A Guide to Seoul Korea, a Life-Changing Trip

Traveling used to be something I would do to recharge and cool off from all the drowning office work. It was a welcomed break and my first-ever trip to South Korea belonged to that category at first. I went with friends on a tour and arranged to go on a solo trip for six more days. I came back so excited and full of stories to tell. I revamped my travel philosophy and the way I plan my travels when I came home from that trip. Traveling would be something I would actively pursue and I didn't want to wait until I am retired to freely do so.

I am writing this so that you may have a starting point when you are going somewhere you've never been to, possibly somewhere that doesn't have an English-speaking population or just somewhere you really, really want to explore on your own without the constraints of a usual tour group.

Here's what happened during my Seoul trip. I started this "travel ritual".

Preparations after securing that my entry documents to Korea are all in order: 

• Money 
• My initial tour of 4D3N days with the tour group and extra 1D cost around 900USD all-in with 4 to 5-star hotels, transportation, entrance fees and plane tickets Asiana Airlines (Manila-Incheon-Manila, very impressive airline). 
• I doubled that so that the "extra" will serve as my money to spend on everything in the next 6 days (also as emergency money). My goal for the "extra" was to eat what I wanted, explore the city and have a modest accommodation. 
• I exchanged some of my unconverted peso to won in Manila beforehand just in case I would have difficulty finding a money changer. For easier conversion back to peso in my head, I use 10,000 won = P400.
• Research
• I began searching online (which I never did, this was back in 2009) for all the food I am willing to eat in Seoul. I saved the food list, together with restaurant addresses and explanations. I also noted down if I came across activities or places of interest. I wasn't sure if I could surf the net and print as freely when I get to Seoul. I would also rather spend my money eating the best food and exploring the free parks and attractions (it was autumn when I came - October until early November).
• I subscribed to the Seoul Eats blog (until now) and the very informative official Korean Tourism Organization website (both general and food) for the promotions and suggestions. This is where I found out that there were Tourist Information Centers (TICs) all over Seoul where I can find English-speaking people and free guides (in my case, I scored a very good book). You can also check out Korea.Net. Here are other suggested and reliable Korea links. There is also the Korean Cultural Center of the Philippines to give you a taste of Korea in Manila.
• Sometimes, I ask other bloggers, Google and friends for my trips.
• When do you stop with the research? I usually stop when my list consumes a lot of paper already (like 5 to 10 pages). I keep the back empty most of the time for my trip notes.
• Find a local who can point you to the right direction if you can
• This was probably the best coincidence of all. My Korean friend Emily happened to be studying in Seoul when I came. I found out only about a week before my trip. 
• She has never explored Seoul herself but she can speak Korean, she is passionate about her country and she knows good Korean food. Our mode of communication was all in Mandarin. I stayed in an inn owned by her aunt too.
• It's good to have a contact so I noted down all her details on paper, on my phone and my email just in case.
• I don't really need to meet the person if they have busy schedules. I email bloggers for questions, even the airport for directions to the bus or something.
• Secure everything back home so you don't worry about it during the trip
• Keep copies of your passport, visas, hotel arrangement and contact details (including your contact abroad) at home.
• Back up your photos, computer files and make sure you know important passwords like email which you will use abroad.
• Pay any outstanding bills and make sure that the account linked to your ATM card has money.
• Keep your licenses, other credit cards, keys, gadgets, jewelry and other things you won't need abroad in a safe place.
• KTO just opened their Foreign Service Weather Service! You can check it out here =)
• Need Travel Info while on your trip? Just call 1300!
• Thinking about Train rides in Korea? Check our the KR Pass here.
• I'd like to try out the K-Shuttle Bus Tour Packages too!
• Want a Volunteer Tour Guide? They have it too! =)
• How about a Korean Homestay Experience? 

During the solo trip (after the tour):

• Every morning, I gave myself the liberty of sleeping some more when I wanted to. Don't get me wrong, I can wake up early if I wanted to as well, especially for theme parks. 
• I did my itinerary for the each day the day before based on our conversations and my research but everything is very very flexible. If a new idea or location pops along the way and I happen to really like it, I would gladly exchange that for my original plan. I would converse with my friend the night before and we would concretize the plan the next morning.
• I would normally have brunch. I only eat on tours when the room comes with a hotel breakfast. My friend would go over my "food list" and say "let's eat this today". Generally though, some locals are tired of eating their own food. Better make it clear. The food I ate on the tour gave me the impression that Korean food is better in Manila. The food I ate after the tour with my friend is the best Korean food I ever ate. The Korean Spicy Rice Cake food street, Teokbokki Street, which I found online and came highly recommended, that my Korean friend has never heard about, turned out to be so bad and we turned to where it all began - the streets.
• I took down a lot of notes for my post so that I could return to it in my next Korea trip. 

• This is for a friend and because she requested, here's my Seoul itinerary (my recommended only, look into the blue links for the full story) as well as the corresponding links:
• Day 1 - Night Arrival
• stayed at Songdo area, Benikea Premier Songdo Metro Hotel
• Day 2 - Nami Island (spend more time here), Mt. Seorak
• stayed at Seoraksan area, Daemyung Seorak Resort
• Day 3 - Travel from Mt. Seorak to Everland Theme Park (spend more than 4 hours here)
• We travelled to Seoul in the afternoon to get to Dongdaemun at night, I didn't get to enjoy Everland because of the tight schedule (4 hours = one 10-minute ride) and throng of people!
• We were in Seoul by night.
• stayed in Gangnam area in Seoul, Novotel Ambassador Hotel - super recommended
• Day 4 - Seoul City Tour - Kimchi-making, Hanbok-wearing, National Folk Museum, Cheongbuk Palace, Myeongdong, Drawing Show at Hyehwa, Banpo Bridge
• The first two plus the Ginseng store are part of the tour - the commissionable part I think. You can find better alternatives.
• I loved the Cheongbuk Palace for the open space.
• Myeongdong was too crowded and I couldn't immerse myself in the shopping in only 1 or 2 hours (we had to meet back with the group).
• The Drawing Show and the Hyehwa night scene were amazing.
• The Banpo Bridge Fountain was super nice.
• Day 5 - Lotte World (tour ends here), Seoul Tower (start of our extra day), Teddy Bear Museum, Myeongdong
• As in Everland, I didn't get to enjoy Lotte World because of the tight schedule (4 hours). I didn't even make it to the amusement side.
• The Seoul Tower and Teddy Bear Museum are both in Namsan. When you go down the mountain, Myeongdong is there.
• Day 6 - Hyehwa, Sinchon to drop off my things, Insadong
• I met my friend at Hyehwa station and we ate Jjajangmyun in a Chinese restaurant there.
• We spent the rest of the afternoon in Insadong and ate the best Pork Bulgogi and Duenjang Jjige in one of the restaurants in an alley
• stayed at Hotel Anytime in Sinchon (to be confirmed with my friend)
• Day 7 - Sinchon, Korean Universities Tour
• Ate yummy Tuna Kimbap and Udon Uke Teokpokki in a fast food place and had Natuur near where I stayed in Sinchon
• Walked the whole afternoon - Yonsei University, got to Ewha Womans University (there's a food and fashion street in front of the underground part)
• Took the subway, ate Isaac Toast near Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and sat in my friend's class haha
• Day 8 - Namsangol Hanok Village, Namsan Stairs, Watched Nanta in Myeongdong
• Had fun playing and learning about the Korean culture and history at the Namsangol Hanok Village
• Ate yummy Kimchi Soup at an unknown restaurant near the Hanok Village
• Rode the bus back to Namsan to find the Namsan Stairs
• Watched Nanta's flying knives, banging utensils with dancing and making music at Myeongdong
• Takeout from Korean McDonalds
• Day 9 (2 posts) - Deoksugung Palace, Doldam-Gil, Tteokbokki Street, Cheonggyecheon Stream, King Sejong Underground Museum, Grill Street in Hongik, Coffee Prince Cafe
• The palace was a wonderful and quiet place where I met a generous old man. The Doldam-Gil is its walls.
• Don't go to the Tteokbokki Street but if you must, it is in this area.
• The King Sejong story is a very cool place.
• We went back at night to see the Cheonggyecheon Stream light up.
• Ate sinful Samgyeupsal in Hongik's Grill Street. My friend taught me how to grill the pork belly the Korean way. The street smelled super good.
• We walked to the Coffee Prince Cafe.
• Day 10 (2 posts) - Making Kimchi in a Korean Home, Korean Hospitality at its Best, Korean Grapes, Kimchi All-You-Can, The Peppero Story at the Supermarket, Ramen Eaten 3-Ways, Pojongmacha
• This was the best foodie experience of all.
• It rained that day and I was welcomed into a Korean home.
• I ate different types of kimchi, ramen and tteokpokki!
• Day 11 - Bossam Day, Incheon International Airport Activities
• My last food trip involved eating Bossam and Naengmyun!
• The Incheon International Airport is so cool. You won't get bored while waiting for your boarding time.

This was the trip that turned my life around. The biggest leap I took was when I chose to become a full-time travel blogger because I wanted to make more itineraries (and trips) and preserve this first one well in my memory. With this leap came an impromptu 2-week trip to Beijing, an invitation to revisit Baguio in 2 days, a 5-day non-stop marathon with CineEuropa, a 6-day solo trip to Iloilo for the Visayas Blogging Summit, a 4-day trip around General Santos, South Cotabato and Lake Sebu, an exclusive coverage of the Philippine Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, an all-expense paid 7-day Japan experience with Air Asia X (Tokyo and Osaka) and many more trips =) I am currently waiting for my December trip to Bali and Labuan Bajo with the Indonesian Tourism Board!

As I said, Traveling used to be something I would do to recharge and cool off from all the drowning office work. Today, I find meaning and stories wherever I go.

This is my second contribution to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers Blog Carnival. Guiltless Getaways is in Reiza's (of Wander If You Must) compilation of Leap of Faith: When Traveling Changed My Life stories from Travel Bloggers all over the Philippines. 

My first ever contribution to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers Blog Carnival was a 3D2N and 4D3N itinerary to El Nido, Palawan. Click here for other 3D2N Suggestions for destinations all over the Philippines from Eileen (of Possibly Pinay).

Click here to know more about the Pinoy Travel Bloggers Blog Carnival and the past Blog Carnival topics and link compilation: http://langyaw.com/pinoy-travel-bloggerss-blog-carnival/


Share in the comments: How about you, have you ever had a trip that turned your life around?  How do you prepare for your trips? Any tips you would like to add for the trip preparations? I would love to hear about your experiences and trips below!