Highlights from my last trip to Jeju. (**WARNING: Very adult content**)

During the weekend of Lunar New Year, I visited Jeju. I knew it would be one of my final visits to Jeju, but I didn't realize it would be the final trip.

COVID-19 had already sprouted in China, and Korea was worried. Arriving at Jeju International Airport, I saw it was easier to count the individuals who weren't wearing facemasks.

Once I arrived in Seogwipo (the main city on the southern coast--where most of the tourist spots are), the atmosphere was completely different. Hardly anyone wore a mask. The vibe was very chill (it could also be because it was windy).

I checked in to the hotel Kenny Story Inn. I was positively impressed. I would compare it as a four-star hotel trying to disguise itself as a budget hotel. I was in for a treat when I saw I got a corner room on the eleventh floor: two sets of windows with two different views + constant, yet chilly breeze (this was the end of January). Could this hotel get any better?

It could!

How? In one word: breakfast.

This breakfast is reason enough to stay at this hotel.

The Museum of Sex and Health

This is where the content gets very adulty.

However, as I took many pictures here, I will only post those that are kosher, as I don't want to get into legal trouble.

Entering highly adult content

I didn't realize how connected so many things are to sex.

Self-explanatory

Important information

Thank you! I knew older people have sex too!

Condom usage frequency by age

Random food shots

Mashed potato and gravy tart at KFC.
First time I saw and ate this.
I did not regret it.

Kenny Story Inn's breakfast buffet is legit.

Great fuel for the day

Baghdad, the best Indian restaurant I've ever been to in Korea.

I met a former coworker, and we were able to catch up for a while. We even got to video call my that-time boyfriend! There were other people I wanted to meet, but it didn't work out. We had hoped to see each other again, but that now has a huge question mark. Hopefully, we can meet up again one day--with my husband.

Bizarre Safety Information Card

If you have flown with a commercial airliner, have you ever bothered to look through the safety information card in the backseat pocket in front of you?

Why bother?

They are all the same, right?

Apparently not.

If you read the title of this post, you would have figured that there must be something different about this safety information card to receive having its own blogpost. 

Or I'm just weird. That's a valid argument too.

This was from JinAir, a Korean budget airliner I flew to Jeju for a weekend.

Let the madness begin.

There are so many things wrong here.

How outdated is this?

Where did the lady get that gas mask?
This was before the CCP Coronavirus.

Huh? How?

No surfing/sliding down? Blast.
Oh, but falling in love is ok. Nice.

Look at the man's gradual expression of horror on his face.

See, punk rockers can be very helpful!

Ugh, no.

Where did the mermaids come from?

How could they land in an African grassland if they never reach the African continent?

No diving down, sorry.

Who is going to walk on their hands at a time like this?

Perhaps you can find a more bizarre safety information card. Do you accept this challenge?

Winter Vacation '18_Part 2: Jeju (13.-16. Jan. '18)

A few changes

Some of you know I used to teach and live in Jeju. I visited Jeju last August, but I wanted to meet up with a few people now in the winter, hence why I went.

Having in mind I moved out 5 years (!) ago, things understandably change. Somehow, things tend to change much faster in Korea.

One such change was the addition (or transplantation) of the city bus stops from the side of the road to the middle of the road. Below are a few pictures of what I mean.

Jeju City Hall bus stop--in the middle of the road.

Stop lights for the cars and the buses.

Other changes included the buses themselves. They were newer.

The bus routes changed to include other areas outside of Jeju city, even down to Seogwipo. Before, if you wanted to go anywhere outside of Jeju City, you had to go to Jeju Bus Terminal. Not anymore!

The bus numbers themselves were changed too--and this was the one that threw me off the most. When I was there in August, the buses had the same numbers as before. I come back 4.5 months later, and they are COMPLETELY different! It took me a while to understand my beloved 500 bus was now 365. It's equally dear cousin, the 502, was now 360.

Things never stay the same.

Other random sightings

So I took the 365 (formerly the 500) over to the end of its route (Jeju Halla University). Why? For memories' sake. On my way there, I was quick enough to catch this sight from the bus that caught my attention.

Is this the hair salon's idea of advertisement, two poodles?

Near the Halla University is a park they recently finished (maybe it was finished when I was there in August, not quite sure). Something there caught my eye. Here it is.

Comfort Woman Statue, lovingly covered up from the cold.

Close-up

You should check out this cafe

Down a side alley near City Hall, you will find a cafe called, "Lee SeongPil: Acidity & Full Aroma & Sweety Roastery Shop."
I kid you not.
I liked the atmosphere and the natural lighting coming in from a good 1/3 of the property. I forgot what kind of tea I ordered (maybe Rooibos?), but it was just right. The huge muffin I ordered was also plenty--but the good kind of plenty.
I took a few pictures--and a short video--you can see here.

There's the name.

Opens 11:30 - 22:00 Tue. - Fri., 13:00 - 22:00 on weekends, and is closed on Mon.

The menu

I don't remember ever seeing a wooden certificate before--paper certificates don't count.

Wanna get away?

I just came across this mural near my hostel and thought it was very well done.

Wanna get away?

Those are all the pictures I can share from Jeju.
I met with former colleagues, former students, and current friends. We got caught up in each other's lives. I did not take many pictures with them, but I'd rather keep those between them and me.

I left Jeju Tuesday morning. Where did I go?
Not back home! I still have the rest of the week as vacation and I want to go somewhere.

I did just that. From Jeju, I flew straight to Taiwan and stayed there until 3 am Monday (22nd) morning.

Let me show you how Taiwan was like.

Winter Vacation '18_Part 1: Jeju (13.-16. Jan. '18)

"Vacation's all I ever wanted..." 

Do you know that 80s song?

After my 2-week English Winter Camp at my main school, it was time for my week-long winter vacation!
Man, was I ready! Don't get me wrong. I liked my camp and loved seeing the students get really into it, but everyone needs a break to do their own thing.

Technically, my break was 5 days long because the schools don't count weekends. Wait, so my vacation was only 5 days? Screw that! I need to get the weekends involved too!

Which I did.

Close-call to Jeju

I was not aware that I might not be able to start my vacation until my co-teachers brought it up. Apparently, a ton of snow was dumped onto Jeju Island. It got to the point that the international airport closed Thursday night, leaving about 3,000 passengers stranded overnight.

Oh.

That's a problem.

They checked right then and there for me. Fortunately, the airport was open and running again that day--Friday. My flight to Jeju was scheduled the following (Saturday) morning. That was close, but I was able to fly as expected, without the slightest hiccup. *Whew* 

Piles of sleeping mats used in Jeju International Airport, just one night and two days ago.

Mini-Reunion in Jeju SDA International Church

From the airport, I took a taxi directly to Jeju SDA International Church--where I used to work and worship for 1 year about 6 years (!) ago. 

I visited before, during the summer this past August. Strange thing: in August, I left just as the sermon was going to begin. This time, I arrived just in time for church (which was my plan). I got to see some of the same church members who were there when I was there. Just like any other place, Time took its course. Some moved away, others moved in. The children I remembered were much older--some even about to enter university! Man, I never felt my white strands of hair as I did then.

The institute/church/etc., just a block behind the district court.

My hostel in Jeju

At around 16:00, I wanted to go check-in to my hostel. I chose Greenday Guesthouse in Jeju City (not for the band) for the location. I was familiar with the area. I knew it was quiet and that it was not far from Jeju City Hall (took me about 10 minutes to walk it), where I'd meet most of the people I was going to see.

I do not regret staying there.

Entrance, plus bathroom under the stairs for those needing it after 23:00.

Wanna know the policies? Here they are, in English and 한국어로.

My single room. I wanted to be alone in a hostel room for once.

Three nights in this room cost me a total of 78,300 KRW.

The breakfast included toast, cereal, milk, juice, jam, 1 egg per person, and 미역국 (Miyeok-gug, seaweed soup, an excellent source of iron).
They have a library I was not able to enjoy. Most of the books were in Korean, but there was one in English, but it was way bigger than The Bible, and I knew I was not going to read it all during my stay.
Most importantly, they have 1 thing that is always a nice extra in any hostel I stay in . . .

Why was it so serious though? The girls working there said it was sick, but it still had the energy to climb onto the top bunk of their beds . . . 

Summer Vacation, Part 4: Visiting Friends and Ex-Students in Cheonan Again, and Return to Masan (26.-27. Aug.'17)

Unfortunately, I had to leave Jeju. There were a few former students/friends from Cheonan who didn't have any free time to meet during the week. Therefore, we decided to meet up Saturday night in Cheonan.

So, it was back on the plane, back to Gimpo, and back to Cheonan.

Jeju Airport (and sea) from a taxi.

Domestic and international lines were literally drawn.

Please forgive my camera's impossible panoramic shot.

That's the same company I flew with to and from Jeju: Jeju Air.

It took a little longer for me to return to Cheonan, thanks to weekend/summer vacation traffic.
The important thing is that I made it. And was reunited with a former student I hadn't seen in 6 years. Just to think, that during that time I was either in Korea, Poland, or the States; and he was either in Korea or working for his company in an assignment in Moscow for 4 years.

Charlie and Sooway reunited.

We had Seolleongtang (설렁탕) for dinner then moved to a cafe for dessert and an extended chat session.
I tried to call a couple of friends who used to be in Cheonan but couldn't reach them. I decided to record a video of each of us sending them some kind of message. At least 2 have confirmed they were able to watch the videos. I hope that brought a smile to their faces.

This student's son doesn't seem too impressed.

A typical motel room in Korea. It cost me 50,000 KRW (less than 50 USD).
As you can see, they have EVERYTHING you need.
(Sorry, but it's in Spanish).

Well, and that's it. On Sunday morning, I got the KTX train back to Masan. After 9 days of being away from home, I had returned. I needed to repack and rest because the next semester started the next day.

So it only took me about 10 days to finally publish all these pictures and stuff about my summer vacation.
I hope it won't take as long for my Chuseok holiday.

Summer Vacation, Part 3: Visiting Friends and Former Students in Jeju (23. - 26. Aug.'17)

Oh, how wonderful it was to be back in Jeju!

I don't love summer at all, but man Jeju almost had me change my mind. Almost.

Thanks to Hostel Lyndon's laundry service, I was able to wash (AND dry) all my clothes (I was in pajamas). My backpack full of dirty laundry turned into a backpack full of clean clothes. Soooo nice.

One of my favorite parts, the currency board.

Now that that was finished, let me go and explore Jeju City a bit. Let me go down Memory Lane as I ride the buses I used to ride and see how the place has changed since I visited/lived there.

I stopped by a restaurant called "Uknow Crepes" for (what else?) a crepe--only to remember that I just had 2 wisdom teeth taken out of my right side. Well, I already paid and didn't want to waste my money, so I just chewed on my left side, even tilting my head to the left for extra help from gravity.

Should I have stuck with only soup? Probably.

Did I regret this choice? Not really.

If I could enjoy it with a swollen face, how much more if I was completely okay?

My crepe. It hurt so good.

Just my size: big!

A former student and I met for lunch at the best Indian restaurant in Jeju: Bagdad (and it's Halal!)

Seriously, the best Indian restaurant in Jeju, if not Korea.

After, we went next door for dessert (not planned, but it turned out that way!)

"Alice" on the 2nd floor

Dessert: Green Tea bingsu with green tea ice cream and cheesecake with green tea sauce.

Oh man, that dessert was so good!

Forrest Tunnel in Jeju Island, going towards Seogwipo from Jeju City through the center road of the island.

I met a few others that evening and the following day. Below is a picture of a former colleague of mine (also from Jeju SDA Language Institute): Duke.

Good overall guy, just doing what he can to provide for his family.

Good to see ya, Duke.

Ah, it was a good, yet short visit. I'll see what I can do to make it better next time.

Next: Return to Cheonan before returning home to Masan (end of my summer vacation).