Esther and I arrived in Busan on Friday to find that summer had arrived there too. We spent the afternoon on the beach with our books and then met Esther's friend Ciara who was passing through on her way back from a visa run to Japan. Dinner was followed by beer and soju on the beach and then a night sleeping in a sauna!
The cheapest accommodation in Korea is a jimjilbang. Quite literally a kind of spa with hot baths and a rest area where you can stay the night for very little - as long as you don't mind sleeping on the floor! This one was particularly hot though, so Sunday morning was painful - alcohol and saunas aren't the best mix.
Ciara went home Sunday morning and Esther and I visited the UN war memorial before taking a wander around the fish market where we ate prawns, laughed at the poor kitten whose willpower was being tested to the max, and then stocked up on provisions (beer, crisps, noodles) for the 11 hour boat trip to Jeju. After another night of sleeping on the floor (this time in a room with about 100 other people on the boat) we staggered off onto the island at 6am and tried to wake ourselves up enough to face the day.
At this point Esther had the brainwave of hiring a car, so we didn't break our backs carrying the tent around, and we set off for a campsite we'd spotted on the map - via Loveland first. It really has to be seen to be believed! Apparently it was set up to help educate and act as an icebreaker for young newly weds on their honeymoons...yep, really!
As it turns out we were the only people camping on the island there were no problems finding a camping spot. We even managed to get the tent up without mishap...which is more than we can say about playing cards. After spending about half an hour trying to remember the rules to 'slam' we realised, amidst much hysteria, that we were actually playing snap. Blonde? Us?
Jeju is a beautiful place, especially away from the crowds.
We found waterfalls, great views and lovely beaches. We even started to get used to being stared at on a minute by minute basis!
After a second night in the tent we went back to Jeju City to return the car. On route we stopped at another beach - only to find the whole place was cornered off by soldiers and police. There were fire trucks, naval boats, coast guard...so, after deciding nobody looked worried enough for it to be a North Korean invasion, we made our escape.
Back in the city we left our bags in lockers at the supermarket and had some dinner before taking a well needed shower at a jimjilbang and crashing out for the night. The following day we jumped on a bus heading west to the beach and managed to track down the right camping ground amongst some palm trees, where we promptly fell asleep in the sun for a couple of hours.
After (another) home cooked meal of ramyon (noodles), we decided to check out the 'nightlife'. Ahem. A couple of closed restaurants, two convenience stores and a bar, which to our delight, had a noreabang in it. Two hours later we stumbled out, having set the world on fire with our AMAZING singing skills, and passed out in the tent.
We woke up late on Thursday to find the weather had turned a bit chilly, so we decided to head back home a little earlier than planned. Plus the shower was calling! But twenty minutes into our bus ride back to Jeju City there was a huge bang and the bus ground to a halt. The tire had blown. Everyone piled off and looked at each other for a little while. Fortunately, Esther's Korean is good so she could find out what was going on and all we had to do was wait twenty minutes for another bus to come along. Happy days.
Back to the boat and another 11 hours onboard...this time in a room of only three.
We're now safely back in Cheongju, we're showered, we have clean clothes, and we even have a little bit of a sun tan. Next stop Seoul on Sunday for the lantern festival. :-)
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