July 1 (Thurs) - Museums + Walking + Green Tea

Note: I lost some pictures and text? in the uploading and posting process... sorry about that (it just takes away from some of the flow )

Woah woah woahhh - what a day! We started much earlier than usual... @__@ Like... 8:10AM early? I bet Aimee started way earlier. Considering our previous schedules, we're actually behaving like upstanding adults instead of lazy teenagers :P Anyway - we were out of the door by 9:20 AM.

Jon's (my Jeju friend) mother served us a great breafast right at 8:30.. Western style - everything pretty self-explanitory :)

Jon also pulled out some crackers (practically Club brand) that were packaged in cute little individual packs...

... and we tried some great cheese (unusual in Korea) :)

Right by 9:20AM, we caught a ride by car (which all of us were without today :( ) to the bus terminal of Jeju. Unlike back in the city -Jeju Island is much less developed when it comes to public transportation (as we learned the hard way later..)

Still, the first part was easy enough... we boarded an un-airconidtioned bus... to go to our first stop:

A park full of minatures (and some life sized) figures of famous architecture from around the world, some legendary things/dinosaurs, and famous characters.

I promise I took pictures of every single exhibit (along with the weird Engrish next to the Korean on the plaques)... but this was my favorite (I think). Buddha ;D

They also had random vendors and shops along the way. It was out in the middle of nowhere, so I imagine this is the only way they can actually make money. :o? Anyway - this was one of the specialties of Jeju Island: Cactus Taffy! :o It was pretty weird (I tried a sample)... but it was also expensive and wasn't exactly my favorite - so I didn't get any for anybody... :P

After we finished at the museum, we were basically dying of heat. The whole time, it was outdoors and Aimee and I only had pants... so, yeah-- it was pretty gross. We kept stopping in the AC in the stores. xD Plus, by the time we were at the exit walking out of the park, Jon asked if we wanted to eat before we left... but we left. So, we couldn't. Lunch was postponed and then forgotten...

The whole place was like no-man's land, but our next destination was supposedly within walking distance. Since there were no means of public transportation (bus stop we came from didn't go that way) and no taxis... we set off down the road by foot....

An hour later, we finally arrived at our destination: O'sulloc Green Tea Museum/farm- hot and sweaty ;(. Still, it made us appreciate modern technology even more. There was practically nothing between the park and the museum, so we did see a lot of green.

Best part was the free admission. We got to see a lot of neat examples of the evolution of the Korean tea cup... and then sample their prized Jeju grown green tea in the fancy schmancy place:

See? Fancy. And there we were.. still hot and sweaty!! >.<

Anyway - I managed to grab a tea. It was only seeped for like... 15 seconds xD? but it had flavor :O I mean, it was still weaksauce , but it was flavorful :).. meh

They also (of course) had a cafe.../gift shop.. So we all sampled stuff. It wasn't cheap, but I'm sure we were desperate for food and this wasn't just everyday stuff... all green tea themed!

Jon broke the ice and got some green tea ice cream (pretty good) and some green tea cookies (sweeter than I expected, but good)... then Aimee got a green tea shake (had carmel on top of some green tea ice cream on top of a shake) - good, less sweet... and I got the craziest -

..green tea rice waffles! xD (With a little side of ren bean paste) :D So weird! They were topped with honey :).. and squishier/chewier than the typical batter (rice base). Good stuff ! :x Definitely won't find that in the States. xD

Oh - and they had free water.. so we loaded up our bottles ;)

This is a shot of the fields of farm stuff from the observatory. :x Pretty pretty.. and fragrant. Plus - the place a cool garden.

At this point, we only had limited options of transportation... so instead of going with the most daunting: walking back..(!!), we called a cab xD A tad more expensive, but we were eternally grateful as we were driven the 7KM to the next place- the chocolate musuem. First taxi ride =x He was pretty nice though.

musum entrance - gave us coffee free

chocolate process - saw it handmade.

had to walk "10" min (according to a local) to another bus stop... (really closer to 30)

lots of school kids

had curry at home - not too spicy.

+ homemade strawberry milk

had to make a run for conditioner - asians aren't crazy about it. Foreiger with crazy hair? yeah - must have. Expensive - but I'm fully satisfied.

toilet at home!

>:( lost my post!