New Kyungnam Tourist Hotel Seogwipo

... after about 10 minutes and when we finally arrived at our stop the sun was out. We stopped for lunch and changed into shorts and t-shirts before we set out to climb the 'peak'. Sunrise peak is a beautiful crater on the edge of the coast. Apparently when the sun rises it comes up directly behind it so on a clear day you get an amazing sunrise. Of course we were there long after the sun was up, but the view of the small town at the base and the island ...

... I highly recommend staying at the Tae Gong Gak Inn to anyone who will be spending anytime on the southern part of the island.

Heather and I took in some local color and food Saturday night...more color than food because I am finding that there are not a whole lot of Korean dishes I like all that much (see picture of the marinated crab that tasted like it was way past its prime), and then we passed out early to rest up for the longest hike ever!

... bed early. In the morning Kate and I hiked Halla-san, a volcanic crater in the center of the island. Its 9.6 km to the top. Wow, what a hike, but it was worth it when we saw the beautiful view from the top! Mom and Connie went to a traditional folk village while we were hiking. That night called for some pizza as a reward for a 12 mile round trip hike!
We saw the famous waterfalls the next day and then flew back to Seoul after a great vacation in Jeju!

... the roof. Sunday (July 26) we toured some cool lava caves and had pizza to finish off the day. Today most of us were up at 630am to hike the volcano mountain in Hallasan National Park on the island. I rocketed to the top in about two and a half hours all the while looking for my nemesis and training partner Jamie to be hot on my heels. On my way up I had a rest on a bench beside an old ajima and she smiled at me as she gave me a piece of her wagon wheel. Back on the trail I found ...

... Hanguk Condo. I called James Kirby, the guy who I was supposed to meet here and was shocked to hear he was stil in Seoul and had to cancel his flight. He told me to call another guy in the room to meet up. Jesse was at a bar and said he would be back in 1 hour. I had another two beers sitting outside the corner store and was exhausted so I went back to the condo and asked "How much for a room?"
"No reservation, 60,000 WON." Was his response. My credit card began to ...

... island back to jejushi to so we could stop and plan the Hike to Mt. Halla. On Saturday we didn't do much except Preston went on a run outside and came back a movie star. Stopping traffic with his golden blonde hair, he wooed the women and got stares from the guys our age, and the old adults all smile and gave thumbs up. I think because that generation all remembers the Korean War and the older people really like Americans. Preston ...

... with seaweed that it felt like swimming in seaweed soup. Later, I climbed Ilchulbong and hot and sweaty climb was rewarded with this view. I did not however, climb it again just before sunrise as Lonely Planet recommends. It was just too... before sunrise to get my butt out of bed. Instead I hopped a ferry to Udo island (Cow Island) which was conspicously absent of cows as far as I could tell. Udo has Korea's ...

... etc.), to a Folk Village, seaside villages, Dutch windmills, an impressive central dormant volcano, seaside cliffs and islands, tea plantations, and a humungous beautiful Buddhist Temple. At one stop we got a presentation, of course entirely ...

... view of mount Hall at Fall season. The different colors of trees at thousand feet above the sea level is a very woderful view. Aside from mountain hiking, which is my first time to experience, we also had the opportunity to visit the rocky seashore surrounding Jeju island. Amazing!

Don't get caught in the tourist trap! Summer in Korea is sweaty, humid, and tests one's commitment to life on the peninsula. Often classrooms are devoid of air-conditioning, and intensive 11-hour summer programs test the limits of a teacher's sanity. Fortunately, my apartment and classroom both have "air-con", so I spent the better part of the summer hopping back and forth between colder climates. The summer swelter also means that getting away from Seoul to the beach, an amusement park ...