Day 117: The Swarming

Today Andrea and I decided to go and check out the south coast of Jeju Island. We got on a bus and only an hour later were in Seogwipo, the second largest city on the island.
Unlike the first two days of our trip, today was bright and sunny with clear blue skies, and REALLY REALLY HOT outside! It actually felt like we were on a sub-tropical island today!

We decided to go and check out Cheonjiyeonpokpo which is a trio of tropical waterfalls that plummet in a series of dramatic dropoffs in a spectacular river gorge. You have to hike down a looooong stairwell into the gorge and it feels like you're climbing down into Hawaii or Thailand or Tahiti or something. The forest is all thick jungle vegetation and the waters are the brighest turquoise colour that you have ever seen! The gorge is made of sheer volcanic cliffs and it really does look and feel like paradise! We spent a good hour exploring the trails through the gorge and took time to reflect next to the three beautiful waterfalls that gouge the canyon. Man, it's great being an unemployed tourist in Korea - haha!!!

After the waterfalls we walked down to the ocean. On the way there we enjoyed the hot sunshine, the lush smells of all the tropical flowers, and the cool sights of the tall skinny palm trees lining the city streets. We were about to walk over a bridge over the canyon when we looked down and saw this poor, lonely horse tied up all by himself down below. There was absolutely no one around so Andrea and I went down to go and visit the horse. The poor horse was stuck on this short rope in the hot sun with no shade and no company. He had a big bucket for water but it was completely empty. We pet the horse for a while (he was really friendly and tame) and then decided to give him some water. We took out our giant 2 L bottle of spring water and emptied it into his bucket. The poor guy drank it all up in about 15 seconds! He definitely seemed like he was still thirsty so we went down to the river and filled up our bottle a couple more time with water. It was our Good Samaritan deed for the day, and the horse sure seemed to be happy about it!

Just up the road from there, on the way to our next stop, we passed through the massive brand new convention centre that the Koreans have built to attract visitors to the island. While walking through the convenntion centre, Andrea and I encountered an entire class of middle school boys out on a field trip. Given the fact not many foreigners live on Jeju, we proved to be quite a fascinating sight for these boys. Within thirty seconds we were completely surrounded by at least 30 of the school boys who stared at is in wonder and curiousity. Like a pack of velociraptors, each of them would approach and ask a question in English while another would come up to the other one of us from a different side and do the same thing. Andrea and I could only spin around and around and answer question after question. I've been approached by groups of friendly and inquisitive students before, but never by a group as large as this! It was fun, but a little intimidating at the same time. So many students, so many questions, so many eyes fixed upon us! After ten minutes or so of the question and answer period from our young teen fans we headed out of the centre and towards the coast.

We walked on over to Jusangjolli Rocks. Jusangjolli Rocks are one of the biggest attractions on all of Jeju. It is here on the south coast where lava from Mount Halla poured directly into the sea. The combination of the super hot lava meeting the super cold sea resulted in instant cooling, causing the lava to form into giant hexagonal pillars that stretch for kilometres along the coast. The lava rock looks like giant vertical honeycomb! These jagged columns are identical in size and shape and form a rugged yet refined wall of pillars that are fascinating to look at. They look almost man-made, but are shaped completely by Mother Nature alone. We took quite a few photos and then wandered down the trail. We came upon a stairwell that actually ran right down to the water next to these uniquely-shaped rocks, and spent a good hour or so climbing up and down the terraces of lava pillars. It was great fun and a totally cool experience to be able to see these things up close and personal. Climbing over lava rocks on an island off the coast of Korea - how cool is that!!??

We then decided to go and find a taxi to take us back to the bus terminal so we could get ready to head back home. We went back to the convention centre to call a taxi, and this is when 'The Swarming - Part Deux' took place. Only this time it with a ferocity never before experienced by this humble Canadian boy. When approaching the centre we ran into several bus loads of...teenage girls. Oh God! The giggling! The crying out of joy and excitement! The fawning!!! For a good 20 minutes or more Andrea and I (well, mostly me) were surrounded by hordes of teenage girls who were absolutely fascinated with us. They fawned over us like we were pop stars at a concert. They yelled out questions and "You are very handsome!!!" in a chorus of squealing and laughing. Group upon group of these super-hyper teen girls came up to have their picture taken with me. I'd put my arm around one of them and they'd all *SCREAM* with excitement! Seriously, I felt like a world-famous Hollywood celebrity! There were flashes of cameras everywhere and I can honestly say I've never had so much attention directed towards me in my entire life. We were completely and utterly and helplessly swarmed by these teenage girls (and I loved every minute!)

After the 'Meet n Greet' time with 'our fans' we finally jumped into our taxi that arrived and sped off. Some of the girls practically ran after the cab and tried to get more pictures of us through the windows. It was crazy! (But SO MUCH FUN! hehe!!) We caught our bus back to Jeju City and went and checked out of our motel. We then went and had PizzaHut for dinner and then took a cab over to the airport. Our flight took off just after 7pm and we were landing in Seoul at around a quarter after eight. Our short 3-day holiday came and went so fast but it felt like we had travelled so far to some distant exotic land! Wow!

It was Brad and Andrea's last night in town so there was a big goodbye dinner for them in Ilsan. The entire gang showed up and we all had an awesome dinner at a really great Thai restaurant. It was fun to socialize with everyone and hang out as a big group one last time. We then headed back to Brad's place where Brad and Andrea continued their last minute packing. I crashed at Steve's again so that Brad and Andrea could enjoy their last night of romance together before heading back to their respective hometowns in Canada. I was really tired from three very active days of touring, but what an amazing trip I had. Andrea and I had such a blast together (we're great travel buddies!) and Jeju was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined! I'm so lucky to be able to experience such cool things! How awesome is my life??!! :-)