Nature in Jeju - Day 4

The morning started cool and early-ish for us. We had decided the night before to book a day tour that was conducted by our accomodation. Information off the site is indicated for 3 days, but we jumped on the one day and joined an existing tour. 

So, first things first, breakfast. After a few days of scouting around for morning food, this was the first day we had breakfast provided for - and it was so awesome! I'm a breakfast-lovin' girl and with the usual spread of toast, spreads, cereal, coffee, milk, fruit and cookies.. it was absolutely lovely! Plus eating it in the comfort of a lovely wooden home... let's just say I was a happy girl. (Plus full. I had three pieces of toast plus other food because... I was greedy - haha - and I was relaxed!)

So, the agenda for the day was to explore key sites on the Eastern side of Jeju Island. 

First stop: Cheonjiyon Falls. 

Hand-in-hand. Born to be best friends. 

Mandatory family shot

Love it when they decide to be loving!

Truth be told, the kids (and I) weren't too keen on the real story of the place. I was just happy to be walking around, taking in the sun and the scenery and fresh air. They seemed content enough to run about. And then they struck gold.

Papa indulged them in ice-cream - this was before noon!

So honestly, if you asked them, perhaps (if they even remember), they may say that the waterfalls is the place that they got to eat ice-cream.

One of these is not like the others

After the waterfalls, we headed towards Sunrise Peak. Our guide - that's his back in one of the pictures below, in the blue shirt - brought us to a mid-way point where we could see the whole peak from afar. It was also a nice break to stretch our legs (the drive was nearly an hour). 

The beach view, though, most excited the kids and their instinct was to "play water!" 

Our guide, in blue. 

And we allowed the kids to play with water.

And then Jake happened. That's him wet because he'd fallen into the water. 

It was an accident, he had run too deep into the waters and he stumbled in. He did get a shock.. but he definitely recovered pretty quickly. Given that he was already wet, the husband allowed him to continue soaking for a few dips before we pulled him out before he caught a chill. While it was sunny, the water was cold and the breeze was chilly.

Sunrise peak in the background.

This little girl continued to splash about for a bit until her butt touched the water and she became partially wet. Unfortunately, I did not have a change for her, though she had a clean t-shirt to change into. She had to stick with her wet butt. 

The husband is the collateral sacrifice in the whole exercise, because when Jake had fallen, he had quickly dashed in to pick Jake up. So when we left this little "beach", we had a fresh-looking boy with his wet hair, a semi-grumpy girl who sheepishly dealt with her wet bum yet happy with being bare feet; and the husband who gamely dealt with his semi-wet clothes and also went barefeet.

We broke for lunch - the usual seafood and Korean spread; while wet socks and shoes were being sunned in the carpark. 

After fueling ourselves, we headed for Sunrise Peak. The weather was great - it was cool with a strong breeze, yet sunny and it was lovely (nearly cold).

Being in the open meant you can do what you wanted. They started jumping off the benches.

Happy with nature. 

In the waters behind the pic above, were the local women diving for seafood. That's another specialty of Jeju. 

Look at how happy Kate looks

And a pic to prove that Jake's feet do get off the ground

We tried a together-shot again. 

Oh for the record, this volcano spot was the start of our sunburn.

So, moving on from this lovely green area, we headed to a folk village. It was an area of an olden-time set-up where the homes were made out of rocks and mud. It was rather quaint.

Songkup Folk Village

Old rocks, straw roofs, mud walls.

By this time, it was late PM and we were all tired, slightly burnt and happily spent. We cruised in the van all the way back to central island. We did a stopover in the market - where Kate and I spent our money on street bites (corn, rice corn, tempura prawns) and fruits. We were given the option of returning to our hotel, but we opted to pop into town and visit the Teddy Bear Museum for the kids.

Big bear, small bear

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect but... it truly was a home of museums of all shapes, sizes and stories. It was pretty interesting and the kids were duly entertained.

Meeting the Queen Bear

Fascinated by the intricate details. This was Kate's favourite - Disneyland with Snow White

Just hanging with Steve

Then bearfest with Audrey

Doing it the Gangnam style

Besides the indoors, there was also an outdoor garden with more bears.

I warned him not to drink from his bear's cup!

Picnic with the bears in the woods

And.. one of the highlights they boasted was a giant bear. The pic isn't great but between the feet was a man driving the bear.

After this visit, it was nearly dinner time and we then took a short, leisurely walk towards dinner.

"Mommy, I am Batman"

And again, because he completes the family to make it four!

Our dinner was at a BBQ restaurant that served the famous black pork. It was pretty yummy and we had a nice, long meal. To share, our accommodation provided free pick-up service from the nearby town. So it was really convenient where after our meal, we could call the hotel and have a shuttle vehicle come pick us up. It was usually one of the hotel staff and it was very friendly and nice.

So, the sight that greeted us in the lobby: people bustling about, a light chatter... it all felt very pleasant.

Chillin'

It all felt so nice and warm, so we sat down and joined in the bustle. THe kids had their little toys and books to fiddle with, while we just sat there and idled. Hello wifi.

That night, both kids knocked out pretty quick and I'm happy that we had a nice day out in the nature, breathing in such crisp bright air. The next day was our day out of Jeju Island and we decided to take the morning easy, before travelling to the airport after lunch - a simple plan.

Catch up about our previous day here.