Hallim Park

Day 9 of Quiring-family visit

Friday, July 6, we decided to visit the west side of the island. (Jeju-si, where we were staying, is at the top middle of Jeju Island. If you remember, the day before we had explored the southern part of Jeju Island, and two days earlier we had visited the eastern side.) Hallim Park seemed a perfect destination. We made our now-familiar trek to the city bus station and jumped on a bus heading westward. (By the way, we highly recommend renting a car while on Jeju Island, especially if your group includes more than four people, since traveling by taxi with five or more means you need to use two taxis...) After about an hour of driving we arrived at Hallim Park. The park was extensive and so diverse. We enjoyed seeing the botanical and bonsai gardens, exploring a mini folk village, and walking through two lava tube caves. It was a great way to see a lot of local plants, flowers, and culture all in one place!

Jeju "grandfather" statues were all over the park

This little tour guide was too cute to ignore

Friendly Korean statue-man

The day was very hot and humid, but lucky for us the park grounds contain two lava tubes. We were glad to escape the muggy air for a few minutes, and walked as slow as possible through these cool, damp lava-made caves. Later we were very glad we had experienced these lava tubes at Hallim Park since we didn't have enough time to make it to the more famous lava tubes in another part of the island.

Field of mini Jeju statues

Volcanic rocks made into small statues

It was so humid that Jonathan's camera lens fogged up for a few minutes. No, the air didn't really look like this...

Huge volcanic rock with a natural seat

Dress-up in the middle-of-the-park gift shop

Ali is a haenyeo (More about these Jeju women divers on our Seongsan Ilchulbong post)

After a Korean lunch in the Hallim Park "food court" we visited the aviaries. People were allowed to enter one cage of lovebirds and feed them from your hands. My dad did this, but only my mum got pictures of him. Next we came to peacock cages, and then we walked along a boardwalk with ostrich enclosures on either side.

After seeing the peacocks in their cages, it was surprising to encounter one on the walkway

Once we had our fill of birds, we took a few minutes break at an open-air bungalow before making our way out of the park. Our plan for the afternoon was to visit the nearby Glass Castle. Watch for those pictures next!

Next up: the Glass Castle!