Sad to say, this was the closest encounter to the cherry blossoms I longed to see!
Breakfast was simple - banana milk and sweet potato bun. Delicious though!
We decided to take the airport railroad line from Incheon (인천/仁川) to Gimpo International Airport (김포국제공항/金浦國際空港) (Seoul Metro Interactive Map), 4 stops, 27 mins, KRW 3150. We reached with ample time to check in at the Eastarjet counter. Eastarjet is one of the low-cost airlines in Korea, but definitely not budget quality! I don't know if it's just the culture there, but the air stewardesses were really nice! We were given free water / orange juice during the flight too! And the interior of the plane is really colourful and cute!
We reached Jeju in 1 hour, and set off to pick up our rented car! There are a few major car rental companies, with all having reservation desks at the domestic arrival hall.
| Name | Telephone No | Web site |
| AVIS car rental | 82-64-749-3773 | www.avis.co.kr |
| Kumho car rental | 82-64-743-8107 | www.kumhorent.com |
| Daehan Express | 82-64-746-5967 | http://www.korexrentcar.co.kr/ |
| Rent car guild | 82-64-747-4301 |
The rental rates for members are 30-70% cheaper, so do register at their website before you make a reservation. After some research, I decided on Kumho Car Rental.
The actual car pick up is not at the airport (unlike my previous experience in Australia). Basically, go to the reservation desk at the domestic arrival hall, show them your reservation, and they will direct you to the shuttle bus pick-up point at Gate 5. A staff will be there to direct you to the correct shuttle bus.
The car rental pick up was relatively close to the airport, about 5 minutes away.
As this was the first time my bf is attempting left hand drive, I decided a compact car will be easier to navigate (and also because of the cute small cars I see on running man!). We got a cute sky blue Matiz Creative!
The reservation can be done online, payment is only done when you pick up the car. The reservation comes with a navigator (GPS) - Korean or English (your choice!). The GPS was really easy to use, you just need to input the telephone number of the place! Oh, remember to pick up a tourist map at the airport. I got one with the telephone numbers of the tourist attractions.
I don't know if it's because I have not used a lot of GPS before, or that this GPS is really detailed, but the GPS tells you the speed you're driving, speed limits, warns you of the speed cameras and even where the speed bumps are!
Introduction to Jeju Island (source: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr)
Located southwest of the Korean Peninsula, Jejudo Island (제주도) is a volcanic island in the shape of an oval that measures 73km from west to east, and 31km from north to south. As Korea’s most southern region, the weather on Jejudo Island remains significantly warmer than the mainland even during the cold winter months. Jejudo Island is sometimes referred to as “Samdado Island” (삼다도, meaning the “three many”) because of its abundance of rocks, women, and wind. Wind from the ocean blows steadily throughout the year and past volcanic activity has littered the island with an assortment of beautiful and unusually-shaped black rocks. The island’s reputation of having an abundance of women points back to the time when fishing was the primary means of income and many men were lost at sea.
It was a rainy spring day when we arrived, and hence we had to settle for the wet weather plans! We booked a hostel at Seogwipo City (South of the Island). One of the recommended roads to take when you travel from Jeju City to Seogwipo City is the 5.16 Road's Forest Tunnel (highway 1131). The 1 hour scenic ride is definitely worth it!
My sister recommended Jeju Hiking Inn as she went there during her grad trip last year (you can book through hostelworld.com). The location of the place was good, near quite a few of the attractions near the southern part of the island. It's walking distance from Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls in fact!
Jeju Hiking Inn - 제주하이킹INN (Tel: 064-763-2380)
Address in Korean - 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 서귀동 587-15
济州岛西归浦西归洞 587-15
I booked a Type C room with sea view, and was given a room on the 6th floor. (The rooftop terrace is on the 7th floor, and can get pretty noisy when there's a party.) Downside was that there was no elevator (same as most of the hostels in Korea) and I had to drag my luggage up 6 floors!
There's mixed reviews about the owner of the hostel, but generally I find him helpful, giving us recommendations for food as well as attractions to go to. You can book a taxi tour at the hostel as well (KRW 100,000 a day from 8.30am to 5.30pm).
The room was pretty decent, a bit cramped though. There was a heating pad for the bed, air-con, TV and a small fridge. The only power sockets were the ones for the fridge and TV though.
The toilet was decent sized too, but the water pressure from the shower was not too good! We were warned before we moved in though. The owner informed us that the water heater tanks are at the basement, and it takes a few minutes for the hot water to reach, hence, the water pressure can be expected to be like that too.
Small towels and toothpaste are provided, and the towels are changed daily if you leave the keys at the reception before you go out for the day.
Exterior of the hostel - via http://local.daum.net/map/index.jsp
One tool that's really useful is daum map (though in Korean). You can just input the telephone number of the place, click on the webcam logo on the right of the map, drag it to any of the blue roads you see on the map, and viola! You see a street view of the place. It seems more updated compared to google maps, at least when I doing up my itinerary.
We had lunch at a restaurant nearby, set lunch for KRW 8,000 each, including one grilled "jeju fish" (Okdom - sea bream) and black pork! Probably one of the best meals I had in Jeju.
First up - Jungmun Resort Complex (중문관광단지/中文旅游度假区)
Many of the tourist attractions are in close proximity around the complex, including the Teddy Bear Museum (제주 테디베어뮤지엄/泰迪熊博物馆), Pacific Land (퍼시픽랜드/太平洋乐园), Yeomiji Botanical Garden (여미지 식물원/如美地植物园), Sound Island Museum (소리섬박물관) , Cheonjeyeon Falls ( 천제연폭포/天帝渊瀑布), Jusangjeolli Cliff (주상절리(대포동지삿개)/大浦海岸柱状节理带), Chocolate Museum (초콜릿 박물관/巧克力博物馆), Ripley's Believe It or Not (믿거나 말거나 박물관/信不信由你博物馆), Jeju International Peace Centre (제주국제평화센터/济州国际和平中心), etc.
I've been to the Teddy Bear Museum in Seoul N Tower, but have always wanted to go to the Jeju one because of the show "Princess Hours"! Kinda disappointed that it was a rainy day though, as there's a outdoor section.
One of the highlights of the museum is probably the expensive LV teddy bear! And for me, the Goong bears!
If you're a fan of teddy bears, you can buy one back from the museum shop on the 1st floor. I already bought my Goong bears 4 years back, hence no more bear souvenirs for me.
My sister recommended Jeju Hiking Inn as she went there during her grad trip last year (you can book through hostelworld.com). The location of the place was good, near quite a few of the attractions near the southern part of the island. It's walking distance from Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls in fact!
Jeju Hiking Inn - 제주하이킹INN (Tel: 064-763-2380)
Address in Korean - 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 서귀동 587-15
济州岛西归浦西归洞 587-15
I booked a Type C room with sea view, and was given a room on the 6th floor. (The rooftop terrace is on the 7th floor, and can get pretty noisy when there's a party.) Downside was that there was no elevator (same as most of the hostels in Korea) and I had to drag my luggage up 6 floors!
View from the terrace
There's mixed reviews about the owner of the hostel, but generally I find him helpful, giving us recommendations for food as well as attractions to go to. You can book a taxi tour at the hostel as well (KRW 100,000 a day from 8.30am to 5.30pm).
The room was pretty decent, a bit cramped though. There was a heating pad for the bed, air-con, TV and a small fridge. The only power sockets were the ones for the fridge and TV though.
The toilet was decent sized too, but the water pressure from the shower was not too good! We were warned before we moved in though. The owner informed us that the water heater tanks are at the basement, and it takes a few minutes for the hot water to reach, hence, the water pressure can be expected to be like that too.
Small towels and toothpaste are provided, and the towels are changed daily if you leave the keys at the reception before you go out for the day.
Exterior of the hostel - via http://local.daum.net/map/index.jsp
One tool that's really useful is daum map (though in Korean). You can just input the telephone number of the place, click on the webcam logo on the right of the map, drag it to any of the blue roads you see on the map, and viola! You see a street view of the place. It seems more updated compared to google maps, at least when I doing up my itinerary.
We had lunch at a restaurant nearby, set lunch for KRW 8,000 each, including one grilled "jeju fish" (Okdom - sea bream) and black pork! Probably one of the best meals I had in Jeju.
First up - Jungmun Resort Complex (중문관광단지/中文旅游度假区)
Many of the tourist attractions are in close proximity around the complex, including the Teddy Bear Museum (제주 테디베어뮤지엄/泰迪熊博物馆), Pacific Land (퍼시픽랜드/太平洋乐园), Yeomiji Botanical Garden (여미지 식물원/如美地植物园), Sound Island Museum (소리섬박물관) , Cheonjeyeon Falls ( 천제연폭포/天帝渊瀑布), Jusangjeolli Cliff (주상절리(대포동지삿개)/大浦海岸柱状节理带), Chocolate Museum (초콜릿 박물관/巧克力博物馆), Ripley's Believe It or Not (믿거나 말거나 박물관/信不信由你博物馆), Jeju International Peace Centre (제주국제평화센터/济州国际和平中心), etc.
| Admission Fees |
| * Yeomiji Botanical Garden (064-735-1100 / 09:00-18:00) Adults: 7,000 won (4,800 won) / Youths: 4,500 won (3,000 won) / Children: 3,500 won (2,500 won) * Pacific Land (064-738-2888) Adults: 12,000 won / Youths: 10,000 won / Children: 8,000 won * Teddy Bear Museum (064-738-7600 / 09:00-20:00) Adults: 8,000 won (6,000 won) / Youths: 7,000 won (5,000 won) / Children: 6,000 won (4,000 won) * Sound Island Museum (064-739-7782 / 09:00-19:00) Adults: 7,000 won (6,000 won) / Youths: 7,000 won (6,000 won) / Children: 5,000 won (4,000 won) * Cheonjeyeon Falls (064-738-1529 / 08:00-Sunset) Adults: 2,500 won (2,050 won) / Youths & Children: 1,350 won (850 won) * Jusangjeolli Cliff (064-738-1532 / 08:00-Sunset) Adults: 2,000 won (1,400 won) / Youths: 1,000 won (600 won) / Children: 1,000 won (600 won) * Jeju International Peace Center (064-735-6550 / 09:00-18:00) Adults: 3,000 won (2,500 won) / Youths & Children: 1,500 won (1,000 won) |
I've been to the Teddy Bear Museum in Seoul N Tower, but have always wanted to go to the Jeju one because of the show "Princess Hours"! Kinda disappointed that it was a rainy day though, as there's a outdoor section.
One of the highlights of the museum is probably the expensive LV teddy bear! And for me, the Goong bears!
If you're a fan of teddy bears, you can buy one back from the museum shop on the 1st floor. I already bought my Goong bears 4 years back, hence no more bear souvenirs for me.
There's also a Elvis Presley teddy bear show on the 2nd floor if you're interested!
One thing to note, unlike the restaurants in Seoul which open till late at night, most restaurants in Jeju open for dinner till 9-10pm. As we had lunch late (at 3pm), we decided to go out for dinner at 9plus, only to realise there's no nearby restaurants opened for dinner! They still have snacks and beer though. We ended up having cup noodles for dinner! The only thing that cheered me up was watching k-drama in the cosy room, amidst the roaring thunderstorm!
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