Wednesday 1 May 2013

SOUTH KOREA-PLANNING THE TRIP

Hi guys,so i've been longing to set up a travel blog and finally i had the chance to do so now. Been planning for a free and easy trip since early this year between Australia,Thailand,Korea,Japan and US as the destination for this trip. And finally i decided on 대한민국(dae-han-min-guk)Republic Of Korea..i was unable to find anyone else who wants to go along so its juz me and Mabe.

I started to learn some Korean in preparation for this trip, I did a self study with the help of books and CD and apps.

 So here is how i did my research for the trip :
  • Reading up on people's travel blog about their expenditure and experience there. 
  • Watching youtube videos.
  • seoulistic.com,visitseoul.net
  • Apps such as tripadvisor,seoul tripadvisor,visitkorea (these are awesome free apps download on mobile and you can find places of attraction from it)
  • Checking out different airlines for tickets(AirAsia offer affordable prices but to the extend of longer flight.)

Yup thats about it,so first thing first,of course flight and hotel have to be booked first. We decide to buy tickets for flight and hotel as a package,cheaper that way. So we tried booking thru Expedia.com.sg but had an unpleasant experience as not only the booking wasn't succesful,they even deducted arnd $200plus out of nowhere. We called for a refund and it took 10 days instead of the 3-7 days they promised on the phone. According to them it was a system glitch on their side that cause the deduction. What a letdown...boo expedia boo...thumbs down.

In the end we settle with AirAsiaGo.com and so thats when we manage to booked our tickets for our 5 days 8th-12th May 2013 Spring trip to South Korea.
Expenditure..here's the breakdown.
The cost summary of our flight and hotel.(Flight not incld baggage,seats booking and food.) 


 
After purchasing the tickets,we decide to book our own seats in the plane,becoz Mabe wanted a seat near the wings of the plane.
Next were baggage,we decided on 15kg for departure and 20kg for return.

Airfare            : $758
Tax and Fees : $186.8
Seat Booking : $76
Baggage         :  $188
Hotel               :  $116.08 (4 nights)

Total               : $1,324.88
(All  above prices are for 2 person)

Per person      :  $1,324.88/2
                          = $662.44
After doing the maths,the cost of the hotel cost S$116 for 4 nights,thats S$29 per night.Individually for flight and hotel we spent an overall total of S$662.44 each.

So flights and hotel out of the way...its time for places to visit and transportation.


Transportation:

-International Taxi
International Taxi is a taxi company with drivers being able to speak english,chinese and japanese catering to foreigners visiting South Korea.I decide to book for this cab to our hotel when we land in Incheon Airport as i predicted we would be jetlagged after the long flight.


-Subways
The subway will be our main transportation getting around there.Its very big and can be quite confusing though.Check it out.


Sooo...many lines right.

This app is awesome,daebak!!..help me to point out which line to take,how long it takes and how much it cost.A must download on the app store.


Over there they use a similar transportation card to sg ez-link...they call it T-Money.It can be use for trains,buses,taxi and even when purchasing stuff.So we're gonna get this as soon as we land.


My List Of Places to visit:
  • Namsan Park
  • Namsan Cable Car
  • N Seoul Tower
  • Teddy Bear Museum
  • Myeongdong
  • Hongdae
  • Hello Kitty Cafe
  • Cats Living(cat cafe)
  • Trickeye Museum
  • Lotte World
  • Cheoonggyecheon Stream
  • Gyeongbokgung Palace
  • Han River
So many places..hmm i wonder if there's enough time.That aside,all left is preparing our luggage for the day to come...weeeee:D

 
:

2 comments:

Edison PEH said...

Gd job my friend, the blog can be used as a travel guide n reference for travellers who are gg to south korea. I will give 5 stars for the effort put in.

수하이미 said...

Thanks alot Edison..hope u enjoy reading my travelogue..more post coming sooon..so keep an eye:)