Jeju Trip (2015) + Haul

Hello loves!

A month and a half ago, I went on a 4-day-3-night vacation at Jeju, South Korea with my mom and brother. I don't get out of the country much (I've only been to the US prior to this trip), but I think that I will be doing more traveling from now on. I just love discovering new places and learning about different culture, especially their art and FOOD! I have to be more uptight with my spending in order to do this. :P

Our decision to go to Jeju was a little bit spontaneous. We were planning to go to Japan but when we contacted a travel service agency, we learned that my mom's passport was about to expire in 6 months which will be a problem when it comes to applying for a Japan travel visa. So they recommended Jeju, which is a visa-free place that we can visit. None of us have been to Jeju and we thought that it would be a nice place to go to since we've been seeing some pictures of friends who have already went for a vacation and enjoyed. And so, we decided to go to Jeju island instead. The travel agency group made our 4-day vacation easier since they are in charge of booking the plane and lodging. The whole package also included the tour (we were in a tour group), transportation, and the food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). We think that availing their service is more favorable, not to mention hassle-free, since we don't know much about Jeju and we can't speak Korean. :P

The timing of our trip was perfect. We arrived there during the time when the cherry blossoms were blooming! It was our first time seeing an actual cherry blossom tree and we were very excited about that. They just look so beautiful and yet so fragile. They bloom so beautifully yet wilt so soon. 

Anyway, I want to share with you the pictures of the beautiful places we were able to visit in chronological order as well as the items I was able to take home (and will blog some time when I get the time... haha!)! Yay! 

We were picked up by our tour guide and the proceeded to Self Bar, a barbecue buffet restaurant for our lunch. It was the first time I tried authentic Korean barbecue, and it was glorious. I became an instant fan!

We visited Hallim park, a botanical garden that's divided into sections showcasing different kinds of plant life.

The park has a few caves that you can enter.

I really enjoyed the Jeju Stone and Bonsai garden the most!

For dinner, we had Chicken Ginseng Soup, a popular dish there. Ginseng is known for many health benefits so I understand why people like them. Unfortunately, my mom and brother weren't into it. I like it though. :P

On our second day, we stopped over this street to take pictures of these beautiful cherry blossom trees.

My mom really enjoyed the trip so far because she just loves flowers. I think this part was where she enjoyed the most.

The rest of the day was rainy which was a let down, but that didn't stop us from continuing the tour. We visited the Seongeup Folk Village next.

We bought some fresh oranges or tangerines from some ahjummas while we were taking a break because we didn't have any umbrellas. They gave us a free raincoat after that. They were so sweet! :D

We also visited the orange farm! We weren't able to try the oranges here but we were able to buy some really big ones during the third day of our tour and they were very sweet! 

This is what we had for lunch. I can't remember what this was exactly, nor the name of the restaurant (I'm sorry). I think this is an Osam Bulgogi, please correct me if I am incorrect. (The picture was taken while the meats were still raw)

Next, we went to Aqua Planet, one of the largest aquariums in asia.

It really was big and full different kinds of marine life.

I enjoyed seeing the seals and the dolphins the most.

And I love these two little creatures here who were so photogenic! Haha!

We also visited the Seongsan Ilchubong also called the Sunrise Peak.

My brother and I wanted to reach the top to see what it looked like up there.

I stopped halfway because I was getting tired and we only had 20 minutes left before we go to our next destination. My brother went on though.

The pic above was taken halfway from the top.

But according to my brother, the top was too foggy to see anything so the effort wasn't rewarding. :(

We had a quick stop at the Canola Blossom field where my mom also enjoyed the yellow flowers. Yellow's her favorite color! :D

Hello pretty flowers! 

On our third day, we get to do some shopping! WOOOT!

But of course, we took more pics of the pretty cherry blossoms while we were still there. :P

Had authentic Beef Bulgogi for lunch after (my pics are uncooked though). This was the tastiest Beef Bulgogi I have ever tried!

Our next stop was the Teddy Museum Bear Museum. The place was really big and I liked the clothes of some of the bears on display. I'm not so into this though because I'm just not into teddies (sorry). :P

I do like these displays where teddy bears replaced some famous art subjects!

Our next stop was the Hello Kitty Island Museum and Cafe. I made sure I took many photos of this place because my friend is a fan of Hello Kitty. Everything was so cute!!!

Even the food we ordered were so adorable. I didn't want to eat it because I didn't want to ruin the presentation! Haha!

The other places we went to were shopping places and I didn't take pictures because I was too busy... errrmmmm... shopping. Haha! We also watched the show "Painters Hero" which was super entertaining! I love that they mixed the art of painting and comedy together. We also passed by the Mysterious Road wherein our bus' engine is off and at neutral but we kept moving. Mysterious, right?

Anyway, here are the items we took home...

Skin79 Snail Nutrition Skin Care Set

Skin79 Super BB Cream

Skin79 BB Cream set (travel size)
(freebies)

Skin79 Syn-ake Lifting Ampoule

Missha BB Cushion + refill

Skin79 Dual Effect Eye Gel Patch (freebie)

Skin79 Lotus Mild Cleansing Foam (freebie)

The Face Shop Cleansing Foams (bought sets of them to be given to friends)

Dewins Q10 Coenzym Mask Packs

Zenibell  Green Tea Ultra Hydrating Essence Mask

Jenny Sweet All-Round Snail CC Cushion + refill

Skin Food Eyebrow Pencils and Nail polishes + freebies

Innisfree Jeju Volcanic set

Aloe Soothing Gels (Skin79 + Missha)

Code Nail Polishes and some freebies

Laneige White Plus Renew Trio Set

Dewins Snail Mucin Repair Creams

And we had some extra Won so we used them to buy some Jeju Orange Candy and Korean spicy noodles!

We surely had fun on our vacation and I truly enjoyed the sites and the food... and of course, the beauty shopping! The beauty products there were a lot that I can't imagine how many they are in Seoul! I wanna visit that city soon. :P

Anyway, that's all for now. :D
Have you been to Jeju? Would you like to visit the place? What country would you recommend us to visit next?

And if you like me to review an item we bought from there, please comment below! :)


Cheers,
DAWN