Saturday, September 19, 2009

Tourist in Jeju (I)

Woke up early for a run. Had wanted to climb Mt Halla, the highest mountain in S.Korea located in Jeju, but was feeling a little sick, under-geared, and did not want to kill myself. Ran from my hotel to ICC and onto the Olle Route 8 behind. Passed the Jusangjeoli Rocks, and chanced upon a cluster of raw fish little eatery shops. I was the only weirdo running on the streets.... Did about a 1h 15min run, little discoveries along the way. :)

Had a quick breakfast and went with CP to join in a post-conference tour. The programme was arranged by a certain Mrs Kang - someone quite well known in Jeju - and included a meditation session in the Seogwipo Natural Recreation Forest, and a little trek to the Bubjungnak Observatory (760m) which gave a decent view of the coast, Mt Halla, and city.

Next we had a really late lunch at a place called the Traditional Restaurant. In addition to the usual spread of Korean kimchi appetizers, each diner was served an entire grilled mackeral. It was so fresh and succulent. Oh oooh.... I polished my til the bones. Delicious.

Then we took a leisurely walk around the Women's Diver Village. Mrs Kang hailed from a family of women diver. Her mother is a retired, and subsequently started a shelter for women & children, which she is now running. Mrs Kang herself recently qualified as a master diver. The women divers in Jeju are legendary for their amazing diving abilities, staying underwater without oxygen for up to 20min! We saw a group of boys swimming in a constructed pool filled with sea water. Really scenic.

The day ended late. It was almost 830pm by the time we returned to our hotel, for a programme that was scheduled to end at 430pm. It was a very different experience strolling slowly and not be rushing from site to site as I normally do on trips.

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