#709 - Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) / Jeju Woman Diver (Haenyo) Performance

Seongsan Ilchulbong otherwise known as Sunrise Peak, we paid 8000won for 9 people when it cost 1000won each for youth thanks to Mr Ann, and yet we didn't climb because time wasn't on our side haha.

 There was this chart which told you the timing of the sunrises the whole year, very interesting.

 Main reason why we were there, to catch the woman divers' perfomance.

A view of Seongsan Ilchulbong from the side.

Singing before diving in, for great harvest.
Many of the haenyo (woman divers) are at least 50 years old (keywords: at least) and above and they dive in with no proper equipment just their black suit. I am really impressed and part of me actually feels really sad for them having to do this at an old age to earn a living. :(

They went in fast and came back fast too. (Y)

Just some shells along the slippery shore...

#708 - Mysterious Road / Wind Turbines

Mysterious Road, which apparently defies the law of Physics.

When you switched the gear to neutral and not do anything, the car moves uphill on its own. :O

Same goes for any small object like eg. a water bottle or can.

Okay yup, that's about it, what it has to offer hahaha.

Stopped by some place with many wind turbines.

Such sight you can never witness in Singapore.

 Here's our huge 12-seater (driver included) van!

 Lunch at some restaurant our driver Mr Ann brought us to! He must have some connections there because we went this place twice in a row lol.

Sea urchin w kelp soup!

This sea urchin ain't fishy unlike the one I tried at Itacho Sushi haha.

 Abalone Porridge which was okay only, more like seasame oil porridge. :B

 Some hearty fish soup!

And yummy bibimbap Mr Ann made for us adding those side dishes and all. :)

Bill came up to 11000 won, with that many seafood so I guess it was alright? Eating in Korea is not really cheap haha.

#707 - Seoraksan National Park

Early morning saw us at Seoraksan National Park because we wanted to climb Seoraksan.

It was freaking cold and as the bus winded up to the place, there was quite a bit of pressure to the ears!

And nope my camera lens weren't dirty, the place was really misty and I gotta say it again, COLD.

 Sorry I am climbing mountain so I can't be bothered with dressing well!

 See how much the mist/fog collected at the same area after a few minutes! :O

The climb up was a little tough, most of the time, instead of steps, there were rocks with uneven surfaces and of different shapes and sizes. And most of us spent the time looking at which rock to step on next than admiring the surroundings. Wear proper shoes, I must say, for a pair of shoes w good grips is really important here!

A filter called "Fog".

It was really cold but I guess my body started warming up when I was climbing and "The cold never bothered me anyway".

 Reach around 1/3 of the hike up and there was a shelter and toilets (which were pretty gross because there were freaking lots of moths?!).

Most of us hiked down after this and the hike down was actually tougher. Imagine choosing and landing on an uneven rock while going down.

We saw a deer on the way down! #sayonlynopictures

 Looks like it's an easy feat, but trust me, there are worse kind of rock combinations compared to this.

Why does these look so flat and easy to walk huh!

So relieved to reach the entrance!

Fog had cleared up by then!

Ending this mundane entry record with group shots and me not inside!

#706 - (Some) Food in Jeju

Headed for dinner at Black Pork Street for our first night in Jeju!

One of the things Jeju is known for is its black pork!

 So hungry looking at this. :S 

Free soup, steamed egg and naengmyun (cold noodles)!

Naengmyun tasted a little weird, we were told to add white vinegar and mustard inside, the noodles were really chewy!

No address of this place but it's one of the few more popular restaurants and can be easily spotted at the Black Pork Street.

And since I am on the topic of food, let me throw in some random restaurants I ate at Jeju as well!

 Everything was good, I love the seafood soup and the fried mackerel!

 Korea's brown rice!

Of course with the 大鱼大肉, bill came up to 12500 won per person, w 4 people sharing. The share was quite huge though!

산지물식당 (Sanjimul Sikdang)

1388-1 Geonip-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, South Korea / 제주 제주시 건입동 1388-1번지
Tel (064) 752-5599

Joined some of the guys for dinner another day, actually I just wanna walk walk and the hostel we stay in (The Forest Hostel) recommended this place!

 A bad picture, but if you ever go this place, please try the samgyetang w abalone porridge! It's so good???

The porridge was so rich in taste and there were abalone in it! And the chicken meat was tender and if I didn't remember wrongly, it had glutinous rice stuffed in it. SO GOOD.

I don't have the address of the place* but it's a few minutes walk from The Forest Hostel, which is located at the north of Jeju! Other food is decent too so it's worth a try if you happen to be nearby. :)

*I googled and found the address!

목동그릴 (Mok Dong Grill)
1465-4 Ildo 1(il)-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, South Korea