Jeju, that place where they always end up in dramas

[cerealjoe]

Ah. Jeju. That island where you feel the need to come for your honeymoon. Honestly, can't you see yourself sitting on that bench along with your SO looking out onto the sea? This was yesterday and today I can tell you that it was probably the most epic day I will have on this trip! Yes, it was that epic! I actually don't have any pictures of why it was epic because you can't capture stuff like that. I rented a bike and I cycled west, getting lost a few times and finding my way back to the "shore road" though backstreets. I loved seeing people in their natural environment. Already the backstreets of Seoul kind blew me away but here in Jeju, it's incredible how rural meets urban. I cycled past people drying tons of onions out the side of the road, I cycled past some of the shadiest restaurants I've ever seen, I've hung out at the beach... and discovered that the notion of "beach" and what to do at the beach is not common to all populations. So bottom line, if you're coming to Jeju, cycling is the only way! Many people also rent mopeds but you probably can't get the same feeling. I don't know how many kilometers I got in today but riding the bike I rented (pix to follow soon) was so much easier than my old Helkama! Going up hill was a breeze! Yep, this one had 3x8 gears... mine has 5. But now, let's look at some more generalities about Jeju. Jeju is all about volcanoes. Actually tomorrow I'm going to visit some lava caves... if I can find the right bus and find the caves. The Lonely Planet guide makes it sound so easy to find them but I don't trust them all that much, their "can be clearly seen" equals to my "you will have to make a left then a right and the bend down to see it". There are many places on the main promenade where you can go down on the rocks and just walk around... I haven't seen the sea rise all that much. And safety comes first (and some Konglish), equipment to save someone can be found every couple hundred meters. The promenade has pretty good lighting and I think the energy comes from these mini windturbines. Someone should tell this guy the sun can't really be seen. It's one of those Shanghai-like days. You can almost feel the sun but there is always a layer of something between you and it. Today I cycled all day and I chanced with no sunscreen and you almost can't see my raccoon eyes because of my glasses. I did put some on my arms and legs and no tan there at all. In case you don't have the time to visit everything, they've put up photos for you to look at. Dear people who live close to airports, I don't know how you can up with the noise! I'll admit that this is pretty much the first time I've come so close with planes landing and taking off without being at an airport. At the bike shop today, the sound was deafning! That's the island's logo. And so far I quite like it here! I wouldn't want to come here for a honeymoon but you know, it's not bad at all! (also apparently the honeymooners go to one of the three special resorts and do not really mingle with mortals. I can't say if that is true or false though) I also seem to have found the local rednecks... unless someone else likes to sit on old car seats and fish. No zoom at all for this one... the airport is only about 4km away from the city center of Jeju-si. Healthy burgers may not be all the craze but the use of the backwards font is sure driving me crazy. On another note, why is it that no one speaks even a tiny bit of English in a restaurant clearly aimed at expats? Menu pretty much all in English, English name, foods which would please most expats? Yep. I'm on Jeju and I still haven't tried their raw fish and other specialities. I blame it on the fact that I usually don't eat fish, raw fish at that and I don't really feel like getting a stomach bug two days into my trip. But hey, I'm having tons of kimchi! And kimchi is what I came here for (mostly)! Another thing I have to, yet, get used to is the fact that at a restaurant if you order starters and a main course both will be brought out at once.