Jeju: Getting to Seoul (1)

Date: 12/24

Over Christmas, I took a 3 day trip to Jeju-do.  ("do" means island in Korean, so it is Jeju Island).  It is located off the southern tip of South Korea and considered the "Hawaii of Korea."  A place for honeymooners.

Jeju is the island at the bottom.  Note the spelling change: it is not exactly a "J" sound, more of  a blend between "J" and "ch".  

I went with a company called Adventure Korea.  They organize medium to large group sized tours aimed for foreigners.  Some friends in Gunsan know the owner, Saekjin, so we (my friend Sarah and I) booked the trip around 4 weeks ago.  I would so highly recommend Adventure Korea to anyone in South Korea looking for traveling opportunities.

adenturekorea.com

But because I live in Gunsan, I had to travel up to Seoul the night before so that I could meet up with the group on time.  

This meant that on Friday (Christmas Eve) meeting up with some friends from Gunsan (Sarah and Scott) and catching the bus up to Seoul. 

I had Christmas with my family over Skype that morning.  I opened all my presents and they opened the ones I had sent them, plus the secret stocking stuffers my family and I do.  My cousin got very lucky--she got a very Korean Stocking this year!

Dad was setting the mood with candles...so I couldn't really see everyone but It was great to just hear all their voices.  

They sent me some of the DVDs I had forgotten to take.  Except, that I did take some of the CDs.  Luckily, this was the only example of that.  I now have Phantom of the Opera and Monty Python if anyone is interested in watching!

My cousin trying on her stocking gifts.  She got some fun stockings and these "pig" boxers.  I simply couldn't resist...

Christmas Cards! and a fluffy puppy that moves when you pet it.  A little Tullah.

Other gifts included some baking ingredients (I now am the proud owner of seasonings!), some pumpkin pie stuffings (YUM!), some new clothes (I know I've lost weight because I now officially fit into Holister Clothes--strange!), and some gift cards (which should be interesting because they say "Only valid in the US"...).  Thanks family!  I look forward to enjoying my presents!  Oh, wait, one last one: A plane ticket to a vacation of my choosing from the folks!!  Thailand--here I come!  

I met up with my friends at the bus terminal around 2.30.  I grabbed a sandwich on the way to getting a taxi, and ate it while waiting for them to arrive.  Unfortunately it was a "ham and jelly" sandwich.  

Not the best Christmas Eve lunch I've ever had.  But luckily, I had grabbed a big bag of SunChips.  Yum..now those I chowed down on!  Also the candy that was in my stocking--Candy Canes, Caramel filled chocolates, and Chocolate balls.  

When Scott and Sarah arrived at the terminal, some how, some way, Scott and I got "married."  Which turned into a giant running gag for the rest of the trip.   It got to the point where I don't think that some of the people on the trip knew if we were actually married or just pulling people's leg.  It was great fun.  

Our "wedding photo." 

On the way to Seoul, we goofed off quiet a bit.  I guess I should change that--the entire trip, we were giant goofs.  The bus ride just set the tone. 

What is Sarah doing???

Smile...Peek

Funny face time...

I'm thinking, "Come on Scott...it's a point 'n' shoot camera...just push the button already." Little did I know he was just taking pictures the whole time...

Really Scott...you have a nice camera...this shouldn't be that hard....

And now he tells me!

Scott...making faces...

Showing off his thumb--which for some reason got caught in a door or something, so the nail got blood underneath it, and it started to rot. so he's slowly picking away the nail so that it can heal.  Talk about a boy thing...GROSS!

We arrived in Seoul without mishap--but the adventure was just beginning.  To be continued....