Jeju Day 3

On the third day of my trip to Jeju Island with Ahreum, we went to church with Ahreum's friend from Kyunghi University, Seoggi. 

 

 

He is a Jeju native, and we we spent the day traveling with him.  Then in the evening, his family invited us to a very wonderful dinner.  I remain touched and very grateful for the generous and welcoming treatment.

 

After church we went to Songbansan.  It was a nice walk up to a local Buddhist temple.  The views from the pathway were dramatic

 

 

Afterwards, we walked down to the seashore, where a Dutch ship once landed in the 1600s.

 

Strangely, there were some other relics at the site of the Dutch landing.  There must have been the genesis of something else at this sight.

 

Land of Confusion

 

After exploring Songbansan, we drove to the exiled home of the important scholar and artist Chuasa.  There was a museum with replicas of his ink drawings and calligraphy.  He was one of the most important philosophers and artists of his generation, and he developed a style of calligraphy that was unique and expressive.  I greatly enjoyed the visit.

 

Afterwards we headed south again, and further along the coast to some volcanic highlands, called Songaksan.

 

The scenery remained engaging, and we had a good time walking up to the ridge of the volcanic crater.  The views from Songaksan were stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

Seoggi got a picture of Ahreum and me that I am very happy with.

 

After our exploration of Songaksan, we departed and drove along the coast on the way back to his home.  We stopped along a rocky beach in between Songaksan and Songbansan.  The gray did not let up for a moment, but the Island's mist and stony resolve continued to affect me.

 

 

 

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Back From Florence

I'm now back from an Academic conference at the EUI in Florence.  It was a very stimulating event, and I think my paper went successfully.  Unfortunately I expected to present on Saturday but was in fact the second presenter on the first day (Thursday).  So my preparation was a bit rushed, but fine in the end.  This is a good experience for getting over nervous jitters.

The conference proceedings took up most of the time, so I wasn't really able to do any photography this time around.  A shame, but there is always next time.

 

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Trip to Jeju Island, first 2 days

Probably the highlight of my visit to Korea was the vacation Ahreum and I took to Jeju Island off the South West Coast of Korea from Firda 21 September to Tuesday the 25th.  The island was formed volcanically, though now all such seismic activity has ceased.  This makes for some truly interesting scenery, with some rolling hills, but many abrupt bluffs and mountains formed by volcanic eruption.  The center of the Island is dominated by Hallasan, the main volcanic mountain of Jeju.

 

We took a plain from Gimpo airport in Seoul.  Check in was fast, as was boarding.  The flight was about an hour in length.  Similar to the journey from London to Amsterdam.  Korean Air provided friendly service, but the drinks were small and there was no food or snack at all.  A comparable length journey on a European flight for a national carrier would certainly provide a sandwich or something.

 

Unfortunately, the rental car company, while affordable, was pretty dubious.  Hansung is definitely not a reliable company to rent from.  They were unprepared when we arrived, and the car we got had very bald tires and was worn in general.  We bought an extra insurance plan.  Over one night one of the tires blew, which should have been unsurprising.  We got some help changing the spare, and arranged to have a new car delivered.  As before, this car was about seven years old, and a gas guzzler to boot.  Worst of all the company tried to invalidate our insurance because the car had changed.

 

But complaining aside, it was very useful to have a rental car in Jeju.  The locals drive like madmen, which caused endless frustration whilst driving, but having the flexibility of a car was really perfect.

 

So on the first day we relaxed a little in the hotel, and did some grocery shopping.  I hadn't cooked for Ahreum for almost a year, which makes me very sad.  Luckily, I had the chance to remedy that situation with some home made Samgeopsael (Korean grilled pork).

 

On day we did some serious traveling.  I drove East to Seongsan, or sunrise point.  It is a relatively small volcanic peak, but the climb was steep. 

 

Looking down

 

The crater ridge

 

Ahreum on the way down, she makes hiking easy!

 

Afterwards we went to a small beach next to the volcano.  There are some very rare special oysters that live off the Jeju Island here, and renowned local women divers are able to hold their breath for 15 minutes when they dive for these oceanic treasures.  They were not, however, particularly photogenic.  There were also a plethora of giant silverfish or centipede looking bugs (they weren't insects though, too many legs) living on amidst the rocks, but they were very afraid of big human vibrations.  Though I didn't take any pictures of the creepy crawlies, the biggest were probably about 4 inches in length.

 

The base of the volcano was as impressive as the summit:

 

Evidence of ages

 

Sympathetic contrasts

  

 

Ahreum Explores the coast

 

Radiance and a baseball cap

 

We finished off a good morning of climbing with lunch at a local and overpriced seafood restaurant.  Luckily the food was satisfying.

We almost felt jet lagged in the afternoon, but felt refreshed after a quick nap.  We went to explore the hotel, had a coffee at the hotel's cafe, and explored the rocky beaches on the resort.  It was twilight, providing some interesting and brooding light.

 

Automated vigilance

 

 

 

 

So ended the first day.

Once more into the breach,

 

Ben

Pictures on Flickr

I've posted some pictures from my trip on Flickr.  But it is worth noting that the privacy setting for some of them is set to private.  You'll probably notice an absence of picture of Ahreum if you go to my Flickr page.  So if you don't have a Flickr account, you'll need to create one and add me as a contact to see some of the pictures.  I'll make you a friend or family contact as is appropriate.  My Flickr ID is elrohil_2. 

If you are having some difficulty adding me as a contact, email me at elrohil@hotmail.com and give e your Flickr ID and I'll add you.

 

I'll also post some pictures and tell some stories about the trip over the next few days.

 

Once more into the breach,

Ben