Rajeev's World: May 2016

Monday, May 30, 2016

Plane Spotting At CJU ... Part 2

Our flight to Gimpo from Jeju was late - late by 40 minutes. Compounding the delay was congestion and a further delay in pushback clearance. As they say, make hay while the sun shines, I say - do Plane Spotting when the flight is delayed!

The ramp at Jeju as we pushback...

The sight of an Asiana Airbus A320 rotating...

The window was a bit smudgy...

Okay... finally, a clearer shot of a Jeju Air Boeing 737...

Air Busan Airbus A320 taking off...

An unidentified turboprop probably from the local coast guard...

A busy morning here at Jeju...

Another Asiana Airbus A320 taking off...

Followed another one on its finals...

And here we go...

T'way Boeing 737...

It begins its run...

The orange bird from Jeju comes back home...

And finally we are second in the takeoff sequence...

And we follow the blue bullet!

Bye Jeju...

We're back at Jeju airport to head back to Gimpo, Seoul.

This was an exciting trip to the Hawaii of Korea. But we barely touched the ti of the iceberg. There is much much more to explore here - Hallim Park, Seongsan Ilchulbong or the sunrise peak, Marado and many other places. I am told Jeju is also famous for its horse meat - but on this trip we weren't in the experiment mode...

Just as we checked out of the hotel, we noticed that the sun was shining brightly - we had prayed so hard over the last two days to see some sun and salvage our trip - but it seems Murphy's Law was at work while we were here...

And the dol hareubangs seem to be telling us to come back soon...

Picking up some dol hareubangs, at the airport, as souvenirs for back home!

As we get ready to fly out, we promised to be back soon, very soon!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

The Amazing Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliffs...

The clouds opened up as we left the Yongmeori coast. And that was the ideal weather to head to the Jusangjeolli cliffs, along the Seogwipo coastline...

But our joys on seeing the clear blue skies were..., were indeed shortlived!

Dark clouds appeared from the southern horizon and were heading towards Jeju...

Volcanic rocks everywhere...

At the base of this cliff are the imposing stone pillars called the Jusangjeolli. These stone pillars piled up along the coast were formed when the lava from Hallasan mountain erupted into the sea here. These stone pillars are shaped in geometric shapes like cubes or hexagons and look as though masons had carved them out. The views of the waves crashing into the cliff are breathtaking!

Coins being thrown here for wishes to come true!

The science of the formation...

The weather has changed dramatically in just 20 minutes...

These actually look like columns constructed by humans...

These cliffs are rugged...

But there is beauty in ruggedness...

The colour of the water also amazed me...

But the place was noisy and teeming with Chinese tourists...

Marveling at Nature's creation...

The Dragon's Head...

After a restful night, we drove out this morning towards the Yongmeori coast on south western tip of Jejudo, located near the Seogwipo district.

It is a dull and rainy day. This morning there were bursts of very heavy showers and but we steeled our resolve to battle the elements and explore the island in the best possible manner that we could.

Our drive to Yongmeori took about 90 minutes - we passed by Jeju city, stopping for a while there and then drove through misty roads of Hallasan mountain to reach the southern side of the island.

The coastline along Yongmeori is breathtakingly beautiful and the road descends pretty steeply to bring tourists like us to a narrow strip of land between the lofty Mount Sanbangsan on one side and the rocky Yongmeori coast on the other.

This coastline is known for a famous shipwreck. In 1653, a Dutch ship de Sperwer (the Sparrowhawk) ran aground. Only 36 men survived - they were led by Hendrick Hamel, an explorer from the Dutch East Indies Company.

After the shipwreck, they came to this coastline and lit up a fire to stay warm, but this drew the attention of local soldiers who arrested them. After spending close to a year on Jeju under custody, the men were taken to Seoul. In line with the traditions at the time, the Joseon imperial government forbade Hamel and his crew from leaving the country. During their stay, however, they were given freedom to live relatively normal lives in Korean society.

In September 1666, Hamel and seven of his crew managed to escape to Japan where the Dutch operated a small trade mission on an artificial island in the Nagasaki harbor called Deshima. Hamel wrote an account of his time in Korea. From Japan, Hamel and his crew left for Batavia (modern day Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies in late 1667.

Rock formations along the coast, these volcanic rocks have been weathered by the waves over the millennia...

And there is a slight drizzle...

The famed sea-women or the haenyeo of Jeju. They looked like ajummas (Korean word for middle aged, motherly women) but these feisty women are actually divers who scour the ocean bed for sea cucumbers and abalones, which is what one haenyeo is selling here, alongwith soju... hic!

Selfie-time with a replica of Hamel's ship in the background...

The rock formations are indeed stunning here...

A narrow crevice - the waves gush in and out creating a gurgling sound...

Indeed, it is the enchanting music of Nature!

The Yongmeori coastline has a unique name that translates into "Dragon's Head" - Yong means "dragon" and meori means "head" - it is said that the beach looks as if a dragon's head is going underwater...