastructure and many international comforts, yet it still maintains enough of its history and culture to remain intriguing.
