Travels around Beautiful Korea Part 2

Jeju Island

It took about an hour on the plane from Seoul to Jeju Island, it was so fast! And I was very excited when we landed. At the airport I took a bus to go from one side of the Island to the other side where the tour group was waiting. It was late at night so I couldn’t really see anything, but the thought of being on a beautiful Island that just takes an hour to travel from the one side to the other is quite amazing!

I got off at the Lotte Hotel where Pedro, our tour guide, was going to pick me up. That was the first time I felt the cold on this beautiful Island, in the middle of January, middle of winter, it was extremely cold. Pedro was on his way but it felt like forever standing there shivering. I had a chocolate with me in my luggage so I started munching on it for warmth, I always eat when I’m cold, which explains why I’ve gained so much weight in the winter, it is the coldest winter I have ever experienced in my life! Pedro arrived about 40minutes later and we were on our way to the backpackers.

We arrived at the backpackers and I met the whole crew, such amazingly, lovely people, there was even one guy from Cape Town; we had a lot to talk about. I was very tired however being up so early that morning for the DMZ and travelling all the way to Jeju all in one day, so I said goodnight, took a shower and fell into bed!

I was very impressed by the backpackers there; it was very neat and comfortable, very much like South Africa’s backpackers, I think South Africa has the best in the world!

The next morning I woke up with the sun rising outside, and I could finally see things around me. It was absolutely beautiful!!! There was a mountain just outside our accommodation, never saw it the night before, it was beautiful! Some of us went with Pedro to go see a Temple nearby. 

The Mountain outside our Backpackers

I didn’t expect much but when we arrived, oh my goodness, I was blown away! It is the most beautiful place I have seen in my life, built against a mountain overlooking a vast ocean with the sun rising over the waters; it was peaceful, tranquil and stunning! Of course each Temple has its good and bad, you can enjoy the beauty at a cost...stairs...lots and lots of stairs! I have heard many stories as to why Temples have so many stairs but I still don’t know the truth. Many say when the Japanese invaded South Korea the monks had to retreat into the mountains and that is why the Temples are built on or against mountains and therefore have many stairs to get to them. 

Only a portion of the stairs to climb to reach the top of that mountain!

Another reason I’ve heard is to test the monk’s fitness and determination, and others say Temples are built at such steep levels because of the ‘quietness’ found at high altitudes. Whatever the reason, it’s painful!

So we climbed those millions of stairs to finally get to the top where a giant Buddha statue were situated inside a cave and holy water dropped from the ceiling of the cave to a little man built pool from which you can drink. There was also a monk lighting candles next to the Buddha statue. When you get to the top you are so dehydrated you nearly dunk your whole face into that water! When I turned around to face the view after drinking water I was astounded! It was breathtakingly beautiful!! All that climbing was worth it! I have noticed that is the big difference between Christianity and Buddhism, when Buddhists talk about endearment and determination they like to express it physically, like building a million stairs to test the monks every day, but in Christianity it is expressed in the spirit, Buddhists believe the mind should control the body whereas Christians believe that the spirit should control both the mind and the body. Buddhists also believe in accepting all religions and beliefs, everyone is allowed in the Temples and anyone can practice their customs, which is why it is more popular among Western cultures nowadays, they need acceptance and peace of mind, something that is found in Christianity too, the Bible anyways, but Christians don’t often live that way. 

Half way to the top, and the view already exceptional!

As a Christian myself I have noticed how our beliefs and attitudes are considered arrogant and hostile, which makes other pagan beliefs more attractive to the outside world, even though we are taught and know that in the Bible we are commanded to be accepting towards other people and we know that once you’ve found “the Truth” you experience abundant peace of mind, but living that way and communicating that towards the outside world proves to be far more difficult.

The Buddha inside the cave

The cave on top of the mountain

The view from the cave

The view from the top of the mountain

After the fantastic view we climbed straight back down to the bottom, I felt much better going down, lighter...and then when we climbed back into the van I realised why...I left my handbag at the top of the mountain! Panic struck me! I could not climb back up all that way a second time, but I’ll have to! Pedro came with me but when he saw me struggle he told me to stay downstairs he will be right back...I was shocked, he ran up those stairs like it was nothing! It was so easy for him, he is so fit! It was about 15 minutes and he was back downstairs, I couldn’t believe it! It took us nearly an hour to get up there the first time we climbed. I was so happy to see my handbag! My whole life is in there! Pedro thanked me for giving him a work out, hahaha.

After we had breakfast back at the backpackers we headed to another side of the Island where we will be staying for that night. As we were driving I could see the beauty of Jeju! It is absolutely stunning!! Jeju is considered to be the Hawaii of Korea, with beautiful beaches, blue water and fascinating people. Jeju is known for the oranges grown there, it is a special type of orange that is a mixture between an orange and a tangerine, called a hallabong, and it is delicious. Jeju is also known for the old women on the island who goes fishing in their wetsuits for a living, they are called haenyo divers. They don’t have oxygen tanks, they dive under water with their wet suits and eye goggles, and then they will go down for a long time holding their breath and come up with all kinds of shellfish, crabs or shrimps, mussels, oysters and many other things. It is an ancient, traditional occupation and these women will do it for more than five hours at a time, it is truly amazing. The women will then sell their catch on the streets where people will buy from them, especially the restaurant owners in the area. The whole island is full of statues of these women, it is beautiful!

Hallabong (Jeju Oranges)

Hallabong

Haenyo divers

Such amazing woman!

Statue of a Haenyo diver woman

We arrived at the accommodation, I really loved it, it was a big house with wooden floors, a television, kitchen and many rooms. I was too late to get a bed, so I had to opt for the floor, doing it the Korean way!

Typical Jeju volcanic rock 

After unloading all our things into the house we were on our way again. We stopped at the volcano site to take in the view while drinking our coffee. It was beautiful! Jeju is like Hawaii an island of volcanic rock, everywhere you will find black volcanic rocks, on the beaches, in land, even souvenirs are carved out of these rocks, so often you’ll find a beach with black sand and blue water, it is stunning!

Hallasan Mountain from the coffee shop

It was a real privilege and blessing to be able to see this fantastic mountain, Hallasan, a dormant volcano; because just before I arrived in Korea it was announced to be the first confirmed new Seven Wonders of the World. It is also protected by UNESCO as a Heritage Site. I am very blessed indeed to have seen it, and I took in every moment as a stared at it, very excited knowing that we will be climbing it the next day! I also fell in love with the little men statues in Korea, along with other statues these were the most famous, they are called Tol Harubang statues, and they look like monkeys! LOL! It is interesting to know that most of the statues found on Jeju are made from the volcanic rock.

Hallasan Mountain from the top

A  Tol Harubang Statue made of volcanic rock

Just as a side note before I continue, I am very proud to say that Table Mountain has been confirmed too as being a new Seven Wonders of the World! Congratulations fellow South Africans! We are privileged to live in such a beautiful country!

Congratulations South Africa!

After our coffee shop visit  we went on a car ferry (park your car on the boat) to visit another island off the coast of Jeju, there are many islands surrounding the big island, so it was like “island hopping”! Absolutely stunning! Apart from the intense cold I was enjoying myself a lot, the view was absolutely amazing as ever, and there were a few seagulls around, and as the people who know me well understands I have a wild obsession with seagulls, I just love those creatures. 

Our car on the car ferry

Seagulls!

Beautiful Ocean!

We arrived on the small island and since no one wanted to be outside due to the cold we had a scenic drive around the island, getting out now and then taking pictures, it was absolute bliss, so tranquil, quiet and beautiful, I was at peace and amazed at how different the ocean looks in a different country.

So beautiful!

I am in love with water, every form of it, but my favourite is the ocean, seeing vast amounts of water in one place that contains the majority of life on earth, the biggest mammals on our planet, it is unthinkable, intense, it is the most beautiful thing in the universe! So I could sit in one place and stare at the magic that the seas bring for hours on end, I connect with it and then I’m locked up in its glory, a release does not come easy. That is why I miss being in Port Elizabeth so much, and why I miss my time in Australia, especially Sydney and Lorne, it was most magical purely because the waters that surround these areas compelled me to stay. My only wish is for me to return to the coast once I’m back in South Africa; the big blue means the world to me. As a child I always wanted to become a scientist (among other things), but it was only in my teenage years that I realised my love for the ocean is unwavering and therefore the kind of scientist I should be is a Marine Biologist. Many things happened in my life and God had other plans, so I did not pursue that dream, instead made it my hobby, I find molluscs to be my favourite type of ocean dweller, especially the octopus, it is the most bizarre and fascinating creature. What I fear most is a jellyfish, they can be more lethal than a shark, because they mean to hurt you, sharks don’t, sharks only mistake you for another animal, therefore the most misunderstood and beautiful creatures!

Great White Shark, amazing creatures

My most favorite creature in the Ocean, octopus!

After we had lunch on the beautiful small little Island we stood in a car queue to get back on the car ferry. Most of us fell asleep in the car, it was the best nap I had!

After finally getting off the car ferry we made one last stop before we head to our accommodation for the night, a real life maze! I have never seen a real maze before in my life, so this was a first for me. We were each given a map and then we broke up into two teams to see which team finds the other end first. The other end was a little wooden bridge with a bell on it that you can ring to let the others know you have arrived. Of course my team did not win…I had no clue how to do it and I was too cold to take initiative, but I did enjoy it however and would like to go back on a warmer day. One can feel quite frustrated and lonely if you cannot find your way. Life is truly like a maze, because you can see the wooden bridge with the bell does not mean that you’ve actually reached it, many times I see my end goal but realise that I am far from it, it was only when we were very far and things seemed hopeless that we eventually saw the steps that lead to the bridge, I was so happy and relieved, and I’ll remember the lesson I learnt that day.

The maze

The map of the maze and the bridge with a bell

You get lost easily!

I was very happy to go back to our accommodation, I was tired and cold and hungry. So we ate dinner and everyone sat in front of the television, I couldn’t keep my eyes open so I took a shower and went to bed instead, my floor bed, which turned out to be amazing in the end!

The next morning we all got up early, before the sun rise for a serious hike up the volcanic crater, Hallasan Mountain! We were all very excited and wanted to see the sun rise once we've reached the top. I made sure to put on at least three layers of clothes; I was not going to be cold again.

The walk up was quite tough, a lot of stairs, just like a temple, but worse! Every time we reached a scenic point we stopped to take pictures, and looking at the view inspired us, it was worth the climb! I feel exceptionally blessed to have climbed the famous crater, strange that the climb was just as tough as Table Mountain, I’m proud to say I've climbed on top of two of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World! I feel compelled to visit the other five in future, hopefully before I turn 30 years old.

Climbed all the way to the top of Table Mountain in 2010

We eventually reached the top with a lot of relief and wonder. It was an absolute stunning view and we took a lot of pictures and sat down for a well deserved break. We had a few things we wanted to do that day before heading back to mainland Korea in an even bigger car ferry, so we couldn’t rest for too long, we headed back down the crater soon after.

The view from the top of Hallasan

The group, such fun people!!

Welcome to Hallasan Mountain

Our next stop was an underground lava tunnel; it basically is these large underground tunnels that were carved out many many many years ago when the Island was formed. On our way there it started to snow, to everyone’s surprise! It was beautiful though!

The snow that day

Snow on a Hibiscus flower 

When we were inside the tunnel I was disappointed to find that it looked like any other cave I’ve been in, but what was quite fascinating was the shape of it, round and large going on for a long distance! It wasn’t very impressive but I’m glad I was able to see it and say I’ve actually been in a lava tube!

Our next and last stop was the Trick Art Museum, I’ve never seen something like that either! It was very interesting indeed! It is a bunch of famous and themed pictures on the walls and when you stand in the right way, do the right thing and take a picture from the right angle you get a bunch of funny pictures! We had a lot of fun, I felt like a child again, enjoyed myself immensely.

Inside the Lava Tube

It was eventually time for us to leave beautiful Jeju, I was sad to leave but also happy to go back to my warm and cosy flat in Gwangju.

The ferry back to the mainland was another magical experience for me; it was a cruise boat with many things inside for entertainment, restaurants, cafe’s, bakeries, live shows and massage chairs! Our waiting or seating area was just a room…everyone sits on the floor, of course, this is Asia…So no one was in the waiting area for too long, we explored the ferry and went for massages, played games, had coffees and beer. It was quite fun, but we were all tired and exhausted from getting up so early that morning that when we eventually arrived at Mokpo (a coastal town on the mainland) and got in the car to go back to Gwangju we all passed out! Only Pedro was awake to drive, I’m sure he must have felt like a Zombie!

Our Cruise Ship

Our Waiting Area, comfortable floor!

We arrived at Usquare Bus Terminal in Gwangju, and I immediately ran to a taxi and went home…I was so happy to see my bed; I took a hot shower, jumped into bed and passed out again. Imagine my surprise when I woke up the next Wednesday morning sick as dog!!

Lucky for me I only had three days of school that week before it was weekend again, I got antibiotics from the doctor and was feeling better by Sunday.

What is quite interesting to note about Seollal is what happens to the children’s money once they receive it from their family. When I returned to school after Seollal and asked all the kids about the celebrations they were all very upset, and most of the responses were because “Mum took my Seollal money.” I questioned my co-workers about this and the reason why the parents take the kids’ money is because they keep it to give it to them to use gradually during the year, or to buy school uniforms and school supplies with it, or just clothes that they need or anything the kids may need. I understand that, but honestly I would not have done the same, if they were my kids I would first give them a speech about using money wisely and then ask them to make the right decisions and let them go have fun. It’s not that they are getting a lot of money anyway, for a child it is a lot, but surely the parents can afford school uniforms if they send their kids to private schools? I was very disappointed too, and complained about it with them. Hopefully they will learn from the experience not to do the same with their children one day, or it could go the other way and they’ve learnt to do exactly that…

All in all I had a good Seollal, I painfully cold January and I was ready to take on the rest of the year.