Hello Jeju Island - Day 3

Too-early am: My sleeping beauty

Too-early am: my sleeping prince

We had to get up and early to catch a bus to Gimpo Domestic Airport so that we can catch a one-hour flight to Jeju Island. We've heard loads about Jeju from our family and friends and the husband was very keen to get in touch with nature here. I thought it was pretty well-planned because we'd had some rest & play in Seoul and this was a nice in-between for us. It turned out to be good because the things we attempted at Jeju was different (nature versus concrete) plus the weather in Jeju was cooler than Seoul so everyone felt refreshed with the chilly breeze. 

Waiting for the bus to Gimpo. We managed to squeeze in some takeaway breakfast (everyone else) and coffee (me).

Some people (mistakenly) commented that our family travels so light, after seeing the pic above. I have to clarify to say that the one big luggage pictured was only to hold all our belongings for 2 nights for the whole family. We had other luggages (2 more large ones) that we had kept in the hotel's luggage deposit until we return. It's such a handy service and great tip that we picked up from a friend; and made our domestic travel that much easier.

Always creative ways to transport kids with the husband. 

We hadn't known that there was a difference in Gimpo International and Gimpo Domestic Airports, so we had gotten off the bus at the first "Gimpo" stop we heard... then had to rush to take another shuttle bus to the right Domestic Terminal where we - thankfully - caught the flight to Jeju Island. 

Playing games on-board the plane. It was all in Korean so we did not understand what the game was about but there was some variation of scissors-paper-stone involved. 

There was a mini incident we encountered upon arrival. So, the husband had secured a rental vehicle for our stay in Jeju. That didn't happenbecause they required us to hold an International drivers' licence.  So we had no choice but to forgo the rental and we were stranded at the airport for a stunned moment. We had to abandon car plan and fill our tummies first... while the husband figured out a suitable bus for us to take to as near our lodging as we could locate.

Upon jumping off the bus at Jungmun, we were at the right village/ side of the island but not entirely sure where our hotel was. We chanced upon a kind lady who offered us her GPS and finally, it was her mobile phone that saved the day. We rang the hotel and someone from the hotel offered to pick us up. Within the hour, we arrived safely at our hotel. It was a cosy, beautiful place and the husband did well in picking the Jejueco Suites.

It was already 4pm by then and we made a quick decision to head out for one round of activity - we'd only been commuting all day since (first the bus, then the air, then the bus!) and we all needed some walkabout to clear our heads. It helped that the air was cool in Jeju, and we opted to head to the Alive Museum.

While Dad was getting tickets, they happily laid on these crocodiles (?) asking for their pics to be taken 

Illusion Theme Park

Warning: a lot of photos coming up!

One of the top pics taken. Kate was really running away (for fun)

Another favourite

Sharing some behind-the-scenes-shots - how we made the pics happen. It was hard work!

After spending close to 2 hours indoors (with all sorts of illusions to create confusion to the eyes and mind), we all enjoyed a break in the outdoors. The weather was cool, the wind was refreshing and it was a joy to just take a stroll in lovely nature. 

Just love watching them

And... why not do a jump shot!

We strolled for about 15 minutes and made it to a recommended hut for some seafood dinner.

It was so fresh we smelt the sea in our mouths

After stuffing ourselves silly, we took a stroll along the roads of Jungmun and experienced some pretty strong and cold winds. Felt so good! Then we headed back to the room.

The cosy lobby served as a lounge for the accomodation and K and I spent some time hanging about - she was working on some puzzles while I caught up with all the pics we took that day.

After the kids knocked out from such a long day, the husband and I managed to catch 15 minutes together just lounging in the living area of our room and chatting about nothing at all. It was quiet, peaceful and that ended our third day of holiday.

Read about Days 1 and 2.