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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Seongeup Folk Village and Black Pig Meal at Jeju - Day 12 in South Korea

Our next stop after Trick Art Museum was a traditional Korean folk village called Seongeup. There was folk village museum that is more touristy but I decided to go here because we haven't been to an authentic folk village yet. The one that we went to in Yongin was established last 1970s that was made for tourism so native Koreans did not really live there. We were not able to go to Andong in Gyeongju as well as I have told in this post. So technically, this is our first experience on the real deal.

Seongeup Folk Village (성읍민속마을), located at the foot of Mr. Halla in Jeju, is a small town that displays unique culture of the island such as the abundance of black lava rocks scatered on the ground and are even used in their houses, the abundant display of stone grandfather statues called harubangs, the distinctive conventional "restrooms" and the local black-haired pigs. The trees that stand in the center of the vllage are also said to be more than hundreds of years old.

Seongeup Folk Village
Seongeup Folk Village

Monday, January 28, 2013

Trick Art Museum, Jeju - Day 12 in South Korea

It was almost nine in the morning when we reached our third destination, Jeju's Trick Art Museum, coming from Seopjikoji. Our driver was able to get us discounts which was pretty awesome. Not only has he been reliable at giving tips, he made an effort so that we can save some money too! :)

Trick Art Museum can be found at three cities in Korea; Seoul, Busan and of course, at Jeju. The one in Jeju is located in Seogwipo City nearby the Seongeup Folk Village. The entrance here is 8.000 won for aduls and 6,000 won for children.

jeju trick art museum
Behind bars... or not!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

All in Seopjikoji, Jeju - Day 12 in South Korea

After a cup of coffee to warm our body (courtesy of our driver), we headed to our next destination which was a ten to fifteen minute drive from Sunrise Peak/Seongsan Ilchubong, which we have visited beforehand.

Seopjikoji is also located at the eastern shore of Jeju Island. The name came of the place was derived from the dialect of the Jeju, "Seopji" meaning a narrow piece of land, and "koji" for cape or peninsula. The shoreline was striking, showcasing volcanic rocks in different shapes, some of these were preserved and even had an observation deck.

seopjikoji jeju
The view at Seopjikoji

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Jeju's Sunrise Peak (Seongsan Ilchubong) - Day 12 in South Korea

We woke up quite early for a jam-packed exploration I have planned for our second day in Jeju. We visited the Dragon Rock, Jusangjeolli Cliff, Teddy Bear Museum and The Seaes Resort for the first part of our stay here and it was pretty tiring so we dozed off after we got home. I told our driver to meet us up at Weoljeongni by 4:30 AM, and yes, he was on the dot, well, all Koreans are! Now maybe you are wondering why we were up this time? This is because we wanted to see the sunrise at Seongsan Ilchubong, also commonly known as "Sunrise Peak".

Seongsan Ilchubong is one of Jeju's many tourist sites that is UNESCO World Natural Heritage monument. It is said to have risen from under the sea due to a volcanic eruption about thousand of years ago, forming a tuff cone in the eastern side of the island. It is over 180 meter high and has preserved a noted crater which is a subject to lots of pictures, not only because of it shape, but also because this is a great spot for taking sunrise photos.

jeju sunrise
Morning cloudy view at Seongsan Ilchubong

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Thrift Finds in Manila - Winter Wonderland (Part 4)

It's been a while since I have posted another set of  thrift finds around Manila, or for an easier way of putting it, looking for nice ukay-ukay bargains! I admit that I try to go to my favorite "UK UK" stores at least every two months. I am not ashamed to tell that I bag lots of designer clothing and other accessories by haggling at these stores. It's especially fun when you think your buying them for 1/4 or sometimes even 5% of the original price!

The feature for this post is military winter wonderland. I am a sucker for clothes that I can only wear during cold season, which happens for only one or two months in the Philippines. My closet is full of apparel made out of thick material like jackets, blazers, and knitted sweaters. I am just in love with this kind of fashion!

This Divided by H&M jacket was featured in my third feature of my ukay-ukay hauls and was also worn on our Day 12 in Jeju.

thrift blogger
The Divided by H&M worn in South Korea

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

K-Drama Fever at The Seaes Resort, Jeju - Day 11 in South Korea

The previous trip to the Teddy Bear Museum is the first part of our “Korean Drama Fever” series in Jungmun, Jeju. I did not really mean to put on a K-Drama themed itinerary, as you may have noticed since Day 1, we have not planned for a visit to any shooting locations. We just knew on the spot that the same tourist sites that we’ve been to were settings to some of famous Korean shows: Nami Island (Winter Sonata), Suwon Hwaseong and Korean Folk Village (Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Dae Jang Geum, etc) and Igidae Park (Haeundae Lovers) to name a few. Jeju is no exception. There have been numerous of soap operas and variety shows that were shot here as well. My friend requested that we drop by at The Seaes Hotel & Resort which was a 5-minute away by taxi from Jeju’s Teddy Bear Museum.

The Seaes Hotel & Resort ((씨에스 호텔& 리조트) is one of Jeju’s luxury hotels accommodations located at the Jungmun District that offers 26 private villas wherein you can choose if you’d like a Korean or western style room. The resort is widely known as filming locations for TV shows such as ‘Princess Hours’ and ‘Boys Over Flowers’. Jungmun Complex can be reached by taking the Airport Limousine Bus 600. The cheapest room, Deluxe, is priced at 260,000 won, Garden Suite for 500,000 won and Godang, the Korean Traditional room style is for 1,000,000 won.

Seaes Resort

Monday, January 14, 2013

K-Drama Fever at Teddy Bear Museum, Jeju - Day 11 in South Korea

It was almost dark after we have visited Jusangjeolli cliff to see the columnar points of Jungmun Coast. We opted to go to Yeomiji Botanical Garden afterwards, but they were already closing when we arrived. I didn’t know if it was a good thing we weren’t able to go inside as the admission fee was quite steep for a garden visit. As the Teddy Bear Museum was just a 5-minute walk from Yeomiji, we decided we could head here instead.

The Teddy Bear Museum boasts a showcase of these toys ranging from those that came from different countries, antique collections, and even imitating popular people from different eras. It is said that this is the world’s largest teddy bear display. You can reach Jeju’s Teddy Bear Museum by riding the Airport Limousine Bus 600.

teddy bear korea

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Jeju’s Sunset at Jusangjeolli Cliff - Day 11 in South Korea

The previous trip to Yongduam Rock has enabled us to have a quick trip to the airport to inquire on taxi rentals. We were able to get a taxi driver who was available the next day, which was a relief. We have then decided to explore the Jungmun Resort Area for the rest of the dat. It was very easy to commute to the resort, one must just take Limousine Bus 600 from the airport and will take 50 minutes of traveling time. For the first part, we had planned to go to Jungmun Daepo Coast, also commonly known as Jusangjeolli Cliff.

The columnar joints at Jungmun Daepo Coast is Jeju's Natural Monument No. 443. This rocky cliff run for about 2 km in the coastline of Seogwipo and were formed from the basalt flows when Nokhajiak volcano erupted 14,000-25,000 years ago. The lava that has flowed to the coast of Jungmun and through the years has formed these rock pillars shaped like cubes or hexagons.

sunset jeju

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Dragon Rock, Yongduam, Jeju – Day 11 in South Korea

After we finished a bowl of al-tang for lunch, we hailed a cab to take us to Yongduam rock which was pretty close to the airport. En route, the taxi driver made a small talk with me. Aside from asking the basic stuff like where we came from and how long we were staying in Korea, he also gave some tips on how we can explore Jeju more and enjoy our stay to the fullest. It’s so amazing to feel you are surrounded with very nice and friendly people. I have felt this way ever since our first day in this wonderful country. The distance to our destination was very short though and we have soon arrived at Yongduam.

jeju travel
Yongduam Rock

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Our first taste of Altang at Jeju – Day 11 in South Korea

It was certainly refreshing to wake up the next day knowing we were already in Jeju! Yes, just after that trip to Haedong Yonggungsa at Busan, we took a flight the same night via Jeju Air to Jeju! During the flight, me and my friend were busy stalking making friends with Korean kids. They were just too adorable and cute! I wish I had a cute Korean baby for a cousin!

Anyway, enough of the blabbering. We stayed at Woljeongni which was VERY far from the city, but quite close to some tourist spots. We woke up and left early the next day, however we had no idea that our place was 20-minute from the bus stop (since we took a taxi when we arrived from the airport) and that buses RARELY come!!! I thought it was same with Gyeongju wherein there was at least 15-minute duration when buses arrive but na-ah! We were at the bus stop by 9AM and was only able to see a bus to Jeju City after an hour! Imagine how bored we were then! I was tempted to talk to the old Korean couple sitting beside us, but decided to keep my mouth shut as the two of them were taking a nap (or maybe they were just closing their eyes?)

bus jeju
a picture of the bus schedule that I took out of boredom. I did not even bother to “decipher” this as I had no idea yet of the names of the places in Jeju

Monday, January 7, 2013

A review of our flight with Jeju Air – Day 10 in South Korea

After our visit to the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, we took a bus back to where we were staying near Dongeui University station. It was quite a long trip so we had to take a taxi to the airport so that we won’t be late for our flight. As I have shared in this post, we had to cancel our earlier booking of Busan-Jeju with Air Busan as the firework festival was cancelled so we had to make changes with our schedule. We then booked another ticket with Jeju Air. There were other airlines offering flights to Jeju such as Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air and T'way Airlines. We needed a flight from Busan and we were on a budget so the only options were Air Busan and Jeju Air. In fairness to Air Busan, the flights were averagely-priced and we were able to cancel it with only 1000 Won penalty fee, not bad!

Jeju Air (제주항공) is a budget airline based in Jeju City that offers domestic flights between Jeju to Seoul, Busan, and Cheongju. They also offer flights to Jeju from other countries such as Thailand, Philippines, Guam, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and China.

jeju air review
Jeju Air's check-in counter at Gimhae Airport

Friday, January 4, 2013

The temple by the ocean – Haedong Yonggungsa, Busan – Day 10 in South Korea

We overslept the next day due to our “hangover” with the fireworks festival last night, we were supposed to leave for the temple by 9AM but apparently were not able to, so we started our adventure by mid-noon. Our only plan for the day was to visit Haedong Yonggungsa as it was also quite far from where we are staying and our flight to Jeju was 7PM, so we had to go back early. We took a train to Haeundae station and from there, Bus 181 will be able to take you to the temple.

Haedong Yonggungsa is one of the famous temples in Busan located at the north-eastern part of the city. The name translates to “Korean Dragon Palace Temple” in English. One of the most unique points of this temple is that it is situated near the ocean, which is quite rare in South Korea as most temples in the country are found in the mountains.

busan temple beach
Haedong Yonggungsa

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Busan Fireworks Festival – Day 9 in South Korea

Welcoming the New Year with a new post. Hoping you had a very nice NY celebration yourself, and with or without any new year resolution, I hope this year, we exert more “-ER”s in what we do and aim to achieve, hardER, bettER, fastER and strongER!

This post is a continuation from our Busan tour with our Couchsurfing host and is also bit connected with New Year’s celebration as I will be featuring the fireworks display at the Busan Fireworks Festival 2012.

The fireworks show was originally planned to be held last October 27 but due to the heavy rain that day, it was postponed and re-scheduled the next day. The entire festival lasted for two days, the first day, Oct 26, featured a free concert with famous K-Pop artists - TVXQ and IU to name a few. The fireworks display is held at the Gwanggali Beach and has attracted not just Koreans, but lots of foreigners as well. Just like us, there were some tourists who visited Busan on the 26-28th to experience this festival and it also has been a tradition to the people of Busan ever since it started last 2005. The event is free for all – meaning no admission fee ;) More reasons to experience this famous festival.

gwangan bridge
Gwangan Bridge at dusk

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