Jeju Island Mysterious Road (도깨비 도로)

What is the Mysterious Road? 

Sounds Mysterious eh?

 Read for yourself what Mysterious road is about....

 We foumd the sign in front of Mysterious Road and proceeded to try to unravel the mystery.

 Actually, I found nothing mysterious about it!!! He tried driving according to the instructions, ( experience the strange phenomenon of going uphill when your vehicle’s engine is turned off)  to no avail, hehe...

 Mysterious houses?

 so we did the next best thing...we went to find the rock which says :"Mysterious Road"

 And we posed underneath it....Look! we have done the Mysterious Road!

 While going back to the car, we found a mysterious message on the GPS......read it below..

 What does it mean? can you decipher the cryptic message? hahaha!!!

 This is the location of the Mysterious Road.

The Rock!!!

Jeongbang Waterfall, Seogwipo (정방폭포)

Jeongbang Waterfall, Seogwipo

The wonderful thing about a self conducted tour is that we can dash off to as many tourist spots as we can by forgoing lunch (heavy buffet breakfast at hotel can tide us over lunch) and we do not need to wait for anyone so we could visit any place not scheduled by conducted tours.

So looking up the (English) guidebook, we found this waterfall, one of many.

We chose this as it is on the way and is touted to be "the only waterfall in the world to fall directly into the ocean"

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Entrance ticket is needed. 10.000 won.

"On the cliff high above the sea stands an old evergreen tree, leaning out as if ready to fall into the ocean" 

 So here we are, with the evergreen tree leaning and stretching out, and our palms stretching out  to catch the falls (we are like 2 kids, No? all right, 2 old kids)

View of the ocean.

 Great place to relax , the impressive waterfall was already quite impressive itself and if you feel up to it, you can get directly under the waterfall where there are rocks and you can even wade into the water.

 Ahjumas selling sashimi of octopus,abalone and they can even shuck fresh systers for you.

Last view of the majestic falls before we left for Yakcheonsa Temple.

Address: Donghong-dong, Seogwipo, Jeju Island, South Korea

Yakcheonsa temple, Jeju 약천사(제주

 We managed to squeeze in another visit of a temple before we went for dinner and back to hotel.
This is the Yakcheonsa Temple and we were glad to be able to catch it as it was simply magnificent, given the fact that it was built all those years ago.

 Look at the wonderful temple...my phone camera simply could not get the whole structure in.

 I have been to lots of temples in Thailand, Kelantan, Penang, etc and the temples were already impressive, but this one in Korea was a testament unto itself. Great and impressive architecture.

 Step in and you will want to photograph everything, but, the camera does not do justice.

The halls are expansive, the space awesome the columns were huge, and the Buddha statues in recess spaces in the wall were resplendent and detailed. It seems there are 500 different statues of Buddhas here.

 Even the ceiling was decorated!

This will show you a good perspective of the space, I am dwarfed by the enormity of it all, and the fans on the floor look like toys.

 There are steps and a tunnel leading to the sea on the opposite side, the only temple in the world that faces the sea. Massive compound and since it was quite late we had the whole temple to ourselves.

You really need to visit this temple to experience the beauty of the place.

Location of the place: Seogwipo, Jeju, South Korea

Address: 293-28 leodo-ro, Daepo-dong.

Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak [UNESCO World Heritage] (성산일출봉)

 Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak

 We are driving towards Seongsan Ichulbong Peak! From afar I was already excited to see that peak rising before me. I understand there is a huge crater at the top of Seongsan Ilchubong Peak which is 600m  in diameter and 90 meter high.  We have to hike to the top of the crater which looks like a crown in pictures. 

I am impressed because I read that this peak rose from under the sea in a volcanic eruption over 100,000 years ago and is now declared a UNESCO world Heritage site. 

 

 A ticket is needed to enter and it costs 2000 Korean won for adults.

 We are not in any tour group so the climb was at our leisure, where we could stop at any scenic spot to take photos.

 Hahah! this boy is so tired he has fallen asleep on a bench! Actually the climb was not so bad as the weather was very cool and pleasant indeed!

 Breathtaking views of mountains and cliffs.

 At this place you could go for boat rides and watch "pearl ladies" or Jeju women divers, who dive for pearls without oxygen tanks and frog suits! They will bring up abalones, octopus and crabs for sale and their "performances" are at 1.30 and 3.00.

 The hike up got steeper!

 But look at the smile on his face when he got to the top!

 As for me, the weather might be cold, but I was perspiring so much I started to lose my outer jacket!

 Sweat plastered my hair on my face but look at the view...

 Then the posing started...hehe...

 Posing beside the  sign that says "Descending Trail" because that is when we are going to start the the descent.

Going down is ok, as there are steps to make your hiking easier, but it was winding......

 and steep and so many!!! hahaha!!

You are treated to views of the sea

 and cliffs

 and this is to show you how winding these descending steps are!

 and I got sweaty again!!!

 Finally, we reached the bottom, where the steps gave way to cobbled slopes bordered by wooden fences and gnarled thicket trees that looked like bonsai. Below is an aerial view  of the crater to give you an idea of how we had to hike up and descend Seongsan Ilchubong Peak.......Though it was filled with other holiday makers, at the summit, you are rewarded with a view of the crater and the horizon, just simply awesome! it was well worth the hike up.

“Seongsan Ilchulbong from the air” by Korea.net