My Heaven Is A Place On Earth: Jeju island

In Korea the winter holiday is much longer than in Finland, so we had lots of time to... have a summer vacation basically. The first trip was to legendary Jeju island, the jewel of Korea. For many people it might be a completely unknown corner of the world, but wait until you see all the cool things that you can see and experience there!

Jeju island, which is also known as "The island of the Gods", is the most popular place in Korea for spending a honeymoon. I wouldn't argue with this fact, it's a very beautiful and romantic place, perfect for spending some quality time with your loved one. But I'm sure that Jeju offers something for everybody, it's so versatile: full of life, but at the same time it's the calm and quiet escaping place.

If people know something about Jeju island, they usually know these things: Halla-mountain and horses. Some people who love beaches, may pay attention to the fact that it's an island, so it naturally has many beaches, too. It's true, there is many beautiful beaches around Jeju and I visited many of them, but it was already December, so there was no way that I would have enjoyed any sunbathing. But I must say that I love collecting seashells, and I got some nice items from there!

Jeju island is also a really bizarre place. I would almost say pervert. The people are open and funny, and they speak in a different way. They are proud of their heritage and they take care of the old traditions, but they are also very modern and very open-minded! For example, we were touring the island with a very nice taxi-driver who we named "Daddy-Kim", and we told him to take us to a "sex-park"... He did not laugh, he just told us "the entrance fee is only 5,000won, let's go!"

Be my guest and google "Jeju Love Land".

That's one of the most weird places I have ever visited in my life.

And what about the other places then? Well, there is some places that are really awesome and worth visiting, like Manjanggul Lava Tube, which is an underground tunnel, which used to have hot lava floating inside it loooong ago. Going there was really interesting, and really fun. It's a different kind of an experience compared to museums or beaches that tourist normally visit at first.

There is also nice museums, like the Trick Eye Museum, that is also really good for people who are travelling with small kids. Nothing is more fun for the kids than to become a part of the painting in a museum! I have always visited the Trick Eye Museum is Seoul, and you can also find one in Busan. But I can say that I didn't. I was looking for it once, and apparently it's such a secret place that you have to go there through a secret underground passageway or something.

Yes, Busan is mysterious. That's why I like it.

Jeju island is also a really, really mysterious place. I love old history, not just facts, but exaggarated stories about something that is so big that you begin wondering if it really could be true, or do the storytellers just want to tell it better than their fathers and grandfathers.

One of the most visible pieces of history are the Grandfather Statues, "Jeju dol Hareubang". Hard to explain why, but they also look a bit pervert. See for yourself, I'm not gonna explain more, but I'll tell you, those are everywhere.

And what we can also find everywhere, is horses. Horseback riding is one of the most common thing to do when you visit the island. For me it was one of the best parts, because I grew up on a farm with horses and cows and other animals, but before the Jeju-trip I hadn't been riding a horse for ages. So that was one of the most important things for me, and I enjoyed it, not only the riding part, but also just seeing those beautiful creatures everywhere. We also went to see a horse-show, kind of a horse-circus, which was a great experience.

I have told this many times, but I really love the sea and the mountains. Jeju island has both. I visited many beaches but because of the rainy day I couldn't make my dream come true, and climb to Halla-san to see the volcano-crater. I will go back one day and see that, but hopefully that will happen during summer!

What we lost when we went there during wintertime, was the green colour. It was still green, but not the kind of flourishing green that we see during the summer. It was winter-green. And hey, we did see snow, too! In a museum, but still!

But the main point is not what we saw, but what we experienced in our hearts. That is, the untouchable purity, and the weird but oh so romantic atmosphere of the distant island of Jeju.

So what did we actually experience physically?

Horseback riding, gardens, cruises, circus, horse shows, hiking, dramatic scenes, pure nature, museums and much much more...

This is an adventure that did not ask for a lot of money, but it gave me lots of new experiences.

Holiday at Jeju island

December 2012

Get ready for a summer-vacation... During winter.

And so the vacation begins!

Gimhae airport, which also welcomed me to Korea for the first time, is saying goodbye to me for a little while!

"I'll be back!"

Let's go!

Jenni is apparently already asleep at this point, LOL :D

Seeing Jeju island for the first time.

It's beautiful, fresh, and the palm trees are bigger than in Busan. Also the HK Guesthouse was a nice place, and the staff seemed to like my hair and my animal prints way too much :D

Here's the streetview from the front door of our guesthouse.

It's almost Christmas, so we went Dunkin' Donuts, and bough something really Christmassy :)

Ice tea is Christmassy, too. It has ice in it.

It's December, but the flowers are still blooming everywhere.

During the first full day at Jeju island, we were spending some quality-time with some grandmothers in a bus.

The bus-trip was nice, but unfortunately everything was only in Korean.

First stop: Ice Museum and 5D movies

Because we are Finnish, we had to go to see some ice sculptures, of course, because it is SO exotic for us to see snow!

I am a big fan of Christmas, so this was a wonderland for me and my camera :)

More ice and some reindeer :)

My heart melts because all this ice is so beautiful <3

I was this to my front yard! I love Christmas decorations, and this kind of ice with lights inside it would be a good idea in Finland!

We also met Santa Claus!

And if you look behind the Santa, there's green grass and palm trees outside >____<

Next stop: Jeju Trick Eye Museum!

Jenni and Niina getting hit by a train.

"Fire!"

This looks so real!

Racing with elephants.

We got out of the world of fairytales and ice... And straight to a forest that looks so Finnish somehow :D

The bus-ride in beautiful views was really pleasant and we were full of energy :)

So natural and beautiful views.

My favourite view right after anything related to the sea: mountains and fields.

We briefly visited some famous mandarin-fields. And then, well, we went to a kid's park with a taxi-driver who was a big Abba-fan and we sang together :D

Some lovely ponds.

It's nice to spend a warm day outside. There was also horses and labyrinths and carting... :D

The labyrinth was a real challenge, BUT I always have time for photographing flowers.

Sunny day :)

And there is the end of the labyrinth! So close but so far away!

''Damn... How are we getting out of here?

I asked the flowers but they didn't know anything.

Since flowers didn't have any sense of direction, we had to find the way out for ourselves. Here's the finishline finally!

Wohoo!

Back to the taxi and singing some more Abba!

...But first we had fun with the horses <3

Horses and good views <3

...And a random fishy.

Next stop: Cruising around the islands!

I love the sea, so this was a really great part of the journey for me!

Heading towards the boat and then to the sea!

Freedom!

Hello bird-friends :)

So beautiful small islands everywhere.

Like this!

Hello again, birds.

Are you photobombing my pictures?

Some smaller boats getting photobombed by birds also.

I want to live on this cute little island <3

Uhh a pirate-island for sure!

I was really hoping to see some pirates there!

...But no.

Heading back towards the harbour.

The next stop was also close to the sea: a park and a path leading to beautiful views over the sea.

This place was awesomely beautiful.

I wish we could have spent more time there.

Grandmothers being excited about photographing.

I couldn't wish for a better place to spend a sunny day in December :)

This café has really good views to the sea, and the overall location is just stunning!

Entering Camellia Hill.

So many chickens in the garden!

Even during December this place is full of flowers.

Finding some bird-friends :)

Sun was setting already, so we had to be quick with photographing all the beautiful flowers before the dark.

These paths reminded me of some fairytale-forests.

The most beautiful combination: colourful autumn leaves and pure white flowers <3

Some beautiful statues.

We found lots of statues.

We found a HUGE teacup.

Let's run to the sunset!

This is what an Asian garden should look like!

Hotel Ever.

Waiting for the next days adventure to begin.

And the adventure starts!

...And so does the rain.

This is a real zombie-weather now!

These smalls waterfalls were beautiful.

Flowers only liked the rainy day.

This place is surely really refreshing and beautiful during the summer. Now it was a little bit too wet for my taste.

Such a romantic place, even with all the rain.

Horse show and farm

The performance showed the history of horses.

Historical clothes, flags and music made the show feel really life-like, as the history would be happening right in front of our eyes.

This guy with the pony was cute <3

This cute performer with his tiny pony was absolutely the best part of the show!

Horseback riding <3

It was nice to be with horses for one day, because the last time I was riding a horse was... A long time ago! :D

Meeting some horse-friends again :)

This horsey was hungry but unfortunately I had nothing to eat.

A beautiful garden with healing herbs and exotic flowers.

These statues are a really normal view at Jeju. Actually any kind of small statues made of stone or wood.

The cultures of Jeju island is really rich and artistic!

Why can't I live here?

It's so quiet and peaceful. Even the grannies are quiet for a while.

This was a gallery showing one artist's view, his life and his mind. We also met the artist himself, who was paiting there at the time.

This is so my favourite colour!

So beautiful goldfishes in all shades of gold!

Here you can rest your soul - and also get good ideas for your own yard or balcony.

We met some cat-friends :)

Beautiful holiday-houses.

This is the kind of place where I would like to live!

Or at least I would be glad to call this my summer-home if I would have enough money to buy a house here, but of course I would live in Busan! :D

Relaxing after running around with the grannies all day.

We needed a break!

Hmmm this could be my house!

It's artistic and creative, and has great views surrounding it.

This could be my drive-way!

Oh these holiday-homes are gorgeous :)

Taking a walk here was relaxing for the body and the mind :)

Resting my eyes on the flowers.

We found some exotic rare cases, too.

Spending some time inside the greenhouses.

Summer-paradise though it's December :D

Ahh, it's so great to take a walk here. I would love to spend some time at this kind of a garden everyday.

Jeju and horses. Those are two words that are linked together.

Artists clearly like horses, too :D

Enjoying some sunshine for a while :)

It's time to leave the holiday-paradise behind, but it was relaxing and taught me a lot about artforms and flowers at Jeju island.

Next we went to a place with is again close to the sea, very beautiful, featured in Korean dramas and protected by Unesco.

We heard stories about the place, told by a parking-ahjussi who was speaking surprisinly good English! Really interesting. He invited us to visit there again, and surely I would love to!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped to eat something and take some pictures. The weather was beautiful and so calm. I always love the sunsets, even when I'm totally tired and my camera feel heavy, but I just HAVE TO take pictures!

Well, back at the hotel, hot shower and finally BED!

Hotel Ever. There rooms were nice and I love the old Korean traditions! Especially I love the colours and the creative, but simple decorations.

No idea what this means. Just caught my eye when I was searching for new places to visit :D

Well, we found new places.

Manjanggul Lava Tubes!

Now we will disappear under the ground.

Goodbye, daylight!

Goodbye, civilization!

And if the volcano starts living while I'm inside, please bring me some ice cream, it's gonna be hot.

Inside the caves. Uuhh spooky...

Walking hundreds of meters throuhgh narrow caves underground, where lava has once travelled... This is something worth trying!

"Luola-selca!"

Some lava! Fortunately it's so old that it won't attack me.

This thing behind me is the largest known lava column in the whole world!

Jeju Teddybear Museum

Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum

I have nothing else to say about the Teddybear Museum, it was just so cute. A perfect place for anyone. Just anyone. It's an interesting place where you can also buy that kind of teddybears that you can't get from a regular shop.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not... That was unbelievable. I think I got nightmares. But it was also a fun place, and I learned new things. Educating is always good!

During our last night at Jeju, we also went to a little café that was just too cute and too perfect to be there. Even the waiters were so cute and adorable! Perfect coffee-prince material! I could have been sitting there for the whole night, the atmosphere was amazing and the place was purely adorable and beautiful, and perfect for spending a winter-evening before Christmas.