Korea Part 3: Sun, Sand and...Sexiness?

Our final day in Jeju would be without Jonjon, and at first us tourists were like lost puppies wandering around for scraps.  There was a tang of tension in the air too: not with each other as such, but with ourselves; after piecing together enough knowledge of Japanese to get by in everyday situations and between us pretty much anything, it was frustrating to be stripped of that.  After we ordered breakfast, however, our confidence grew, and we headed to the beach.


Now, I'm not normally a beach person, but I could see the benefit of enjoying a lazy afternoon on Jeju's famed sands before we barrelling into the megapolis of Seoul the next day.  What wasn't such a good idea was to go walking around on volcanic rock barefoot, and sure enough my, sole of my foot was split open.  I deserved the mockery that followed, to be honest.

Anyway, after a romp across the rocks, Grant and I went old-school and built a sandcastle.  We fought the tide and ultimately won, while Marcos worked his Miami charm on the locals and made a new friend.  Together we drank a few beers of the national brew - Cass - and added the cans to the battlements of our castle, thus christening it Cass Castle.

After a quick recharge at the guesthouse, we grabbed a taxi to Jeju Love Land.  A whole park filled with - well, let's just say it's not the platonic kind of love celebrated here.  We all had a vague idea of what to expect, but what threw us off was just how explicit it all was.  Innuendo wasn't the word.  Sculptures and statues all about doing the down and dirty in the most imaginative ways possible, and although it was palpably awkward at first, it soon shed the inital shock value and became the most bizarre place I've ever visited, and will provide many an anecdote for a long time.

We returned to Jeju City one last time for a final round of revelry.  We pitched up at a Korea BBQ resaturant, instantly identifiable by the long extractor vents hanging over every table.  Afterwards we wandered, in awe of the nightlife and how - well - lively it was.  Outside the urban masses of Tokyo, Osaka and the like, Japanese nightlife can leave a lot to be desired.  Not here: Jeju City isn't a big city by any means, and it was a weekday night to boot, yet the streets buzzed.  Perhaps price has a great deal to do with it: even the import beer bar we stopped at, three words which would be a hotbed for eye-watering charges in Japan, were merely average by Japan's standards.

The next morning we left Jeju in high spirits and full bellies.  Already we had seen (and eaten!) so much, but were we barely halfway through our time in Korea.  Our next destination: Seoul.