The blog is more of a diary for my overseas travels because memory fails. Most of the pictures are taken with my phone, so pardon the low quality! You're free to read it, comments are most welcome!
It was Day 3 of our trip and our plan was to visit Jeju Island for 2 days for some sightseeing and also hiking. We woke up really early that day and left our Airbnb for Gimpo Airport in order to catch our flight at 0610hrs. We took Asiana Airlines and it was one of the first flights that day.
The flight took about an hour to reach Jeju Airport and when we landed, we had Lotteria for breakfast and we headed to search for our car rental after that. We booked a car online from SIXT and we had to take a free shuttle bus from the airport to their office.
Jeju Airport!
There were numerous car rentals in the airport itself but ours was a little out of the way. Nonetheless, we found our shuttle bus and arrived at the rental office moments later. We rented a Kia Morning and the staff at Sixt explained to us on how to use the GPS in the car and he also checked the car for any damages prior to us collecting the car.
Me chilling while they settle the Korean paperwork LOL
The car we booked, Small car, but just right for 3 guys. (SGD$50/day)
SIXT staff explaining on how to use the GPS.
There were different languages available for the GPS like English, Chinese and Korean. SIXT has given us a list of Jeju attractions with their phone numbers beside them. You can just key in the phone numbers and the GPS will lead you to your destination, very user friendly!
Once the car was collected, Shu hopped onto the driver's seat and we moved off! He was extra careful at the start because Koreans drive on the left which was different from Malaysia and Singapore's. After driving around for some time, Shu got used to driving on the left and we headed for Hallasan's Seongpanak trail after that.
Seongpanak Trail of Mt Hallasan!
I felt so threatened by the crows over here because they are so huge!
We went to the tourist center nearby and the lady there told us not to go up that day if we wanted to reach the peak. This is because we needed to reach the midpoint of the hike by 12pm in order to have sufficient sunlight to be safe when we are coming down from the peak. She even advised us to start hiking the next day before 8am so that we will be able to reach the peak and come down safely before sunset.
Therefore, we decided to switch our itinerary for both of our days in Jeju Island. Meaning that we will be going Jeju Lighthouse and Sunrise Peak for today and hike Mount Hallasan the next day instead. We hopped into the car and left to find some lunch after that. The view when we were on the way was definitely amazing!
Yes, I know.. The video is super shaky. Take note that the car we rented is a Kia not a Lexus 😅. The main point of the video is the scenery yo~ We stopped by a restaurant selling black pork and decided to try it because we wanted to take pictures of the stunning scenery nearby.
Missing his girlfriend
Unfortunately, the meal was a disappointment and also a rip off. It was rather expensive and I couldn't taste the difference between this black pig's pork belly and the normal ones. We finished the meal and we went outside of the restaurant to take some pictures of the gorgeous landscape.
Horses and ponies available for rides!
We decided to make our way to Gimnyeong Maze Park after that. Upon reaching the maze, we felt lazy and decided not to go in. 😂
Blooming flowers outside entrance of maze!
We drove to Seopjikoji after that because there was a lighthouse which I personally think was pretty cool. We parked our car at the base of the hill and walked up the pathway to the lighthouse. The view of the sea was breathtaking!
The lighthouse is over there!
Standing closest to the Fall Hazard sign because its dangerous to fall for me eheheheh
Still far T.T
Gingerbread house(?)
This gingerbread house was like the mid checkpoint for me as its one of the few landmarks there. There was an ice cream shop near to the gingerbread house and we couldn't resist but to buy some chocolate soft serves for ourselves.
Advertisement for ice cream?
Almost there!!!
We reached!!
#bromance
We have reached the lighthouse!! The view from up here is boundless and so amazing. You can see the rocky shores with the sea reflecting the sunlight!
Stairs all the way down!
OMG LARVAE. I DIDNT TRY THIS LOL
The trip back to our car was the same route and hence I did not take much pictures. We headed to Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak), which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site! There was an entrance fee of 2,000won (<SGD$2). The base of the hill was a big plain field with horses and we had to basically climb A LOT OF steps to get to the top of the hill. The start of the trail was a smooth path and following are steps which were quite steep.
Vance trying to be photogenic
The challenging part of the mini-hike were the steps. There are several benches along the trails for people to take a rest and carry on.
The unforgiving steps.
Resting point at mid-hill
You will encounter several shops along the way while you're climbing to the top. There is also a big resting point nearer to the top of the hill. It gives a panoramic view of the city which is absolutely stunning.
Seongsan Ilchulbong crater!
180m above sea level!
Steps at the peak of the hill for resting
The view from the peak is absolutely incredible. You can see the whole crater of Seongsan Ilchulbong and also the bird's eye view of the residential area down below at the foot of the hill.
Visitors going back to the foot of the hill are required to take a different route instead of the one they used to come up to the top. I believe it is to prevent congestion and accidents. The route used to exit the hill gave another type of view to the visitors. It was much easier because it only involves climbing down the stairs.
After finishing the climb, you will be welcomed by the magnificent view of the cliff! ABSOLUTELY INSTA-WORTHY.
After we finished visiting Seongsan Ilchulbong, we drove to our hotel which we will be staying for this two days, Shilla Stay Hotel. It is located in the city area of Jeju which made it very convenient for their guests to visit local restaurants and shop around.
The receptionist at the hotel was very friendly and even spoke English with us to make sure that we knew what was going on. Thumbs up! We bought some dinner from a convenience store nearby and had an early rest to prepare for the hike at Mount Hallasan tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment