Jeju

We got lucky with great weather!

A bit of housekeeping to start us off: I finally got an upgraded computer at work! Great, because it's faster, but not so great because all of my work for the last 7 months is gone. They told me to save everything, but didn't say where, and apparently I saved it to the wrong place. Not only are all of my lesson plans and powerpoints gone, but so are the blog posts that were ready to go on my computer (hence the late posting).

ANYWAY. Jeju.

When my sister came to visit, I wanted to show her a little bit of everything that Korea has to offer. We did metropolitan Seoul for 2 days, somewhat boring Daegu for 2 days, and 'beautiful paradise' (as it is known here) Jeju Island. It was my first time going to Jeju as well, and I was nervous as heck. My Korean is not where I wish it was, and the anxiety I have about being lost is ever-present.

Our flight was uneventful, beyond departing from the smallest airport I have ever been in (only 3 gates!!), and we took a bus to the opposite side of the island, where our hotel was. The hotel was a hole in the wall, which became evident when 2 of 5 taxis couldn't find it or were convinced it didn't exist at all. ...We got there eventually.

This message is for Caroline, in case I didn't say it enough at the time: I AM SO SORRY. I chose poorly and you had to suffer in a tiny, mosquito infested room for 3 days because I was a cheap bastard.

You can infer that the room was less than pleasant. The owner was very nice and his English was better than I have come to expect from guesthouses in Korea.


The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly our day to Seongsan Ilchulbong and Udo. Seongsan Ilchulbong is called 'Sunrise Peak', and we hopped in a taxi at 4am to see it for it's namesake. Nearly died climbing up that freaking cliff (seriously, I was seeing spots and could see myself bouncing down hundreds of steps, bowling over tiny Korean ajummas decked out in hiking gear). Naturally Caroline did the whole thing like it was her frickin job.... Making me look like a wuss grumble grumble grumble (which I am and totally admit to).

Worth it :)

Mentally did the Rocky fist pump dance thing

The town down below us. And this was about halfway down too

After that, we took the ferry to the nearby small island of Udo. Rented scooters to get around the island, which was so awesome!!! Took a few photos, stopped at the beach, then rented them again and spent most of the day zooming around getting sunburnt.

SO. MUCH. FUN.

The following day was originally meant for horseback riding and exploring, but given how sunburnt we got, we opted out of chafing thighs and sore butts. Instead I took Caroline to the highly-reviewed Jeju Stone Park and the Trick Art Museum, both of which were in the middle of nowhere that required taxis for all transportation. Again, let me address Caroline specifically: I AM SO SORRY. It was boring as heck and a waste of time and money. Ok, the stone park would have been way more enjoyable if it wasn't so far away or so goddamn darn hot (6/10 would recommend, but only if you're really interested in Korean history). But the day ended with going to really beautiful waterfalls near our hotel, so it all ended well.

Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, complete with tourists

Overall, I felt like this trip was more about seeing my sister than about me sightseeing, and I hope she had as much fun as I did. It made me realize that I've been so caught up in my own world and figuring things out here on the other side of the world that I haven't had time to really miss my family. I do now.

But I drowned that out with my Shanghai/Taipei trip :)

Stay tuned! 안녕!

My sweet revenge for her taking this photo: welcome to the internet sis!