It's time for a holiday and our destination is South Korea again but this time it was around Jeju Island adventure and a bit of unfinished work in Busan. I was glad that my son Zuyi followed us and I was not sure sure whether you could cope up with the daily continuous cycling for 10 days. I just hope that he will complete it with a good and memorable experience for him.
Jo & Zuyi at KLIA just before midnight to catch an early Airsia flight to Busan and the date was 23 march 2017. Our Bromptons as usual neatly packed using IKEA Dimpa bags and ready to be checked into the plane.
Day 1
AirAsia took off at about 1.30am and the flying time from KL to Busan is about 6 and the half hours, a transit at Busan International Airport before boarding a domestic flight Korean Air to Jeju Island. Finally we landed at Jeju International Airport at about 3.30pm. The time difference between our Malaysian time is 1 hour ahead.
We were ready to get out into the cold weather after setting up our bicycles at a secluded corner in the airport. This time we have 7 cyclists that were Fenn, Sooi Ying, Lynn, Jo, Zuyi, Jotaro and myself on this trip.
The temperature in Jeju Island was around 13°C, our first place to locate in this island was our accommodation that is, Mir Guesthouse (approximately 6km away) and it's near the popular Dragon Head's Rock.
This pau shop with steam shooting out of the shop was so enticing which I came back later to savour one and it was good.
Lynn has already booked Mir Guest House online before hand, it is a compact, new and interesting house.
A little adventure in the evening where we went out to locate the Pork Street of Jeju and laid our hands on the black pork.
We picked this shop called Hwaro Hyang where we parked our 7 Bromptons right in front of the shop front.
Well, the dinner was nothing to shout if we compare to others where we have tried during our last visit to South Korean. Probably it is the commercialisation of the pork street and its black pork. Like our hostel provider told me it is the same everywhere in Jeju.
On the way back to Mir Guesthouse we took our time seeing the surrounding. Our last top was Yongduam, the Dragon Head Rock. There we found the first Cycling Stamping Booth for our round island adventure, there will be a total of ten of them and I hope we will be able to find them all during our tour.
Day 2
While we were in our respective white cells our folded Bromptons were in the air well of Mir.
Breakfast was provided, let's freshen up and get ourselves ready to roll....
A view of our white cell with a double decker bed good for three person with an attached bathroom.
Bye Bye Mir ... some of our stuffs were kept in the store like our Dimpa bags etc etc as we will be back again to this place for the last night after our mission to go round island.
First excitement of the day when we saw this yellow field and found out later that it was a rapeseed field.
Then came our first Sakura encounter at DoduBong, actually it wasn't time yet for cherry blossom in Jeju maybe in a week time. We were too early for it. Anyway we were just fortunate to see this one, the earlier ones.
One for the record.
A typical rocky coastal view of Jeju Island which can be seen everywhere in the island, Jeju is a volcanic island full of blackish rock at the seaside.
One of the places we will stop frequently to ease ourselves.
Dedicated cycling lane protected from the moving traffic with rounded balustrades.
At a scenic attraction with two trojans cum light houses at Iho-Tewoo Beach.
Darak Shelter (GPS: 33.468, 126.33936) it is located about 21km away from the first booth at Yongduam at Jeju City.
A lovely and delicious lunch we had at this cool and interesting place called Romance Hong. It was windy with sight drizzle and it was timely to have our lunch and a good rest before we proceed any further.
Though the place is a small shop but it is conducive with excellent sea view. At the upper corner of Romance Hong via a spiral staircase for a survey of the place.
Romance Hong can be found at GPS: 33.46711, 126.33694 exactly on our cycling route itself.
There are many light houses, ships, boats and wave breakers seen around the island and a common sight in Jeju Island.
We spotted an interesting path and took the detour, it is the Gwakji gwa-mul beach trail.
At the seaside with dark volcanic rocks piling along the way.
Sorry it is not that way, it is the other way, they were having fun posing for a picture from a distance with a beautiful oceanic view behind.
Jeju Island has many public baths like this one, the male and female baths are separated.
There are many statues of Haenyeo female divers seen on the island, it is one of the main characters of Jeju Island continuously preserving its heritage & culture everywhere and efforts to ensure that this trade will stay as long as possible.
Passing by small communities along the journey which are not too far apart, where one is looking for refreshment or needs a toilet break.
Our first encounter with the famous haenyeo diver as we met them at one of the diving sites. We stopped by and observed their activities. My salute to these old ladies they are such an amazing people.
Pedal by pedal we moved on and ever ready to see interesting things along the way.
Colour and mural were frequently encountered as we continued going our anti-clockwise route.
The sun was starting to set and getting gloomy, it was time to look for a place to stay for the night. After a quick check we found one that was not too off from our route and nearby the place there is a row of gigantic windmill turbines.
We had our dinner at the hotel itself Mega Resort, Hangyeong-myeon. The staff spoke Mandarin to our surprise, they are from Mainland China and it was a relief that we could communicate with them easily. The temperature outside was very cold and windy we opted to eat within the hotel. A nice steamboat dinner was served.
Our 1st stage which we covered a distance of 49km, it was a good start for the team as we have two freshies for the first time in our oversea ride and as far as target is concerned the distance achieved was close and good. Till then we see you tomorrow.
The sons decided to give a treat to their mum and it was a belated birthday dinner treat at Naughty Nuri's at Desa Hartamas Branch. The ambiance is pleasant and lively.
Our friendly waiter recommended us this new salad known as Lavender Crispy Porky Salad with meaty floss on top and array of fruits like longan, pineapple, cucumber, tomatoes and vegetable salad with homemade Lavender fruity dressing.
This is a must try ribs - 1995 Signature BBQ Spare Ribs specially marinated, char grilled, the sauce coated is of sweet taste, the meat is so tender and tasty. It was everyone no.1 favourite. I love the spicy black chilli sauce .... it's awesome.
Satay Lilit is another lovely choice, a BBQ minced meat on lemongrass stick, the flavour is gorgeous.
Grilled Hotdog Platter that comes with two type of sausages, siew yok, dried belly and a little bit of salad. I enjoyed it with my beer.
At last a half piglet of Babi Guling A'La Naughty Nuri's serves with a sugar black sauce, I prefer it with the spicy sauce .......
That was a hefty porky meal for 5 of us. It was good and will be back again.
A bit of show from the staff and oink oink competition for the guest to win a voucher for their signature spare ribs for only RM1.00 so don't forget to win it.
First of all, I like to apologise for the long silent. Last night we visited a unique Korean joint in the Korean community of Ampang in Kuala Lumpur and everything about this place is awesome. It has been in operation for the last 14 years.
It does not look like a restaurant from the outside nothing that can entice you to walk into the place, even if you take a peep into it, you might be shock in what you see. It cannot be a restaurant.
The first dish was a KimChi soup with thin slices of pork belly, slices of sausage, luncheon meat, vegetables, glass noodle and ramen, It is served on a stainless steel pot on a burner. The first dish was truly welcoming, all of us nodded our heads and gave a first thumb up.
Everyone love this grilled mackerel, juicy and tasty.
Korean pancake is common in Korea and this one is good with lot of vegetable, seafood and minimal starch. Don't miss this dish.
My no.2 favourite is this perfectly grilled succulent pork belly, wrapped it with the green lettuce with a dose of sauce and it's heaven.
Korean rice cake with ramen - a nice sweet and spicy dish.
Pork belly with squid was my no.1 favourite of the night.
Side dishes for the evening.
The hand written receipt without GST whatsoever and RM198 for 9 of us. Very reasonable indeed.
All were fully satisfied and nothing is spared on the table, even the last bowl of plain rice went into the remaining gravy and the rice with gravy coating was deliciously good too.
We managed to tuck 9 folding bicycles at wherever corners available, at the beginning it was a no-no for us to patronise the place because of the bicycles. Somehow we managed to convince the operator.
By the way, the name of this restaurant is Po-Cha located at Taman Putra Sulaiman, Ampang. You must go and check it out!
Malaysia is full of festivity, Chinese New Year celebration is still on going and Thaipusam is around the corner. And what more do we ask we shall celebrate these festivals together in the Year of the Rooster.
I had a chance to join a group study visit to Batu Caves to learn more of Thaipusam celebration and its significance.
Below is a clip I took during the visit. Happy Thaipusam!
