Day 0

The transit to Jeju was a bit hectic, but that’s a different story. Finally, after a full night of flights and transits I am on the island.

It could be thanks to our early arrival or thanks to the low season, but the airport was unexpectedly almost empty and going through all the controls only took so much time.

After walking a bit around the airport I finally asked the tourist info ladies where to get the transport card for the bus and they sent me towards the nearest convenience store on the premises. Overall, this was a day of practicing talking to random people and asking dumb questions. But it was surprisingly fun and easy as it gets when you add a language barrier, obviously foreign face and a bit of trust.

Anyway. Equipped with a transport card it took only two more minutes to get to the right bus stop: easy to find — a big sign with the bus number and already a line of people waiting.

The weather was perfectly hikable (or so I thought) — not too hot, not too cold. A nice chill with the clouds covering just enough to block the direct sun while still leaving enough of the daylight for it to feel like a day.

The bus took me to the opposite side of the island where I am starting the trail in a few days. And it gave me a nice teaser of what is waiting for me. No photo spoilers for you. But in short — it is green, it is obviously volcanic and it is fascinating. Totally different shade of green from what I’ve seen in Thailand, by the way.

By the time we got to Seogwipo it was dark, it was drizzling and it was definitely not hikable anymore. It turns out, not that it is the first time I see it, that the weather here can differ drastically based on the side of the island you are at. Still, not too bad and I was able to get to my hostel just slightly wet, drop my luggage in the locker till the check in time, buy a single use plastic raincoat in the vending machine right inside the hostel and go to explore the town. Well, technically, to look for the food and then explore the town.

Good food in a cute local Chinese restaurant — a fusion of what I recognise as Chinese, Korean and Japanese cuisine. And off I went into the town.

The rain had pretty much stopped by that time, so it was a nice pleasant stroll through places covered by the mysterious mist from the recent rain clouds. Beautiful, mysterious, fascinating. A nice intro for a man staying awake for over 30 hours at the time. Nice enough for me to only get back by the sunset rather than rushing back as soon as check in opened.

By chance on the way back I stumbled upon a huge bustling market with lots of all kinds of street food, so dinner got covered as well. By now it is getting late, I am in the bed writing this into a brand new Jeju notebook I’ve bought today. Packed with a plan prepared for the next few days and feeling all the 40 hours of staying awake in a row. I might add a few more details about today in the next few days (unlikely) but this is my limit for today. See you tomorrow.