South Korea

Jejudo’s Natural Beauty

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This is part two of my trip to Jejudo in August of 2009. You can see the first part, including our visit to Korea’s famous Sex Park, here.

The stunning Seongsan Ilchubong and a black sand beach

A visit to South Korea’s Jejudo isn’t complete without exploring some of its many naturally stunning locations. The most popular of these is Sunrise Peak (or Seongsan Ilchubung – above), but there’s plenty of other fascinating sights to see on the volcanic island.

 

Our second and only full day on Jejudo started early, as we met our chartered cab (a bargain at 80,000 won for the day) and immediately got things underway with a visit to the imaginatively titled ‘Mini Mini Land‘. If you haven’t guessed what this entails yet, it’s basically a park full of miniature replicas of famous world sites. They seem to be constantly adding to their list, and even some lesser known locations (such as the New Zealand House of Parliament for some reason) are there. Then there’s a whole bunch of random things such as human sized Smurfs, the characters of Shrek, and a pair of pirates. It’s delightfully Korean, and we had a lot of fun posing in front of the many landmarks from around the world.

Fallon poses in front of mini Bayon. She was in front of the real one a few months earlier!
Mini Forbidden City
An impressive replica of the Statue of Liberty
The randomly placed life sized pirate recoils from Cody's advances
Truly terrifying
Coming Soon: Something from New Zealand
Fallon posing in front of the Sydney Opera House.

Mini Mini Land was a fun little excursion, and despite the presence of a truly obnoxious group of students bullying and generally harassing the unfortunate woman who was in charge of them for the day – we had a good time. Aside from the random replicas and statues, there’s also a decent souvenir shop and ice cream & snacks are available on site. It’s not a must see by any stretch, but Mini Mini Land has a few good photo opportunities and would be a good spot to take the kids.

From there we headed for a more traditional tourist location – the Sangumburi Crater. Let me just say that while this crater was quite beautiful, it was completely underwhelming. So much so that we spent the first fifteen minutes of our walk wondering where on earth the crater actually was. Like the other famous craters on the island, Sangumburi was formed by a volcanic eruption, but unlike the rest of them Sangumburi exploded quickly and so did not form the usual hallmarks of a volcanic crater. In fact, aside from the fact it’s lower than the land around it, it’s not particularly easy to spot.

Still, we managed to snap some nice photos of the grounds and of the crater, but it wasn’t really worth the trek. I’d have preferred to check out Jejudo’s famous waterfall or to have spent a few hours lying out on the beach.

Long grass at the base of Sangumburi
The somewhat underwhelming crater
Long grass obscures the view as I look up towards the buildings
My attempt at a Christian rock album cover

Our trip at Sangumburi had helped us to work up an appetite, so we had our driver take us to a nearby town where we could get a bite to eat. We searched in earnest for a Kimbop Nara (a chain that sells basic Korean foods such as kimbap and bibimbap) but eventually settled on a restaurant that seemed to be run out of the person’s living room. While we waited for our food her kids were stretched out watching TV and from to time her husband would duck his head into the ‘restaurant’ and mutter something in Korean too her. Still, we couldn’t complain. The bibimbap was decent and the kimbap was of a good standard – and soon we were full of food and on our way to Jejudo’s most famous landmark – Seongsan Ilchubong.

The aptly named Sunrise Peak offers truly stunning views of the ocean and (at the right time of day) the sun rising over the island. If you can survive the somewhat grueling hike to the top, you’re in for an absolute treat as you take it all in. On the way up you’ll pass some nice photo opportunities that afford a good view of the city below, and there’s a store that defines convenience as it sells water, snacks, and sunscreen about a quarter of the way up the mountain.

After you’ve snapped a few shots and made your way back down, you can detour down to one of the gorgeous black sandy beaches to see the famous women divers. These remarkable ajummas (married women) free dive to bring up oysters in a way that would wear out even the fittest young go getter. When you consider most of these women are on the downhill side of fifty, it’s a pretty amazing sight. Even if that doesn’t do it for you, you’ll find plenty of good photo opportunities as you stroll along the beach and take in the beauty of it all. It’s somewhat diminished by the thousands of nameless insects that scurry away in terror as you near the rocks, but in a country that doesn’t exactly boast beaches, it’s a picturesque change from the murky norm.

The view out over the crater. I didn't do a great job of capturing it.
The view out over the ocean
The home of the famous women divers
A closer view of the black sand beach

Our day of adventure wasn’t over just yet, and with the sun coming out, we sought the shade in a souvenir shop and picked up some of the famous Jejudo chocolates as well. These are basically generic chocolates with interestingly flavored fillings such as cactus. Quite good. We also grabbed a delicious potato twist, which anybody who has ever been to a county fair will be familiar with.

The next stop on our trip was a visit to the lava tubes. After descending into the cold darkness from the increasingly humid heat outside, you’re basically left to stumble your way through the watery dark with only a few ghost lights to guide you. It’s a lot of fun, and while it obviously doesn’t provide a lot in the way of photo opportunities or things to see, it’s still a fun experience to be walking through a tunnel that had once been filled with liquid hot magma.

One last look out at the light before entering the tunnels

By this point in the day we were more than a little tired, but we had paid our driver for another hour and a half, so we decided to hit one last destination before we returned to our hotel. That destination turned out to be the Gimnyeong Hedge Maze. Designed by an American man who settled in the area, the Hedge Maze is a pretty spectacular way to spend an hour or so. There’s panic bells and a map if you want to cheat, but the maze isn’t terribly hard to navigate – and you get a real sense of achievement when you finally emerge from its arboreal depths, climb to the top of the catwalk that overlooks it all, and ring the bell to signal your triumph over nature.

Girls lost in the maze
An example of the maze's intricate design
A pair of Korean lads find themselves at a dead end

Thoroughly exhausted by our day of trekking around Korea’s island paradise, we decided to head back to our hotel and shower before heading out to explore the area around our hotel. We found a cute little seaside carnival which was, sadly, closed – and then found our way down to the waterfront which was a hive of activity in the setting sun. Kids riding around on their bikes, families out for a walk, and even a busker with an army of adoring fans populated the area. We got into the spirit with some fairy floss and some store bought KGB Vodka and Asahi before heading back to our hotel where we discovered a most wonderful thing…

Drunk foreigners savouring home delivered McDonalds!

 

Korean McDonalds delivers!

We whiled away our last night on Jejudo eating Big Macs, drinking ourselves silly, and watching terrible 1980s Jean Claude Van Dam movies. The next day it was back to the ho-hum of mainland life, but I don’t think Jejudo has seen the last of me just yet.

Links

Jejudo Tourism

Life on the Road, South Korea, Sydney

Meeting the Travel Tribe

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My budget imposed travel ban is almost at its end, and I’m headed out to Freshwater (near Manly) tomorrow to do a little snorkeling and experience some more of my favourite beach area in Sydney. Forget Bondi – give me Manly, Shelly Beach, Freshwater, and Dee Why any day.

In the interim though, here’s a short update about things that are going on in my life right now. All of them travel related, I promise.

Joining the Tribe

For those who don’t know, a Travel Tribe is a group where (and I’m quoting direct from their website here) “world nomads, wanderlusters, and tomorrow’s thinkers come together to share stories, ideas, and drinks in support of the online travel community’. If you didn’t know that, don’t feel bad – I didn’t prior to going along either.

Since I’ve started this blog I’ve been lucky enough to stumble across quite a few excellent travel blogs, most of which you can see listed down the left hand side of your screen in my links. People like Simi from Straight from the Curls and Hamish from Bondgam South Korea two in particular that I interact with outside of just reading their blogs. But up until Thursday night, I’d not been fortunate enough to meet a fellow travel blogger in person.

Well, that’s only partially try. My mate Tony keeps the very good It’s Good Overseas blog, but I knew him before I knew about his blog. If you fancy travel to unique destinations – you’re going to get a real kick out of his site. His travel CV includes odd destinations such as Yemen, Togo, and Lebanon – and he’s just back from a fascinating trip to Timor Leste that has me wanting to explore the world’s newest country.

Upon seeing my Twitter declared bemoaning of the lack of travel minded friends I had, Tony suggested I tag along to the Sydney Travel Tribe’s November meeting. Based out of the Scary Canary (a backpacker bar that smells suspiciously of vomit, but has cheap drinks and surprisingly good food), the Sydney Travel Tribe is where it all started. There are now travel tribes all over the world and I’ve half a mind to set one up in Korea. But more on that later.

Tony (of It's Good Overseas) and Brooke (of Brooke vs. the World) enjoying some late night Korean BBQ

 

I arrived before Tony and immediately realized that I had no idea what anybody in the tribe looked like. Like a kid on his first day of school, I lurked in the corner nursing a beer and frantically Tweeting in the hope that one of them would spot me and save me the embarrassment of walking around a crowded backpacker bar asking people if they were ‘in the tribe’. It just sounds like code for a swinger’s party or something.

 

I eventually plucked up the courage to approach a pair of friendly looking girls and ask them the question, and I was greatly relieved when they both smiled and immediately began asking me where I was from, what I did, and where I’d been. As we chatted about our travel plans and our travel pasts, I learned that they were Heather of There’s No Place Like Oz and Dina of Vagabond Quest.

Dina’s blog details her and her husband’s eight years of traveling around the world together, while Heather’s is about her decision to uproot herself from her life in America and spend a year living and working in Australia. Both very good reads and both get the CWB tick of approval. Go look now. I’ll wait.

Done? Good. Let’s keep going.

As the night wound on and the $5 pints flowed, I met a bunch of other cool people. I’ll only list the ones with blogs I can link to, but rest assured everybody I met was very open and eager to meet a fellow traveler. I had a good chat with Craig and Kaz from the very popular Y Travel Blog and shared Korean war stories with James from TravelByU. I got a little star-struck meeting Brooke from Brooke vs. the World and Why Go Australia fame. All very cool people. All very cool sites. It’s kind of a recurring theme here, but I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.

After the majority of the travel tribe had wandered off in search of bed or food, a few of us decided to embark on a trek for some Korean BBQ. Dina, Tony, Brooke, Pat (Brooke’s partner), Craig, and I all made our way to Hanabi on Liverpool Street. My only other Korean eating experiences in Sydney have been at BBQ City (very good, although pricey) and Narukorean in Surry Hills (not particularly good) – and I’d say that Hanabi sat somewhere in the middle. Decent galbi, cheap pitchers of Hite, and friendly enough staff – but it didn’t feel like a Korean restaurant, especially when James’s near flawless Korean was continually ignored by the Korean staff. Not cool!

All told it was a really good night. I met some great people, discovered some fantastic blogs, ate some good food, drank plenty of beer, and became thoroughly jealous of those people whose blogs have snazzy business cards. Definitely something on the agenda for me. I’ve already set up a base camp on Moo to design my own.

If you’re a traveler, somebody working in travel, or just somebody who is giving travel some serious though, I’d thoroughly recommend heading out to their December meeting. It’s on a beach!

Speaking of Korea…

I got home from the travel tribe meeting at around 1am and was pleasantly surprised to find an email waiting for me in my inbox from one of the dozen or so Korean recruiters I’ve been speaking to lately. Turns out the job I’d interviewed for earlier in the day was offered to me, so I’m Yongin bound in February of 2011!

While it’s true that my first and second preferences were Gwangju and Busan respectively, I’d softened on the idea of going to Seoul considerably over time. It’s the place to be as a foreigner in Korea, and while it’s a bit big for a country boy like me, Yongin is a satellite city that gives me the comfort of a smaller city with all of the perks of living by a city with more people in it than my country of birth.

Bonding with the characters at Everland

 

I’ve actually been to Yongin once before. My friend Tash and I waited an inordinate amount of time there for a bus to Gwangju after spending a day exploring Korea’s biggest theme park, Everland. Thus far my Googling hasn’t managed to turn up much information beyond its proximity to Everland and the country’s largest Korean Folk Village – but I know it’s on the Seoul subway line, and that’s enough for me.

The school itself sounds really fantastic. It’s run by a Korean lady who proudly considers herself an educator first and a businesswoman second, which is a breath of fresh air in the Korean education landscape. Her school, predominantly a kindergarten, integrates sport, music, and art into the education process – and seems to be one of the few Korean schools I’ve encountered that acknowledges that students need to be having fun to learn English. She did stress that there is a lot of work involved, but I’m personally quite excited to get a chance to actually educate rather than simply regurgitate a textbook and have the kids regurgitate it back.

In the way of neighbors, I’m lucky enough to have a few good friends from my Gwangju days in the area. Heloise and Phil, who were both present at my first Korean birthday party, are nearby – and my high school buddy Paul is perennially based out of Seoul. It’s not Gwangju, but I’m quite excited about a change of scene and a change of pace. It’s a perfect opportunity for me to re-reinvent myself.

And now for something completely different…

Actually, that pretty much brings you up to speed. Fallon and I have our snorkeling adventure tomorrow and in two weeks we’re doing a walking tour of Sydney/photography workshop as her birthday present to me. Then I’ve got a weekend in Armidale and Glen Innes (quiver with anticipation!) and the following weekend we’re off to New Zealand. Exciting times ahead. Stay tuned.

Fiji, Plans

The Fiji Project

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Leading on from the previous entry about Fallon and I’s trek around New Zealand, here’s the itinerary for my whirlwind two week tour of Fiji. I start the tour with Fallon and come home from it without her. That sucks and it’s sad, but it’s life and it’s been a blast.

December 29th-31st: Robinson Crusoe Island

Fire twirling on Robinson Crusoe Island. Photo by Alfredi

Fallon and I are going to ring in the New Year and share a New Year’s kiss on Robinson Crusoe Island. We contemplated a number of options for our Fiji time including Waya Lailai and the legendary Beachcomber. Alright, I contemplated Beachcomber – not her.

In the true spirit of a couple’s last few nights together, we’ll be spending our nights in a romantic location – specifically a beach bure. You can’t exactly say your goodbyes in a crowded dorm now, can you?

We won’t just be having bittersweet goodbyes though. There’s amazing snorkeling to be done, spear fishing lessons, jungle walks, kayaking, Polynesian dance lessons, and the all important happy hour and night club that’ll make the nights a whole lot of fun.

And given we’ve got our PADI Open Water licenses now, a few scuba dives on the reef aren’t out of the question. Fallon’s even suggested we up the risk factor with a shark dive through Beqa Adventures.

January 1st – Smuggler’s Cove

Sad moment at Smugglers Cove

With Fallon’s flight back to the US leaving from Nadi on the mainland, we have to come back for our last night together. We’ll be spending our final night together as a couple at Smuggler’s Cove. Since it’s basically just the one night there, we won’t be getting up to a lot. Sad goodbyes, final kisses, and all of that somber stuff. You don’t want to read about it, and I don’t really want to write about it.

We may hit a zip line tour on our final day, but that will all come down to budget.

January 2nd – 6th: Mango Bay

Fallon and I will say our goodbyes on the morning of the 2nd. I won’t dwell on that right now.

After she’s left and I’ve checked out of the hotel, I’m headed up to Nadi to meet my brothers and the third member of our party at the airport. From there it’s a private shuttle down to our base of operations for my first five nights as a single man.

The Mango Bay lagoon pool. Photo by goldfoot

 

A day trip to do some shopping in one of the nearby cities is also on the cards. After all, we’ve got a girl in our party and she’s been told she needs to bring back gifts for her friends.

 

When researching backpacker resorts in Fiji, the one that seemed to get the most universally good reviews was the Mango Bay. The place seems to have the right combination of the party atmosphere (courtesy of the Bamboo Bar and the Tadra night club) and the down to earth ‘real Fiji’ stuff you want to check out such as village visits, kayaking, a welcome kava ceremony, and all that jazz.

The majority of reviews paint a picture of a very laid back place. There’s a lot of activities but they run at the whim of the staff, and I’m fine with that. I’ll be hurting just a little bit, so I think a few nights of drinking and a few days of solitary snorkeling and exploring the area with my brothers is going to be just what the doctor ordered.

I’m also giving some serious thought to taking a white water rafting tour of the Upper Navua Gorge. It’s a tad pricey at $190 US, but when am I going to get another opportunity to explore Fiji’s steamy interior and do something exciting.

January 7th-9th: Manta Ray

The sun sets over Manta Ray. Photo by echo26

I’d originally wanted to hit Beachcomber at this point. One of the world’s premier party spots, I couldn’t imagine a better place for a slightly lovesick, newly single guy to go in search of some solace. But the exorbitant price for a dorm and the seedy reputation of the place didn’t suit my wallet or the rest of my travel party.

The general consensus on another good party island was Manta Ray, and so that’s where I decided to go. With some gorgeous kayaking and snorkeling spots (and the opportunity to swim with manta ray, although it’s unlikely in January) – the place also has a reputation as a good party venue. There’s also the opportunity to scuba dive, pay a visit to a village, or even catch a day booze cruise out to Beachcomber Island and a few of the other noted party spots.

January 10th-12th: Waya Lailai Eco Resort

Stunning Waya Lailai. Photo by Simon.

After eight nights of partying and nine days of sun and surf, we’ll all be in dire need of some R&R. The Waya Lailai Eco Resort is a little less party and a little more relaxation while we get in touch with ‘real’ Fiji. With village tours, kava ceremonies, kayaking, snorkeling, jungle walks, and sailing with the locals – it’s sure to be a nice way to unwind before heading back to the real world.

The resort is run by a local Fijian tribe, and that means it’s going to be just a little different to the backpacker hotspots we’ll have been frequenting for most of our trip.

January 13th – Smuggler’s Cove (Again)

The view from Smugglers Cove. Photo by andrewdp

Our final night in Fiji sees us back at Smuggler’s Cove where we’ll do our final packing and souvenir shopping, slam down our last bolts of kava, and bid farewell to the sun and sand that will have been our constant companions for almost two weeks. Our flights back to Australia and the real world are the following day and, after a month on the road, I’m sure I’ll look forward to a little privacy, a long shower, and plenty of time to catch up on Facebook and my blogs.

Any Advice?

There’s a fair few days unaccounted for in the Fiji itinerary, so if you’ve been or know somebody who has been and you have some tips – let me have them! I’ve got to entertain my two twenty something brothers, a 17 year old girl, and my housemate. Their happiness depends on me!

South Korea

Sex and Korea’s Hawaii

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Visitors to Korea have doubtless heard Jejudo referred to as ‘Korea’s Hawaii’, and in some ways that comparison is apt. Both Hawaii and Jejudo are volcanic in origin and both boast some pretty spectacular geological and natural sites. Both are meccas for tourists and both boast tropical climates.

The similarities don’t extend much beyond that. Like all of South Korea, Jejudo is cursed with mediocre beaches. In the course of two years in South Korea and countless visits to beaches, I never once found one that remotely resembled the ones I’ve been spoiled with as an Aussie. The sole encounters I’ve had with surf have required massive offshore storms.

July of 2009 saw Fallon and I planning a holiday on a pretty tight budget. With my upcoming trip to the US a priority, we declined to spend a week sunning ourselves in the Philippines or Malaysia in favour of the much closer to home Korean equivalent.

Arising early and heading at Mokpo’s grandly named International Ferry Terminal, we met up with our friends Cody and Desiree and made our way to our ‘cabin’. Koreans do a great many things differently to how we do in the western world, and boat travel is right up there. Rather than row upon row of seats – we were instead treated to large rooms with plenty of floor space and very little else. A narrow sunken walkway ran up the centre of the room and, by the time we’d found our places, it was already littered with shoes. Even on a boat you don’t wear shoes inside.

Bidding farewell to the mainland
Pooped out, Fallon and I snatch some zzzzs on the floor of our cabin

One of the big benefits of being a foreigner is that you’re generally given more personal space than conditions might otherwise dictate, and this is particularly true in a group. We even had room for Fallon to stretch out and take a nap.

The ferry ride across to Jejudo weighs in at about four hours, but thankfully the ferry isn’t just sitting space and decks to stroll around. There’s live musical performances, a large dining area surrounded by gift shops and the ever present convenience store, and even a gaming area crammed full of games. Literally crammed. In some parts you need to sit on the front of one arcade game to play the one in front of it.

Cody and I wasted far too much money playing Go Stop in which you paid actual money to bet, but only won virtual money back. The girls snapped some beautiful pictures of the many islands we passed along the way, and by the time we got to Jejudo we’d played a frantic game of Shithead and were in good spirits.

Fittingly for 2009 vacations in Korea, it was raining when we arrived – and that somewhat detracted from the island’s tropical paradise reputation. Still, we battled on and found a cab that took us downtown where we could find a hotel. We lucked out and stumbled right into the cheap and surprisingly ritzy World Inn – where we got a large room with queen sized bed and a bath for 45,000 won a night. Love motel prices for an actual room! Not a single dildo vending machine in sight!

From there we ventured out in search of food, and settled for a greasy burger from Lotteria before exploring the local markets. The markets of Asia are something we really do miss out for in the ‘developed’ world. The Jejudo undercover market offered shelter from the rain and an array of sights, sounds, and smells that you only truly appreciate after you’ve been back in a country where most shopping is done exclusively in the sterile confines of a Coles or Woolworths.

Mmm.... pork

While we might have flinched away from the preserved pigs heads, that didn’t stop us from stopping for the roadside treat that is a waffle drenched in faux cream and strawberry jam. A rare dessert in the ocean of savoury Korean street food.

With our bellies full and our hearts yearning for some adventure – we flagged a cab and soon found ourselves at the gates to Jejudo’s famous ‘Sex Museum’. Korea’s relationship with its sexuality is a source of constant contradiction. Prostitution is illegal yet the streets are literally littered with tiny glossy cards advertising the services of impossibly busty women. There are the mysteries of double pole barbers and coffee girls – services that charge a lot but come with a little something ‘extra’. And the most blatant example of it all is Korea’s own red light district – the aptly named ‘Hooker Hill’ in the heart of Seoul.

The sex museum too is another hilarious contradiction of Korea’s hidden sexual side. The park is filled with statues ranging from the humorous to the lewd to the downright pornographic, and we took all manner of photos in suggestive photos with enormous phalluses and naked ladies alike. Even with the rain teaming down and finding ways to get by our flimsy umbrellas, we were still able to enjoy ourselves.

I'm suddenly not thirsty...
Cody getting up close and personal with one of the statues
I get caught with my hand in the cookie jar
Yeah, you know what this is
One of many miniature sex poses
A dog and his master share in the seduction
What's on the box today?
So it's true what they say about rigor mortis...

There’s a sex museum (full of dirty miniatures doing dirty things), sex art, and a sex shop in which you can buy sex toys and sex souvenirs. It’s not something that might seem particularly odd in a world where adult book shops nestle snugly in between a Christian book depository and a linen store, but it’s a novelty in Korea.

We snapped our photos and spent an inordinate amount of time in the ‘taxi waiting area’ that doubled as the place parents leave their kids rather than expose them to over-sized genitalia inside the park. Still, we were able to keep ourselves entertained with the handful of old school arcade games in there.

When our cab finally arrived I was a shivering mess, and even the flames from our samgyeopsal (similar to galbi, but with pork) didn’t do much to warm me up. The food was good but I was in a foul mood, and it wasn’t until I’d had a warm shower and crawled into bed that I started to feel a little bit better.

The next day would see us doing a great deal more and (thankfully) the weather turned on a truly tropical day. But I’ll save that one for another entry.