Jeju Island (pt. 1)

Welcome, one and all. It is now the end of the 1st week of Term 4 (May - June).

I am thankful to now have the time to show you my pictures from my trip to Jeju Island.

Jeju Island is off the southwestern coast of South Korea. It is sometimes called the "Hawaii of Korea". Ever since I came to Korea, I've been told countless times of how much I need to go to Jeju while I'm here in Korea.

Now, I understand why.

Naturally, I took many pictures, but my pictures don't do the original subject justice. I'll still show you my humble pictures, so you can get some kind of idea.

I flew to Jeju Island from Gimpo Airport (in Seoul). Here I am, contemplating what awaits me in this famous island, as I ride the shuttle bus that takes me directly to the airport.

Just an interesting sight in Gimpo. My flight was delayed, so I had plenty of time to explore Gimpo Airport.

I had about 2 hours to kill, so I went a little camera-happy.

I won't show all my pictures, but just the ones that seem "ok" enough to be shown.

Two Dragon Drums.

(traditional Korean drums)

A palanquin for a middle-class bride to be carried in.

My 1st sight of Jeju Island, as soon as I stepped out of the airport.

I was told to go here: the bus terminal in Jeju City (about a 10 minute ride from the airport).
Why? For my accomodations: provided by an SDALI student's family (who own a motel just down a street from the terminal).

Inside my room.

It was a lot better than I expected!

Yeap, even a refrigerator!

Wow, a full-sized bed for me and me alone!

I forgot to take pictures of the bathroom, but it was nicer, bigger, and cleaner than I thought. All in all, very pleasant.

Taking in a bit of the motel from outside.

Reminds me of the flowers in the traditional Korean embroidery.

Gardening is apparently a big deal here.

The entire motel. I was staying on the 3rd floor, right beside the stairs.

After settling in, I decided to go for a walk.

These signs are everywhere!

This statue is beside the City Hall--which happens to be a major bus stop.

Same place, but it's a compass.

It says : "Seoul 453 km, Busan 300 km, and Seoguwipo (in Southern Jeju) 42 km"

Here: "Daegu 324 km, Kwanju 187 km".

Both are major cities in South Korea.

I met the coordinator of the Jeju institute, her roommate, and 3 other SDALI teachers who came down for the break as well.

We went out to a Mexican restaurant for supper. It was full and we had to wait to be served. Here we are, waiting. I decided to capture the "animated" event.

A nearby restaurant that caught our eye . . . and not exactly for the menu . . .

My dinner: Mexican taco salad.

It wasn't quite the ones in the States, but it was pretty close. Not bad at all!

Afterwards, the 2 Jeju teachers took us to the Underground Shopping Mall.

Here is the entrance we used.

While the other girls shopped, I just walked around.

There's no point in me shopping for clothes in Korea: unless it's in the men's department, there's no way it'll fit me. All the sizes are too small for me in just about every way imaginable.


So, I walked around and took this picture.

and took this picture too.

In a nutshell, this was Day 1; consisting mostly of traveling and then spending time with other SDALI teachers.

Day 2 was packed. You'll see the result . . .