Jeju
I arrived on Jeju during August 2024 as part of a two year contract. Compared to my previous jobs in Russia, Germany and Kazakhstan, Jeju has a lot of potential for hiking with its Olle Trails and I plan to complete all 27 of them. It is great to have a new target while away from Scotland.
Hallasan
Olle 1
Olle 1-1
Olle 2
Olle 3
Olle 4
Olle 5
Olle 6
Olle 7
Olle 7-1
Olle 8
Olle 9
Olle 10
Olle 10-1
Olle 11
Olle 12
Olle 13
Olle 14
Olle 14-1
Olle 15
Olle 16
Olle 17
Olle 18
Olle 18-1
Olle 18-2
Olle 19
Olle 20
Olle 21
Siogwipos-si and my completion.
I booked a guesthouse in Siogwipo-si to stay the night rather than taking a taxi back home for the night only to return the next day. It is always nice to have a trip that involves overnighting somewhere. Before, visiting the Jeju Olle Tourist Centre, I visited a couple of beauty spots to do some photography and went on a submarine.
Oedolgae
I wonder if anyone has ever climbed it? This is on Olle 7. I had photographed it then but I was with a group so I had to compose my photos very quickly as every time I took a photo I got left behind and had to catch up younger companions in very hot and humid conditions. Some of the phots below were taken with a tripod and a 6 2/3 stop ND filter with shutter speeds in the range of 1/2 to 4 seconds. I think the 1/2 second shot is my favourite. That is the second one in the slide show.
Walking back to the road, I wanted to make my way to the Siogwipo submarine. It is my own fault for walking down the middle of the road and not looking where I was placing my feet, I stepped on some cats eyes! Unlike the low profile ones that press down in the UK, these are like stepping on a brick! My ankle went, resulting in excruciating pain! This is something I do from time to time. I think it is always my right one that goes and the weakness dates back to when I was at school, circa 1979, and was playing football with the bigger boys.
Seogwipo Submarine
After sitting at the side of the roads for a few minutes, cussing and calling myself a complete idiot, could still walk on it. So I continued through a park and down some steps to the Seogwipo Submarine. This is a fairly expensive excursion as 60 000 Won or £32. For myself alone, this was not too bad but it would work out very expensive for a family of four or more! I was told that the excursion lasts for 1h 10 minutes, but in reality, much of that was spent boarding a boat that relayed people over to where the submarine was moored off Munseum Island.
The diver is there as part of the spectacle but also as he has a bag of food to attract the fish.
It is a case of "You only live once" and I only needed to pay for myself. It was a new experience for me.
The diver is there as part of the spectacle but also as he has a bag of food to attract the fish.
It is a case of "You only live once" and I only needed to pay for myself. It was a new experience for me.
Cheonjiyeon Waterfall
The good news here is that I had free entry using my Korean Alien Residency Card (ARC) which shows that I am resident on Jeju. In fact, if you cross the road bridge to the opposite side of the river, away from the large car park, there is an open gate allowing free entry anyway.
Jeju Olle Trail HQ
I have been here several times now. There is a small cafe that serves food, beer and for those not drinking alcohol, really nice Cole carrot juice. I asked if it was too late to register my completion. She said "Have you walked ALL of the routes and have ALL of the stamps?" I replied yes, even both A and B variants" showing her the pages in my Olle passport for routes 3 and 15. There is a small charge of 5000 Won/£2.50.
I had to scan a QR code and enter my details and answer a few questions like what are my favourite and least liked trails along with "What could we do better" type questions. As my favourite trails, I entered 9 and 18-1, and the one I enjoyed the least was 4 (mostly road and aquaculture buildings).
She then read out the text on my certificate and invited me to ring the bell, which I did very vigorously, to applause from the few people in the cafe at the time. Then it was time for the photographs.
I had to scan a QR code and enter my details and answer a few questions like what are my favourite and least liked trails along with "What could we do better" type questions. As my favourite trails, I entered 9 and 18-1, and the one I enjoyed the least was 4 (mostly road and aquaculture buildings).
She then read out the text on my certificate and invited me to ring the bell, which I did very vigorously, to applause from the few people in the cafe at the time. Then it was time for the photographs.
Then I crossed the road to the Olle shop to buy a new passport. My first one was orange so I went for a blue one this time.