Let's Visit Jeju - The Southernmost Korean Island – Part 2

When dreams become reality

Considering that parking is not a problem in this small town, we decided to walk the city streets and of course stop at the local market. And right there, something surprising happened. Last night I had a rather strange dream - I dreamed of hot pepper gratin and woke up to it. And that's exactly the type of hot pepper they sold at the market. Of course, I bought it, but although it looked exactly like the one in my dreams, it was not gratin but breaded, but all that is not so important - what is more important is that it was very tasty.

Considering that the visit to Jeju Island was in the middle of June, when the days are the longest, there was still some time left for a panoramic drive along the coast and a short stop at Hyeopjae Beach, which did not call for refreshment, as it was down to the depths in which one could swim normally quite a bit of walking in the heat.

After a very full day, there was a short stop at the Cheonjeyeonpokpo and Jeongbang waterfalls and a return to Jeju City and dinner in a very special restaurant, where they only serve soups of different flavours and content, but all of them have in common that they are extremely tasty and that they are just calling for some bottles of traditional rice wine called Makgeolli.

Manjanggul - a cave formed by lava

There are quite a few UNESCO World Heritage sites on Jeju Island, and Manjanggul Cave or Lava tube is among them for a reason. The cave measures approximately 7.4km and is partially multi-layered. The main tunnel is 18m wide and 23m high, making it one of the largest in the world and the cave walk ends at a 7.6m tall column known as the tallest lava column in the world. But despite the entry into the UNESCO World Heritage List, Koreans do not exaggerate with the entrance fee, as you only need to pay around three euros to visit the Lava tube. An additional surprise was the restaurant within the attraction. In Europe, restaurants in such locations are very expensive, and the quality of the food is below average. But that's not the case in Korea. A portion of shrimps in the menu with soup and tea cost only around seven euros and the rest of the offer was also at extremely reasonable prices.

Seongsan Ilchulbong – the volcanic beauty of the east coast

Only a few kilometres away from Manjanggul Cave is Seongsan Ilchulbong, 180m high, whose creation paved the way to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Relatively young, only 5,000 years, Seongsan Ilchulbong is the result of an underwater eruption, and its crater is home to about 200 plant species and many wild animals. Due to the very fertile soil, the crater was even used for farming in the past, and this may also be an additional reason for such diverse vegetation.

The hike to it is quite strenuous in the hot summer months, so I recommend good sun protection and enough water so that you can enjoy the views of the ocean, comfortably hydrated at the top. Because of the beautiful sunrises, it has also earned the nickname of "Sunrise peak".

Murals of women with huge lungs and a piano in the middle of a field

Of course, I could publish a whole book about Jeju and I would not be the first, but it is simply not possible to see everything in a few days. Jeju is an island that takes your breath away at almost every turn. Nature is so special, untouched and at the same time diverse that it evokes that authentic "Wow" in everyone. But what remains in the memory are not necessarily the most famous sights, but some small details that are imprinted in the memory because of their uniqueness.

And so, similarly to Marado Island, Jeju Island is extremely proud of female divers called Haenyeo, who snorkel and collect shells and sea urchins, which is why we often see murals depicting these women with huge lungs as they are capable of diving for up to five or six hours at depths of up to 30 meters, and they can stay under water for more than three minutes.

And now to the piano. Over time, you get used to all these unforgettable scenes and you let out that authentic "Wow" less and less often, but at this scene I simply turned around and returned to the house, in front of which a huge white piano reigned in the middle of a flower field, similar to the one find in a John Lennon's museum in Liverpool. Only it wasn't played by John Lennon, but by a girl of about ten who literally blended into the piano in her white dress.

Pasta with truffles and a bottle of makgeolli for the last dinner

Renting a car generally starts and ends at the airport, but since we had to leave very early, even before the opening of the car rental office, it had to be arranged the evening before. Of course, a suitable dinner is appropriate for the last evening, and therefore not every restaurant is good enough. One likes the first one, another one likes the next one, and so we slowly reached the end of that main street, where there were a few dozen excellent restaurants and the restaurants are slowly replaced by sleepy houses.

Realising that there will definitely not be any restaurant or anything like that, a conversation began about which of all the restaurants in the street would be the most suitable for the last dinner. Unfortunately, this thought did not help much, because one by one they closed, and the call of the stomach for food became louder and louder. And when in the middle of Jeju city you realise that the one who chooses too much usually ends up with nothing, the last options were the shops where they sell dozens of different ready-made noodles that you just pour boiling water over. But luckily, among them all were also wide noodles with truffles, next to which sits a bottle of makgeolli, which are not hard to find in Korea. And it was these wide noodles with truffles, which were cooked in boiling water from the shop to the terrace on the top floor of the accommodation that contributed to such a prestigious title of the last chapter of this travelogue, since the title "conclusion with instant noodles from a convenience store" would have worked significantly less prestigious.

The next day certainly does not deserve its own sub-title, because the only thing left to say goodbye to Jeju was a ride in an electric taxi to the airport and a farewell to the view of the sunrise from the plane, which strengthened my belief that I will return to Jeju.