2 October 2011
We planned to make a quick stop at the Hyeopjae beach and then take our lunch inside Hallim Park.
Hyeopjae beach was deserted at this time of year. The wind was just too strong and water too cold for swimming. Biyando island is just across the water. In summer, this place would be packed.
The entrance to Hallim Park is just a few hundred meters away from the beach. We bought our tickets (8000 KRW per person!), took a guide map and headed straight for the Jae-Am Folk Village where one of the restaurant was located. We took quite a while to find the restaurant as the park was laid out like a maze and the map was not too good.
This restaurant serves traditional Jeju food, including pork BBQ. This was mass-produced, stir fried pork and was no way as good as the one we had at the Jeju Folk Village yesterday. In additional to the pork, we ordered a sea urchin/seaweed soup. It was a clear, greenish soup with plenty of seaweed and little yellow/orange bits. The yellow bits are the roe of the sea urchin. The soup was nothing to shout about but since this was the first time I was trying sea urchin, I did not regret ordering this.
After lunch, we walked about the folk village within the park and tried the traditional game of throwing sticks into a stone pot. It seems easy but it was very difficult to get even one stick into the pot.
This was also where the tallest Harubang stone in Jeju could be seen.
Highlights of Hallim Park include the white peacock and also the Hyeopjae and Ssangyong Caves. Some peacocks (normal colour) and pheasants were free ranging but the white peacocks were enclosed in the cage and none displayed their splendid feathers for us. Probably, they were all females.
I took this shot of a white peahen through the cage, using a narrow depth of field to blur out the fencing.
Next up, the caves.
After visiting the Manjanggul Caves yesterday, the Hyeopjae caves seemed quite “normal” although the caves were supposed to be special and unique, with lava tubes cum limestone caves. There were many features of limestones caves like stalactites and stalagmites to look at. Quite interesting actually. I did not have the urge to take any pictures. Just enjoy the walk through the caves.
After the cave, we gravitate ourselves towards the exit.
Somehow, this park did not fascinate us although the garden was well planted and featured koi ponds, water lilies and many flowers and trees including the signature Palm Tree Avenue with its many tall palms. Personally, I prefer to see the natural Jeju scenery and features, than a man-made botanical and bird park.
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