Day 8: The Shilla Hotel - Oedolgae - Cheonjiyeon Waterfall - Jeju Folk Village - Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (Sunrise peak)[UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site]- The Shilla Hotel
I rented a car. I was hoping to get a small and compact car but in view of peak season, none of the small car was available. I was suggested to take the Hyundai Sonata, a middle class car. No choice and therefore I paid and began to drive in this white charming sonata.
Challenges of driving in Jeju.. big size car, squeezy parking, left handed driver seat, auto gear and in a foreign island.
Ease of driving in Jeju... wide highway (3 lanes), less cars, English signboard, clear direction to the tourism spots and GPS system in the car (in Korean only).
Initially, the plan was to go westward of the island and we ended up driving to the east of the island. Therefore, we continued to visit all the tourism spots we would pass by in the east.
First spot we reached was Oedolgae (lonely rock), a special rock standing all alone separated from the shore. On the way to see Oedolgae, who saw the local stacking up the small rocks just like in the picture below. No clue what does this mean.... if anybody know, please drop by a comment. :)
Oedolgae at the back.
The famous series, 'dae jang gum' has a few scene shots here.
If you looked carefully, you would notice a man was lying down at the left, with his nose pointing up. The big rock standing represents a woman. I overheard about this explaination from the other tourist there, when you admiring the rock from the viewpoint of Art.
The next nearest destination from Oedolgae is Cheonjiyeon waterfall. The road from Oedolgae to Cheonjiyeon was very steep and crooked. My car was hit by branches growing by the roadside while driving downhill. It was scary to drive at that road!
Safely, we reached at Cheonjiyeon waterfall.
The waterfall steps behind me.
This waterfall was used to generate hidroelectric.
Lunch of the day... "za jang fan" ... mixed sauce rice. It was a delicious meal despite its look in the picture.
Side dish of dried beancurd.
My darling's lunch, clear soup noodles.
Another side dish.. green chillies.
I drove further, about 40 minutes later we reached Jeju folk village. This is the shooting spot of the famous drama, "dae jang gum".
Women in the older day carried the big bottle at their back to retrieve water from the water source. The statue showed how exactly the woman pour the water into container.
The Korean are very proud with their pottery making skill.
The roof of the houses are very different from the folk village's house seen in Seoul. It was tied in grid due to strong wind and heavy rain in Jejudo.
The traditional standing swing.
In Jeju island, almost all the household family own a pair of this rock statue, usually place at the entrance, to keep the family from the bad spirit and any harm.
Another 40 minutes drive, we reached at Seongsan Ilchubong Peak (Sunrise Peak). This place is indeed beautiful during the Sunrise as seen in the professional picture shown in a previous entry. Sunrise peak is one of the UNESCO world natural heritage in Jeju island. It is a must visit place in my list. :)
You will need to climb the stairs for around half an hour to reach the peak. The appearance of this peak changes every season of a year, showing different senses of beauty.
Seongsan town beneath Seongsan Ilchubong, surrounded by the sea.
At a distance away is the Udo island, which was produced by explosive interaction of magma and groundwater.
It was quite late. We hurriedly returned back to The Shilla Hotel to prepare for the conference banquet at night. A western style of dinner in the banquet.
It would take 5 hours to reach Kota Kinabalu, and we transited on the next flight back to Kuching. Finally, we were home at around 9:30pm. Tired but very grateful for a safe journey.
