Jeju Island, Korea
We were so lucky to have gone back to Korea last March. It was my third time to the country. I had an extra day off prior to our spring break which made for a wonderful ten day vacation from school. We purchased our plane tickets months ago and we so looked forward to visiting again. It had been nearly 20 years after all since we were there last.
For this trip, we planned on visiting Jeju Island as well. We spent the first half of the week there and then back to Seoul for the rest of the time. Although winter was over, we certainly felt the very cold air in both places especially in the morning and evening. I was upset at first that I left my puffer jacket at home given the very low temperatures. Luckily, the temperatures did go up middle of the day and wearing a winter coat would have been too much.
We arrived very, very early, past 4 am in Seoul, on March 29th. It was a Sunday. As soon as we cleared immigration and claimed our bags at the arrival hall, we proceeded to the metro station at the airport. We decided to spend the night in Seoul before proceeding to Jeju. We stayed at the Mercure Hotel a couple of Metro Stops away from Gimpo Airport and then flew early morning the following day for Jeju Island.
Taken at the arrival hall of Jeju International Airport. It was very busy here both when we arrived and when we left. There were international flights as well although they were mainly to very close neighboring countries in Asia. We booked an UBER ride to go to our hotel. Its cost: $8. It was really cheap. The ride did not take long either. No more that 15 to 20 minutes each way.
We spent some time inside the Business Class Lounge of Asiana Airlines in Gimpo for some rest and snacks before our flight to Jeju. Just like in Haneda Airport, there wasn't a lot of food for travelers. There were only crackers and some small cream filled cookies in small packets with some drinks. Anyway, everything was free so we really couldn't complain.
Many travelers to the island strongly recommended eating at Pork Alley. We didn't eat in any of its restaurants though since we are not big pork eaters any more.
Here's a view of a couple of hotels including ours, the Regent Marine, from one of the promenades by the waterfront.
Here's a full view of our hotel, the Regent Marine. It was very highly recommended by Tripadvisor reviews. While I found the hotel to be a bit worn and old, it is the hotel where airline crew from JAL and Korean Air stay. We saw lots of them in uniform arriving and departing.
How can I possibly miss a photo opp to remember my trip by? No way, Jose!
These two grandfather statues by a local museum in downtown Jeju reminded me of the Shisas we saw in Okinawa. Apparently these figures are believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck to whoever has them by the entry way. We saw these statues in many places all over Jeju.
This was one of the entrances to the underground Jungang Shopping Mall which we visited and walked through on our first day in Jeju. It was by chance that we saw the Gyeongdeokjeong Pavilion after leaving the site and coming out of one of its entrances/exits.
Given our early afternoon arrival in Jeju, we had ample time to begin our sightseeing right away. We actually were hungry for lunch and since we didn't know the best places to eat yet, we went to a McDonald's a block away from our hotel. From there we made our way to an underground market, the Jungang Shopping Mall, which stretched for blocks and then came out of the tunnel to discover a Korean palace right in the center of town. Here I am at the beautiful Gwandeokjeong Pavilion.
Dongmun Market in Jeju's old downtown. We visited this market every single day we were in Jeju. We also ate here twice. Once for dinner and once for lunch. It was here where we tried the island's famous black pork and seafood (squid).
It was around 6 pm when we found ourselves in Dongmun Market. With our stomach grumbling, we bought some black pork on a skewer. We bought two sticks.
There were so many stalls inside Dongmun Market selling tangerines. They were everywhere!