Korea, part four - Jeju Island

December 31st- January 2nd

Jeju Island is often described as "the Isle of the Gods." Perhaps this is easily seen in the middle of summer or autumn - there are beautiful beaches and lofty mountains, but all of these wonders would best be experienced in the height of good weather these seasons bring. We, instead, were there at the very start of a new year, attempting to see the sights despite the cold wind, the rain, and the occasional sleeting. It was ... trying.

On top of this, transportation around the island was difficult. This was probably due to the fact that we had, up until this point, been dealing within small, taxi ride-able cities, or within larger cities that had a subway system. Jeju was instead the size of a large city that functioned only by bus and taxi. Just in case you're curious - bus systems in a language you can't read, much less understand, are rather daunting.

Fortunately for us, the staff at our hotel were wonderful and helpful. When we checked in, the man helping us was delighted to see we were from Japan and spoke Japanese. As he explained to us in beautiful Japanese, "I feel much more comfortable with this than with English." I have to say that there's something wonderful in knowing that you're able to communicate effectively with someone in a language that neither can claim as his mother tongue. For the rest of the trip, this man was our go-to guy whenever we needed help, helping us above and beyond the call of duty with a smile.

We only spent one day really sightseeing. What we saw - the lava tubes and Sunrise Peak- were wonderful, despite the weather and my own personal attitude throughout most of the day. (I hate to say that the cold, the wear of travel, and a set of unfortunate circumstances combined to form an awful, sullen, and despondent version of the Leslie we know and love.) The lava tubes are just what they sound to be - caves through which lava traveled, or "vertical volcanoes" as Wikipedia describes them. The illumination is low, provided mostly through electric lights spread throughout the caverns. The caves are slight variations in black, but just in the same way that oil spilled at the gas station can harbor a rainbow of colors, the solidified lava displayed beautiful, subtle patterns. Plaques along the uneven walk explained various formations along the walls and ceilings, and even those like myself who have little geological interest couldn't help but be fascinated by the caverns.


After the tubes, we made our way to Sunrise Peak. The peak is named or being a beautiful (and popular) spot for seeing the sunrise, though I have read that the view is often cloudy. When we went, a New Year's celebration was preparing at the base of the peak, allowing us to hear the dress rehearsals as we climbed. The peak itself isn't too tall - we climbed it in under an hour, thanks to the stairs the entire way. However, the mixture of the cold, the wet, and the wind made it seem much more daunting. We didn't have long to think on this, however; the view from the top was more breathtaking than all of the stairs we took to get there. I happily snapped shots all over the top, my spirits taking a complete 180 from the morning's sullenness the longer we looked out over the island.


We stopped by a folk museum on the way home, and I feel that I must admit the whole place gave me the creeps. The whole place was filled with mannequins and stuffed animals that, on the scale from "realistic" to "fake," fell somewhere between "zombie" and "Chuckie doll."

There are two more notable stories from Jeju:

1. The Karaoke Adventure
Our first full day in Jeju was New Year's Eve, so we thought we would bring the new year in with style. Brendon had noticed a sign in Japanese for a karaoke place, so we figured we would have good luck there.

I should have known something was wrong as soon as we walked in the store. In the entry area were several men, stylishly dressed, and one middle-aged woman, dressed stylishly but not as flashy as the men. We established that they spoke Japanese and then asked how much the rooms cost per hour. The main man looked at us in confusion. "We don't charge that way." Huh? All Japanese places charge by the hour or the half hour. "You get a room and an all-you-can-drink bar all together."
"Oh. But some of us don't drink alcohol. Do you have sodas or juice?"
" *confused looks from the men* "...Don't you like whiskey?"
"No, he's allergic." (This was technically a lie, but easier to explain than the truth of not liking the taste.)
"Ohh. *some conferring with the woman in Korean* If you were to go by time, 30 minutes would be around 3,000 yen (roughly $30) per person."
Note: I've spent less than that on 2.5 hours of singing and a soda-fountain bar for two people. The four of us looked at each other in alarm, trying to figure out what the deal with this place was.
"So, let's get you started!" The first man tried to usher us back into a room.
"Uh, well, we have to go get dinner first, so we'll come back."
"OK, when will you be coming?"
"I'm not sure when we'll be done with dinner, so we'll just come back when we're ready." We bolted out the door before they could say anything more and decided to retreat to the safety of our hotel rooms, playing random card games until midnight.

In retrospect, considering the stylish dress of the men and the one woman who seemed to be in charge, I think we had stumbled into a host club by accident. Yikes.

2. A Plague on Your Vacation!
The new year did not start well for us. Brendon got food poisoning from the shell fish in his dinner the night before, which kept him bedridden for the day. We had seen most of the things we had wanted to see the day before, so the rest of us did our own things for the day, occasionally checking in to see if Brendon needed anything. We went to a Nepalese restaurant for a delicious dinner, but by the time we had returned to our rooms it was apparent that Glenn and Jenn had both caught colds of some sort. Our last night in Jeju was a rather morose one.

We left by plane for Busan the next morning and spent most of the day as we had in Jeju - recuperating and doing our own things. It seemed a little bit of disappointing end to our sightseeing-driven trip, but I think it was probably for the best as far as everyone was concerned. By the time we were in the airport on the morning of the 3rd, we were all rested, in manageable levels of health, and ready to be back in Japan.