27 July 2014
Jeju Island, South Korea
Our last full day we headed up towards the north western corner of the island, hoping to catch a bit of sun and find a place to settle down for the last evening on Jeju island.
Circumnavigating Jeju, you can catch a glimpse of Hallasan (the prominent volcano mountain in the centre of the island) when the clouds aren’t covering it like a fluffy white beanie.
Geumneung Beach
Our first stop for the day was at Geumneung Beach, the quieter, neighbouring beach to Jeju’s most famous one – Hyeopjae Beach.
We found a spot of sand (between the ‘for hire’ umbrellas) and enjoyed the hike across the bay to get to the water deep enough for swimming. As with most beaches in Korea, it wasn’t more than chest deep and you have to just pretend to be really swiming.
After a couple of hours, we washed off and headed up towards Aewol where we had seen a hotel online that looked like a winner.
Windhill Hotel and Resort
Windhill Hotel&Resort turned out to be quite difficult to find (through winding little alleys and one car wide farm roads our GPS directed us, when it would have been so much easier to come in from the other side on the coastal road through Aewol) @_@
It was a nice little hotel though and we had a comfortable stay in a clean, airconditioned room.
Cafe Uncle Tony’s
We found a small restaurant down the road, Uncle Tony’s Cafe, where we had the most delicious fish and chips we’ve found in Korea. Thank you, Britain.
We enjoyed it so much we came back again the next day for brunch. And had fish and chips again! With vinegar! This place has a great vibe and mouth-wateringly good food.
Back to Jeju City
The last day we headed back in to Jeju City to get ready to board the ferry again.
With about an hour and a half extra, we decided to do at least one cultural activity and settled on an interesting visit to the Natural History and Folklore museum.
Heading back down to the dock was bittersweet, but Jeju is a truly beautiful place and it’s easy to see why it is held so dear in the hearts of the Korean people.
Memories
Favourite memories for the trip included hallabong, beaches, local hospitality and the mysterious volcanic rocks that line the turquoise bays. Goodbye, Jeju Grandfathers, and keep watch until next time.
