Recently, when I’ve flown in airplanes it’s been to go to a different country. This past weekend however, I actually took a domestic flight. The destination was Jeju, an island off the southern coast of South Korea.  Although, despite it being the same country, the place itself felt totally different.

Jeju is often referred to as the “Hawaii” of Korea, and it’s no surprise why. Also a volcanic island, Jeju is home to Korea’s tallest peak, Mt. Halla, rising up from the island’s center. Since the island really isn’t all too big, this mountain looms over the scenery as you drive, creating picturesque views that one just cannot seem to capture with an iPhone out the car window. Along the coast of Jeju are other mountain peaks, including the gorgeous Seongsan Sunrise Peak, which we spent an afternoon hiking up. If you make it up all the stairs on the “ascending trail” (and past the outdoor concert and market at the bottom that are typical additions to visiting a tourist destination) one can look out across the island, or into the large grass filled crater that forms the top. Just make sure to take the “descending trail” down.

Naturally, a volcanic island that has mountains and craters also has volcanic features such as lava tubes and caves. We explored one such tube called Manjang Cave, which was 1 km of feeling like you are in Stranger Thing’s upside down. Eventually at the end of the tube, one finds a strange igneous formation that stems up from the ground like a tornado. Luckily, there

were no Demogorgons chasing us. Although, later that night at our air bnb there was a giant spider under the piano. Not exactly a demogorgon chasing us, but the reaction was about the same. Our air bnb hosts did give us fresh tangerines from their farm though. Jeju is known for their tangerines orchards, and therefore that’s enough for me to still give them a good recommendation!

But incase you weren’t blown away yet, think of tropical water surrounding this island. Bright shades of blue, green and clear make these beaches popular filming locations for many popular Korean dramas, and just as popular a media destination for us to take pictures. Instead of an ice cream truck in the parking lot there was a churro truck, just to make the experience a little sweeter.

But not quite as sweet as visiting the only waterfall in Korea that flows directly into the sea. After paying a “youth” admission price of 1000 won to enter the site (yes I am a youth until 24 in this country), we headed down to Jeongbang waterfall which was a popular destination in the 70 degree fall heat. However, being risky foreigners, we crossed the stream to the other side of the falls to take pictures away from the crowd. We were met by a gorgeous rainbow formed in the mist from this angle.