Korea (Jeju) 18 Mar 2015

Hotel: Jeju Oriental Hotel

The first day was really tiring especially when I didn't really have enough sleep.  And because we follow a tour group, our schedules are also super packed.

 

 

We had abalone porridge for breakfast.  When I first heard the tour guide mention that, I was quite excited. Then he added that we are not suppose to expect huge abalone...it'll be bits and pieces -.-" Well, at least I really found bits of abalone.  And the taste is yummy.  The best part about Korean food is that all the condiments are free flow!  So those who know me will know the conspicuous amount of kimchi I take.  When we walked out of the restaurant, I cannot believe the sight! Do people here clear their mailboxes?

 

 

Our next destination is the Songan Sunrise Peak. I heard that this is one really beautiful peak and it's a must to climb up. If you walk along the path after getting the tickets, (veer left) you can actually see an area where the oyster woman are suppose to be harvesting oysters in good weather.  To  go up to the peak, head right. Sadly when we arrive, it was already raining.  Undeterred, I tried my best to walk up. Gave up halfway coz the wind was too strong for my umbrella and it tore my raincoat as well.  Hope to come back when the weather is better.

 

 

 

Next, we arrive at this chocolate shop that is right behind a small orange plantation. We were told that it wasn't the season so most oranges weren't fully grown yet.  As it was drizzling, the entire area was muddy.  So we went back inside to get the chocolates which I think only tourists would buy. Their famous products would be the orange chocolate series though they have other fruity flavoured chocolates as well.

 

 

After purchasing about over $100 worth of chocolates, we headed for Song-up folk village. Yup, this was the same village that Dae Jang Geum (大長今) was filmed. It looked like a huge place in the show but in actual fact is that this place is really tiny! It should not take anyone more than 10 mins to complete.  We were shown how water was collected from the rain by wrapping a rope on the tree that links into the water pots. The tourguide said that in those days, women in Jeju island work while the men stay at home.  The lady touring us in the area carried the water trout to show us how Jeju women in the past used to carry water.

There is one small house that according to the lady, is still inhabited.  We were not allowed to enter but we can take pictures from outside the house. The house smells of the aroma of freshly cooked rice.  We were told that someone is actually cooking.

 

After touring the small compound comes the main part of the program - promoting honey. It seems like there are many version of how real honey should be. For this version, the honey doesn't melt in water. One can see the hives when it's placed in water and swirled around. We were given different honey to try: Pure honey, lingzhi and 5 flavors. For some reasons, they also sell handcream made of horse oil.  It smells quite nice though. But I still have a whole box of lanolin cream at home so decided not to buy.  They are not cheap either.

 







 

For lunch, we had black pork meat. As usual, all condiments are refillable and our dear tourguide was going around the tables refilling our pork too. I haven't really gotten used to wrapping my meat in raw lettuce though.

 

 

 

Our next location is Hello Kitty Island.  This is probably the wonderland of 90% of the female population.  The place is not huge but if you are going to watch the 3D movie, you have to queue early coz they only have a certain number of 3D glasses.  We only have less than 1.5 hours in Hello Kitty Island thus wasn't able to watch the movie.

 

 

The toilet is cute!!  I so love the mirror and of course the cleanliness of the place.

 

 

 

Saw a lot of very cute exhibits in the museum.  I especially like the bedroom.  Wish it was mine. 

 

 

 There is a café on the second floor. The deco is all pink and white.  Didn't eat coz we were rushing for time and the snacks aren't really cheap. The gifts are expensive too. I can actually get them cheaper when I'm back in Singapore.

 

 

After a short tour, we departed the place and proceeded to the next in our itinerary.

 

Osulloc tea is known as one of the more famous and reliable brand in Jeju...most of the tea is expensive too. Thus, it is not uncommon for travel agencies to include the Osulloc green tea museum into its itinerary. A walk around the museum shows you a little background of tea in particular.  You can also be able to see tea cups from different countries on display.

I tried the green tea ice cream and it was yummy.  We were told that if we spend more than 30,000 won, we can get a tax refund at the airport.  So we really spent more than 30,000 won on tea :)

 

I wandered alone out of the tea museum and saw Innisfree!!!  They were conducting some soap making lesson when I walked in. The deco is very different from what I saw in the malls. And of course, I ended up buying stuffs....some facial masks that I wasn't able to find in Singapore.

 

 

The Glass Castle is the last places of interest on our itinerary.  Entrance fees is covered by the travel package as usual.  Due to the cold, the entire place looks really misty. From the map, it looks big so I was looking forward to a very long stroll in the park. This is my first time visiting glass exhibits so I don't really know what to expect.

 

 

Presented to us as we enter the place was items made from recycled glass.  They are glass pieces that you and I threw away that is turned into a great art pieces. As we walk further in, we see more and more amazingly crafted glass art pieces.

 

 

Saw a little path and I decided to walk in. It was quite a long walk considering the fact that we were rushing for time. So I had ran part of the trial. The glass hallabong oranges are really cute.

 

 

Saw more interesting and really pretty glass exhibits as we were walking out of the park.  On the whole, it was a very enriching and romantic visit.  Imagine everything in glass.....

 

For dinner, we had live seafood at one of the restaurants within walking distance from our hotel.  Infact, it's just right next to our hotel. There are many live seafood restaurants around so you will be spoilt for choice.

 

 

One of the more scary dish we had was the live abalone. I didn't know it was still wriggly in the plate when we ordered it.  Then all of a sudden, one of the shellies started to move. I didn't want to eat it at that instant. But the tourguide kept insisting that we had to try it and how tasty and juicy it is.

 

 

We gave in finally but not without it being cooked.  The tourguide reluctantly cooked it in the steamboat pot for us. Gosh! Can you hear it screaming for help...I felt so bad after that -.-"

 

More photos available here.