Jeju: The Wild Side

As I fell in and out of sleep on the three hour "red-eye" flight from Hong Kong to Jeju, the sun began to rise and reveal what looked like an upside down cone poking out of a thick cloud layer. As we banked right through the clouds, the lush environment of this cone began to reveal itself, and I my groggy, half-closed eyes began to widen at the sight of such greenery. After exploring city after city, the site of green landscapes excited me more than a kid in a candy store, and the wild side of Asia was even better once we touched back down on land.

But, we somewhat messed up our body's schedule with our decision to take a three hour red-eye. So our first day was spent exploring the sheets of my bed rather than the natural beauty of Jeju. We were left with basically a day to get in as much nature that we could, and I would say we definitely did.

Jeju is famous for many natural features, including lava tubes, under-water-explosion-created islands, the tallest mountain in South Korea, so on and so forth. We didn't do any of that. Yeah, I know, totally disappointing, but hey, now I have a reason to go back! What we did do was explore the south side of the island, known as Seogwipu, which is considered to be the tourist area of Jeju. Here's how we did it in a day, and how you can thrive exploring the island's more popular south side.

Getting there:

From Hamdeok Beach, we got on the 701 bus, rode for about 30 minutes to the Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal, then switched to the 782. From there, we rode across the island for about an hour, and got off at the Jungmun Tourist Center. The bus system on Jeju is pretty awesome actually. I very seldom use buses when I take public transport, but this island boasted a solid transport system that was easy for two kids in their twenties who spoke no Korean to figure out (I screenshotted all the names of the places in Korean to help figure out where we were going-something I highly recommend doing before going anywhere in any foreign country)

Our first stop was the Yeomiji Botanical Gardens, which was not actually initially part of the plan, but I sure am glad we ended up here!

Yeomiji Botanical Gardens

Looking out over the pristine and quiet Korean Gardens of Yeomiji

My research told me to go to our intended first stop, Cheonjeyeon Falls, we had to enter through these botanical gardens. As soon as we arrived though, we were surprised to see a massive building surrounded by an interesting set of gardens, more-so than your typical botanical garden. We figured we were already there (a common theme) so why not go and check it out. Because we got there so early, there was no one at the entrance gate so we just walked in and did not have to pay the ~$10 entrance fee (don't worry, we paid $5 each in the donation box upon our departure). Surrounding the center "greenhouse" building were gardens from around the world, which included a beautiful Japanese garden, Korean garden, French garden, and an Italian garden (which was basically just a waterfall for all we saw). It was so empty as well, which added to the serene nature of this place. We roamed the gardens for nearly an hour in awe of how beautiful all the flowers and trees were, and how well-put together it all was.

Once we felt satisfied with our personal tour of the exterior gardens, we ventured inside this massive greenhouse and walked through the many types of gardens. Here, you will find gardens ranging from fruit gardens to cactus gardens to jungle gardens and they are all done in a very organized and beautiful way. We spent another hour or so walking from garden to garden, feeling as though we were experiencing the flora of the world in one building. After we finished the gardens, we climbed up the stairs to the top of the building where there is an observation deck looking out over the entire tourist area on Jeju's south side, which was incredible because, as beautiful is these man-made gardens were, we were excited to get out and into the real nature.

Cheonjeyeon Falls

To get here from the botanical gardens, you cross over a huge footbridge that has incredible "artwork" on the bridge (I guess that's what you'd call it? Basically large statues of women on the structural framework of the bridge). Once you cross the bridge, you are in the entrance area to Cheonjeyeon, which is actually two different waterfalls along with a stunning pond.

There are signs for waterfall 1, 2, and 3. Waterfall 1 is actually not a waterfall, but rather is the pond, which may actually be the most picturesque. A stunning, light navy blue pool of water surrounded by unique rocks that look like pillars stacked on each other create this perfectly serene environment, and we just hung out in silence for nearly 30 minutes staring literally at a pool, it was that beautiful. The other thing that makes this spot particularly better than the other two is the fact that you can actually venture down to the pool rather than be limited to a patio with just a view of the natural beauty. Being able to engage with the pool its surroundings made the beauty of this spot so much more valuable and memorable because we felt connected to it. We weren't separated by man and were allowed to connect with the beauty of nature on our own terms.

Perfectly still pond made for some great photo opportunities

The second waterfall was the largest, and really was gorgeous (although again, I seriously wish we could actually go to the falls rather than end up at some patio). Its beauty was teasing me and I really could not think of anything other than jumping over the fencing and running in to jump in the perfect water, regardless that there were signs every claiming, "Water will cause heart attacks" (please explain Korea). Regardless, it’s a sight that is definitely worth to see, which is the same for the third waterfall. Paths to each sight are easy to navigate and, while they are somewhat strenuous-particularly the third waterfall, each spot was worth the trek.

A perfectly beautiful waterfall begging me to jump in...but rules are rules unfortunately, and there are a lot in Jeju!

But, me being me, I was feeling almost claustrophobic because of all the rules we had to abide by while we were here, so at one point we decided to jump off the wooden pathway through the jungle and into the irrigation canal immediately beside it. I couldn't tell you where it was and how we found it, but as we walked down it the walls began to rise and the pathway got narrower to the point where we ended up in a slot canyon, like a tropical Antelope Canyon. It ended up being one of the cooler experiences while we were there even though we got attacked by mosquitos, almost walked into a massive spider web, and destroyed my back walking through a small hole. It really was the only time we fully felt in nature as so much of Seogwipu's natural areas are built up to cater to tourists.

Once we got walked back over the bridge, we walked past the Teddy Bear Museum (you read that right) and to the resort area. We snuck into the Lotte Hotel (let's keep that between us) and intended to have lunch there, which ended up not being a possibility (to find out why and what we did instead, read my previous blog post). Anyways, after lunch, we hopped in a cab and went to the Yakcheonsa Temple.

Yakcheonsa Temple

Korean Buddhist Temples are unique in their use of color and imagery, and Yakcheonsa Temple is a great example of that. As the second largest temple on the island, and housing one of the largest Buddha's in the country, Yakcheonsa is impressively large. Walking into this entirely empty temple was extraordinarily powerful, with high ceilings, dozens of colors and a lone woman in the corner praying. We spent an hour walking around the building, as we could go up to the second and third floors. Images around the temple depicted the life of Buddha, and there were several Sand paintings by Mandalas around the temple which are, in my opinion, one of the most incredible art mediums. I don't know if it was because of how empty it was, how much gorgeous artwork there was, or how the entirety of the building was so accessible, but something about this temple made it one of my favorite temples I have ever visited, and I have been to a LOT in my twenty-plus years on this earth. So definitely worth a visit to the Yakcheonsa Temple, plus roaming around the grounds and checking out the other religious sites that occupy this area is also interesting and given that it is free, it is most definitely worth it, especially if you luck out and go when it is empty.

Our cab driver decided to stay outside and wait for us, and sure enough after the hour we spent exploring the temple, there he was, ready to take us to our next destination (and for an actually decent price, unlike the damn Hong Kong cab driver. We drove along the coast towards Oedolgae, windows down, enjoying the relaxed Asian vibes.

Oedolgae

Once we got to Oedolgae, it was already somewhat later in the day, around 5:00. Even though it wasn't necessarily a great day weather-wise and it was getting late, the pools of Oedolgae were packed.

Crowded but beautiful-make sure to check out the rest of this area and don't just stick to these pools!

Oedolgae is a classic example of an over-run tourist site with just as, if not better spots of essentially the same thing nearby. There is one main "natural pool", which is teeming with tourists, but if you walk a bit further down (on some pretty sharp rocks so water shoes are actually recommended here even though I think they're normally totally dorky) you'll find several pools which are much less crowded and arguably more beautiful. Hanging out in these pools is so relaxing (thanks in large part to the lack of screaming kids and Asian people struggling to swim-stereotype confirmed, all I have to say there), along with the fact that there is no cliff jump. When we were doing research on this place, we read there are some cliff jumping spots and we got excited, only to find that the cliff jumping was a man-made ledge literally no more than 10 feet high.

Additionally, you can snorkel around the rocks here, which actually had some moments that surprised me. By no means is this world-class snorkeling, but there was the occasional large group of fish or underwater arch formation which offered some sweet free dive opportunities. The water visibility wasn't great, and the $5 rented goggles definitely weren't ideal either, but all in all I would say snorkeling here was a solid experience. But that's just about when the experiences started to get annoying.

Cheonjiyeon Falls

The only difference in the name of this waterfall and the first one we went to is an "E". Literally, CheonJEyeon vs. CheonJIyeon. Yeah, try saying that to a cab driver and expecting him to understand. So there's the first annoying thing. Next, once we got to the park, we could actually hear the waterfall and could see the top of it, so we figured we were there and all we had to do was go down stairs to get by the waterfall, snap some pics, hang out, then bounce. Wrong! So, so wrong! Turns out, the entrance to the waterfall is actually all the way down this cliff and around through a valley, which would have taken at least 30 minutes to walk to from the park which is labeled as the entrance. Why label an entrance, have photos of the waterfall, but be nowhere near the actual waterfall? Mysteries of life man…regardless, just know that CheonJIyeon's entrance is down at sea level essentially, where there are a bunch of restaurants and tourist shops, and don't try to get to the waterfall from the park above it.

From here we decided to walk through the city Seogwipu to get to the Jeongbang Falls.

Jeongbang Falls

By the time we walked through the city, it was around 9:30 and the entrance was closed to get in to the falls. But, the exit had a pretty easy way to jump over it, so we figured since we walked nearly an hour to get here, might as well just screw it and go for it. Once we hopped the fence, we walked down a set of stairs and began to hear the thundering sound of Asia's only waterfall that flows straight into the sea (which is somewhat of a crazy thought for such a massive continent). Even though we got there when it was pitch black dark, fishing boats on the horizon and city lights provided enough illumination to give us a private, night-time viewing of this incredible waterfall. It may not have been as beautiful as it may have been during the day, but how many people can say they saw this super unique waterfall alone in basically the middle of the night? Pretty cool in my book, and by no means did we feel sketched out being there illegally.

Waterfalls, temples, slot canyons, natural pools, mega resorts, snorkeling and spending an hour trying to find a damn waterfall made this a day to remember. Thriving on the south side of Jeju is easy, but even though it is the "wild" side, tourist developments make it increasingly difficult to actually be wild and enjoy the nature in its purest form. Regardless, it was an amazing day that provided a much needed break from the city life we had become accustomed to, and if anything, proved to me that Jeju is a place I definitely need to visit again and see all the things that I missed on this teaser of a trip. We only had so long to enjoy Jeju and it's beautiful scenery, and up next was one of the largest metropolis's in Asia: Seoul.

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