last night, when my very sweet hostess had me lugging my overweight bag up four flights of stairs at my pension in hyeopjae beach, i wondered why i had to be so far up. then i saw the view this morning. worth it!
my hostess’ mom made breakfast for me and i headed to the beach with no agenda. i’d heard there was an arboretum and cactus field down the road, so after a little nap at the beach, i kept walking. i decided to pass on the arboretum because it’s apparently a 4 hour hike and i wanted to do a little more exploring. hallim garden does look beautiful though and i’ll remember it for next time! walking led me to the cactus habitat and a few fun side alleys in between.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”45″ gal_title=”jeju day one : hyeopjae morning”]
after a little regroup back at the pension, i went out for dinner in search of abalone porridge, one of jeju’s delicacies. my hostess had given me a recommendation for a little spot next to the beach. there was only one other table full when i got there, so i was worried it might not be open, but about 5 minutes after i sat down, the restaurant was full. apparently 7pm is dinner time at korea’s beaches. dinner was delicious and definitely lived up to the hype!
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”46″ gal_title=”jeju day one : hyeopjae afternoon”]
on my way home, i thought a beer would be a perfect pre-packing beverage, so i stopped by a bar that was open to the perfect night air and had good music blaring. i initially sat down in a lawn chair but moved back up to the bar for a second beer and i’m so glad i did! i sat down next to a girl visiting from seoul for the weekend. she had studied in canada for a year in high school and her english was excellent in addition to knowing japanese. this was her first solo trip ever so we had a fun time talking about the pros and cons of solo adventuring and hearing about each other’s lives “back home”! thanks for a super fun night, serena!