Seoul-searching - Day 8 (of 12) of our South Korea Adventure - Jeju Island's Saeyongyo Bridge, Cheonjeyeon Falls, Yeomiji Botanical Garden, O'Sulloc's Tea Plantation, Jeju Glass Castle, Hallim Park

We started our day early.   We decided to have breakfast outdoors.  We brought breads from Paris Baguette the night so we have some breakfast stash.  We refilled all our water bottles before we left the hotel. 

1. SAEYONGYO BRIDGE
We planned to take the Seogwipo Pleasure Boat tour but we weren't able to do it because the first sailing is quite late.  We would be losing precious time to visit the places on our itinerary.  So we just went around the area, crossed the Saeyongyo bridge near the Seogwipo Harbor. 

 
It's here that we found the perfect spot for breakfast - a wooden bench overlooking this beautiful view. Perfect!

2. CHEONJEYEON FALLS
 We transferred to Cheonjeyeon (with an e) Falls. Yesterday, we went to Cheonjiyeon (with an i) falls. According to a myth, seven nymphs go down from heaven to bathe at the Cheonjeyeon Falls. We passed by a first waterfall but it wasn't really "falling" because it didn't rain.  Then, we went up around 200 steps to get here. I must say it was worth the the time and effort.  They have some benches which were directly facing the falls. We spent some time staring and just listening to the gash of the water.

We also saw the Seomyo Bridge where the seven nymphs were featured. 

We really wanted to go to an orange farm and do some orange picking.  So we called the Citrus Museum through the travel hotline to inquire if they allow it.  But sadly, they don't.  We were ready to give up on this dream when we saw an orchard near the parking area of the Cheonjeyeon Falls.  We went inside, asked the lady if we can buy some oranges but like them straight from the trees. She agreed.  She gave us a pruning scissors.  We were so excited.  We got our wish.  But the oranges were not as sweet. I guess, they were not as ripe as the ones we had earlier. But no complaints, at least we got to experience something new.

3. YEOMIJI BOTANICAL GARDEN
We proceeded to Yeomiji Botanical Gardens.  It was such a beautiful place.  

It also has a roofed area where different plant exhibits are featured.  

We  ran around its grounds.  We also saw  and experience the different gardens which were featured in the different areas of the botanical garden. We toured the Japanese and Korean Gardens.

But my favorites are the Italian and French Garden.  They were truly beautiful.  Nothing I've seen before.

What's best was we have the place to ourselves. There were not many people going around at that time.  It was such a wonderful place to tryout with the kids.

4. O'SULLOC'S TEA PLANTATION
We were driving around when we saw rows and rows of tea shrubs.  We even stopped by for photos. Then we realized that we're very near the O'Sulloc Tea Museum.  I was just the one who went inside the museum because S was sleeping in the car.  I didn't really go around but I bought us green tea ice cream and green tea cake.  For me, both were delicious but R and Ramir were not big fans.  But just the same we finished both in no time.  We took turns in taking our photos with O'Sulloc's tea plantation as our backdrop.

5. JEJU GLASS CASTLE
We drove to Jeju Glass Castle afterwards.  It was Korea's largest glass art theme park.  

There were more than 350 glass artworks on display.  It was really a different world made of glass. And we're very much impressed.  

We even spent some time watching a glass worker do his magic by glass blowing.

We went through the whole place awe-stricken.  It was really a nice treat for all of us.

6. HALLIM PARK
After our glass experience, we realized that we have some time left.  We decided to go to Hallim Park. It was something similar to Ichul Land - a one-stop for everything Jeju is known for.

It has nice flower gardens.  The tulips and bonsais were glorious. 

They also have a stone garden.  It was a walk in the park, literally.

We also toured the Hyeopjae and Ssangyong caves.  There was a slight drizzle and it was almost closing time so we have the park to ourselves.  

  
The kids were running and goofing around with not a care in the world.  It felt like we have our own little paradise. Then the guard, signalled that it was time to go.  We wanted to stay a little longer but I guess, our day was filled and overflowing.  And we could only be grateful.

By day's end, we were at the western part of the island.  We checked in at Kai Resort. It was by far the best place we've stayed in Jeju.  It was also overlooking the Hyeopjae Beach and very near Hallim Park.  The rain was a nice accent to this day. The smell and the coldness it brings made us love Jeju more.

Day 8 in a nutshell: Things you might need to know  

1. Saeyongyo Bridge

Seohong-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do

+82-64-760-3471 

Entrance Fee: Free

2. Cheonjeyeon Falls
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Seogwipo-si Saekdal-dong 3381-1
+82-64-738-1529
Entrance Fee: KW2,500 (Adults), KW1,350 (Children)

3. Yeomiji Botanical Garden
93, Jungmungwangwang-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do
+82-64-735-1100
Entrance Fee: KW9,000 (Adults), KW5,000 (Children)

4. O'Sulloc's Tea Plantation
425, Sinhwayeoksa-ro, Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do
+82-64-794-5312
Entrance Fee: Free

5. Jeju Glass Castle
462, Nokchabunjae-ro, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju-si, Jeju-do
+82-64-772-7777
Entrance Fee: KW9,000 (Adults), KW7,000 (Children)

6. Cheonjiyeon Falls
300, Hallim-ro, Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do 

+82-64-796-0001 to 04
Entrance Fee: KW9,000 (Adults), KW5,000 (Children)