Jeju... More Like Je-Poo

This has been the most disappointing trip I have ever had. Before coming to Korea, I had looked at Jeju and was dying to visit. From Daegu, it is only an hour flight and the flights were cheap! Naturally, I was ecstatic to go! The trip started out rough. Somehow, the name on my ticket (purchased online) did not match my name on my passport. After struggling to communicate with the Korean airline staff, I ended up having to purchase another ticket. Upon arrival, we discovered that a storm was coming this weekend. The original plan was to hike Hallasan (the highest peak in all of Korea) but with ominous weather, it would be unsafe to hike. We walked along the beach that night and decided to try some of Jeju's famous black pork. Unfortunately, Zoe did not like it much and it would eventually give me a bad case of travelers tummy (A general yucky feeling in your stomache that is often followed by diarrhea).

When I woke up in the morning, the weather was already beginning to look ominous. We decided not to hike Hallasan, but instead went to see the lava tubes! This was so fun! We went down into the caves which stretched over a kilometer! The "tubes" were made by molten lava and it was very cool to see the different structures and patterns lining the cave walls and ceilings. It was very cool to see the largest lava column in the world.

After the lava tubes, the weather still seemed pretty nice. So, excitedly we hailed a taxi and headed to a much smaller hike but it was supposed to be more scenic. Of course, when we arrived the rain was pounding and the little mountain was covered in a solid layer of fog. I was certain that if we got to the top, we would be able to see something. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. At the top, the only thing we could see was the fog. It was very disappointing and I was very defeated.

On the way down, we stopped by a local fishing place called the "Women Divers." These old ladies dive underwater for 2-3 minutes gathering clams, lobsters, seaweed and a variety of other ocean life. However, due to the weather, none of the ladies were diving today. I was feeling very defeated and the travelers tummy still had not left my system. We decided to cut our losses and go see a movie.