18/11/2017 For 07/11/2017 Jeju Olle trail is a long distance walking trail all over Jeju Island that consists of 26 trail routes, totaling to approx. 422km. One of the main reason for wanting to do this trail was because I had been fascinated with the Appalachian trail for awhile now - and since I do not have the budget and time for that, I googled "long distance trails in Asia" and Jeju Olle trail appeared. The safety, scenic nature view, trail distance, and cost all fitted my current situation. Was a little apprehensive initially, but I thought.. "if not now, then when?" Ok, I shall halt all the blabla-intro and start with the Jeju experience. Kick-started with trail route 18 instead of 1 because it was near the airport. Start Point of Route 18 - Ganse Lounge x UYU Cream Craft *Tip: Maps.Me is a great application especially for offline usage when travelling. Their Jeju map database includes the Olle trail routes. However, the start point of trail 18 in Maps.Me, which I assume, is the old start point. So, ditch Maps.Me temporarily and search "간세라운지" in Google Map for Ganse Lounge, the current start point. Bought my Jeju Olle passport (₩20,000), chopped my first stamp, loaded my 8kg backpack, and off I went. 1.6km in at Kim Man-deok's Tavern Site. Reached the entrance to Sara-bong and bade the city landscape adieu! 10 minutes ascent to the view of downtown Jeju at Peak of Sara-bong. Journey down the peak. Approx. 6km into the trail, you can choose to walk by the Hwabuk Bisoek-geori, which was mainly meandering through basalt rocks, or take the easier detour route. Obviously I did not know better and went for the basaltic one. Bad decision, especially with my backpack. It was sibei (very) tiring. I lost track of the Olle signpost midway, but I went too far to want to detour - anyway there was only one way to go. However, as I ventured further, the tide got higher, making it difficult to walk. It was then I spotted my savior partially hidden by shrubs(?), the stairs (picture above). *cue angelic sound effect* I could have swore that right then I was almost moved to tears. However, it did not lasted long. Upon reaching the stairs, I realized it was almost impossible to go up without unloading the 'burden' on my shoulders. Luckily, an ahjussi on the bridge above saw me struggling and came to my rescue! He brought my backpack up and I just had to heave myself up (to sanity). TYVM ahjussi ♥!! Got back on the Olle trail and was welcomed by fields and fields of leafy greens. Finally reached the midpoint stamp station at Samyang Beach! Walked through many barren pathways like the one above. Rushed through the last 9km of route 18 as I started the trail pretty late and thus, I only had 1.5 hours before sunset to reach the guesthouse that I have booked. and... YES 19km of route 18 done! Next stop, to the guesthouse, which was approx. 4km of route 19. Was really exhausted by then, but bobian (no choice). So #leggo 0.3km in at Jeju Memorial Hall of Gimnyeong-ri Resistance to Japan. I really wanted to take it slow here so that I could read more about the history. However, the sky was getting darker so I had to #leggo once again. Reached my accommodation, Blue Sea Guesthouse just before sunset! This guesthouse exuded a very cozy and friendly vibe whereby after a long day, everybody gathered together to chat and have a drink or two. *I pre-booked all my accommodation beforehand as I was afraid that if I were to find for a place to stay on the day itself, I might be thrown off my budget due to unavailability of cheap guesthouses/ hostels. BUT all the guesthouses/ hostels that I've stayed in thus far have never been half filled, so.. oh well. In my opinion.. Route 18 : A little bland for me as the scenery was not that breathtaking. Surprisingly, the basalt rocks area (Hwabuk Bisoek-geori) where I had a "tough" time at was the consolation for route 18. Despite it being taxing on the legs, for a moment, it felt like I was one with nature. I believe that if I had went there without my backpack, it would have been a much better experience! Route 19 : Jeju 1.2 - Olle Trail 19 & 20 other thoughts and feelings I do not know about you, but Sandman visits me almost every night with multiple dreams at a time, till sometimes I cannot differentiate if the 'memory' I had was a dream or something that happened in reality. Deja vu was not a stranger. I also believe that some of my dreams are trying to convey something to me. When I tell people about it, more often than not, they felt that I was weirding them out. (exactly what is so weird about it??)
but anyway.. I met a Korean woman during my short stay at Blue Sea Guesthouse who was just like me. Heck, she even writes her dreams down the moment she wakes up, lest she forget. During that short encounter with her, I felt a natural sense of comfort and happiness that I was being understood. Meeting someone who thinks just like you is a rare occurrence, and I think it was a god sent reminder that "you are never alone" in this world ☺.
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introductionWhen travelling, I like to have myself a concoction of 40% fun, 40% food, and 20% of chill time. Solely for aesthetics [-ิ_•ิ] categoriescurrent locationCurrent status: Home, hustling This map is here primarily to pump up the aesthetics (again) because having a map in a travel blog looks cooler, but hey, I managed to find a use for it.☺ archives...Fun fact: I love adding the order of colors in a rainbow into a lot of my creations because it makes me look artistic. Aha..ha. and yes, I skipped blue/indigo here because honestly, they are both blue to me. Keyword: to me. |