I do not even know where to begin...

A few days ago, we made our plans for the rest of the trip and that included making a reservation on a ferry to get to Jeju. I was told that I had an option of either floor room sharing with over 100 other people or a smaller room with about 28 people with a blanket. I opted for the blanket choice.

If you know me, you know that I am not the one to actually put together schedules. I like to have input. Lots of input but I usually do not handle logistics. It has been now pointed out to me that the ferry was the ONE thing I arranged...

So we arrived via taxi at the ferry terminal 2 hours and waited with the others, including a loud group of very excited women in their brand spanking new Columbia/North Face/other colorful gear complete with matching lipstick. When it finally came time to board, I was a bit excited to see what their ferries looked like and what our accommodations were to be. As we got closer to the ship, we saw this beautiful passenger ferry with nice decks for walking and seeing the journey. It was not ours. Instead, we were headed to a very large rusted cargo ship and as we climbed the swaying "steps"/gangplank, we saw the last of the outside for the next 11 hours.

Our room 310 was exactly that. A room. It was about the size of my living room with nothing but a thin cheap carpet on the floor. We initially shared it with two business men in their suits and ties, a couple of guys in traveling gear, a sweet young couple, three very loud women and were finally joined by about 5 other guys who spoke a bit of English. The group of guys split pretty quickly and we should have followed them as the three women were loud and obnoxious throughout the night. However, I was grateful that the room was not filled to capacity.
The night was long and hard. No blankets arrived and the bathroom was entirely appalling. Of course I did not have food or think through what else to bring. Fortunately, I had enough clothing to layer and used my packing cube for a pillow. The women's snoring was just as loud as their talking and I doubt I got more than an hour or so of sleep at a time. Wow, what an experience and people travel like that a lot. I hope to not have to repeat it anytime soon but I am glad for the adventure as I now write this from the 5 star Hyatt Regency in Jeju :)

Off to shower and nap before checking out the digs.