2013 SPRING IN JEJU & SEOUL PART 2

After we lost our way back from Halim Park to Goodstay December Hotel, we decided to play safe and requested for the hotel staff to help hire a cab driver for the next 2 days. We were so glad that the hotel staff managed to get Mr Kim to be our cab driver at such a short notice! We like Mr Kim's services as he provided recommendations on the places of interest and food locations, apart from the places that we wanted to visit. He would not insist that we visit certain places that he had mentioned. Thus, we felt really at ease when we rejected some of the places we didn't feel like going. :) 

If you wish to engage his services, you can contact him at: 

Name: Richard Kim

Email: skimsr@hanmail.net

Rate for 8-hr service (as at 2013): 

150,000 KRW for English

130,000 KRW for Chinese

100,000 KRW for Korean

Being bilingual, we definitely have to choose the Chinese service rate! i mean like, of course! This saved us 40,000 KRW for the 2 days. 40,000 KRW is enough for a good seafood meal in Jeju!

For the 2 full days we had in Jeju, we visited some interesting places: 

1) Maze Land 

We wanted to visit the Gimyeong Maze Park, but Mr Kim suggested that we visit the Maze Land instead because Running Man crew filmed at Maze Land!! Well, both of us are (and still) crazy over Running Man so we decided we had to go! 

Poster outside Maze Land, featuring the Running Man!

Running Man at the mural with the layout of the maze park

Part of the maze

Building overlooking the maze

Cafe situated in the Maze Land. This is the best place to hide from the chilly wind! It was about 3 degree celsius outside! 

View from cafe

2) All-in House

Mr Kim recommended the All-in House since this is located just next to the Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. So, we decided to drop by and take a quick photo. But who knows! We took more than an hour at the All-in House for the scenery is totally amazing!! 

I thought this photo is good enough to be a postcard :) So pretty!

Closer view of the All-in House 

3) Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak

Next stop is the infamous Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. Sometimes, this place is also referred to as the sunrise peak. The best timing to visit is, as suggested by the name, the dawn to witness the sunrise. However, we are not the morning person so we went in the late morning. :) We took slightly more than an hour to ascend and descend. Well, we took quite some time as we needed to rest and catch our breathe at the 'resting points' along the way! We do behave like some ahjummas though! haha! 

Entrance of Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak

View from the top

The crater 

4) Seafood Hotpot 

This delicious seafood hotpot is located very near to Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. We didn't manage to catch the restaurant name but it has a blue logo. The abalones were squirming when it was served! Until the soup boiled. :) Really a great recommendation from Mr Kim!!  

Seafood Hotpot!!! This cost about 35,000 KRW and is big enough for 2 to share!

5) Trick Art Museum

Girls being girls, we spent about 2 hours at the Trick Art Museum, just to take photos with all the art pieces. I have posted 2 photos so you can have surprises when you visit the museum. 

Smoking Mona Lisa. I find this rather interesting.

How many animals can you spot?

6) Glass Castle

The name says it all. This place features glass items, everywhere. But not to worry, this place is safe for kids. :)

This is a must-sit-and-take-a-picture carriage

One of the many glass display

Toilet with one-way see-through mirror 

7) Abalone Bibimbap 

We found this just right beside the Glass Castle. This abalone bibimbap has generous servings of abalone at a reasonably good price! It cost 10,000 KRW only! This is definitely a must-eat.  

Abalone bibimbap with side dishes

8) O'Sulloc Tea Museum

Everyone is raving about the fabulous green tea at O'Sulloc Tea Museum. So we knew we had to go. There is a cafe in the museum serving ice cream, cakes and drinks made of green tea. We tried the green tea ice cream and we went "WOW". We almost wanted to get a second servings each! It was that good! 

Entrance of O'Sulloc Tea Museum

Green Tea Ice Cream! 

9) Jeju Teseum 

We told Mr Kim that we wanted to visit the teddy bear museum and he brought us to the Jeju Teseum. The bears were really cute! 

Huge teddy bears greeting visitors at the entrance

One of the many cute bears. Spot the monkey with a twist hand sign! 

So, 2 days zoomed past, it was real fast. All in all, Jeju is a nice place to sightsee, relax and have fresh seafood. I would recommend everyone to make a trip to Jeju if you were to visit South Korea!