Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball Day 2

I was fortunate enough to wake up in a tent Sunday morning. Despite the ridiculously hot conditions during Saturday, it got quite chilly at night.



Walked down to the beach around 7:40 am, people were just starting to get up, some later than others. Another early morning rise took its toll on a lot of people.



Team "Mean Machine in Neon Green" was our first opponent of the day, and mean they were. We were slaughtered 21-9 in both games, but on the plus side, no one else could beat them either.

Here they are taking down yet another team:



The "Hallabacks" taking on the "Peace Frogs," two of the better teams in the tournament.



By 10:00 am, the sun was shining brightly, turning the sand into a lethal weapon. People were sprinkling water on the sand in an attempt to cool things down. Everyone's feet were burning, some even put on socks to play. I kept to the shade after our team lost all of our remaining games, it was probably a good thing.



"Mean Machine" taking on "Peace Frogs" for a by to the finals:



Dan Nabben of Peace Frogs trying his spiderman reflexes to get the ball; he was a ninja out there.



Some good volley action:



Peace Frogs facing elimination, trying to stay alive in the tournament.



Mean Machine in the finals; sheer domination. I think they went undefeated on Sunday.



Valiant effort by the other team, but they were just no match for the Mean Machine.



Tournament over, and a weekend of great memories.



Dan Nabben put together an amazing event; Nathan would be proud.

After spending two days out on the beach, the first thing on my mind and many others was a shower...and then bed.

Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball Day 1

Although the Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball tournament was a few weeks ago, I'm just getting around to putting up some of the video from the event now. Held during the June 13th weekend, the weather conditions were perfect for some volleyball, too bad my skills were no where near.

8:00 am start: I grab the 6:30 am bus from Shinsigaji to Jeju-si. I text my team captain, Naomi, and inform her of my decision to stop by McDonald's on the way; nothing says breakfast of champions like a sausage egg mcmuffin...or two.

I happen to run into some other players competing in the tournament at McDonald's and secure a ride to the beach. We get to the beach to find the tournament has already started, thick fog surrounds the beach.



Fortunately my team didn't have to play first, but we were a man down to start anyway, as one of members didn't show up til after our first three sets. Despite our handicap, we still managed to draw all three sets with the help of some substitutes.

Sun came out and it got hot; really hot. Here is the Seogwipo team trying to keep it real, with a Nova Scotian flag hoisted over the court. Still have no idea where the flag came from, but it's great nonetheless.



Here is my friend Laurel's team against one of the Korean Swing dancing teams that were competing in the tournament. Their teams were good, but even better swing dancers. I was witness to some of their skills later that evening.



The Seogwipo team was about on par with ours, which was somewhere near the bottom of the barrel.



Here are the "Hallabacks" against fellow Maritimer Troy's team:



There were quite a few of us Maritimers out there, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Troy is heading back to the Martimes after two and half years on Jeju. He's probably headed out Halifax way, so I wish him the best.

Included in our 30,000 won admission fee into the tournament, we got some nice t-shirts as well as some pizza for dinner. All eyes were on the delivery men as they made their approach to the center stage.




Not long after, the most beautiful sunset came upon us. I never tire of seeing such sights.



Most of the participants camped the night on the beach, myself included. There was a great bonfire happening with some acoustic music to go around, putting the perfect end to a great day.

Jungmun treats

Went on the first "official" war ride of The Jeju Soggies Motorcycle club with the Matts from Seogwipo yesterday. We took the scoots out to Jungmun in the morning, looking for some beach action.

Despite the somewhat cloudy conditions, it was still hot and humid out.



It was a warm breezy drive into town, and we stopped at the GS 25 to pick up some drinks and a few popsicles. My favourites are the classic "Jaws" bar, which is usually filled with strawberry or an orange inside, though solid all the way through.


Another tasty treat is the honey dew melon popsicle, which is this perfect fusion of fruit and creamsicle, giving you a real sensation of eating a cool slice of honey dew melon.


And third, but not ranked lower in the least, is the watermelon slice popsicle. I've only had one, but it was the best damn watermelon popsicle ever. They're a lot harder to come by than the other two.


We arrived at the Hyatt just after ten, and started walking around its facilities looking for a way down to this somewhat more secluded beach on the far side of Jungmun's main beach location.



Waves looked big and scary; surfer's dream come true.



We eventually found this smaller and almost non-existent beach (due to high tide) after walking down a path through a bamboo-ish jungle. We found even more massive waves awaiting us there.



After taking a few minutes to read and relax on the tiny beach, we decided that it might be worth it to check out the main beach back on the other side.



The water was just as fierce, and there were even a few surfers out catching some waves, but all I wanted to do was go for a swim. However, because of the strong undercurrent, and the repeated intercom warnings in Korean, I didn't go in too far. Just a quick splash in the waves, which were easily capable of ripping my shorts off and pulling me out to sea; awesome.

The Jeju Weekly Issue No.3

The new issue of The Jeju Weekly is out, and I've got a couple stories published in it. The first is about Seongsan Ilchulbong or "Sunrise Peak". You can find it here: "Step back in time on Sunrise Peak"

My second article talks about Jeju's 14th Annual Marathon, entitled: "A run with a view"

I'll try to get up to the office this week to pick up some print copies to deliver to the South-side, where distribution is not so readily available. I'll be dropping copies off at Gecko's, Vetro Coffee and possibly the Metro Building and hostel in Seogwipo.

FC Seoul edges past Jeju United

Saturday, June 20th: Jeju United scores in the first 8 minutes, managing to hold their lead until the 83rd minute when FC Seoul's M.J. Koh ties it up. FC Seoul cashes in on a late goal in the 90 minute mark to steal the game back.

In probably what is the most anticipated game of the season, Jeju United faces off against Busan I Park on Sunday, the 28th of June. Jeju's star goal-scorer from last season, Homulo, got quite the bad reputation amongst players and fans alike here on Jeju. He took a deal and was traded to Busan I Park, one of the worst teams in the league.


If Jeju wins, not only will they get their revenge against Homulo, but they will move past Busan I Park in the K-league standings, putting them in good position for a playoff spot.

Photo by Brian Miller

Planning a vacation

As a hagwon teacher, I don't get very many days off. Ten days to be exact, five of which are already assigned. So I've been working on a plan for my other days off, which I hope to take and go to Japan.

I'll be flying into Osaka mid-July for fives days. Rather than spend my time in the city, I decided I am going to see the much more scenic and highly appraised Kyoto. Just so happens to be the peak of Gion Matsuri while I'm there:

The Gion Festival (祇園祭 Gion Matsuri) takes place annually in Kyoto and is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. It spans the entire month of July and is crowned by a parade, the Yamaboko Junkō (山鉾巡行) on July 17.

Kyoto's downtown area is reserved for pedestrian traffic on the three nights leading up to the massive parade. These nights are known as yoiyama (宵山) on July 16th, yoiyoiyama (宵々山) on July 15th, and yoiyoiyoiyama (宵々々山) on July 14th...many girls dressed in yukata (summer kimono) walk around the area, carrying with them traditional purses and paper fans.

To plan for this vacation, I've been using as many online resources as possible. There was a really good article published by Mashable that goes through all the details of planning a vacation using social media.

The article lists many valuable resources such as Tripadvisor and Nextstop, as well as many others which I've found useful.

Another website I've turned my attention to is Hostelworld. It gives you all the available hotels, hostels, guest houses, or any other accommodations in the area with a listing of availability and room rates. For those working on a budget and looking for the best place for their money, it should be the first site you check.

Working in tandem with other social media sites, you'll find whatever you're looking for very quickly.

Springtime for Hallasan (한나산)

Last week I felt a bit adventurous and thought that going for a rigorous hike would be a good option. The weather was perfect, and Matt was interested as well. What should be the rainy season has been very dry so far, hopefully we'll just skip the thing entirely, but I've been wrong before.

Woke up about 6:00 am and threw some onion bagels and chive cream cheese together for breakfast; Matt ate his immediately.

It was a very scenic, although slow at some times (my scooter doesn't agree with any kind of incline), ride up to Yeongshil trail. Matt spotted another Blue Rock Thrush as we started our ride; our spiritual guide and sign of good fortune.

The hardest part was the wind. Both Matt and I were regretting not bringing any gloves, but who ever heard of wearing gloves in June?!?

My hands were numb, but we arrived at the base of Yeongshil around 7:00 am, and immediately began our ascent. The clouds were sprinkled in every which pattern, but the sky was mostly clear.



The canopy of trees along the trail had grown in a lot more since I had been back. Everything looked a lot more livelier and vibrant.



Once you get that first glimpse of the South shore you're sold. This island can seem so big at some times, but the mountain just compresses that into one frame along the horizon.



The South coast never looked so good.



Although the waterfalls weren't flowing, you could still see that water had been there recently. The valley below is green, dotted with white flowers from trees in bloom.



I knew that Blue Rock Thrush was a good sign: Matt spots a rare deer sighting just off the path near one of the lookout stations. I would never have thought that they would be so close to the edge. It was just enjoying some of the fresh leaves as we tried to get its attention for a picture.



Looking west, you can see almost Jeju-si, the beginnings of Sin-Jeju and the airport are within sight; amazing.



The spring flowers, azaleas, are in full bloom. The climate takes so long to catch up to the seasons on top of the mountain. It's always colder, but that doesn't stop anyone from coming.



I think I spot a fox or something, turns out to be another deer. This one is even closer to plummeting several hundred metres to its death. They act like there is no danger at all, and are on almost a vertical plain to an edge with no safety.



This one takes notice of us quickly and returns to hiding in the brush.


Matt thinks he hears a cuckoo and grabs his binoculars in an attempt to catch a fleeting glimpse of it flying across our vision.

Once we emerge onto the plain that is at the top, we are greeted by fields of azaleas. The mountain is almost a shade of pink from them. Still, it seems so serene as it was before.



It's hard to ignore all the pretty pink flowers, it's a photographer's paradise.



We walk to the midway point station and stop to have a snack. No ramyeon this time, but some fresh fruit and a sip of hallasan water.

After looking around for several minutes, we come to the realization that you can't get to the summit from either Yeongshil or Eorimok trail.

We head back down the mountain, but the quiet serenity of the trail has vanished and is replaced by a log jam of high school boys.

Once we get to the bottom, we take a short stroll over to the nearby buddhist shrine. There are many wish piles out front of the buddhist temple, some maybe glued; how else can a rock stick to the underside of another rock?



Before we head back to Seogwipo we take a few minutes to rest, enjoying a can of demi-soda (half juice, half soda). The ride home is much quicker, and warmer.

The 14th Annual Jeju Marathon

This past weekend was the 14th Annual Jeju Maraton, which was held in Gimnyeong at the Gujwa Life Sports Park. I arrived on scene rather late, considering the 9:00 am start time; both Brian and I had been recruited to cover the event for The Jeju Weekly.

Not long after we got there, we met up with a few familiar faces. The announcer was reading off the list of women's 10k winners.



Among the winners, was Meagan McGinley, an American English teacher here on the island. The women took to the podium for their prizes and to pose for the cameras.



I've been told somewhere around 5,000 participated, and it made for an extremely successful and fun event. There were even a group from Japan competing wearing only Kimonos.

Paul Deveau, a fellow Nova Scotian and former Jeju resident, competed in the Full marathon. He finished around three hours and fifteen minutes, and was proud of the way he finished; strong and feeling a lot better than his previous experiences.



After all was said and done, the English marathon participants posed for a group photo with a giant dolhareubang, Batman and Spiderman; awesome.



The full story will be available soon through the third issue of The Jeju Weekly, and hopefully not long after, on their website too.