Kimnyoung Maza Park

Jeju - It was my first time experiencing a hedge Maze Park.  This Maze Park is called Kimnyoung Maze Park and it is Asia's first.   The reception lady asked me where I was from and told me that a Singapore family was inside the Maze.

This Kimnyoung Maze is famous because many TV commercials and Korean drama was shot there.

Once we reached the Maze entrance, Young Jin sprinted away leaving me to find my way around this huge maze.   The objective is to exit the quickest and ring the bell.  So I walked around until I saw this Singaporean family and followed them to the exit.  Surprisingly, they were lost inside the maze for 2 hours.

Sangumburi Crater

Jeju - We drove to another crater - Sangumburi Crater. Entrance fee here is more expensive @ KW6,000. Sangumburi (산굼부리) is a crater with a circumference of over 2 km, and has been designated as a Natural Monument. It is located on the southeast side of Jeju-si, and is a flat crater, about 650 meters wide, 100 meters deep, and 2,070 meters in circumference. If you look at the crater from above up, it looks like a man-made circular stadium.

entrance

grass meadows everywhere

top of the crater

walk around the top of the crater

me amongst the tall grasses

Mt Seopjikoji

Jeju - Next we drove to Mt. Seopjikoji and it was the setting for many Korean dramas and the most famous was All-In.  A drama about gambling and the iconic church.

wind dried cuttlefish

'church' prop setting

There are no congregation but a movie prop set of a church.

Do you recognise any of the movies?

ancient signal stack

beautiful scenery

Lighthouse

Contemporary Art Museum

Another nice view

Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak - UNESCO Site

Jeju -  I woke up at 5am and the temperature outside was 5c.  Young Jin drove for 1hr+ to reach the base before 7am.  The distance from Jeju Hyatt Regency is about 60km.  The journey was treacherous as we nearly had a major collision as we saw a truck racing in front of us beating the red light.   It was very scary seeing many cars in the morning beating the red light and I understood why there are so many speed trap along the long stretch of road.

Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (182 meters high) rose from the sea in a series of volcanic eruptions beginning over 100,000 years ago.  This is a UNESCO site.  The site resembles an old fortress on a coastal cliff and was originally a volcanic island but was later connected as sand and gravel accumulated in between. The sunrise seen from the peak is considered one of the most fascinating scenic views in Jeju.

Cauldron of the dormant volcano

small town

walking down the stairs

unusual rock formations

Huge UNESCO Seongsan

Nice Jeju seafood

Jeju - We were introduce to a nice seafood restaurant by Hyatt concierge and drove there.

metal cutlery with wasabi and korean chilli sauce

belt fish sashimi 

non spicy kimchi

and the food kept coming and coming......we ordered the main course and this is the fish from the tank

the slices of the raw fish

very delicious and lots to eat....the following are also just dish dishes

raw abalone

raw shell fish

raw sea urchin

sushi with ginger 

and more and more to come......

spicy chilli cockles

baked abalones

baked scallops

fried fish

and by the time the last and final dish of spicy hot soup, we are bloated and could not stuff more food in.

spicy soup

Hyatt Regency Jeju

Jeju - By the time we arrived at Hyatt Regency Jeju it was already dark and cold.  We checked into this beautiful hotel lobby - very grand and spacious and fitting of a 5-star hotel.   They have a meandering stream and well trim plans and trees in the lobby.

Lobby

The Lobby lounge bar

Pond full of Koi fishes

Bibimbap with raw beef

Seoul - It is winter and cold here and temperatures around 10C.  It was much warmer than yesterday with temperatures around 5C.   Now sitting at Kimpo airport waiting for the schedule flight to Jeju for 3 days.

nice Christmas tree @ Kimpo airport

Bibimbap with raw beel

You put the warm rice into the bowl of Bibimbap, add Kimchi and chilli sauce and stir the ingredients well and it ready to be eaten.   My second time eating this raw dish and it's delicious.  In Korea, only certified companies can serve raw beef dishes.

closer snapshot of the raw beef

Flew Asiana Airlines and was upgraded to business class - really nice.   I fly Singapore Airlines 99% of the time and rarely got upgraded.

Their business class seats even has massage feature.   Within less than 1 hour, we reach Jeju International Airport - pick our luggage and off to get our rental car.