Monday, October 6, 2008

JeJu Island

Index
JeJu Island was land of imagination in my childhood. I had heard that that island was filled with trees that we did not see on the main land. I heard that it was warm all the time. There were ocean maids who dived into deep ocean to bring rare ocean plants and delicacies that can only be found at the bottom of the deep. I heard that the beauty of the island could not be matched.

My cousin Yeon- Choon took us there. From BuSan I expected to get on a small plane for one hour trip. To my surprise, we got on jets with six passengers per row. I did not see any empty seats. Even more amazing was such planes left about every half hour all day everyday.

Once we landed I realized the palm trees filled the island as well as pine trees that grows uniquely to the island. I used to think that they were artificially twisted in form. When I saw whole forest of them, then I realized this was natural in form. Like main land the little island had many mountains.

Yeon-Choon took us to places of breathtaking scenery. It has become vacationers haven of Asia. Although I preferred to be a beautiful hidden island known only by few, I have to say I am glad that so many are enjoying such beauty. I am told Chinese, and Japanese loves to vacation here.

Just yesterday, I actually saw an ocean maid. She would gather a basket-ful of ocean delicacies that foreigners could not imagine eating, then in the afternoon she would sell them in the market. In my imagination such maids were beautiful young girls, like fairies. I was brought back to reality that these were hard working women with weathered face from being in harsh salt water so much. This was their life and living.

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