Jumping Jeju

I've really been meaning to post the photos from Jeju Island, but between rafting, Korean classes starting up again, and a new schedule at school, I just haven't had time!
We did a little fun experiment on the island, where Sangyeon did a jumping shot at most of (sadly not all) the places we saw. I've put them together here, sort of as a highlights package...and will get the rest up asap!

Hallim Botanical Park


Hallim Botanical Park


Bridge near Cheonjaeyeon waterfall


Daepojusang jeollidae


Daepojusang jeollidae


Daepojusang jeollidae


World Cup stadium near Seogwipo


외돌개 (Lonely rock)


Seongsan Ilchulbong in the background, which has an old volcanic crater at the top


Climbing to the top of the crater


Udo (cow) Island


Udo Island, with Seongsan Ilchulbong in the background


Udo Island


Loveland....more pics from here to follow, although I didn't take many (I was too busy covering my eyes and blushing...)


Our last night in Jeju City

Preview to Jeju

We're back from Jeju!! It was just as fantastic as I hoped/expected it to be....I just wish we could have stayed longer.
I took hundreds of photos so I'm still trying to sort them out before I post them.
In the meantime, I thought I'd show you the not-so-great part of the weekend where I crashed my rental scooter :( It was a little crash that cost me dearly, and left me with a nasty injury. I'm all good, although it hurts like hell!

The damage to the bike



The damage to my leg



A few days later...



In fact, it's looking more red and ugly now, but apparently it's healing.

I'll get the other pics up soon.

Congrats to Janine and Deano who found out they are expecting a little sister for Noa. She is going to make a great big sis!

Bowling

It was Sangyeon's father's birthday on Saturday so we went to Pyeongtaek to spend the rest of the weekend with his family. We managed to squeeze in a spot of 10-pin bowling while we were there. I was not half bad, and managed a strike on my first go!

Sangyeon was definitely the best of the bowlers.


Strike out!


Brother Neungmyeong, and his girlfriend Shinae.


Neungmyeong also looking rather pro.


Me taking out the last pin.


Our scoreboard, Sangyeon and I wiped the floor!!

Weekend at Sangyeon's

We decided to be good this weekend, and woke up early on Saturday to go for a walk up a little 'koppie' in Sangyeon's town of Shihwa. It's a lovely walk, nice and steep and gets you sweating....pity about the view at the top, but then Shihwa is an industrial town so what can you expect? The west view is quite nice as it looks across the river at Incheon (the airport city), and if you walk up there at dusk, you can see a beautiful sun set.

At the bottom...our failed attempt at a self-portrait.


On the way up, lush green shrubbery takes your mind miles away from the city.


View of Shihwa.


The cardboard recycling plant.


The river, with Incheon on the other side. That green patch in front (which stretches all along the river) will soon be developed into apartment blocks, adding to the concrete skyline :(



Listen to these crazy bugs....they make such a noise, and they are everywhere in Korea!

Lunch with Sona and Sangyeon

On Friday Sangyeon and I went for lunch with Sona. It was the first time she was going to meet him, and who knows Korean guys better than Korean girls, right? So I was anxious as to what she would think of him. Luckily she liked him a lot, and we had a good time chatting and them getting to know each other. We ate at a new Chinese restaurant, China Factory, and I guess the fact that the food was delicious might have helped ;)

Muggy madness

I've really been trying to make an effort to exercise lately, because usually I'm too busy. But since Korean classes stopped I have a little extra time to do it....the problem is that at the moment it's toooooo hot to even think about it! So the other day I got up at 6:30, thinking I could beat the heat and go for a walk around the fortress wall...well, I couldn't have been more wrong! It was extremely hot and muggy, even at that time already!! So I cut my walk short after reaching the peak of the wall. At least the view of the sun rising over the city was breath-taking and made it all worth it :)






On Sunday we took my friend, Jaco, to Hakdong in Seoul to go snowboard shopping. He got a snowboard, boots and bindings all for the really good price of W 570 000! He was stoked, and we are all super excited for next season. Since it's summer at the moment, things are on crazy sales, so I bought a nice pair of Burton pants and a much-needed helmet too.

I managed to sneak this photo of Sangyeon on the bus to Seoul....catching 40 winks! So cute =)



We leave for Jeju Island in just over a week, and I can't wait! I've wanted to go there since I arrived in Korea, and I'm finally getting to do it. I talked Sangyeon into taking some time off so we can go together. We're hoping to do a skin dive, climb Hallasan (a dormant volcano and the highest mountain in Korea), check out the world-famous orange orchards, eat fresh sea food, cruise the scenic perimeter on scooters, and much more! It's going to be so much fun, and great just to get away for a while - happy days :)