Jeju Island

I just came back from a trip to Jeju-do in South Korea with my friends :)

Overall, the island was really beautiful, even though the atmosphere was misty half of the time. My personal highlight was kayaking and cycling around Udo Island. I've got to admit, leading a heavy double electric bike induced some crazy anxiety in me, but the scenery was great and doing this with my friends was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The food there was great too, the black pork BBQ and seafood were great. All of us had digestive issues in our third day of eating BBQ, though... TT

One thing I found interesting was the fact that almost (if not) all private cars and taxis were electrical! When looking at the roads, only large trucks had gas pipes. I'm guessing this was one initiative to reduce pollution on Jeju Island.

Another interesting thing of Jeju-do were the Haenyeo (aka Jeju's female divers). There was a small exhibition in an aquarium about these divers—some of whom are up to 80 years old—talking about their lives, their work, and the appreciation from the residents. They harvest seaweed and sealife without the use of an oxygen tank and can hold their breath for up to 2 minutes! When they leave the water, they make a special whistling noise to let out their breath. Unfortunately, the number of Haenyeo have been dwindling over the past few years, but it was really fascinating seeing them at work while we were kayaking.

I can't wait to come back here again and bring other people as well :3