[KR; 2024] Day 5 - Solo Jeju | Seogwipo Olle Market \ Gapado \ Osulloc \ Moomin Land
Day 5
Long post with plenty of photos ahead!
Seogwipo Olle Market
I had some time while waiting for the bus and decided to take a short walk around the market. Many stalls were just setting up - many yummy breakfast items available for grabs.
Gapado-Marado Ferry Service Passenger Terminal
It was a big journey to get from Seogwipo City to the ferry terminal... I had to take a local bus that has more than 50 stops, transfer in a small town to another local bus for 30-40 minutes, and walk another 20-30 minutes. I managed to get myself to the small town, but somehow the second bus didn't arrive based on all the map apps I'm using.
My nursery Korean was trying it's best to read all the words at the bus stop boards (I tried google translate but the results were not helpful). Somehow realised that certain services do not operate over weekends. I tried calling uber - but no car wanted to pick me up at that small town.
Somehow there was a bus that appeared, and it appears to be one of the recommended bus route on one of the map apps, I took it and realised it was going off the route!!! So the same bus number had different route for weekdays and weekend...
I was literally panicking at that stage - but also not that worried, the worst case scenario to stay on the bus until the terminal. I was adjusting all the map app options (timing, date etc) and I finally found the exact bus route that I'm taking. Alighted at the closest stop I could be to reach the ferry terminal, and walking at a speed of light towards the terminal (I had to wait for some time if I miss the ferry).
// I checked google map and now they have direct buses from Seogwipo to the Ferry Terminal - Bus 500!
Something that kept me happy while walking to the ferry terminal were all these barley wheat fields, they were so pretty:
Gapado-Marado Ferry Service Passenger Terminal 마라도 가파도 정기여객선
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ba1LVFBaa72CKFto7
Once you have arrived the ferry terminal, just follow the signage which tells you "1, 2, 3" on how to purchase the tickets. Overall: fill up a form with your details, go to the counter and pass over the form, and let them know the ferry timing you would like to take. For foreigners, 2 items to note: 1) bring your passport; 2) they will ask you for a korea local emergency number - you can either give your hotel contact or someone with a Korean number not taking the ferry with you.
By default, for same day ferry tickets, they will schedule you to come back in 2+ hours time. You will need to negotiate with the counter staff to change the return tickets to the timing you prefer. I asked for a ticket to be back in 1+ hour time and the staff was asking me repeatedly if I was sure.
Gapado
Here I go~ Gapado!
Finally arrived the small island!!
The island was not too big - if you walk, it takes like 45-60 minutes to cover a round. Cycle will be half the time. Hence I was confident to take the ferry in an hour time (tight agenda for the day!), but I would suggest 2 hours will be perfect and have a proper meal over there.
The route I took was, to follow the red line and walk along the coastal trail on the left, then cut through the island via blue line.
Photos of the coastal trail:
The route I took was, to follow the red line and walk along the coastal trail on the left, then cut through the island via blue line.
Photos of the coastal trail:
Along the blue line trail - which were mainly eateries and barley field (k-drama filming site for King the Land!):
Happy person in Gapado!
I was feeling hungry and had like 20 minutes to spare - I regretted not stopped by the eateries over at the blue line trail which had plenty of fresh seafood ramyeon stall. I could only get a corndog from a store near the ferry waiting area.
PS: Never add sugar on your corndog - it was super duper sweet!
Osulloc Tea Museum & Innisfree Jeju House
I don't think anyone can do Jeju without visiting Osulloc! And there was a direct bus from the ferry terminal to Osulloc, yay!
My lunch for the day:
And Innisfree was next door:
Lots of hands-on free activities:
There was quite a few green tea fields around the 2 places - I went to 2 fields, one beside Osulloc, another you had to cross the road to the opposite parking of Osulloc.
Moomin Land Jeju
As a dedicated Moomin fan, I couldn't resist of not going to the Moomin Land in Jeju. I prebooked my ticketed on trip.com, which was selling cheaper compared to walk-in tickets.
It was another challenge to reach Moomin Land - despite it was just a straight line from Osulloc on the map... I had to take a bus to a small roundabout and promptly switch to a bus on the other side of the roundabout. You won't believe my luck that I missed the transfer bus by 10 seconds. The next bus was like in an hour, so I decided to try my luck to call uber, and even uber took like 20 minutes before matching me to a taxi driver. :'( Lesson learnt: Take uber directly from Osulloc to Moomin would be much more stress-free.
Moomin was huge:
I took like hundred over photos, I would just show a couple of them:
They also had rooftop space for photos - perfect space for sunset:
And a cafe and chill corner:
I had to wait for 30+ mins for the next bus to head back to Seogwipo, and I headed back to the museum, the staff kindly helped me to charge my phone:
Last goodbye to the Moomin Land:
Cloudy sunset while waiting for the bus:
Back Seogwipo City
I was back in the city around 7pm+, close to 8pm, and to my dismay, so much restaurants were closed for the day. I went to the market looking for food, but the queue was horrible, terrible. I walked for an hour without finding any suitable restaurants and refusing to have Korean BBQ again.
Lesson learnt: Never return back Seogwipo late, otherwise just be patient and queue in those popular restaurants instead of trying your luck finding something that doesn't have much queue.
Ended my day in the 7-11 within the hotel, grabbing all possible good looking food I could find :)
Lesson learnt: Never return back Seogwipo late, otherwise just be patient and queue in those popular restaurants instead of trying your luck finding something that doesn't have much queue.
Ended my day in the 7-11 within the hotel, grabbing all possible good looking food I could find :)
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