Uncle JJ

Back from Jeju Island

Posted on 21. Oct, 2010 by Johnathan in Recreation, Special Occasions

So, we went to a beautiful island that was apparently even more gorgeous in better weather or lighting conditions. No hot air ballooning for us, unfortunately. Still, we were able to check out some pretty fun and interesting sites. Affordable taxis were the item du jour and despite everything being scattered all over the island, we were able to do most of what we wanted. The first day, we went to a miniature museum with a huge park full of famous world monuments. It was dark soon after, so we grabbed some groceries and Hwajung made dinner for us with John (he wasn’t the ingredient, just the helper) back at our “pension.” Apparently, a four person room means two people sleep on the bed while 2 sleep are on the floor. That aside, the place was beautiful and we liked the idea that you could come in with a group and eat in the yard among palm trees (did I mention Jeju is sub-tropical?) or your room according to your fancy.

The next day we headed off to the Teddy Bear museum and saw bears worth thousands of dollars. Everything from a diamond encrusted bear with emeralds and gold fur, an even more costly Louis Vuitton bear, and a smorgasbord of bear-themed world events adorned the museum. The back yard was a jungle full of posing bears, live fish, fountains and manicured nature. Even more, somewhere out there was a golf course, perhaps for fathers who’d rather play golf than look at bears. The exhibit was capped with a display case showing Korea’s endangered bears and the dangers they are battling.

In the interest of time, we’ll abridge the rest: visited a gorgeous beach, fished for shells, frolicked in the waves, took a taxi for hours to a trick art museum, took funky pictures, took another long taxi ride home (our driver waited 2 hours for us at the exhibit), ate duck at a traditional Korean restaurant, got yelled at for our shoes on the floor, fought with chopsticks, slept, took a taxi, took a bus, took a taxi because the bus was too slow, missed our plane, took some pictures, ate lunch, took a plane, got home, found Sandy’s lost camera (yeah, she lost it), made some chili with rice, made some banana bread, and now we’re trying to organize the pictures of our travels.

Yesterday we walked around and shopped by ourselves without getting lost.  Today we will be going to see fireworks after dinner at Hwajung’s. We will stay the night and after  breakfast tomorrow and will go to a temple that John sent pictures of and Carol would like to see. More or less, we now have the rest of our time here booked up.

Note from Sandy: John has been nagging incessantly about keeping camera lenses clean so if you see any smudges it is not his fault.