Upon reaching the guesthouse, Shan and I decided to go to Udo Island seeing the good weather that day. To get to Udo Island, you have to go there by ferry from Seongsan Port. The ferry ride is about 15 minutes, and the price of the ferry ticket (there and back) is about 5,500 won.
Because it was already 1.30pm when we reached the guesthouse and the last ferry back was at 6pm, hence we have to try to get on the 3pm ferry there. It was impossible to get onto the 2pm ferry because our guesthouse is at Jeju City Hall area, which is on the opposite end of Jeju Island with Seongsan Port. We requested our guesthouse owner to get us a taxi, and the taxi driver quoted us 20,000won. So, we went ahead because while doing a quick online search, it was supposed to be about 30,000won. With that, I also have to comment on the efficiency of our guesthouse. The owner called for the taxi immediately and in 5 minutes, she was rushing us to get out because the taxi was already there. And she also brought us to the taxi, made sure that the taxi driver know where we were going, before she went back to the guesthouse. The cab fare turned out to be 31,000won, roughly similar to what most people mentioned online, but the driver also accepted 20,000won from me, which was really commendable and honest of them.
Upon reaching Seongsan Port, you have to get a slip of the paper, fill in where you want to go, pass it to the ticketing counter, and they will give you the tickets. Actually I don't understand why she cannot just give me the tickets since there was no one at the counter anyway. I was supposed to meet a friend, S, to board the ferry together to Udo, but because of miscommunication, and the auntie was chasing us up to the ferry, I left S behind at the port since I couldn't manage to find him. :<
Udo Island was beautiful, it was very rural, and the modes of transportation were bus, ATV, scooters or bicycles. We decided on the tour bus because we only have 2-3 hours and bicycles was definitely not enough. Anyway the island looked way too big and we were too tired to be cycling anyway. Imagine not sleeping on the plane at all, and we had 3 plane rides before that. I have heard that the ATV requires an international license though, but some people managed to rent it without any.
The tour bus had a tour guide, but he spoke in Korean throughout. It was frustrating to hear people laughing but I couldn't get any joke at all. Nor did Shan. We alighted at the first stop - Udo Lighthouse. See that lighthouse in the far distance? That is the Udo Lighthouse. As to why we didn't go all the way... we were really shagged and we had to get back in time for the tour bus. The bus had 4 stops, and at every stop, the bus comes by once every half an hour.
The views however, were breathtaking though. Udo/Jeju area was so well-preserved that the seas were so blue and the grass so green. The wind so strong and cooling, it was just great to be strolling around in this kind of weather. If only time permits.
At the second stop, it was the Women Divers' area. Unfortunately, there was no women divers' performance at that time we were there. If there was no women divers' performance, I would say, give this place a miss. But we found out too late and the bus had already left. We then walked around and spotted some restaurants across the road, and some stores selling the famous peanut ice-cream. So since it was another half an hour till the bus comes by again, we decided to sit down and have some ice-cream. It was nice and refreshing, but more like an yogurt instead of ice-cream. Still good though.
We decided to skip the beaches because we might not make it in time if we get off. Also because we were in shoes and it would be troublesome to have sand in the shoes. But I heard the black pebbles beach is a must-visit though, and the white sand beach has water so clear. If you have the chance, do go there and let me know how it is.
All in all, I think me and Shan were too tired to enjoy Udo Island. It was a real pity and the time was short for us to explore too.
After we got back to the port, we decided to go by the most basic form of transport - bus, to get us to our guesthouse. Because taxi was too luxurious. But alas, we missed the bus when we got to the stop and the next bus was 40 minutes away. We were pondering whether to take the bus when we met a China couple who asked us for directions. We were unsure and wanted to get on a cab together since we were both heading towards city center. There was 2 other Korean girls and one of them understood Chinese so they told us bus could get us back and is way cheaper. With the help of them, 6 of us decided to wait for the bus together. Amazing how people from all over the world can communicate with a mix of Korean, Chinese, and English. Shan and I got back and headed to a nearby restaurant to eat seafood stew. This was our first proper meal in a Korean restaurant, and I realise Koreans can smoke even in the restaurant (at least in Jeju). We were also amazed to find out that there is free instant noodles with whatever you order. It was a good meal too, except that everything was way too spicy for us.
So that concludes our first day of Jeju/Udo travel. I would advise people to have ample rest before heading to places like Jeju. Because of its nature, there is a lot of walking and exploring involved, and if you are tired, you are definitely not in any mood to enjoy nature to its best.
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