Double Procrastination/ Belated Travel Log
It’s that time of year again. That’s right. Midterms! So as you might imagine it’s also time to ratchet up the level of procrastination to ever-new heights.
Since my last sizable update we Yonsei students, and all of Korea with us, have enjoyed the benefits of a fairly insignificant holiday called Chuseok, i.e. the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, which Korea.net describes thusly:
“Chuseok, the autumnal full moon day that falls on the 15th day of the eighth month by the lunar calendar, is probably the most anticipated festive day for modern Koreans. Endless throngs of cars fill expressways and almost all institutions and stores are closed for three days. Family members get together, pay tribute to their ancestors, and visit ancestral graves. People living in cities return to their hometowns to observe Chuseok. Airplane and train tickets for those returning to their hometowns are usually reserved several months in advance.”
Well, I think the first thing to note here is that my above comment about the insignificance of Chuseok was clearly an understatement. The second thing worth noting is that transportation pretty much shuts down, and what doesn’t shut down is booked. Of course, never having lived in Korea before, I, with 9 other IHouse-ers -- 5 Dutch: Veronique, Debbie, Stefanie, Pieter, Maite, and 4 Other: Nivedita (India), Stefano (Italy), Ishvan (Hungary), Arne (Germany) -- decided that Chuseok would be the perfect time to take a vacation to the isle of Jeju-do (a.k.a Cheju Island). Being so predisposed, we bought one-way plane tickets to Jeju for 8:30pm on the 23rd of September.
Getting there was not an issue. After about an hour’s flight we arrived in Jeju City without event. (Incidentally, I saw this classic Konglish sign: Mr'Donuts.) For the first two nights (September 23rd--24th) we stayed in a recently constructed condo on Gwakji Beach (2), while there we managed to beach it -- surprise, surprise -- and visit Hallim Park (Peacocks; Nive and Statue; Pieter in Garden; Nive inside Cave; Jud by Cave Entrance; Waterfalls; Vero and Debbie; Rock). On the 25th we headed south to Jungmun (Convention Center; Jungmun; Hooterific; Family Mart), more specifically to Jungmun Beach, which my Insight Guide to Korea states out-rightly for travelers on a budget to avoid. We stayed there two nights (25th--26th) in a dainty little hotel called the Korean Condo. It wasn’t terribly expensive, but by this time I was beached-out. So while the majority of the group spent a day and a half on the beach, I sought out several waterfalls in the city of Jungmun (Seonimgyo; Falls; Stream). They were spectacular in a sense that pictures can’t really capture and words can’t really convey. But hey, I try.
Toward the end of the 26th, our group managed to get itself off of the beach long enough to see Cheonjiyeon waterfall (Falls, 2 and 3; Bluffs). Around this time the question of how we were going to return to Seoul surfaced. After seeing Cheonjiyeon we stopped into a nearby tourist information center and posed the question. Initially, before we actually had inquired with the tourist information center, we blithely assumed that we would catch a ferry from Jeju City to Mokpo, a port city on the southwest coast of Korea, and from there simply take a train to Seoul.
Yet, when we began to inquire about our return transit, everything seemed to be booked at or near capacity. Remaining seats onboard the ferry/train/bus could not be guaranteed and would only be available on a first-come, first-served basis. This revelation threw many into alarm. From that point onward the question of our return trip proved to be an albatross clouding the otherwise cloud-free skies of Jeju ::dramatic irony coming shortly::. Speaking from hindsight’s perspective, an important lesson is conveyed: ALWAYS book roundtrip!
After about a solid hour, probably longer, of trying to deduce various means of escaping from Jeju we threw in the towel (for the evening) and had dinner. During dinner, two or three people decided they would catch a flight to Seoul on Tuesday, September 28th, even though the price would be 90,000won, or approximately 90$US, which was about 20,000won more than we spent coming down. Since a portion of our group would be leaving in a day’s time, we decided to actualize what, in my opinion, was our long-postponed goal of hiking Mt. Halla on Monday, September 27th.
The hike took us the better part of the day. The vistas were spectacular (Halla, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). The trees rocked my world (Natural Bonsai and 2; Trees 2, 3 and 4). The sun, ever so nefariously, chose to amplify its sun-burning powers by obscuring itself behind clouds. And to top things off we saw a deer (Roe Deer)! I think the whole hiking process was my favorite part of our Jeju excursion, AND once we had finished we earned bragging rights to the tallest mountain in Korea, not that I’m bragging. (Technically, it’s the tallest mountain in South Korea; however, due to extenuating circumstances North Korea is off limits.) If you ever happen to be on Jeju you need to climb Mt. Halla. (FYI: I hear you can ski it in the winter.)
Finishing our climb, our group parted ways, 8 out of 10 having by this time decided to catch a flight out of Jeju City on the 28th. It was a sad event all around, knowing that we would not see each other for two whole days, that is, assuming the remaining two souls, Ishvan and I, ever left Jeju. Having said our farewells, we -- "the Ish" and I --packed our bags and caught an evening bus to Seongsan, or Sunrise Peak -- the easternmost point on Jeju.
The following morning, September 28th, we woke up around 5:30AM(!) to see if Sunrise Peak lived up to its namesake. About an hour later we realized that it, in fact, did (Seongsansi and 2; Zen Rock-ish; Kids and Horse; Dogansa; Seongsan with Beach; Seongsan; Cloudy Sunrise). Moments later, much to our dismay, clouds moved in to obscure the horizon. Within another hour or so, these same clouds had begun to shed rain. Their audacity was astounding! This fact threw into doubt our planned voyage to the nearby island of U-do, off of the coast of Jeju-do, which is purported to have some of the most spectacular beaches (black, coral and "regular" sand) around. Within 30minutes, the rain had caused the rejection of this plan altogether.
Again we hurriedly packed our bags. After a quick stop into the local police station to ask if they could call a cab -- it was Chuseok after all -- and after an hour of transit, we found ourselves at the ferry station in Jeju City only to discover that the ferry to Mokpo didn’t run on Tuesdays. Our moment’s-notice decision to go to Jeju City, and potentially leave a day early, was largely undertaken at the behest of Ishvan. I wanted to wait-out the rain. Once again speaking from hindsight, I can say that Ishvan’s plan was the better of the two. The right choice was made; the fickle weather gods refused to hear our paeans. Thus, we found ourselves stuck in Jeju City without any direct plan.
Immediately, we sought out accommodation. We stopped into a small motel nearby the port and, low and behold, bumped into the other 8 members of our party. They were just leaving the same motel to catch their 10:40am flight. Following our second round of goodbyes and our settling in period, the rest of the day was divided between three major tourist attractions -- well, actually two . First we went to Dragonhead Rock (Introduction and Dragonhead), which bears striking resemblance to a dragon's head. Then we proceeded to MiniWorld, which is where I experienced the "lowpoint" of the trip. Finally, we went to the sauna/bathhouse. Granted the sauna wasn’t an “actual” tourist attraction, but when it’s overcast and rainy the sauna is often the best place to go. And, indeed, it was. (And always will be.)
Then next morning, September 29th, we awoke around dawn in order to buy ferry tickets. We succeeded. We managed to score two tickets to Mokpo by the skin of our teeth. It was an extremely close call, and there were a few minutes, about 30 actually, where I thought we might have to spend an extra day on Jeju -- in addition to missing some class. Once onboard the ferry, though, everything was smooth sailing -- to give you a cliché of an idea about our journey to Mokpo. We arrived in Mokpo after an all-too-short 5 hour voyage. I say too short because I’ve decided that you can never imbibe enough costal scenery (Bye Bye Jeju; Scenery, 2, 3 and 4). Following another 5 hours of waiting and 5 additional hours of riding a bus, we found ourselves back in the welcoming sprawl of Seoul. Ours was an adventure by any standard. And then I found 5$.
