Jeju Day 2

Day 7 (Fri)- day 2 in Jeju... the first thing we did when we saw the tour guide was complain about the shitty hotel... and this Jeju trip was the most expensive amongst all the other tours we booked... 

                                

1st stop... Manjanggul cave, apparently the longest lava tube in the world, but only a 1km section is open to visitors... and guess what, it rained again that day... seriously, it always rains when we have to do some active walking or climbing activities... 1km did not seem too bad, but it was dark, wet and most parts of the cave were us walking on uneven and irregular shaped rocks and stones... so it took us longer to arrive at the end, not mentioning the crowd of tourists and children as well... it took us approx 90mins to complete both ways... and it was still raining when we came out of the cave...

2nd stop... Seongsan ilchulbong peak... it was so crowded when we arrived, and was told that if we wanted to see the crater at the top, there is approx 500 steps to climb... some steep ones... in the end, mum opted to remain in the car, pong went alittle of the way with me, and I decided to do it... so armed with an umbrella, camera, shoes, and determination, I made my way slowly up the top... it took me approx 45mins to get up to the top, strategy was to have regular rest breaks along the way, when I take pics of the scenery, and pace myself and not look up... thank goodness it stopped raining about halfway up, but some of the steps still remained quite slippery, going up was not too bad, but coming down was quite scary at some sections... I finally made it up to the top, where there were quite a few people already as well... nothing very much except the crater, the scenery, and the sign saying the peak was 180m high... coming down was obviously easier, and I did it all without a rest break so it took me alot quicker... by the time I arrived at the bottom, my jacket was off and I was perspiring... it was a really good workout for me and proved that I could do things like that if I wanted to... lunch was at this really traditional restaurant where we had yummy bulgogi, apparently one of the things Jeju was famous for is its black pork... it was actually really lunch, cos besides bulgogi, we also had soup, and this green pancake, nothing in it, except this grass called 'sul' giving it its green colour... and it was also reasonable priced...

3rd stop... Seongeup folk village... where we had a Mandarin speaking guide explaining to us that the place continues to be inhibited by women divers, some who are still diving at 80 years of age... and their special products include this tea, honey, horse bone... apparently there are many horses in Jeju, and people in Jeju are known to eat horse meat, and eating the bones in pill form is good for the joints... Jeju is also well known for their tangerines...

4th stop... Sangumburi crater... nothing very exciting here, except obviously the crater, but there were no steps to get to this one, only some walking... that was the end of the tour for the day... we asked to be dropped off at Lotte mart, where we bought more food, and pretty much ate junk for dinner and breakfast... last night in the disgusting room...