Thursday, February 16, 2006

Travel: Geoje and Oedo Islands

Last Sunday was one of those rare days in winter where the temperatures actually shot up above the 10-Celsius mark. Being all-trusting in the local forecast bureau the previous night, we planned a trip down to Geoje Island in the South of the Korean Peninsular bright and early. The ultimate destination was to visit the Geoje's outer lying island of Oedo.

For movie buffs, this is where the grand finale where Winter Sonata (겨울연가) was shot. In the show, Jun-sang and Yoo-jin finally kiss to the end of their happy relationship by getting married, made babies, had fights everyday about credit card bills, and finally filed for divorce in year 2006.

But REALLY... I didn't watch the movie, couldn't care less. Just thought it'd be a good idea to give the movie's sad grand finale a better makeover.

That's why I'm not a movie producer/director. Anyway...

Geoje is a nice place if you like laid back and scenic views of fishing villages around the island. One thing that was in abundance around the island was seafood and oyster beds. Have a go at the grilled Oysters (굴구이) and Oyster Rice (굴국밥) if you ever get out there. *Watch this blog!



There are a number of ports that have boats going to Oedo Island. We chose randomly by plucking daisy petals (yeah rite!), and head for Haegeumgang port town in the South East of Geoje. There we bought tickets for ferries and a 1.5-hour pass to explore the island. We were designated a boat on which we will travel to, and back from the island. Costs: 16,000 Won/person.



After 20 minutes worth of good ol' rocking boat action to get to the island, we finally had to bribe the gate attendants with ANOTHER 5,000 Won each (Read: T.I.C.K.E.T.S) to start our wee adventure on the island.


Lee Chang-Ho and his wife settled into Oedo Island in 1969. It is a privately owned island, which was subsequently opened to the public in 1995. Having
nurtured the surroundings for over 30 years, the couple's island boasts some 1,000 sub-tropical plants, sculpture parks ~ including the Venus Garden, as well as a prayer chapel on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea North of the island.

1.5-hours was definitely enough to explore the football field-sized island on foot.

Strolling through gardens with multitudes of flora, and sipping on tea from verandas overlooking the crystal-blue ocean was relaxing.



Then there was also the pristine chapel on the Northern-Eastern cliffs. I could only imagine speaking to God (if that's your thing), with golden rays of sun peeping through the horizon at the break of dawn.

20 minutes short of boarding the boat back to Geoje Island, we warmed ourselves up with a hot cuppa at Otea's Room by the docks.

Perfect ending to a tour of the island...




From there, we drove back and had dinner in the town of Tongyeong on the North-West of Geoje Island.

So to end the day on a high note, we caught the sunset. Gorgeous ~

Have a look at the other pictures we took on our trip over the weekend 'HERE'

10 Comments:

At February 16, 2006 10:04 AM, Blogger domestic rat said...

Argh! I'm so envious. Scenery and great weather.

 
At February 16, 2006 11:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

damn nice scenery.. i cant.. express... how much...... i need... to have a vacation

 
At February 16, 2006 3:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the most beautiful sunsets in Korea would be during autumn. The colors are just stunning..

 
At February 16, 2006 6:08 PM, Blogger A world that i've seen said...

wah....syok
beautiful scenery...
did u try out the oyster & seafood there as well?

 
At February 16, 2006 7:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice photos. Particularly the second one (the rocks in the foreground make a "good" photo "great", IMHO) and, of course, the last one (I wonder what that one would look like with a bit of the sky cropped out...).

You've convinced me to go.

 
At February 17, 2006 8:26 AM, Blogger Kurios1978 said...

Domestic Rat: Don't worry, you'll get your chance. Anyway Penang rocks too! You're there rite?

Smash: Eh bro... didn't you just have an extended CNY holiday? :P

kimchee: Long time no see. Well, can't compare with your Cambodia trip can it. :)

Antonia: Sunset... it's the company that makes it beautiful ;)

Jo: Have a look at Feb 17's post.

G: I could try that... will see what happens later in the day.

 
At February 18, 2006 2:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very nice picture the last one...

 
At February 20, 2006 9:04 AM, Blogger Kurios1978 said...

m@ri: Any pictures you'd like, just mail me at Friendster of something. I can send any (full sized) pics to you if you like... I don't mind.

 
At April 09, 2007 2:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello!could you help me?My name is MAGDA and Im from Poland, but on 24of April I will by in Korea exactly in OKPO!Maybe you can tell me something about Okpo! what I should see? PS.Sorry for my english {it isnt good:( } regards :))

 
At May 03, 2007 8:22 AM, Blogger Andrea said...

I absolutely love Okpo...it's my new second home. We relocated to Okpo approx. 2 years ago. Okpo is small...a few western restaurants and markets and it's very safe. Overall, I think, it's a good place to live.

 

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