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Sunday, October 12, 2014

The typhoon has begun...

We left Jeju City this morning and headed down to the other major city on the island, Seogwipo. We had read that it wasn't that easy to figure out the intercity buses on the island, but we didn't find a problem. In fact, we thought it was relatively easy!

We took the number 780 bus. It stops at various points around Jeju City and we thought the stops were all well marked. The only problem we encountered was knowing where exactly to get off once we reached our destination, but the bus driver made sure to let us know. There is an automatic route callout system on the bus, and it does so in English as well as Korean, so that helps as well.

It was about an hour drive on the bus and it cost 3,300 won ($3.60) each.

Bus route 780 from Jeju to Seogwipo. 

I had already looked up a couple of reasonably priced places to stay. It turned out that I had slightly inaccurate directions to one of them, so we were thankful for the iPhone that our friend June had lent us. Plus, it was very handy to have our cellular internet device from Wi-Fi Korea so that we could double check the address and use the GPS mapping system in the iPhone. Great to be well connected when you're on the go!

We decided on the Jeju Hiking Inn in Seogwipo near the waterfront. It was 30,000 won ($33.00) for a small double room with private bathroom. The place is a little dated, but for the price it's great value. Everything is clean, and we're happily booked in for two nights. Maybe three!

Our room at the Jeju Hiking Inn.

The manager sat down with us and explained how to get to see some of the various things in the area. We decided our first stop would be the Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls, just down the road from our hotel!

Heading for the falls.

Lots of flowers on this bridge!

It's a pretty spot.

Ruth, at the Cheyonjiyeon Falls.

It cost a reasonable 2,000 won ($2.20) to get in to see the falls and the park area surrounding the falls. Tough to get the above picture without other people in it...it was pretty busy. I'd hate to see it at high season!

The falls are 22 meters (70 feet) high and would be fairly impressive with more water going over them. Maybe we'll have to come back in 24 hours after the typhoon!

They have a really nice photostop rock, but it was so busy it would have been tough to get a photo of one of us standing on the rock.

Here's the crowd.

This guy was having a snooze on the only log in the middle of the water!

Lots of greenery. Almost jungle like.

I was trying to get a shot of this bird with it's big yellow feet! This was the best I could do. Ruth tells me this bird is called an Ibis. (Edit: You can see from the comments below that Ruth was actually wrong. This is a snowy egret!)

After the waterfall, we just went for a walk around the waterfront.

Various varieties of mandarin oranges are for sale here, and are popular all over Korea. You can buy them for about 25 cents a piece, but we have found a wide variety of pricing and of course tourists will easily pay more than they have to if they're not careful.

The harbor if full of boats equipped for anchovy fishing.

The sea on the other side of this wall is really rough!

We'll go for a walk over this bridge before we leave.

See how windy it is? Love the wild hair look, Ruth!

Neat sculpture!

So, you might have heard there's a typhoon heading this way. Yep, Typhoon Vongfong is actually headed this way, but is expected to veer off towards Japan, just skirting Jeju Island. But they are calling for up to 60 mm (2.5 inches) of rain. It was cloudy and spitting all day, but it never really bothered us. Tomorrow might be a different story!

Current location and expected route of the typhoon. You can see on the left where Jeju Island is.

We had some fun watching the waves crash to shore.

The view from the rooftop of our hotel.
 Our room is actually on the sixth floor (not bad, for $33 huh?) and we have essentially the same view, but there are some wires in the way that take away from the photo. 

Tomorrow, we've got more exploring to do. Rain or shine!




37 comments:

  1. to show how wet it is here, we had 4 inches of rain in 24 hours, yuck. as usual your pictures are stunning. room seems to be a great value, so what if its on the small side you guys dont spend that much time in a room. everything looks so clean. always amazes me how you get around a foreign country better than most of us do here in the states. Hope the typhoon misses you. Be safe

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    1. You had more rain than us Donna! Our room is fine, nothing spectacular but definitely good value. The place is a little run down but not much, the location and the owner sure make up for anything else it is lacking. And yes, the typhoon missed us!

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  2. Here's hoping the storm passes you by and you can enjoy your day. Love those pictures.

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    1. It seems that the typhoon forgot to show up so other than some strong winds and a little rain we are no worse for wear.

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  3. Typhoon? Never a dull moment with your travels!

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  4. Stay safe! I have seen what hurricane Odile did at the Baja, specially at Los Cabos.

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    1. No worries Renate, it forgot to show up in our little corner of the East China Sea.

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  5. Keep enjoying you travels there, and hang on to your hats in that wind.

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    1. The wind was about all that we saw of the typhoon along with a small amount of rain. No problem with the hat, we just didn't wear them! ;-)

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  6. Once that super typhoon realized Kevin and Ruth were staying on Jeju, it steered itself toward Japan instead.

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  7. I don't know the birds of South Korea, but that sure looks like a snowy egret to me.

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    1. You are totally correct! I made the mistake of looking up ibis and saw a picture and just assumed that that was what it was without reading that the image I was looking at was an egret not an ibis. As soon as you said snowy egret, I banged the heel of my hand to my forehead, I should have known that!

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  8. Here in Moab, UT we are having a wild dust storm so I understand why Ruth's hair is looking the way it does. Walking the bridge will be great!

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    1. I normally have it tied back but I didn't then so it really went wild!

      Hopefully tomorrow we will do it as we didn't end up having time to today. We were really hoping to go back in the evening an take some night shots but that's when it started to get super windy and some rain started.

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  9. I am just amazed at how well you guys get around in every foreign country. I agree with Judy, the birdwoman of blogland,, that's a snowy egret - "golden slippers" is how I remember. Great picture and what a beautiful waterfall. Love that sculpture too. Really enjoyed this post. Can't believe you are on an island with a typhoon perhaps right next door. You guys sure lead an exciting life.

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    1. The more you travel the easier it seems to get. Have to admit though it is much more difficult when you see symbols and not words but the visual display and automatic call outs on the bus, subway and trains really help a LOT!

      I love that sculpture as well, I think it looks really cool.

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  10. Continuing to enjoy your posts! Wonderful views for your room-you really do find the most amazing places to stay and for such a bargain price too.
    Stay safe and I really hope the weather stays kind.
    I thought it was an egret too!

    Sft x

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    1. The typhoon ended up being a non issue, we had lots of wind and a bit of rain but nothing to worry about.

      Kevin lives to find a bargain and he normally comes through. That's why it is nice having other people's blogs to read as well as trip advisor. We always think, Google is your friend!

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  11. Beautiful view. The waterfalls is lovely also.

    I love anchovies, but no one else around me does....darn.

    Please be safe!

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    1. The waterfalls were pretty but I am sure they look even better after a good rainfall.

      Not a lover of anchovies here either but it seems that here in Korea they dry them and then eat them as a snack with beer.

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  12. Like your room, looks like a great place to take my nap. Cool the bus system is in English too. What, no food pictures?

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    1. Yeah, but we don't seem to have time to take a nap! The bus system seems to call out the important "tourist" sites in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, so yes that really does help!

      We'll put in a food picture in the next post just for you, Chris!

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  13. I love that sculpture ... it is indeed neat.

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  14. Love the story being told with pictures as well. Good luck during the typhoon. Not sure if it is the same in South Korea but in Japan the wiring is all above ground, and somewhat unsightly, due to the many earthquakes they have.

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    1. Thanks Glen and Steve! As for the typhoon, it ended up being a non issue, thankfully. Yes, I think a lot of the wiring here is above ground as well.

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  15. I agree with Judy and Sherry - Snowy Egret. Black stockings with yellow shoes is how I remember.

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    1. Thanks Page, as soon as Judy mentioned it, I knew I was wrong and mad at myself because I should have known that.

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  16. All those places look familiar to me, even the turtle on the rock! Did you see the silk worm snacks yet?
    We're home now and missing it already!
    Great location and deal you found for your room.

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    1. I bet they do look familiar. I think that turtle has that rock reserved all the time.

      Yes, we did see the silk worms but we weren't sure what they were. We were pretty sure they we some kind of insect just not sure what kind. They didn't smell so good but I would be willing to give them a try. Did you try them?

      Glad you made it home safe and sound, hope the weather is good and Happy Thanksgiving to you both.

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  17. Ruth, I also like the shot with your hair getting blown around in the wind. I would love to see more photos in the future of your hair getting blown around in your face on any windy days you may encounter.

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