30 Sept 2011
We left the beautiful seaside Seaes Hotel and Resort and continued on the Olle trail towards Jungmun Beach. The next part of the trail was along the main coastal road which we went by in our taxi earlier. We followed the road towards and across a highway bridge. From the bridge, we could see the lower part of the Cheonjeyeon Falls, which we planned to visit on Day 3. We left the Olle trail and followed the road signs indicating the way to Jungmun Beach.
A short walk later, we arrived at the beach and saw some ahjummas selling live seafood.
I am not sure if these ahjummas were retired or active Hae-nyeos (famous Jeju woman divers).
Some Korean or Japanese tourists were game on trying the dish. We were not sure if our stomach could take that kind of food, so we gave it a miss and settled down to do some people watching.
This was a nice place to rest, have a snack and enjoy the views of Jungmun beach with Hyatt Hotel in the background.
Jungmun beach was not crowded at this time. One guy was seen trying to surf. The water must be cold as it was autumn.
The sand on the beach is quite unique and consist of grains with 3 colours – black, white and reddish brown.
Surf at Jungmun Beach. Note the steep cliff at the other end of Jungmun beach.
To get back to Lotte Jeju Hotel where we are staying, we had to go up this steep flight of steps. It was a tiring climb.
We took a short nap on one of the benches along the way while the sun sets. Upon reaching the top, lo and behold, we were back at the windmills of Lotte Jeju Hotel. After all the exertions, we were craving for a nice and yummy dinner.
Lotte Jeju Hotel had a buffet dinner with a Volcano Fountain Show (show starts at 20:00, performance lasts 15 minutes, admission is free). Best views are those at the buffet dining table. We checked out the buffet spread and decided to go eat elsewhere.
During our taxi ride to Jusangjeolli Cliff earlier, we noted some restaurants and shops located just outside the hotel. We figured that there could be some nice local food available there.
Just outside the hotel, there was an operator offering rides on a brightly lit, horse drawn carriage. Fairy tale setting and ideal for honeymooners. We were too old for that!
We walked along the route taken by our taxi earlier. We decided on a restaurant selling Korean BBQ. The BBQ beef ribs and hot spicy, seafood soup were good and reasonably priced. I think it was about half the price of the buffet at the hotel.
Breakfast was not included in our room package. After dinner, we stopped at a 7-11 store next to the restaurant to buy some drinks, snacks and food for our breakfast the next day. It was a nice, enjoyable first day in Jeju.
For the next two days, I have booked a English speaking taxi driver to take us to various places around the Eastern (Day2) and Western (Day3) parts of Jeju. Similar private taxi tours can be booked at Trazy.com.
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