Jeju Day 2 - East Jeju

After the fateful raw seafood dinner, day 2 started late and slow as my travel buddy was unwell.
Dropped by Seogwipo e-mart to get drinks (i.e. banana milk!) and walk passed the Jeju Olympic Stadium.

Jeju Olympic Stadium

The original plan was to watch the sunrise at Seongsan Ilchulbong. Due to the unfortunate delay, we arrived around lunch time and decide it was necessary to fill the tummy before climbing. We wanted to try a recommended lunch place but almost everything was closed as it was too early at 11am. Chanced upon a bbq place that is open.

Naengmyeon (cold noodles) for the sick and beef stew pot for me

Very tasty beef stew pot

After eating we were (or rather I was) ready to climb the sunrise peak!

apparently in Jeju the sticks double up as doors

3 sticks = Owner is away and will be back in a few days time.
2 sticks = Owner is away but will be back in half a day.
1 stick = Owner will be back in a minute.
No stick = Owner is at home.

start of climb

Many rock formations along the way up from past eruptions

Amazing view as you climb higher

Finally reaching the crater at the summit!

used to be the crater of a volcano

Peak of Seongsan ilchulbong

English explanation of how Jeju was formed

Enjoying the view from the summit

for those interested in geography

time to descend via the long flight of stairs

but it was much easier than climbing up

at the end of the trail, you can continue to see the haenyeo (female divers) performance

Bay where haenyeo performance is

Nice view of Udo island too

We actually planned to take a ferry to Udo island and rent an ATV to explore the island. Unfortunately due to time constraint we decided to scrap it and move on to the next stop Seopjikoji. It is a plateau that offers great view of the coastal area, also where korean drama all-in was filmed.

All In house from afar

amazing shoreline but super windy!

When we visited the All In chapel was decorated like a candy house.

strong waves hitting the lava rocks

walking further brings you to a lighthouse

Seopjikoji is a very scenic spot and I can understand why it was picked as a shoting spot for the drama. Unfortunately due to the popularity now, there is just too many tourists (arriving in busloads) to enjoy the tranquility the place once offered.

Our next destination was to another UNESCO site, the manjang lava caves.

Entrance leads straight underground

huge lava formations in the cave

lava column at the end of the cave

happy to see daylight again

the maze park was nearby and it was a pleasant side activity after being underground. In the park there are lots of cats living there. I think the maze park operator feeds these cats so they are rather human friendly.

A map of the maze

how many kitty can you spot in this picture?

the entrance

the objective is to find and ring the bell which we did :)

After a 2hrs drive back to Seowipo, we were rather tired from all the climbing in the day and decided to head down to the BBQ restaurant near our guesthouse which was recommended by the guesthouse owner.

To recuperate all the energy

Good meat!