A week has past since returning from tropical Jeju Do, the Southern island paradise, destination of Honey mooners and Hawaii's Korean cousin.
Needing to get out of Seoul, I had no set plan but jumped on the fastest train towards the general vicinity of the volcanic volume. While I hoped to make it to the island in but one day, I made it as far as the port town of Mokpo where I stayed the night in a motel near the boat.
(Mokpo) It was a sleepy little town with a small mountain I climbed up to get a view of the bay. In the morning, I rose at 7 and hopped on the larger than life ferryboat. In Korea they even have video arcades on the boats for children would go into withdrawal.
I felt happy to be sailing into the unknown, watching the many islands pass by on board the deck. Some islands were inhabited and some just rocky outcroppings... I met a Korean college student on board who spoke a bit of English, and when we pulled into Jeju after the five hour trip, I learned he was going to a bike rental shop and had already arranged a car from there to pick him up.
Deciding I'd had enough of trains busses and other public transportation, I decided the only way to see Jeju Do would be though my own physical power, and went with him to rent a bike. A few minutes later I was sailin' down the highway on a green mountain bike with a red helmet on watching the great blue ocean pass by on my right.
Immediately the existence of hills (i somehow expected the road to be flat as the sea) made me realize that biking around the whole island wasn't going to be as easy as looking at a map. Soon I was hot and thirsty, but went on for 18 km with my friend from the boat. When I got to the first paradisiacal beach on the way however, I called it a day as he went on to the next town.
(mom and kid with intertube)On the beach, who’s turquoise waters stretched out to another small island, an Ajuma (Old lady) grabbed my attention and directed me to her Min Bak, or home stay.. For about 20 dollars equiv I could stay at her house in a clean room with a TV...
The next day I got on my way pretty early and soon found myself biking through agricultural expanses in a surprisingly rural atmosphere. From all the hype, I had expected the entire island to be packed and developed as Disney Land, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself riding among tractors and cactus fields and soy beans.
The day grew very hot, and I met up with another Korean boy who was biking, and tho he didn't speak much English we decided to go together for a while. The sun really started to beat down on us and the hills became relentless. Finally after passing through many fields and a few horses we came to the top of a hill overlooking a beautiful harbor and cruised down to the village there where I finally got some Jeju fish.. yum!
We were tired and sunburned, covered in sweat and sunscreen... The restaurant owners didn't seem to mind. As we went on, the sun started to fry our skin just like our lunch and soon it seemed impossible to go on... Just then we came upon a beautiful Buddhist temple pressed up against a huge cliff formation.
Kwan Sum Bosal looked benevolently down and I soon passed out on a bench under a huge tree, only to be awakened by a tour bus full of people.. I retreated to the temple and found no one using the shine room and meditated for a while as the breeze seeped in the door from the sea.
Finally ready to go on, I left with Korean boy and flew down a huge hill.. Still, on the other side more hills tortured us and we soon found ourselves pulling off to a forest cove where there was a stream. Elementary kids on a field trip crowded on the rocks eating watermelon and splashing water on each other.. The teachers kindly offered us some watermelon too, and I waited there for the sun to sink.
Finally as the sun was low in the sky I reached my destination, Jungmun beach! I felt quite victorious and plunged into the clear deep ocean there. It was the most beautiful beach on the island sporting more sizeable waves and cliff enclosed beaches.
Here I saw 
some of Jeju's famous Diving Women, women who dive down over to 20 feet without sophisticated equipotent to harvest our lunch time creatures... Some of them are older, up to 70 says my guide book. I momentarily considered an occupational change until I read that, not unlike copyediting, headaches are a side effect of the job.
My pervious companion having gone his own way, I stayed in the town there at a hotel, but the next morning found my bike key had gone missing! I was distraught but luckily the one of the beach staff I had met who spoke english helped me and called a locksmith to the rescue... I stayed on the beach with the staff for a while after lunch, rode out on my own, passing by a beautiful Jogye Buddhist temple by the sea. (by this time people were commenting on how sunburned I was, but also notcing that it is unusual for a woman to be traveling alone and giving me encouragement)
Jeju Do is semi tropical and lush. There are many fruit stands, and it is especially famous for its oranges which are filled with a lava of sweet necter. People there were nice and seemed much more relaxed than in Seoul. Thinking back to the kids playing in the river, those who are raised on Jeju are probably lucky compared to their counterparts in Seoul!
I stayed at a cute place in another seaside town probably meant for honeymooners, which had English TV and found the heavily gift of an episode of Star Trek TNG playing as I went to sleep.
The next day, preparing to conquer a large distance, I left around 7:30 and surprised myself by covering 20 km in before lunch... Crusing around to the east coast, the going became thankfully more flat, the sun more hidden by the clouds... caught in the rain on a few occasions it felt great.
(This strage guy is the symbol of Jeju, the stone statues of whom are everywhere on the island, the myth behind them unknown.)
Mount Halla, the illusive central peak is perpetually cloud covered, so gazing towards the center of the island, one only sees a cloud covered nexus.
Covering ground quickly I decided to pull off at a tourist attraction, a volcanic cave I had heard about. Playing about 2 dollars I went down a long case of stairs leading in to the earth, a mysterious pit hanging with vines not knowing what exactly to expect.
Suddenly the air around me went from sauna to refrigerator, and was happy as I walked through the large twisting cave with other tourists. Cold water dripped from the ceiling and I got the distinct feeling I might be walking into a layer of dragons or goblins. Voices echoed, and girl friends clung to boy friends and giggled. Dim lights illuminated the walk way and lava formations highlighted...
At the end of the tunnel was a large lava limb stretching from the ceiling to floor and highlighted by colorful lights that changed psychedelically in an unmistakablely Korean style. High -heal clad girls navigating confidently along the frozen lava flows proved to me I was still in Korea even in the depths of the earth. 
As I made my way out of the cave and hit the hot bath of air again, the chill of the caves stayed with me as I biked back down the road for many more kilometers
I pulled off at an interesting looking coffee house to find a strange little man who kept it in an early 1900s England style, who advised me I could use the shower before I sat dow .. he wasn't trying to pick up on me- I was just covered with sand sweat and sunscreen, and he had some nice leather chairs to look out for. He seemed to be an internal revolutionary with lots of books, from Che Guvera to poetry to Bill Clinton, all in Korean tho!
I took him up on the shower, and got the best egg sandwich I have ever had in Korea. This may have been the fuel to the next part of my journey, in which I finished my island circumambulation in a long, semi-delirious sprint.
Before I hit Jeju city, where I had departed from, I stopped in at a strange temple that looked like a Dharmasala stupa, strangely not built in the Korea style. I sat in the dome shaped shrine room alone for a while, recentering for the last part of the journey. There was a powerful feeling in there, and there was evidence of mass meditation practice, although I didn't meet a soul.
Staying in a public bath in pink rented pajamas as is Korean style, I sat in the hot tub there for a long time. The next day I felt reluctant to return my bike and zigzagged along the water for a while before making my way back to the shop.
They drove me to the ferry and I said g'bye to Jeju, catching a glimpse of Mount Halla for the first time through the fog... Next time maybe I’ll make the climb up.
Back on the main land I made my way to the countryside temple for a night to eat good food and talk with the people there who seem to shine perpetually, scrub the bathroom floor, and deliver oranges from the Island. It was great to be around people after the solo adventure!
Then back to Seoul for a 3-day retreat at Hwa Gye Sa, and all the dust I kicked up on the trip settled as I sat meditation with a big group of other people for 3 days. The charismatic Hyon Gak Sunim, my favorite New Jersy born monk ever was in the house, and made it special for all there.
Here's everyone at the reatreat =)
Back in Seoul now, I am missing the daily communion with nature, but I'm on to new adventures with a brand new job at a university, where the setting is pastoral compared to where I am now tho its just a 5 minute cab ride away. More on my new adventures at the college soon!!
Miss and love everyone back home and am thinking of you!
Love,
Annie
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