We visited the largest crater on Jeju island which is apparently a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have visited quite a few of these in my lifetime and I hope to visit more of them! Once we climbed the hill to the crater, we then did some crazy Korean poses and here is one of Bill and Lyndsey!
This is taken from Lyndsey's point of view and I think that she is loving it! haha
This is a poetic shot of me taken in the wheat field leading up to the crater. Lyndsey and I did some dramatic poses and laughed in between shots! It was grand!
We then went to a rock garden, yes I said a rock garden with a bunch of different rock formations. It was pretty funny to see all the Korean tourist whip out their giant cameras and snap some photos away! haha Lyndsey and I are trying to once again to a crazy Korean style dramatic pose but then Sunny and Well added some character to this pose haha
Alright, so two of the sites we visited were botanical gardens. One was indoors and one was outdoors. The outdoor one was kinda sad because it is winter and the plants are pretty much dead haha Any who, this is the indoor botanical garden that had a brilliant Christmas theme. I kinda missed Christmas and especially Christmas baking while I was here!
I love penguins and here I am pretending I am a penguin! I do admit that these guys are way cuter than me! I was tempted to steal one because they were so cute haha but I didn't!
There was a Native themed section in the Desert plants exhibit. I just though I would do a random pose and cause some trouble haha!
Here is a beautiful shot of Jeju island from a large looking post situated in the garden. It was amazing to know the water is right at my finger tips. Well metaphorically!
I am supposed to be doing a macho man pose but now that I look at the picture, it just looks like I am thrusting the garden haha Oh my! But a worker there yelled at me because I was standing on the sitting ledge. Whoops!
This tour bus was parked next door to our tour bus. Thank goodness I am not on that tour bus or I would scream. I thought my 14 hour days were bad!
Korean Saunas- Jim Jil Bang- (Sorry, I couldn't take any pictures) - So the first night in Jeju, Lyndsey, Victoria, Rina, Lucy, and I decided to treat ourselves to a traditional Korean Sauna. I was pretty ready to get naked and scrub down because I have done it numerous times in Japan. However, it was different to go with friends and my trainees because well I know them haha However, we all enjoyed the different bathing pools of various temperatures of water. I especially enjoyed this shallow sauna bed where you lie down and there are jets on the seat. Lyndsey and I literally lied around for 25 minutes! It felt great to have jets massaging our bodies! After the hot water pools, we headed upstairs to the next level of steam rooms. It was great to go in to various temperature rooms and cover our bodies in hot rocks. Oh, by this point the sauna gives you these ugly mustard yellow shorts and t-shirts to wear on this floor. There is also the option of watching TV, a snack shop,and pillows for lying around and relaxing. Man I love Korean saunas!
Here is YYOK asleep on the bus right behind Lyndsey and I. I think he passed out from drinking to much at lunch!
This man was on the boardwalk going towards the beach. I would date him but he didn't talk much. I am not a fan of the strong and silent type. Maybe he only speaks Korean!
Here I am enjoying the beach in my winter gear and sunglasses. It was nice to have some down time and collect some seashells! I miss the ocean a lot!
Here is a famous little beach that we visited. Lyndsey, Victoria, Tim and I were bad because we had to stay with the group but instead we ventured off onto the beach. We then took off our shoes and strolled in the water. It was brisk but nice!
Everyone sitting around digesting the food. Lots of soju is consumed at lunch and well pretty much every meal. I am not a fan of it at all. I think it smells like nail polish remover!
We ate alot of Shabu Shabu (Japanese hot pot) during our trip. Basically it is one pot of boiling liquid (this one was spicy) for four people. You get a bunch of interesting side dishes like small fish, different Kimchis, and pickled things. We had a big pot of seafood that consisted of odd sea creatures I have never had before. Some of them were even alive. So when the broth started to boil we sat around and watched our lunch die. I felt bad and while eating some the sea creatures, I told them I was sorry! The Koreans thought it was funny but I did feel a bit sad watching my lunch die. However, it was delicious!
Instant coffee machines are a must have in most restaurants. Just walk up to the machine and pick between 4 options: black, milk, cream (which is deathly sweet), or tea. Convenient and just a shot cup size. Nice!
You could take a romantic yacht tour of Jeju! Oh how wonderful, if only I had free time during the long jammed packed days and also a boyfriend!! Wishful thinking!
Here I am dancing on a pier beside the ocean after consuming a seafood lunch! There was a woman selling squid with her giant stereo blaring some loud traditional Korean pop music. I suddenly became inspired to dance. Then YYOK started dancing across from me on the pier. I like the randomness in my life hehe
Here is one of the many beaches in Jeju. This one had a mini harbor and was super cute. Lots of good seafood restaurants. I really like seafood and living in Jeju would be pretty sweet!
Some of the Korean teachers and I took a stroll after lunch to the beach. Just a natural picture of the gang walking. This was taken after I dance on the dock to some traditional Korean music while YYOK (the old Korean trainee) danced alongside. It was hilarious!
Here is a random shot of me with a waterfall at one of the botanical gardens we visited. Being that it is winter, I don't understand why we visited these botanical gardens. All the plants were pretty much dead or on their way into hibernation. Oh crazy tour!
We stopped for a delicious fresh seafood lunch by a beach (the name is unknown). Here is a giant cliff with some cool holes in it. I love being by the ocean and man I really wish that it was hot and summertime when we went!
We also looked at some rock formations in a few caves which I have seen before in China with Annee! However, I did think it was funny to see Christmas in a cave!
Here is a nice little garden that we stopped at. I was freezing and walked ahead of the group because I left my coat on the tour bus. Dang it! But I like the little rock people and I had to take a picture of them!
Rape flower, yes I said rape flower, is a famous flower in Jeju. So at the gift shops at every location we visited, rape flower products were sold. I thought this was funny to think that you smell like rape...Oh I am so bad!!!
Lyndsey, So Young (my homeroom trainee who is the number student in this session), and Bill posing with a traditional statue at the folk museum.
A random crazy shot showing how much fun we are having in Korea! I love my crazy photography skills!
At the Jeju folk village, Lyndsey and I took the sticks used in a traditional game and decided that we would pretend we were Harry Potter instead!
So the second night in Jeju, Lyndsey and I were feeling tired from spending 14 hours a day on the go constantly sightseeing and speaking English. The second night after lounging in our hotel room we decided that we would go on a walk and check out the town. So as we were walking down a main stretch of road I saw a canopy covered tunnel leading to a good old open air market. I love open air markets in Asia so I told Lyndsey we should check it out. We were walking and noticed a variety of shops were shutting down for the day but we continued to walk until we noticed some loud music in the distance and some Korean people dancing around. Lyndsey and I decided what the heck, lets go check it out! Little did we know but a bunch of fish market workers were having an after work party and they asked us to party with them! Here the older men and women of the fish market are dancing and drinking (beer and soju) while chomping on mandarins, chicken, and pork.
We had a blast with the ladies constantly feeding us alcohol and shouting 'one shot' which is the Korean term for a shot of alcohol. At one point I didn't want to drink my one shot, so one of the ladies grabbed it out of my hand and drank it! I was shocked!The ladies were hilarious with their circle dancing and slapping our bums. Korean people are very touchy feely I have noticed. But it was so much fun!
Here is one of the funny drunk men who were doing some traditional Korean dancing with us. We danced for one hour with them. When we left, the ladies filled my pockets, purse, and a giant bag with Jeju mandarins. I was so happy! Then two old ladies who were super drunk pointed to their cheeks so I kissed their cheeks haha and they were so happy! This experience made us so happy and definitely made me appreciate how kind strangers can be! These are the moments I appreciate!
Here a video of the dance party with the fish workers. Just imagine listening to this type music for an hour and dancing haha For some reason the songs were literally like 10 minutes each and there would only be a brief break inbetween to refuel on alcohol.
This is a traditional Korean house from long ago. I saw many of these at the folk museum. They were pretty cool.
This little guy is pretty lonely cause I ate all of his friends on Jeju! Oh so much pork was consumed during our trip. I recommended that if you don't like pork, especially bacon (they love to cook back bacon and wrap it up with lettuce and rice and put red pepper soybean sauce on it - I call it Korean tacos) then don't come to Korea!
Mrs. Heo, one of my supervisors (who is 50 believe it or not!), is modeling the traditional Korean toilet. I like how she really got into it! Literally!
Saint is modeling a traditional Jeju carrier. I like how he is drinking an ever so modern coffee at the same time!
One of my Korean homeroom students, Bo Bae, was telling me that she needed to stand behind me because her face is too fat. Yes, Korean people have an obsession with wanting narrow faces because they literally think there faces are too fat and round.
Left to right - Phil, Saint (one of the Korean teachers), Bill, and Mrs. Heo (one of my 4 supervisors). This is the mans shot originally but Mrs. Heo just couldn't resist a bunch of men posing with their jackets off!
Here is a couples shot of Lyndsey and I by a waterfall haha In Korea, doing serious couples shots with friends and lovers is very serious. I saw some of the trainees honestly making some hardcore 'Sears catalogue' type modeling at all the tourist spots. I, on the other hand, enjoy doing crazy poses!
Lyndsey and I enjoying a good swing at the Jeju historical village. Apparently this game is historical and apart of Jeju culture. In my opinion, swing sets are really in every culture ahaha I like how Rina (on my homeroom trainees) is coaching us on how to swing with our legs!
In the background you can see the famous church (well apart of the set) from the soap opera. Yeah, I don't really care about the soap opera at all, I just wanted to show you these nice scenic shots! hehe If only you could have seen all the tourist buses!
Another beautiful shot from the soap opera set! Jeju sure had some nice beaches but we didn't visit them because they were not on the schedule. Damn schedules! I thought about staying here forever but it was a little to windy for me!
This is my soap opera pose! Don't you love how dramatic I look in this shot! I am imagining my lover has left me for another and now I will throw myself into the ocean haha Oh Korean soap operas and their crazy plots!! hahaha
This is a famous peak, I forget the name of it, haha but it is used as a set for a famous Korean soap opera. Apparently it is popular to visit sets of soap operas in Korea. I couldn't be bothered to visit them personally but this one was nice considering the view! Definitely a tourist trap with all the vendors waiting to steal your money!
After working 3 days for 14 hours a day with non stop touring, this is how everyone felt. Victoria is demonstrating who everyone felt on the airplan. It was great to tour Jeju islands but at the same time we had a tight schedule of non stop sightseeing. Even the Korean teachers were tired. Man on man, it felt good to fly back to JETI. Plus, I just bought some Chanel lipgloss at the duty free shop! So I was pretty wired on the flight home!
Dunkin Doughnuts...A possible breakfast lifesaver. At the hotel, we were given a horrible 'Western breakfast' that consisted of: a cold hot dog cut diagonally to look attractive, 4 tatter tots, 2 slices of an orange, 2 dry pieces of toast and cold scramble eggs. It was pretty bad because everything was as cold as ice. So Lyndsey and I found a Dunkin' Doughnuts and bought muffins and mochas! Yum Yum!
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