Ullengdo & Dokdo: Day 1
Over Chuseok, which is Korean Thanksgiving, I went with Adventure Korea on their long weekend trip to Ullengdo Island. It would involve exploring the island, refuted to be even more beautiful than Jeju (which I visited in July, and is heralded as the Korean Hawaii) and a trip to the much contended Dokdo Islands. It started the evening of Thursday. I got off work, came home, played around on the computer while half heartedly packing and still managed to be prepared to leave on time.
I took my bags, got a taxi, and arrived at the proper pick-up spot for my midnight bus. We drove through the night to get the best use out of all our day time considering the weekend. I didn't sleep until two in the morning, but it was still worth it being woken up at five am in Chu'am, where our trip would start without watching the sunrise over the East Sea.
The first of many me-pictures this trip. Sleepy, dishelved, but awake.
Interesting architecture in a sculpture garden by the bathrooms on the way to the bus
After Chu'am we got back on the bus and went to meet out Ferry. I didn't take pictures on this day, but instead on Day Two, so you'll have to wait for those. It was very much like being inside an airplane the way the seat were set up, except when you looked out the huge windows there was teh jewel blue East Sea going off endlessly in every direction for three hours. But once they were over we had arrived at The Mysterious Ullengdo Island.
The Outside of our Ferry from the side (wait till you see it from the front, oh my)
On the dock, by the ferry, right after disembarking
They loved pumpkins and squid. A lot.
From here we headed first to our hotel, where we got rooms, showers, and lunch. Then we all met up outside of it again, to start our afternoon bus sightseeing tour of the 95% of the island (the other 5% does not have roads yet!).
Lunch!
The outside of our hotel, with a small portion of my group loitering on the steps.
Atop one of the rises on 'Turtle Rock'
The group in our room. I don't know if I ever learned the first girl's name. She vanished after this.
Then it's Natasha, Me, Camilla, and Rwia.
Hamming it up for the camera, Korean-picture-style.
Another of the major rocks
Another space about forty minutes later. Beautiful, no?
The final spot, a gorgeous Buddha Shrine up a path on the side of the road.
A fresh spring water. (The first of many this weekend.)
As a tiny aside I had a wonderful moment here. Off to the far side of the open shrine was a built prayer room. Where people were gathering and whispering. So I walked up confused and asked what was wrong. They said it was a shrine and I corrected that it was a prayer room. Asking then why they weren't going in. Someone said it wasn't allowed. I looked about, and being that it was only us foreigners there, asked who said that. To which there were unclear murmurs.
So I stepped out of my flip flop, walked in, to the suddenly louder whispers, grabbed a prayer mat, and went and did a trio of bows I learned during my Temple Stay. Needless to say the whispering died down and I was rather both amused in the scene, and proud of remembering how to give my respects to a prayer room/shrine.
A little later off, too.
We end up first at a small place where looked at ancient housing. Then at a small restaurant where they make a special rice wine we all got to try -- needless to say I wasn't very impressed, but I did drink my sample out of the kind regard to the host and hostess. After that there was a dinner at a restaurant not too far off from our hotel. I spent the evening in, working on some writing pieces and turned in early, with excitement for the trip to the Dokdo Islands in the morning.
Galleries Created and Updated
Traveling in South Korea
Ullengdo & Dokdo Day One
I took my bags, got a taxi, and arrived at the proper pick-up spot for my midnight bus. We drove through the night to get the best use out of all our day time considering the weekend. I didn't sleep until two in the morning, but it was still worth it being woken up at five am in Chu'am, where our trip would start without watching the sunrise over the East Sea.
The first of many me-pictures this trip. Sleepy, dishelved, but awake.
Interesting architecture in a sculpture garden by the bathrooms on the way to the bus
After Chu'am we got back on the bus and went to meet out Ferry. I didn't take pictures on this day, but instead on Day Two, so you'll have to wait for those. It was very much like being inside an airplane the way the seat were set up, except when you looked out the huge windows there was teh jewel blue East Sea going off endlessly in every direction for three hours. But once they were over we had arrived at The Mysterious Ullengdo Island.
The Outside of our Ferry from the side (wait till you see it from the front, oh my)
On the dock, by the ferry, right after disembarking
They loved pumpkins and squid. A lot.
From here we headed first to our hotel, where we got rooms, showers, and lunch. Then we all met up outside of it again, to start our afternoon bus sightseeing tour of the 95% of the island (the other 5% does not have roads yet!).
Lunch!
The outside of our hotel, with a small portion of my group loitering on the steps.
Atop one of the rises on 'Turtle Rock'
The group in our room. I don't know if I ever learned the first girl's name. She vanished after this.
Then it's Natasha, Me, Camilla, and Rwia.
Hamming it up for the camera, Korean-picture-style.
Another of the major rocks
Another space about forty minutes later. Beautiful, no?
The final spot, a gorgeous Buddha Shrine up a path on the side of the road.
A fresh spring water. (The first of many this weekend.)
As a tiny aside I had a wonderful moment here. Off to the far side of the open shrine was a built prayer room. Where people were gathering and whispering. So I walked up confused and asked what was wrong. They said it was a shrine and I corrected that it was a prayer room. Asking then why they weren't going in. Someone said it wasn't allowed. I looked about, and being that it was only us foreigners there, asked who said that. To which there were unclear murmurs.
So I stepped out of my flip flop, walked in, to the suddenly louder whispers, grabbed a prayer mat, and went and did a trio of bows I learned during my Temple Stay. Needless to say the whispering died down and I was rather both amused in the scene, and proud of remembering how to give my respects to a prayer room/shrine.
A little later off, too.
We end up first at a small place where looked at ancient housing. Then at a small restaurant where they make a special rice wine we all got to try -- needless to say I wasn't very impressed, but I did drink my sample out of the kind regard to the host and hostess. After that there was a dinner at a restaurant not too far off from our hotel. I spent the evening in, working on some writing pieces and turned in early, with excitement for the trip to the Dokdo Islands in the morning.
Galleries Created and Updated
Traveling in South Korea
Ullengdo & Dokdo Day One