Jeju Cycling Tour - Part Three

part one, part two, part three, part four
Day Three: Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) and Udo Island


This whole trip was leading up to day 3 as far as I was concerned. Having clocked up 170km in two days this day was effectively to be a rest day despite it involving a 5:30 am wake up call courtesy of a collaboration between Black Box and my iPhone 4. Today we would be doing two things: climbing Seongsan Ilchulbong for the sunrise and heading over to Udo Island to spend the afternoon.


We got up to the top of sunrise peak just after 6am. It was busier than when I previously saw the sunrise there in February but it was not unreasonably crowded. The best part of the sunrise is as the orange glow starts to rise beyond the horizon quite a while before the sun shows its face.The colour contrast at this point is wonderful and it still remains relatively quiet up there. Most of the tourists don't arrive at the peak until moments before the sun actually pops up.








My ugly mug enjoying every moment. It was bloody cold!








This is the moment the sun popped up. Sean predicted that all of the Koreans would start clapping the moment it appeared and he wasn't far off with that guess. There was no clapping but you could hear the gasps of relief as the sun shone and everybody realised that the world was still turning and that we weren't living in a dream having perished during the night.








At this point it was time to get down from there as it was way too bright to be looking east any longer. I knew I should have brought my sunglasses.








This is the lighthouse on Udo Island as seen from Seongsan Ilchulbong at sunrise. We would be spending our afternoon over there staring in the opposite direction wondering why we weren't tucked up in bed sleeping.





In the opposite direction from Seongsan Ilchulbong you can see Hallasan. It was going to be fantastically clear skies this day. This photo isn't all that special but it illustrates some of the more ill thought out planning on Jeju. Why not stick a wind farm in front of a spectacular view? Some decisions astound me. Perhaps they will stick a few on the top of Hallasan next. It's not implausible. They are planning on building an American naval base on this island. Perhaps there will be an aircraft carrier launch ramp coming down the mountain? Ha ha.





Nothing beats waking up to the sun glistening off the ocean.





There's a whole bunch of photos from this spot. This is the view of Seongsan Ilchulbong from our apartment just after we had our late breakfast of Jeongbok Juk (abalone porridge - a banging, hearty dish) It looks great from here at any point in the day.


Jenny spent the night in Pyoseon Beach because her knees were aching pretty badly the day before. She missed out on the sunrise action, but she showed up in time for lunch before we caught the ferry to Udo Island.





Fired and ready to go! I love the cheeky Dalharubong statue lurking into shot in the right hand side of the photo. I didn't have a clue he was there. Look at his cheeky grin, he was planning it all along!





Ship in the harbour at Seongsan.





Leaving Seongsan harbour for Udo. This was the best weather we could have hoped for with perfect views of Hallasan all day long. The blue colours really were this intense, no trickery!








Up close and personal. This is a haenyo - an ageing female diver who collects shellfish from the rocks at the bottom of the sea. You can spot them all over the island hard at work. It's not an easy lifestyle! Usually Koreans can be quite awkward about you taking their picture, but the haenyo didn't bat an eyelid. They are are held in particularly high esteem in Korea, which explains why Jeju island is peppered all over with statues of them. I didn't see one man diving in our whole time on this island. So, to all the young girls tottering around the cities of Korea, take your heels off and start grafting!





The Jeju-icidal crew. Completely natural pose. I didn't put my camera on a tripod and dash across the jetty to get into the picture. Honest!





Jenny doesn't like this picture but it has to go in. In Vietnam she tried to pet every animal she saw whether it be a piglet, a pet dog or even a buffalo. Usually they are not too keen on Jenny's advances, but here you can catch a rare glimpse of her being accepted by the animal kingdom, hence the smiles for miles.








Yet another haenyo statue.





Andy didn't sit down the entire trip, I swear.





Let's go! It was a bit chilly and the winds were high but we were determined to go for a dip. These beaches are fine white sand and the water was crystal clear but the photos don't really do it justice. Surprisingly the water was really warm. I would have stuck around for longer had the winds dropped. It was a bit of nightmare trying to get changed after this though.





The photos below are from the hike up to the lighthouse where you get great views of Seongsan Ilchulbong, Hallasan and down over the rest of Udo Island.























I nearly wiped out taking this photo!





Jenny and Sean made it just on time for the ferry having bought some orange makkoli for the short ferry ride back to Seongsan Ilchulbong.














Makkoli vessel!





Another view of Seongsan Ilchulbong from our apartment during the golden hour!








Now this is what I'm talking about. Some cold beers on the balcony watching the sun set behind Hallasan. That is why room 301 is so damn good! The balcony was concealed behind some frosted windows so initially we didn't even realise it was there. The owners haven't made a feature of it, yet it would be perfect it they put a little table out there.








One thing we found a bit odd is that Seongsan Ilchulbong is billed as "Sunrise Peak". You get great views of both the sun rising over the ocean and of the sun setting behind the mountain. We decided it should be re-branded as "Multi-Purpose Peak". Any other suggestions?
(photos: Alasdair & Jenny)
part one, part two, part three, part four

Jeju Cycling Tour - Part Two

part one, part two, part three, part four
Day Two: Hamo Beach - Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)
GOTTA GET UP! GOTTA GET UP! GOTTA GET UP!


What better way to start the day than with a blast of Black Box! Apparently not, according to the rest of the crew, but that's tough luck because this became the anthem of the tour. Ha ha! From the crack of dawn to the dying moments of the night I made sure that this song penetrated the darkest corners of everyone's mind. I hope it remains there like a flash mark for the rest of their lives!






(gpx file download)
This was the longest day of our journey, 98km in total.





Sean was full of beans on day two. With exclamations of feeling superhuman that morning I can only assume one of two things: 
A) Being woken up by a blast of "Ride on Time" worked wonders on his battered soul. 
B) Anyone would feel superhuman after the emotional hell ride he suffered the day before.  





This is the garden at our pension at Hamo Beach. It wasn't the cheapest but it was some pretty sweet accomodation.





The entire crew sets sail.





Sean, trailblazing!





This is Sanbongsan. The view dominated our morning. We were going to take a short cut to save time but opted to stick to the coastal road on the most south-western part of the island. It was well worth it as it is a stunning little detour and it was not strenuous at all.













"If Scotland or Ireland had a subtropical love child with Jurassic Park, Jeju would have been born"





We tried to take a shortcut down to Jungmun Beach but ended up stuck on the Olle Trail behind the Hyatt Hotel. It was a nice little snack break with amazing views, but it was a pain cycling back up the hill - probably the steepest on the island.


The majority of the stretch along the southern coast was on the cycle path of the 1132 which was not very inspiring. There was a lot of traffic and it wasn't all that peaceful. That said the views were still pretty amazing as we had a perfectly clear view of Hallasan (see below), which was a first for me and this was my third trip to Jeju. On previous trips the mountain was always cloaked in clouds. 








This is Oedolgae. It's a very popular tourist site and you can probably imagine why. Jeju is sold as a honeymoon island to Koreans and at any given opportunity they will capitalise on that, whether it be "Loveland" the weird erotic park, the Teddy Bear Museum, or a humongous rock phallus rising from the ocean. There is no mistaking that this is clearly the cock and balls of a giant man lying down just under the surface. I wonder what else is going on down there? I dread to think.








I didn't manage to stop off at this point as we were on a tight schedule this day. I visited this spot on the edge of Seogwipo in Feb 2011. Behind the fisherman is a nice little lagoon with clear blue waters. It would be perfect for swimming in as the bridge that you can see dips just beneath the surface of the water keeping any trash out out of the area. I'd like to come back to this spot and take a dip when it's a bit warmer.





This was the first coastal road all afternoon and it was long overdue. It leads up to Pyoseon Beach and was a welcome change from the 1132. Jenny's knees were starting to ache quite badly at this point as her seat had been too low the previous day. She decided to stay in Pyoseon Beach whilst Sean, Andy and myself pressed on to Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) as we had some concrete plans to fulfill. I know I'm a terrible boyfriend but the sunrise at Seongsan Ilchulbong is pretty special and I knew Sean would need some extra help getting Andy out of bed at 5:30am, that help coming in the form of my secret weapon: Black Box's "Ride on Time", the most obnoxious alarm tone on the planet. Andy's not a morning person. I should know as he's answered the door to me a dozen times wearing nothing but his whitey tighties. 





We took the coastal road for the final 20km to Seongsan Ilchulbong. We didn't get there until dark. It's a really scenic route but we didn't get to fully appreciate it as we were in a rush and the sun was setting fast. We chose to stay at a nice "minbak" on the edge of town call Seongsanpo Village (성산포빌리지). I stayed there last winter and the views there are amazing, if you stay there make sure you get a room at the back so you get views overlooking the sea. Above you can see the view from our room at night, a little sneak preview of the the views to come. We paid 55,000 won for a large room with windows that gaze over the water to the Sunrise Peak and a balcony that looks south west towards Hallasan for the sunset. Room 301 is the room you want to snag.
(photos: Alasdair & Jenny)
part one, part two, part three, part four