South Korea 2022 Day 2: Jeju
DAY 2: 27 NOV 2022
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| Mt Hallasan Yeongsil Trail |
Good morning!
We got up before 7am as we were hiking today.
We caught a glimpse of the sunrise and mountain views from our balcony before checking out.
After checking out, we took a taxi to Lotte rent-a-car auto house to get our rental car!
We rented a Hyundai Avante for 5 days and paid 298,000 krw.
Upon arriving at the rental office, you will first get a queue number and wait for your turn at the counter.
The counter staff will inform you about the whereabouts of your rental car.
Along the way, a staff will follow you to the car and do the standard checks such as fuel level, damages and scratches.
The process took us less than 15 minutes and off we went!
Prior to our trip, we downloaded Naver Maps but did not verify our account.
We could not use the navigation function when we logged into our account and were prompted to verify our account in order to do so.
Thank goodness the car's in-built GPS worked well.
Kakao Maps was our back up and I used it to check for speed limits and camera zones!
Our first destination of the day was Mt Hallasan.
We were originally supposed to do it during the later part of the trip but the weather looked bad then.
Since the weather was sunny today, we decided to hike Mt Hallasan.
We drove out of the city and along windy roads in order to get to the Yeongsil rest area.
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| Driving to Mt Hallasan |
The drive took us about 45 minutes and we arrived before 9am.
We found a parking lot just a distance away from the rest area which was great as the trail entrance was right next to the rest area.
The alternative parking lot is at the Yeongsil ticket office which you will drive past before arriving at the rest area.
However, this means that you need to factor in an additional 40 minutes of walking to the trail entrance.
So, thank goodness for us!
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| Our trusty rental car |
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| Yeongsil trail entrance |
After a quick toilet break, we started our hike!
There was a notice at the entrance which states that 12pm is the last admission time for winter.
This is because the trail is 3.7km long one way and the sun sets early during winter.
The trail started easy as it was relatively flat with easy steps.
After a while, we hit the yellow and red zones in the trail which means that the climb gets tougher.
True enough, all I saw were stairs and the ascend up the mountain was never-ending.
Occasionally, there were rest areas where hikers could catch their breath and enjoy the scenery.
I think I stopped at almost all the rest areas because I was panting like no tomorrow and really needed the breaks.
Furthermore, I was looking at the ground 99% of the time and only got to appreciate my surroundings during the breaks.
During our hike, we saw many hikers all geared up: hiking clothes, boots and sticks.
What was I wearing?
Nike trainers.
I didn't have a hiking stick but I used the ropes to give myself a little pull up each step.
As for Zhi Sheng, he was totally fine haha.
The red zone was seriously difficult to clear.
Once we cleared the red zone, it was easier to hike as there were sections with flat ground.
That was also when Zhi Sheng's sole started to come off.
After 2 hours of hiking, we saw a huge rest area surrounded by flat land.
We then decided to break for food and water.
We shared the milk cream bread from Abebe bakery and it was extra delicious after a tough hike.
A fat crow came close to us, eyeing our bread.
Thank goodness the crow didn't lunge for it in the end.
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| Zhi Sheng's shoes |
After our break, we decided to head back down as the subsequent views along the trail were similar to what we have seen.
On top of that, Zhi Sheng's shoes were not in their best condition to carry on with the hike.
Going down the trail was faster but it was easier to slip if I was not careful.
True enough, I slipped twice.
After 1.5 hours, we finally arrived back at the trail entrance.
My fitbit registered that I climbed 133 floors.
Dead.
We drove down to the ticket office and paid a fee of 1,800 krw in cash.
We then made our way to an ABC Mart near Jeju city to get a new pair of shoes for Zhi Sheng.
ABC Mart was having a sale at that point in time and he managed to get a pair of Adidas shoes for a reasonable price.
Once the shoe issue was resolved, we then drove to Cafe Delmoondo located at Hamdeok beach.
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| Hamdeok Beach |
We found a huge free parking area opposite to the beach.
There were many restaurants located there too.
Cafe Delmoondo was one of the cafes frequently mentioned in Jeju cafe articles.
Like most cafes in Jeju, this cafe promises sea view right in front of your eyes.
We found a table outdoors and ordered a pastry bread and mugwort latte to share.
I was pretty surprised that we didn’t have to order a drink each as this is expected for most Jeju cafes!
The pastry bread seemed to be a custard bread which tasted like polo bun.
The mugwort latte was a total regret.
The one time I decide to be adventurous and try unique flavours, it failed.
I finished the latte though.
Had to because I was the one who chose it.
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| Clear turquoise waters |
After our cafe fix, we took a stroll along the beach.
The waters were so clear that we could see what was in the water.
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| Dol hareubang |
There were many dol hareubang statues around the beach.
You see them everywhere in Jeju.
It is a must to take a photo with it when you are in Jeju!
After a short while, we decided to leave Hamdeok beach for the eastern part of Jeju.
It was a relatively long drive and we drove past many wind turbines along the way.
Our last attraction for the day was a tuff cone known as Seongsan Ilchulbong (성산일출봉).
There is a huge parking lot in front of the entrance and parking is free.
We headed to a manned ticket office to purchase tickets to hike up to the peak.
Each adult ticket costs 5,000 krw.
For those who are unable to hike up to the peak, there is a free trail section on the left for visitors to enjoy the tuff cone at ground level too.
After the tiring hike at Mt Hallasan, my legs started to ache.
It took us about 30 minutes to get to the peak with 2 - 3 breaks in between.
The views at the top were different from Hallasan but nice as well as you could see the sea and neighbouring towns.
A Vietnamese lady approached me to take photos of her.
We met the same lady and her friend when hiking down and she initiated a conversation with me.
Viet lady: Where are you from? Korea?
Me: No, Singapore!
Viet lady: Oh, beautiful. Beautiful.
ZS: The scenery.
Me: KNS *smacks ZS*
The women divers' shed and performance are located at the Seongsan Ilchulbong free section.
The diver show happens daily at 1.30pm and 3pm.
Unfortunately, we did not catch the show as we arrived past 3pm.
So we just explored the free section which had a black sand beach and beautiful rock formations.
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| Rock formation that looked like a bird |
Having been to the black sand beach in Iceland, this was not as great.
However, it is still a nice and refreshing sight for those who have not been to Iceland!
We took a walk around the vicinity before driving to our accommodation for the night.
We booked an Airbnb which was a 10 minutes' drive away from where we were.
Our airbnb for the night looked like a chalet house from the outside and had free onsite parking.
We booked house no. 2 which was a cosy studio apartment with a kitchenette and bathroom.
We did a self check-in with the passcode provided by the host.
Super easy!
As we were famished, we left for dinner shortly.
This bbq place uses charcoal briquette which brings out the smoky flavour of the pork better.
There were only 2 items on the menu:
White pork: 51,000 krw
Black pork: 63,000 krw
Obviously we went with black pork since we were in Jeju.
The staff swiftly brought the briquette and side dishes over.
Subsequently, thick cuts of meat were brought to us!
The staff helped to grill the meat and taught us how to continue grilling the meats which were placed around the edge of the grill pan.
Like what the Koreans do, we wrapped the meat and kimchi in lettuce.
The black pork was so juicy and tender.
Zhi Sheng loved the beansprouts side dish so much that he refilled twice.
But because he ate so much of it...he had stomach discomfort, poor boy.
After the meal, we headed back home and caught the Belgium vs Morocco FIFA World Cup group stage match.
When you watch any sports game, you look forward to seeing a goal.
Just when I decided to go to the toilet, Morocco scored a goal.
This also happened the next day.
What are the odds?
Anyway, that's it for day 2!
Tiring but definitely fun!
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