Korea Travelogue: My second trip doing weird things

This is my second trip to Korea and it's nothing short of amazing :)

We explored places where we've never been to and probably a few less touristy place (but really beautiful) and tried new stuff :P #yolo

I have posted about the summary of my trip here: http://etylin.blogspot.sg/2015/11/summary-of-316inkorea.html do read it up for some guidance if you need. No photos though... so it can be rather dry

So here it goes~!

DAY 1: SLEEP IN INCHEON AIRPORT 😮

If you have read the summary post you would have known that I went on this trip with 2 of my friends where I traveled together with 1 of them to Korea first and the other joined us a day later.

PengPeng and I bought the cheap air tickets from SIA's promotion $710 only! 😀 ⛘But we flew on a red-eye flight. Given the bo-hua-ness, we decided to stay overnight at the airport just to wait for Poh to arrive the next morning, and to save up on some 💰.

If anyone wants to know if it's safe to sleep at the airport, I think it is... cos there are travellers and cleaners around too. We slept on a bench at level 1 departure hall, there were some others who slept on the benches too lol

Just take note that, it is really uncomfortable to sleep on it cos it's hard and the length of the chairs combined is also too short for a person like me (height 155cm)... Just so you can imagine that anyone could hardly sleep well... 💤

DAY 2: TRAVEL TO ACCOM! OFF TO HANGANG! 🙌

Poh met up with us and we took the airport limousine to our Airbnb apartment within walking distance from Seoul station!

After settling down at our apartment, we walked over to the Seoul Station's Lotte Mart to source for some tidbits and other food 😋 to be brought over to Hangang!

On the way to Hangang, we saw this playground and got a little fascinated at a Korean Playground 😂

I think we went over to Hangang via a kinda different than usual route... So we got lost but there were a few kind ahjussi and ahgassi who directed us to the place!

It's autumn when we went, so the trees are like a botak lol

Chio right?! Actually we wanted to rent bicycles, but it's either closed or we couldn't find a kiosk nearby our location.

After the night picnic at the Hangang, we went over to LINE shop 😍😍😍... Forgot which station this is at oops

Head over to some BBQ place for our dinner!

Just look at the meat and drool 😝

We went back to sleep after this!

Summary of #316inKorea

I am actually contemplating if I should start writing the journey/travel guide to Korea this time round... And, I have decided that I should especially so that this shall serve me well in the future if I happen to revisit Korea :) Just like how my previous entries did, when I am preparing for the travel this year.

Buying stage.

I have been pestering my friends to travel to Korea together ever since 2014, probably due to the good experience I had in 2013 Summer exchange lol

And so, the trip has not been fulfilled until 3 weeks ago.

It happened that, SIA was having a super good deal flight promotions, and Korea is one of the included destination. Woots!!!!

So, I got pengpeng to ride on this super-good-must-buy deal, ends up we only paid SGD710 for a premium flight to Korea, economy class of course. :D But, that would also mean, the travel time and day is really bad... We flew on a Monday afternoon, arrived in Korea on Monday near midnight.

Preparation stage

As the travel date draws closer, pohpoh has decided to join us in this trip too! But, the deal has ended. Nonetheless, that didn't stop her from joining the jiemeis ^^ She purchased the flight from Koreanair I think for about SGD800+ which was pretty ok too

And so, we met up a few times to tie down the places where we want to go in Korea (Seoul, Busan, Jeju and... Ulsan - Try somewhere different!), the method of traveling, the accommodation.

Accommodation

For all our accoms, except for Jeju, we purchased from Airbnb! And the apartments are really amazing :) and cheap, and near the station! We got ourselves duplex apartment (double floors)

Our accommodation goes like this:
Seoul Part 1 - Seoul Station
Ulsan 1 day trip (self drive)
Busan - Busan station
Jeju - Good Inn Hotel (booked via booking.com)
Seoul Part 2 (Shopping spree) - Hong Dae station (easier to return to the airport)

SIM Card/Free Wifi

Given that we have 3 people, and its shorter than a month stay. I originally wanted to get the pocket wifi, so that the cost can be divided into 3.

SIM Card - I suggest perhaps you can get EG SIM Card. It's still the best option in my opinion...

Pocket wifi - mobilepop! It's quite cheap I feel! Compared it to most of the providers in Korea, Olleh, KT etc... 70,000won in total for 14 days, 3 pax.

However, on the day of collection in the airport (they do delivery to the apartment too! So, you don't have to collect at the airport if your flight timing is as strewed as mine), we decided to call off the booking. Because it is highly wired in Korea, especially Seoul, there are wifi available in most cafes. (No wifi in the subway, unless you are using SIM Card that allows you to tap on either Olleh or KT wifi)

Mode of Transportation

Traveling in Seoul is easy peasy, just take Subway train! If the distance is short, and you have 3 to 4 people, take a cab might be an easier and cheaper option! For example, a few days we were so exhausted by the walking, shopping, carrying heavy things and its raining, we took cab from Hong Dae shopping district, to our apartment in Hong Dae near the subway station. That's like about 15mins walk. It costs us 3,000won in total.

The starting rate is usually 2,800won or 3,000won. The cab rate will increase exponentially. Hence, not recommended to take cab for long distance... it can be quite expensive.

To travel from Seoul to Busan or Ulsan, as foreigners, we bought the Korail One Day Pass for I think about 53,000won per person! We traveled to 2 places for that price. Damn cheap ok...

Traveling in Ulsan was a little problem, but thank goodness for pohpoh knows how to drive lol and teohteoh (which is myself lol) knows a tiny bit of Korean.

We booked the car for a day from Hertz Lotte car rental. Collect at a small store about 300m away from the Ulsan KTX Station. We lugged our luggage over... and return the car at the stipulated time opted by us at night, at the same place. We were looking for car rentals that allows us to collect car in Ulsan, and return in Busan... But, to our dismay, no such service available...

GPS was provided by default, however in Korean... It was easy to understand by just looking at the directions illustration given. We wont be able to understand the Korean audio though... which is a pity... So, I assisted on translating the audio to Pohpoh (who's driving) in English. Ulsan, or rather Korea as a whole, has a lot of small roads/alleys... So, got to be careful of where the GPS is pointing towards.

We have been cabbing around in Busan lol... We are taitai like that. FYI you can use Tmoney in Busan subway :) however, you cant use that for Busan internal city bus rides

Then, we took Jejuair to Jeju from Busan! The flight is damn cheap... 1/3 the price in Summer.

We flew from Busan to Jeju. And, Jeju to Seoul. Costs us about 75,000won in total.

We self-drive in Jeju, cos 1 couple joined us and that makes 5 people sharing a rented car! the costs isn't too expensive in fact. Probably cheaper than renting a cab driver for 8 hours, and having to pay for the petrol and his meals.

FYI, Jeju car rental GPS goes by telephone number of the places of interest. Usually, we will key in the postal code, but for Jeju, please key in the telephone number!

Rough itinerary which we didn't really abide to

Day 1 - Seoul - Arrival (sleep in airport T.T we later figured out that we should just take the last airport limousine at midnight to the city, and sleep in Jimjilbang instead... no lounge once you exit the custom in ICN)

Day 2 - Rest, Hangang, Gangnam, Garosugil, SM Town, COEX Mall

Day 3 - Nami Island, Gangchon Rail Park

Day 4 - DMZ, JimJilBang

Day 5 - Ulsan - Ganjeolgot, Seonam Lake Park, Tae Hwa Gang Grand Park

Day 6 - Busan - Jalgachi Fish Market, Gam Chon, Da Dae Po (fountain of dream)

Day 7 - Haeundae, Taejongdae, Gwangalli Beach

Day 8 - Lotte Premium Outlet

Day 9 - Jeju - Sunrise peak, Seopjikoji, Maze Park, Manjanggul Cave, Miniland, Stone Park, Black Sand Beach, Dongmun Traditional Market, Yongduam Rock, Mysterious Road, Love land

Day 10 - Junbang waterfall, Cheonjiyeon falls, Oedolgae rock, Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff, Chocolate Museum and Osulloc Green Tea Museum

Day 11 - Seoul - KSGI, Dong Dae Mun

Day 12 - Hong Dae, Edae

Day 13 - Lotte Mart, Ice Rink, Ssamziegil

Day 14 - Singapore

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So I guess that's about it for now. At a later part, I shall start throwing in photos, and specific guides for the 14 days journey in Korea!

I am back from Korea!

Tadah!

After so much drama in Korea lol... Too much to share to be honest... From incidents that happened when we self-drive in Ulsan and Jeju to people whom we meet when we are unsure of their intentions. Thankful to have people who helped us along the way that was out of our expectation.

This trip, I have gained much more experience. As to traveling and be courageous alone (im a noob lol), to open my mind and to enjoy what there is to enjoy.

Some little sharings!

1) Got to adapt to the left hand driving... that includes you having to multi-task with the usual driving and deciphering the Korean GPS... and the little roads branching by the side! Some little incidents happened, but we were glad that those did not result to injuries etc

2) Missing the spot to U-turn, driving safe may result in something you didn't expect! Well, if its me, I will just drive like a haphazard road driver lol
My friend drove safely in Jeju, so perhaps because of this it resulted in good fortune that we spotted the KSGI Jeju center! And eventually, as a result of this visit, we managed to drop by the KSGI Jeju Training Center too! Really grand and huge. Amazing...

3) We tried the gangchon railway bike! During autumn. Damn cold can but fun!

4) I finally went to Nami Island and Jeju!!! Wanted to visit these 2 places back in 2013 summer but... it was the monsoon season so it is not so safe... was raining throughout during that summer I went

5) I exercised! Climbed the SeongSan Ilchubong! and I was out of breath... There are proper steps though :) the view at the peak is amazing... a pity that the breaking dawn has been covered by the clouds and minimal fog... But nonetheless, we stayed on a while more and we spotted the sun peeking through the clouds! and it went hiding a few seconds later lol (Sunrise and Sunset are really fast! Catch it, record it before you missed the moment)

6) We went on road trip in Ulsan! Something different from the usual Gyeonggi-Do, Busan, Jeju, Seoul! Ulsan is not so tourist friendly even though it does have tourism website to guide all of us... You can opt for the Ulsan bus tour but we have decided to go for self-drive! This is so that we can visit places where we would like to visit! Went to 3 places I think! Gan Jeol Got, Taehwanggang and Seonam Lake Park

7) We attended the local KSGI meeting too! and to my surprise I saw a friend whom I met in Korea in 2013!! Really pure hearted group of members

8) I think the sales persons in Seoul whether it is in Ehwa, Myeong Dong, Express Bus etc they seem to be really angsty this season... Much less to talk about negotiating the price and requesting for more samples lol and by the way, not sure if it is indeed the season... there isn't much sales for cosmetic products -.- and I didn't even get samples for things that I buy... for your reference, I bought like at least a total of SGD500 on those products in different stores... haiz :(

For sure, never shop for cosmetics in Ehwa. Confirm no samples.

9) Tax refund procedure changed a bit...

Check in first. You may deposit your luggage when you check in if the sum you gonna refund is lesser than 30,000won.

For tax refunds lesser than KRW30,000 accumulatively, just proceed to the kiosks near D and J at the departure hall. The officer will assist you with scanning of the forms/receipts. Remember to standby your passport. It is required. After which, they will direct you to either Gate 27 (kiosk refund) or Gate 28 (manual refund. normal opening hours) after you cleared the immigration.

For tax refunds more than KRW30,000 please proceed to the manual tax refund counter at D and J. Here, the officer may check on the goods that you have bought. I guess it is also dependent on the length of the queue... After which, I believe it works the same way as the guide even above. Remember to deposit the lugagges at the Oversize Baggage counter beside.

E.g.
My friend and I checked in our luggages. Then we proceed to the kiosk. The person directed us to Gate 27, when we realized after we cleared the immigration that, is refund kiosks... which we are unsure if we will be able to get the refund on the spot... or credited to our cards which may take up to 2 months... So, we just proceeded to Gate 28 since its tax refund anyways. And yep! Gotten the refund on the spot (you may choose to receive the refund in USD, KRW or RMB)

1 month

oh hi Im back after nearly a month... Been busy with watching Hallyu drama, searching for jobs, and planning for DM and SUJ Exchange!

Just wrote my letter to Ikeda Sensei! Both my victories for last year and past months and my resolutions from now on. Its refreshing to think back! and full of conviction and determination while planning ahead! Its March already! So fast!

Anyway, Ill be slowly (im slow enough already =.=) sending my resume to the private firms as I have not been doing so... Only sending to banks and government sector which take super long time to get back. Gotta act fast! Thankful for my friends and seniors in faith around and of cos to have sensei guidance to guide me along when Im all confused, low morale, low life condition, lost etc... Thank you~

Did I mention that I won hotel voucher in Seoul Myeong Dong in Feb/Jan???? Yah... only hotel voucher. Still contemplating if I should fly over this spring! But could only bring either 1 other or 3 other. Need to check the room occupancy. If Im going, it will most probably be after my convocation or end March? I havent book air tickets yet!!!! Just a pretty short trip in Seoul and maybe somewhere outside Seoul that I can travel to via the subway la :)

In late Feb, I received one letter from SIM! Make a guess? Its commendation letter! Received UOL Top Student Award- Bronze for my course. Not sure if that means Im the top 3? No idea how many recipient per award. And, the SIM Special Recognition Award! #justsayin to keep track of things! I only write online diary which is this... so yah... not flaunting or what. Just wanna write down for memories sake :) So how do I feel after receiving? Both happy for the money and upset cos this makes me look even cui-er that I STILL COULDNT FIND A JOB :( Just like the upset me is not sad enough, my sister asked me to sign a declaration form that Im an unemployed for University application :(((( double kill (im fine now anyway still fighting strong! other people are challenging even tougher things than me! I ought to be strong and courageous!)

And yesterday, we had our Soka University of Japan Exchange meeting! The meeting ran rather smoothly. except a few obvious sound system down, but luckily its only for a few seconds. Thankful for the team I worked with, very very very meticulous, always had contingency plans, kept tight communications via callings and meeting up to settle, for my case, culture performance. Thankful to have the 2 chiefs who are guiding us along well, such that we are able to fully run the programme yesterday ourselves. Thankful for the support given by the fellow trailblazers who helped to reach out, contact members, design and make the souvenirs, discuss and decide the dinner reps. Thankful for my culture performers who memorised the japanese song lyrics (which are said to be confusing even to choir trained singers!) within 2 practices and touched the audiences by the brightest and beautiful smiles ever!

끝.

GUIDE TO EG SIM CARD

EG SIM CARD

Rental Info: http://air.koreaphone.net/join/join.asp#

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OLLEH PREPAID SIM CARD

http://roaming.kt.com/renewal/eng/rental/sim_card.asp#00345

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SROAMING SIM CARD

http://www.sroaming.com/eng/Product/Product_DataSIMCard.asp

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When I was checking out the 3 teleco companies in Korea, I found out that EG SIM Card offers cheaper package... So I chose that.

Before arrival

1) Register at the website above provided. (for freebies for instance, you will get 5000won airtime!) Though its written as RENTAL, I think you dont have to return the SIM Card :) you can keep it. Cos i did!

2) Just fill in all the particulars and information needed and the location you would like to collect the card!

3) Download EG SIM CARD App!!

Arrival in Korea

4a) Collect your SIM Card! (if you have registered) 

OR 

4b) BUY THE CARD AT CONVENIENCE STORE with nominations of \30,000 / \40,000 / \50,000

About Topping up (for Voice)

http://air.koreaphone.net/waysToTopUp.asp

5) In korea, they dont call it "Top Up". They call it, "Recharge"

6) For card that you have registered, you need to recharge. Similar nominations of \30,000 / \40,000 / \50,000

7) Store person will issue this receipt to you. 

8) With the EG SIM CARD APPS which you downloaded earlier, insert the Pin Number into the screen!

CLICK "TOP UP"

YOU WILL BE DIRECTED HERE

CLICK ONTO "VOICE"

SELECT THE "PAYMENT OPTION"

INSERT THE "PIN NUMBER"

I TOPPED UP 30,000 FOR A MONTH STAY IN KOREA :)

About Topping up for Data

9) You have to top up voice, before you could top up data.

10) to top up the data, just transfer the airtime (among the 30,000won) to data

11) Data comes in 3 kinds: 100MB (5,500won), 500MB (11,000won), 1GB (16,500won)

I topped up for 500MB

FOR INSTANCE: Total Airtime of 30,000won minus data 11,000won = 19,000won VOICE CALL

12) CLICK ON TO THE "TOP UP FOR DATA" at the same page as you've seen the "top up for voice"

13) SELECT THE DATA PLAN U LIKE!

AND YOU ARE DONE!

HOW TO CHECK?

14) Click on "My Account" to check your balance for data and voice call!

Thats about it!

Seoul Day 33- Bidding goodbye to Korea, Guide to Airport Limousine and Tax Refund

Korea has been good and awesome to me for the past 33 days. We went through difficulties but were later resolved by kind people.

Anyway, I will be sharing with you guys the various plans for Telecomm in Korea, my to bring list, and my preparation towards the trip! Any questions just type in the Comment box/Ask.fm by the column at the side!

So here it goes...

A peek into my luggage! While I was planning for the exchange, I was quite curious about what things people bring overseas for a month of exchange in Korea! below shows a portion of what I brought/bought home! hahah

Some stuffs are censored lol

Packed our luggage properly before heading out for breakfast!

The triple room (kinda upgraded for free, we paid for and wanted a twin room) that we got is pretty narrow and squeezy so we took turns to pack bags!

We had our breakfast at the ramyun store we ate in during our first day in Hyehwa! awww

We walked abit of Hyehwa in the morning and many stores were not yet opened... Our flight is at 6pm, and we had to be ready by 4pm, the bus ride comes in every 30mins interval so we were quite scared of missing the bus/couldnt board the bus due to crowds... So we actually left Hyehwa at around 12pm...

The bus stop for airport limousine bus! Bus service 6011 infront of the Dunkin Donuts, in the middle of the road. The bus stop is NOT exclusively for airport limousine. Its just a normal bus stop! There is a screen that shows the arrival of the buses including the coach! The timings/time intervals for the airport limousine is also printed on a paper pinned inside the transparent board at the bus stop!

lol at my turquoise craze

So, we board the bus! I think its white in colour! And it has the 6011 digits infront of the bus! Not BIG service plate like normal buses though...

The driver will help you to carry your luggages into the boot? of the coach! And so, he helped us!

We went up the bus! We had to pay 10,000won (i think) for the ride! But for us, since we stayed in Backpackers and they have a 1000won off coupon, so we used that and paid only 9000won!

You can pay by cash and insert into the transparent box, or pay by T Money!

If you are paying by cash, please prepare beforehand....... otherwise people will just be waiting for you... not forgetting that you still have your carry on with you which are pretty heavy.

After paying the sum, we placed our heavy carry on at the barred corner infront of the bus!

And so, we reached! Dont have to worry if someone will snatch your luggage lol

I looked after our luggages while Wenjing gets the trolley to push our luggages!
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Anyway, when we reached the airport, we were quite confused with the tax refund thingy and thought we could only check in strictly 2hours beforehand...

In ICN, you can check in anytime! Just be early!

And for the tax refund, and checking of goods...

Check in first, tell the person that you have tax refunds to do, go to the tax refund counter at the another side (someone may lead you over), get your items stamped (Heard of stories that the tax refund officer may check your goods... But luckily, they didnt check mine!), after which, place your luggage at the Oversized Baggage Belt at the side of the tax refund counter (Initially we were quite dubious of that... cos it said oversized... but apparently, for luggages that were not checked in at the check in counter, it has to be deposited here...)

So queuing up to check in!

Went to the customs and cleared it! They will scan your carry on here unlike in sg where they scan your baggage at the Gates...

After which, you will see lots of shops inside the departure area!

Anyway, departure area doesnt have cafes/breads like paris baguette etc... so do eat your fav pastries before entering the customs!

Inside! You will see these people in hanboks streaming lol

We went to settle our tax refund after passing the custom... 

Please take note that there are 2 kinds of counter. One for the Global Blue (blue counter), another for Global Tax Free(orange counter). The most common one will be Global Blue.

Separate queues for that... Since global blue is the common one, there will be long queue!

We had lunch at the food court... last korean jajjangmyun!!!!!

We were early, so we took time to shop and look around in the area! I even bought a few masks from Korea back to sg due to the haze... the pharmacists said its better than N95... oh well

Our boarding gate!

byebye~~~

my dinner! i had bibimbap! you have to mix it yourself!

thats about it!