A summer holiday to the beautiful island

After having a satisfying meal, I headed to Iho Tewoo Beach. Iho Tewoo Beach is not big but because of its close location to downtown Jeju, and convenient transport nearby, lots of people visit it.

When I visited the beach, there were only a few people. The view of the ocean, which I hadn't seen for a long time, made my heart flutter in anticipation of seeing the upcoming destinations to go within Jeju.

1. 이호테우 해변 (Iho Tewoo Beach)

This rocky path that is heart-shaped was pretty and the moss on it made it more atmospheric. I had never seen any beach like that, so it was quite interesting and felt unique.

View from the wave breakers. The storm was brewing.

The most impressive things I saw on the beach were the trojan-horse-like lighthouses. One is red, the other one is white. Apparently, they were modeled after Jeju's ponies.

They serve the roles of guiding ships at night, and as the beach's mascots.

As I was enjoying the beach, I didn't expect that it would be raining so heavily but only thought the weather would merely be so cloudy. All of a sudden, however, the rain started pouring down. Everyone who was there was flustered and began to run! I also had no choice but to run to the parking lots. Soaked like a wet rat, I evacuated into the car.

"Gosh... why now!?"

Because of the heavy rain, I couldn't see through the windscreen. I was - for a very short time - torn between waiting for the rain to weaken and wading through the pouring rain to the next destination.

I chose the latter. I couldn't waste my time being stuck inside the car and really didn't want to spoil my first day in Jeju. I headed to the cafe Monsant Cafe Aewol.

Charge

Free

Rating

3.5 / 5.0

Pros and Cons

Pros - In the vicinity of the airport and the downtown, pine tree walking path, trojan-horse-like lighthouses.

Cons - Normal and small

2. 하이엔드 제주 (High-end Jeju Cafe)

The cafe was approximately a 30-minute drive away from Iho Tewoo Beach. On the way to the cafe, with the frantically-scrambling windscreen wipers and the rain chucking it down against the windscreen, my heart was palpitating.

"Can I get to the cafe safely..?"

After the edgy driving through the pouring rain, I arrived near the cafe. But I was faced with an unexpected problem. I couldn't find where the cafe was. I was not on the spot where the map indicated. "Shoot!", I exclaimed. I was literally floundering around the area in order to see where it was. I couldn't find the cafe until maybe about 20 minutes after I arrived there. The path leading to the cafe was "shrouded" so I recommend you park your car at the nearby public parking lots and walk to the cafe.

Even though I went all the way to the cafe, Monsant Cafe Aewol was not as good as I expected. The cafe had attracted people with the fact that the owner was GD(G-Dragon) from the Kpop boyband Bigbang. But apparently he is no longer the current owner.

That aside, the cafe was small and not so atmospheric inside. If the weather had been good, I maybe would have felt differently. There was no seat I liked and I went to a different cafe, which was next to Monsant.

The other cafe's name was High-end Jeju. Because it was more spacious than Monsant and I got a bit tired of roaming in the rain, I had a coffee break at the cafe instead.

The cafe is famous for its signature bakery; four kinds of Hanrabongdoro and Aewol Hanrabong Pang are popular. Among these, I chose the basic Hanrabongdoro and two americanos.

The bread has Hallabong(Korean orange reaped in Jeju only) jam inside and topped with sugar powder. The taste was okay but for my palate, it was a bit dry. I wished it had been moister. Even so, it went well with coffee. I'm sure it would have been better with hot coffee.

Spots where you can enjoy the ocean view are always full.

If it had been sunny, it would've definitely been much nicer.

Prices

Americano - HOT 6,000 won / ICED 6,500 won

Hanrabongdoro(cake) - 8,000 won

Rating

3.5 / 5.0

Pros and Cons

Pros - Nice ocean views, spacious inside, varied bakery and drink menu

Cons - Many customers, uncomfortable chairs, shaky tables, pricey drinks

Location

56, Aewolbukseo-gil, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, Republic of Korea

3. 한라수목원 (Halla Su-Mo-Gwon Arboretum)

The original plan was to go to Hallim Gongwon Park after having coffee but because of the pouring rain, I was hesitant and rather decided to go to Kakao Friends Jeju. I thought I would be enjoying cute stuff inside the store, especially the Jeju exclusive items.

The hope was shattered. Due to the coronavirus, it was tentatively closed. I had no choice but to find another attraction to go to.

For that reason, and it was not far from the Kakao Friends Jeju, I headed to Halla Su-Mo-Gwon Arboretum.

However, rain and coronavirus REALLY didn't help us again. It was hard to take a walk around the arboretum in the heavy rain and some greenhouses were closed on the pretext of protecting visitors from COVID-19. I had to turn back to the lodging I booked in advance. Only with one picture.

On a sunny day, it will be good to visit because it has various and unique plants, a pretty pond, so you will feel refreshed in nature. The fact that its location is near the airport and admission fee is free makes it more worth visiting.