Jeju - East Coast

Another day another coast, there are similar items on the itinerary but different of course. First up is Jeolmul Natural Forest for a short but beautiful walk through the cedar trees. Quintessentially Jeju. We then went to Seonguep Folk Village before stopping for lunch. After lunch, a quick visit to Fantastic Forest for another short walk, this one was a location for a BTS music video, to the delight of some of the younger guests.

Beach visit to Gwangchigi Beach before heading to the Woman Diver Show. These women divers are tough old women who free dive into the sea to pick abalone and other shellfish. Because of the hard work, not many young people are taking this up. The ladies entertained us with some songs about how hard they work while their husbands spent the money, before diving into the water. To be honest, the whole experience felt very staged. We weren't sure if we were to wait for them to return to shore with their findings or if it was the end of the show.

I waited a bit before ascending the stairs to climb Seongsam Ilchul-Bong, this is a great sunset spot, but we were climbing it for the views. It's a bit steep but definitely doable with the given time, and very rewarding as well. After a hike like that, hallabong ice cream was a sweet reward.

We began to head back to Jeju via the Jongdalri Shore Road, a beautiful stretch of road that invites to gaze out the whole time (for those of us who didn't fall asleep) and made our final stop at Manjang-gul Cave, which is more of a lava tunnel and has the largest lava column in the world.

Dinner tonight, tried another restaurant, this one close to the airport. Another bus trip, another discovery that it was closed. Luckily I didn't have to wait as long for a bus this time, and ended up back at the night market to grab something small.Read more