Geoje/Tong Yeong 2019 Day 3 – Cruise to Oedo Island, Tong Yeong Hallyeosudo cable car and Junggang market

After a really long sleep, I woke up to a chilly morning. I couldn’t see the sun as it was blocked by the mountains so I went back to laze in bed, jotting some of the memories from the day before. Then I got up to wash up before getting K to wake up, with some k-pop, just so as to get in the Korean theme.

View from our room in the morning

Had decided to visit the Oedo Island and we managed to leave the hotel at 1030 after our breakfast. It was about a 20 mins drive to Jangseungpo ferry terminal for the ferry to the island. The traffic was light in Geoje and it wasn’t a difficult drive before we arrived. Went into the carpark and managed to find a parking lot near the ticketing.

Open air carpark
Pano view at the ferry terminal.

Went to the ticket counter and the staff could respond well in English and spent 52k won on the ferry and another 17k for the entrance fee. Went to the toilet first before lining up for our 1110 ferry.

Ticketing office
Our tickets
Calm waters at the port

The ferry was at most 60% filled and there was supposedly an introduction of the place being given through the PA system but it was in Korean which we couldn’t understand. Spent some time up on the second deck where many people were feeding seagulls with crackers. It was an interesting sight as the seagulls flew close and at the about same speed, giving the impression that there we just floating in midair. K was given some crackers by some kind passenger and we managed to feed some seagulls, as they swooped down to pick the crackers off my hands.

One of the boats
On board the ferry
Feeding seagulls
Many seagulls following the ferry
Its as if they were floating in the air

The ferry took a while to get to the island as it made a short stop at one of the jutting rocks in the middle of the ocean for people to take photos before continuing onto the island. We arrived at Oedo island  about one hour into the trip. Asked for the return trip schedule and was informed that the return trip was at 140pm, about 1.5hrs to explore the island.

Jutting rocks…
that reminded me of Halong Bay
A panoramic view

Took a picture of the map and started exploring this island that was converted into a giant botanical gardens. The initial walk was an upslope climb, peppered with some decorations for Insta-worthy moments. There were a few flowers blooming but not as many as I would expect. We took a few photos along the way as we proceeded to the midpoint of the walking route which was a building that was converted into 2 cafes. We got into one to get Udon and 2 sausages for about 10k and sat down at this cafe with a view to consume them as our lunch.

Oedo Botannia Entrance
Map with suggested routes
Cactus garden
One of the many statues there
Reminds me a Greece
View from there
Statue with the pillars
Flowers in bloom

View from a higher level
Panoramic shot of the garden
Inside the building at midpoint
Offers dining with a view
Udon main dish
Sausage to fill up tummy

With just 20mins left, we hurried to walk back to the wharf, following the signs. It felt like there were some other places to go to but we didn’t have time and had to give it a miss. Near the wharf, there was another cafe and we went to visit the toilet next to it just before returning to the wharf. Waited inside a makeshift tent set up to block out the chilly wind as passengers wait for their ferry. The ferry arrived within minutes and soon we were lining up to board.

Outside of where we had lunch
Long flight of stairs lined with trees
Water fountain
Terraced gardens
Port of Oedo island
Good bye

The return journey was a quick 20mins and we were soon in the car for the trip to Tongyeong, about an hour drive. We arrived into a huge carpark and there was a Luge belonging to the same company which also operated in Sentosa, situated beside this carpark. After a visit to the toilet we went to buy some food from the street vendors. Got 2 hotdog buns and a non spicy flame grilled chicken on skewer all for about 10k won.

Hot dog store
Breaded hot dog
Hot dog sausage
Flame grilled chicken on skewers store
Non-spicy chicken
Walkway heading to cable car station

Went to sit down nearby to eat but the occasional strong wind made a mess out of our snacks, blowing away the paper holders. After the quick bites and the subsequent clean up, we walked to the cable car station across the road and bought our tickets for a total of 29k for 2 adults and 1 child.

Got up onto the cable car that didn’t have a queue and we were soon going upwards towards the tower at the top of the mountain, with the expansive view opening up before us. After taking in the beautiful surrounding of mountains and waters, we got off at the top and went to the top level for a viewing deck. It offered a pretty good view at the Tongyeong port and its surroundings. Paid 500won to use the telescope there before we went to the cafe below to get a hot drink. There was also a small man made waterfall but it wasn’t all too fantastic.

Map of Tongyeong
Cablecar tickets
Skywalk
Panoramic view of from the Skywalk
Signboard at the top
Manmade waterfall

There was a route for people to explore the area and it seemed like there was a good view of the Hallyeohaesang National Park at the end of the trail but we didn’t have time as the cable car would shut down soon and it was not a good idea to trek all the way back with my boy and in the cold.

For people with more time to trek to another viewpoint

We got onto the cable car, timing it so that we could take the red colour one as requested by K and soon we arrived back at the ground station. Returned the same way to get to the Luge station as K wanted to do that and so we spent 16k in total for an adult and a child in tandem whereas mummy decided to stay grounded. Strapped up our helmets and  we got onto the open airlift up towards our starting point at the top of the hill.

Walking back to the Luge
Tickets
View from the airlift

Went to the staff that did the whole introductory control of the luge in whatever English he could muster (the luge was not difficult to control and I had prior experience in Sentosa) and then we were zooming down the hill at one of the 2 routes available. The route felt much longer than what we had experienced in Sentosa last time, having much more turns and was pretty fast too which I thought made this a better experience. However it was quite cold going down the hill and thankfully we had worn enough to protect us against the chill.

After getting our photo from the gift shop for 10k, we left for the car to find a place for dinner. We couldn’t decide whether to have seafood in Geoje or Tongyeong and settled for Tongyeong, by visiting the traditional market in Jungang. Though It was only a short 20mins drive, K fell asleep. I parked at the parking lot opposite the market and carried K in my arms to the market, as the port side area began to welcome the sunset.

Sunset at Tongyeong
Jungang Market

There were quite a few stalls selling seafood. The fishes were kept alive in containers with barely enough water level for people to choose, so much so that it felt like animal abuse. We struggled with language and tried to use the translator app to some success. Managed to get to one stall that had a sitting area and served soup based seafood and we settled in after choosing 2 fishes for the soup. Left K to sleep sprawled on the sitting mat beside our low table while I went to choose a raw seafood dish for my own (mommy doesn’t eat raw seafood).

Inside the market
Live seafood at the store we visited
Delicious seafood soup from the 2 fishes
With some side dishes

After much deliberation in front of the fresh seafood, I finally picked the octopus. The lady reached into the basket and picked up one and allowed me to take a photo before going to tear the octopus apart. Then it was a lot of chopping. I returned to my table and soon the moving tentacles were served.

My dinner

It did looked scary as the tentacles moved around, some even crawled out of my plate but I kinda got the hang of it after the first piece. As the chopping wasn’t done really cleanly, there was one lump that got me gagged and I had to pull it out with my fingers. It tasted slimy but was kinda tasty with the soy sauce and sesame seeds. All this experience for 10k.

Plate of moving tentacles

The fish soup was definitely fresh and the broth cooked from it was just as tasty. When K woke up, we gave him some to eat but he wasn’t taking it. Not sure if it was too fresh and had a seafood smell to it or he was not hungry. The fish soup cost us 25k.

The store where we dined

We drove back to the hotel which was a 50mins drive. The GPS brought us through a winding dark forested road and it was a little scary since there weren’t any lights and no other cars were around.

Tongyeong at night

After arriving, the hotel staff handed us a basket of more towels and we realized that there wasn’t any room cleaning done. I guessed it was for privacy.

The night was spent in the tub and then some more math quizzes before we knocked off.

Escape Plan to South Korea & Hong Kong March 2019

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to South Korea and Hong Kong:

Total duration 18D17N
Singapore is 1hr behind of Korea and same timezone as Hong Kong.
Flight time is 4hrs 5mins on Cathay Airlines from Singapore to Hong Kong, a 50mins transit followed by a 4hrs 50mins time on Cathay Airlines from Hong Kong to Incheon Airport Seoul.

Return flight is 3hrs 55mins on Cathay Airlines from Hong Kong to Singapore.

Friday night flight on 29th Mar at 810pm and arrival in Hong Kong in the morning of the 30th Mar at 1215am followed by a flight at 105am and arrival in Korea in the same morning at 555am.

Return flight from Hong Kong on the 15th Apr at 230pm and same day arrival in Singapore at 625pm.

Day 0-1 Flying and Gamcheon Village in Busan
Day 2 Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival and arrival into Geoje
Day 3 Cruise to Oedo Island, Tong Yeong Hallyeosudo cable car and Junggang market
Day 4 Hakdong beach, Windy hill and drive to Yeosu, Odongdo island
Day 5 Yeosu Rail bike, Aqua Planet and Teddy bear museum
Day 6 Drive to Jeonju, cheese theme park and Jeonju old town
Day 7 Explore Jeonju and drive to Wolmido
Day 8 Fairytale land, Chinatown and back to Seoul
Day 9 Yeouido park, Noryanjin Market and Myeongdong
Day 10 Lotte World Adventure theme park
Day 11 Nami Island, Gangchon rail park and Garden of Morning Calm
Day 12 Dongdaemun and Lotte Outlet
Day 13 Strawberry farm, Pocheon Art Valley and Herb Island light festival
Day 14 Seoul to Hong Kong
Day 15 Sino Center and Hysan Place
Day 16 Hong Kong Space museum and shopping at CHKC
Day 17 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was the first time in donkey years that we travel with my extended family. It was not an easy itinerary to begin with, having to plan different flights for my wife, my parents, my aunt in HK and for me and my boy, as we were flying different times, for reasons such as for business, for best price and for breaking the trip. There was also trying to plan a bit of something for my parents and for the kids. Glad that everything turned out well.

Budget nature: Rather Expensive 

Costs of living in Korea was quite high especially in the cities, car rentals was expensive too. This was offset by the optimisation of squeezing into Airbnb units in Seoul and getting the better deal through Klook and utilising discount coupons from tourism book brought over from Singapore.

Complexity: High

Due to different flight times (5 different tickets) for everyone, we had to get all the dates and times right before purchasing the tickets. Travel by car outside the city was still fine but met with heavy traffic when in Busan. Thankfully for the Hyundai Sonata in-car GPS, it was a little easier to navigate as Google maps do not work, and Naver app wasn’t driver friendly. Travelling via public transport in Seoul was easy but not so in a taxi as we were easily lost in translation, and getting taxis for a big group was a challenge itself, as the taxis can only take up to a certain number of people.