I’m so thrilled to finally get started on blogging about my previous trip to South Korea, because it means I can revisit those days and recall all the details that made it one of my most memorable trips EVA~AAR. It’s good timing, I suppose, since it’s been a while since I’ve done anything adventurous, and if I can get vicarious satisfaction out of looking at photos and blogging about them… then I’ll take what I can get right now. Let’s begin, shall we?
And let me start things off with the first thing we did when we woke up on our first morning in Jeju Island or, as the native South Koreans lovingly call it, “Jeju-do”.
But trust us not to stay put in one place, because we headed straight off to another island, Udo.
Ready for Udo
This is actually my second time in Jeju-do, and the whole time between then and now, I knew deep in my heart (naks!) that it is a place that I should definitely go back to, because there are just so many things to see and do (I feel like I say that about South Korea as a whole, haha!) that a week – no, maybe even two or three weeks – would not suffice.
If you’ve heard of this reality-variety TV show over at South Korean cable channel JTBC called “Hyori’s Bed & Breakfast”, and you’ve seen some episodes, then you’d probably know how it effectively makes viewers want to fly off to Jeju-do to explore it. I feel the same way every single time I view an episode.
Anyway, I got off-track, sorry about that.
When I knew that I was going back to Jeju-do for the second time, my mind was a whirlwind of where I should go and check out. Actually, Udo was not even in my radar, because I thought, “leaving the island to go to another island? Sounds like it’d require an extra day or two”.
But then I was convinced when I learned that we could make a day trip out of it. So that was what we decided to do on our first day in Jeju-do.
It was already close to 11pm when we arrived at our guesthouse in the Seogwipo area, and normally we’d have slept in, but we wanted to cover a lot of ground early on, so we had an early light breakfast, then took a cab that will take us directly to Seongsan Port or, to be more precise, the Seongsanhang Port Passenger Ferry Terminal.
From Seogwipo, it took us about 45 minutes to arrive at the port. We got there at 8:40am. The cab driver dropped us off in front of the building where the ticketing office is.
I truly appreciated how, even if majority of the signs inside are in Hangul, non-speakers can still manage to find their way around the process of securing ferry tickets. I remember the lady requiring to take a look at our passports, though, after we have filled out a form available at the Declaration Desks in the middle of the wide room.
Ferry to Udo leaves every hour or every 30 minutes (I suppose it depends), and you can get round trip tickets for when you return. The lady at the counter was very friendly, and speaks very good English, and advised us to be mindful of the times when the last ferry to leave Udo would be.
We took the round trip ticket for adults, which cost KRW5,500 per person. Rates are different for adults, teens, elderly/disabled, and kids (so make sure you accomplish the Declaration Form correctly and fully!).
We were then directed to go to the dock, where the ferries are, well, docked.
It was interesting how the other passengers were a mix of various nationalities, ranging from Western Caucasians to South American latinas, to Europeans (I did hear some Italian when I was pretending not to eavesdrop on others). Of course, the Chinese are never out of the picture.
But a vast majority were still overwhelmingly Koreans. Which impressed me, because many of them were even families with young kids, and groups of teenage friends or friends that looked to be in their early 20s. I think this showed just how much they treasure or appreciate their own country and the beauty it offers.
All Aboard~!
When we got to the Ferry, it was a no-brainer: we want to be up on deck, so we can feel the wind on our faces and our hair. It appears many of the other guests thought the same.
But if you are one of those that want to just lie down and rest, and keep your coif and clothes safe, then you can head inside.
Check out the common area where passengers can stay instead of going up on deck. It kinda reminded me of a jjimjilbang or Korean sauna, with its floors where passengers can sit down or even lie down and stretch out.
Naturally, you’d have to take off your shoes when entering, because there is a spot by the door where footwear can be stored and kept safe.
As for us, we went up on deck, where the Taegukgi, or the South Korean flag, proudly fluttered and waved with the wind. I would have taken a photo of the whole deck, but it seemed impolite to do so, with all the other passengers there. (I did manage to get a short clip, though but… I’ll think about it.)
And We Set Off~
It takes only 15 minutes for the ferry to reach the port in Udo from Seongsan Port. So instead of sitting down in the middle of the deck, my friend and I stuck on to the rails on the side, looking at the water churning below us, and the horizon on all sides.
Check out those two lighthouses on both sides of that narrow channel where the ferry passed through.
So, a bit of information about Udo.
“U-do” literally means “Cow Island”, so I’d probably be using only Udo. Since, you know, Udo Island is like saying “Cow Island Island” (yeah, I can be anal like that at times).
The entire island is also referred to as a park, earning the name “Udo Maritime Park“. The Cow Island moniker is due to the fact that, supposedly, the island’s shape resembles that of a cow that is lying down, with its head lifted up.
Maybe I need to be in a better vantage point to get confirmation of that. Or maybe I need more imagination. But from the ferry, I can see the upward slope on the right, which could probably be the cow’s head.
Anyway, as you get closer, you’d take note of the vegetation around the small island, a testament to the fact that it is highly agricultural, thanks to the high fertility of its soil, despite the fact that, just like much of Jeju-do, it is volcanic.
Then there are stretches of white seemingly ringing the island all around, and those are the stretches of beach, yet another of the attractions of the island. Oh, and also because fishing is another of the main livelihood of the locals.
Land, ho! I mean, “Udo, ho~!”
Jeju itself is an island, but it also has other, smaller islands of its own, and Udo is one of them. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, it is one of the top 12 destinations in Jeju-do. In fact, over 1 million visitors go there every year.
And if the ferry we rode on were any indication, I’d say there were over a hundred passengers. And think of how many times the ferry goes from Seongsan Port to Udo in a day… and the number of days in a week, and weeks in a month, and months in a year…. you get the picture.
Loved how the air smelled the moment we stepped off the ferry. None of the salty fishy smells I’ve come to associate with docks or ports of this size, especially in an island where fishing is a major activity.
Historical accounts engraved on markers as you enter the island indicate that Udo was created due to volcanic activity in June at the 10th year of the reign of King Mokgong, during the Goryo era.
In the timeline that I am familiar with, I don’t exactly know when that is. But apparently, it was between 10 and 20 thousand years ago, during the “diluvial age of the Quaternary Cenozoic Era”. Again…. me: …when??
The markers also indicate that in 2012, the island celebrated its 1008th birthday. So, that makes 2018 its 1014th birthday.
Oh, and there’s a stone statue of a cow (an “u”) lying down. It doesn’t really come as a surprise to be seeing this on your way into the island, does it?
Last I heard, rental cars from the mainland going into Udo is no longer allowed. I can’t be sure, though, so I suggest you double-check before renting one and bringing it with you on the ferry.
To get around the island, you can take your pick from bicycles, ATVs, and scooters modified to hold one or two passengers. But take note that all motorized vehicles are only rented out to visitors with drivers’ licenses (yes, even the ATVs, which is a bummer because man, I would’ve rocked on it, haha!). For foreign visitors, an international driver’s license.
If you don’t have one, your option is the bicycle, which may be tiring considering the terrain of the roads and paths around the island, or take the buses. I think that’s the most convenient, though. Get a ticket (I think it costs KRW 1500-2000 per person), hop on a bus, then you can drop off on any of the stops it’ll make.
The good thing about these buses is that they stop on the four or five major destinations in Udo, which means you can get off, spend time there, then hop on the next tour bus that comes along to head to the next destination.
Once the tour bus you’re on returns to the terminal after having made a full circuit of the island, you’ll surrender your ticket (so DO NOT LOSE IT), and that marks the end of the ticket’s validity. If you want to get on again, then buy another ticket.
So that’s what we did. By the way, the driver of the tour bus (he’s usually a guy in his middle ages, with some being relatively older) will also be the tour guide of sorts, talking about the various spots the bus is passing by or going to.
Here’s the catch: he speaks in Korean, which can be frustrating and hilarious at the same time because here you want to understand what he’s saying, but then you can’t so you just laugh it off.
And then you realize that many of the other passengers (at least in our case) were Chinese, which means they also had no idea what the tour bus driver was talking about.
Look at the photo above. Ignoring the quite dreary clouds going low, the sun was still there, right? Look at the sun-dappled water! Just…. look at it!!!
So, why. WHY? Why did it HAVE TO POUR DOWN HARD WHEN WE WERE INSIDE THE BUS AND COULD NOT WAIT TO GET DOWN AND EXPLORE?????
Because yes, my friends, that is exactly what happened. Rain just fell. HARD. Real hard. And we didn’t have umbrellas.
And the weather forecast said nothing about rain that day!!!! Not that day!
So what happened next? How did our day in Udo progress?
…..I’ll talk about that in my next blog post. Have to calm myself down first. *fans self*
Post-notes:
Check out these very helpful posts if you are interested about heading to Udo Island. You have to double-check whether they are updated, though, but as of this time (me posting this entry) they are.
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