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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
Jeju is the capital of the special self-governing Jeju Province. It is a small island of about 600000 people and sits in the intersection of the Yellow and East China Seas. It's off the southern coast of mainland South Korea and is its largest island. Today we have a private tour with a driver to take us to the points of interest via a mini bus. There are 11 of us and I organized this fellow passengers through the Cruise Critic website. We have limited time as the ship docks late and we have to be back on board by 12.30 at the latest. We have lost about an hour in getting off the ship. The driver is Goh seung-ho. He has a little English but we work out early in the piece that it's best to keep your questions simple. The first place we visit is the Mt Halla Saryeoni healing forest. It's quite wet under foot but we take about a 30 minute stop here with a bit of a walk. It's very lush rainforest and clearly a popular area with very well maintained paths and signs. Next we go to a gallery of a private collection of Korean Art ( some rather erotic) uncomfortable to say the least with 9 other people we had only just met! Not at all what we were expecting this early on a Saturday morning with no warning. Maybe the signs explained a bit!! Outside there is an extensive collection of Bonsai, another very popular craft in Korea. There are hundreds of bonsai laid out in the garden and it's nice. We keep moving and we go to the Trick Museum. It's a very clever display of art and perception. Some photos I will attach will show what I mean. Next to a traditional house which has been in the family of the current occupants for at least 8 generations and the house was that old but in good up keep. We were enlightened with how the Koreans, in the outskirts, live and survive and make a living by selling to, you guessed it, tourists. That's us but we reframed from purchasing any of the elixir of the gods which were cram filled with magic potions to cure all ailments. Plus we had no Korean currency as yet so buying was impossible. The wonder juice Tasted nice and we left. Our last stop is Sunrise Peak and this is where we encounter all of the buses and hundreds of people. Seongsan Sunrise Peak was formed by a volcanic eruption 100000 years ago and the crater is almost 2000feet in diameter. It as the first place in Jeju to see the morning sun. It's Saturday so I'm sure families are out for the day. There's a 180 metre walk to the top but unfortunately we don't have time to do it, so it's just a quick photo stop for us.
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Holly and Halle Wow dad you're so brave!!
Gae Oh so cute