Travelling.

Travelling.
Travelling leaves you speechless. Then turn you into a storyteller. Hope I have been a good one ^.^

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 10 (25 May 2013)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, my dear readers!!!

I am so sorry for being MIA! Past few months were considered peak period for my company and so, work has been keeping me busy. By the time I came back from work, I was too exhausted. On top of work, I barely had time to blog with the visits from my dad, my mom and my sister, the planning of my own birthday party as well as a private celebration for Mister's birthday and a 11-day trip to Myanmar! I will really really try my best to blog regularly in 2014 :D For now, let's continue our Jeju journey!

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I had cramps through the night so I didn't have a proper rest & we ended up leaving our hotel quite late (around 830am). So to make up for the lost time, we decided to have a picnic lunch at one of the attractions in our list. Thus, our first stop was a traditional market (Seomun Market) to buy Korean picnic items such as Kimbab 김밥 (Korean rice roll with ingredients such as radish, Carrot, sausage, egg).  But it was so empty! Was it not a market day or were we too late? In any case, we didn't find any picnic food T.T BUT we found a pharmacy and bought painkiller pills for my cramp. They were such a lifesaver! It took about 30min for the pills to start working but it was more effective than Panadol Menstrual for me. 

Seomun Market



Just a very short drive away from the Seomun Market is Gwandeokjeong 관덕정. This 15th-century pavilion was the oldest building in Jeju and it was built as a place for training soldiers during the Joseon dynasty.  It was located at the entrance of Jeju Mok Office 목 관 아 which was the island's administrative center under the Joseon dynasty.



Jeju Mok Office
Entrance fees to this office compound was 1,500 Won. 



A pavilion for banquets and ceremonies 



The place where people honored the King with gratitude while looking towards Seoul where he resided - I was just surprised to find a two-storey building from the Jeseon era!  






Afterwards, we headed along road 1131 towards 5.16 Road's forest tunnel.  This road is well known for its woodland path framed by cedar trees where numerous TV commercials and movies have been filmed. You know, we cannot miss our chance to take photos like Hallyu stars! Haha


We stopped by at the Jeju Horse Pasture along the way




There was a road-side stall selling refreshing blue lemonade too!

With our little Mini, beside the horse pasture




This is Seongpanak, one of the many hiking trails in Jeju.
When we did research on the Internet, several websites advised against stopping the car on 5.16 road as there are only 2 lanes on the road and cars will zoom pass you at high speeds. Recommendation was to leave the car at Seongpanak car park and walk over.


So we parked our mini and headed out of the car park. BUT we couldn't see any forest tunnel! So we headed back to the visitor center to ask about it.  The lady was quite perplexed when she found out that we planned to walk.  According to her, it was quite far, definitely not walking distance. Taking her suggestion, we drove and TADA! We found it!


5.16 Road's forest tunnel
As you can see, this is a 2-way road with just 2 lanes. Plus, there is no space on the side to stop the car. And it was almost 10-min drive away from Seongpanak.  It would be a really tiring and dangerous walk! So we were glad that we listened to the lady from the Visitor Center.


Namwon Port
We actually wanted to go to the Namwon Kauneong Seaside Picturesque Place after Namwon Port. But we couldn't find our way! haha Nonetheless, Namwon Port is beautiful too!

Light House at Namwon Port
In several K-dramas, seaside light houses are one of the must-haves! :D


According to the Visit Korea website,Namwon Kauneong Seaside Picturesque Place is just 3km away from Namwon Port.  If you are in the area, please find that place. We still regret that we didn't manage to visit!
From Namwon Port, we continued our journey to Soesokkak / Soesoggak, where the fresh water river meets the ocean.  


Mister with the traditional Teu boat of Jeju
Teu boats are perhaps the slowest mode of transportation in the world. It resembles a raft and moves manually by means of a rope, which is connected to the banks of the river.

Us at the Soesokkak / Soesoggak


There are a couple of souvenir shops at Soesokkak / Soesoggak.  As Jeju is famous for their tangerines, Jeju Pie has tangerine paste filling. They are quite similar to pineapple tarts from Taiwan, actually!


Then we set off to Jeongbang Waterfalls (정방폭포), which is the only waterfall in Asia that falls directly into the ocean.  Such a beautiful beautiful place! It is definitely the most beautiful waterfall I have visited in my life.


Kimbab 김밥 we bought from Seongpanak car park


Before we explored Jeongbang Waterfalls, we settled down to have our late lunch with Kimbab and Bento set! It was 1:15pm and we were starving.


If you love sashimi, you could even order super fresh sashimi from this tent shop!  


As beautiful as Jeongbang Waterfall is, it is also hard to get close to it.  Just look at all the rocks. It was so hard to walk if you are not wearing the right shoes.  Plus, remember not wear skirts as you might end up with a Marilyn Monroe moment, thanks to the occasional strong gust of wind.


23m-high Jeongbang Waterfall


Our next stop is Oedolgae Rock (외돌개). It is 20 m in height and 12 m in circumference. During my first visit back in Dec 2010, I didn't expect much since how special can a rock be? After just 1 visit, I fell in love with this place.  Not because of the rock, but due to the beautiful scenery of the surrounding area. Just look at my next few pictures. You will be convinced too!

Mister at the beautiful cliffside 

There are many myths surrounding the Oedolgae Rock, also known as Lonely Rock or General Rock. Legend has it that a Korean general disguised this rock as a giant soldier to scare away the Mongolian invaders! Nowadays, it is more well-known as the filming location for the Korean drama Daejanggeum (Jewel in the Palace).

We left Oedolgae around 3:15pm and reached the Museum of Sex and Health after about half an hour drive.  Would you want such chairs in your garden? haha

Entrance fees to the museum was 9,000 Won per pax.

The Museum of Sex and Health was meant to be more of an Educational Institute.  Nonetheless, it didn't help with my embarrassment with more explicit displays. So yea, my photos are with more "tame" showcases :D 

Ohhh someone is taking a peek! haha








Our next stop is Automobile Museum. We reached around 5pm and spent about an hour there. I wasn't expecting much from this museum, just added it to our itinerary for Mister's benefit but oh boy, I was pleasantly surprised by the wide collection of cars which are in very good condition! What is more amazing is that the museum is owned by a private collector!

 Entrance fees to the museum was 9,000 Won per pax.

Mercury Monterey won the prize of best design in 1956. Although it appeared in 180 movies, it became famous since the hero of Western movies John Wayne enjoyed riding one.
Producing Nation: US
Maker: Ford

Benz 300 SL was recognized as the 'first super car' and most well-known as the James Bond car
Producing Nation: Germany
Maker: Mercedes Benz

Look at all these rare retro automobiles!

They were well-maintained and still have age-old beauty!

This particular Hillman Straight 8 was manufactured in 1928, with wood on most of its parts, except for the engine and wheels! Amazing, isn't it?  Many car collectors regard it as the origin of convertibles and there are only 6 such cars remain in the world today.

Mister was feeling a tinge of jealousy (okay, a lot) at the private collector who owns all these retro cars in such a great condition!

Lincoln Continental is the model which is well-loved by the President! It stands for luxury, along with Cadillac.
Producing Nation: US
Maker: Lincoln

Producing Nation: United Kingdom
Maker: Rolls Royce

There is also a gift shop with several car miniatures. They were too cute but too expensive for us so we didn't buy anything. Maybe one day!

Our last stop for the day was O'Sulloc Tea Museum. This is part of the rolling, 52-hectare tea plantation, owned by Sulloc (one of Korea's largest growers of nokcha / green tea).




By the time we reached O'Sulloc, it was 6:20pm and the museum was closed. But we could still stroll along the fields, purchase green tea products from the gift shop and enjoy green tea, a slice of green tea cake and a scoop of green tea ice-cream. 

 Oh Innisfree House is situated in the same compound as the O'Sulloc tea museum.  If you are a fan of this Korean beauty brand Innisfree, you should drop by to see how they extract ingredients from products grown on Jeju Island, especially for their Green Tea line.


We headed back to our December hotel around 7pm and managed to capture this beautiful sunset.
We decided to leave the car at our December hotel in Jeju city and explored the area on foot. Plus, we stayed pretty near the Yeon Dong pedestrian-only shopping street packed with funky boutiques, restaurants and karaoke rooms. So it was not that much of a trouble to walk. In fact, we could enjoyed a peaceful stroll, soaking in the Jeju nightlife without having to sweat! It got colder at night with temperatures only around 18-20C. Definitely a good change in weather from sunny Singapore (:

Our dinner was Dak Galbi (닭갈비) - a popular Korean dish of stir-fry diced chicken in chili pepper based sauce with sliced cabbage, sweet potato, onions and tteok on a hot plate.



Here is a list of all the places we covered (tried to cover) today. Among them, only 4 places charge entrance fees:
1,500 Won per pax at Jeju Mok Office
2,000 Won per pax at Jeongbang Waterfalls
9,000 Won per pax at Sex & Health Museum
9,000 Won per pax at Automobile Museum

1. Seomun Market
2. Gwandeokjeong (관덕정)
3. Jeju Mok Office  (제주 목 관 아)
4. Jeju Horse Pasture
5. 5.16 Forest Tunnel Road
6. Namwon Port (남원포구)
7. Soesokkak / Soesoggak Estuary (쇠소깍)
8. Jeongbang Waterfalls (정방폭포)
9. Oedolgae (외돌개)
10. Sex & Health Museum
11. Automobile Museum
12. O'sulloc Tea Museum
13. Dinner

Adios!
xoxo
Miss N

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Korea Trip Itinerary

Korea Day 1

Korea Day 2
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