DIY Travel Guide: Autumn in Korea

Since the pandemic started, and with Facebook's sharing my memories, it gives me a huge feeling of sadness because I can't travel anymore. Well, not only because there's still a strict restrictions but also because of fear of the virus. I was one of the survivors of the CoVid and with the symptoms and pains I have experienced, I never wanted to go back there again. So, for now I can only look back to all my travels and start writing my travels again.

 

Anyway, I'm not sure if this will help you now, since there's a lot of restrictions when traveling outside of the country, but hoping, someday it will.

 

Korea has been in my list to travel, but I told myself that I have to be financially ready when I visit. I thought traveling to Korea will be expensive and I have to have a lot of extra money just in case I see something I like, specially beauty products. This was changed when my  travel buddy found a cheap flight, and you know when it's a seat sale, you have to book now or you won't be able to get the same offer.

Jeju Air (Korean Local Airline) has a promo at that time and if you register as a member, you will have extra US$30.00 (international flight) and KRW10, 000.00 (domestic flight) discounts. So we booked, without even thinking about the visa processing and if we have enough budget for the trip. The ticket only cost us US$180.20 or Php9,299.00. That time, this is cheap already so we didn't think twice and just booked it.

It's cheaper than the other airlines, so don't expect a lot with their plane. Their service is good, but their plane is small and the seat is very uncomfortable. The AC is not working so it's kind of hot. They are not very strict with the luggage, it's like you can carry as much as you want as long as it's a carry on.

 

Check the latest fare here

 

Visa Processing

As soon as she clicked confirmed, I got worried and thought if what we did was right. And I found out the following day, my friend thought the same. Then we were told that it takes at least 7 working days for the visa processing, so we're really worried.

We only have exactly 7 working days before our departure and if we will not be approved then it's goodbye money for the airfare. We don't have time to go back and forth to the embassy to submit our application so we just used the traveling agency (if you need their contact details, send me an email) that service our company and paid personally. We paid a total of Php550.00 for the processing, cheaper than us filing a leave and go there to submit and pick-up the documents. Besides, we thought that it will be faster since they know people there already. Below is the time frame of our booking until the departure:

October 4, 2017, Wednesday - Booked the ticket
October 6, 2017, Friday- Submitted Visa Application to Travel Agent
October 10, 2017, Monday - Embassy's Holiday
October 11, 2017, Tuesday - Application Submitted to the Embassy
October 19, 2017, Thursday - Visa Approved/Received
October 20, 2017, Friday - Date of Departure

When we received our passport back with the approved visa, that's the only time that we get to relax. Even though we're not sure about the approval of our visa, I already finished our itinerary and we're ready to go.

 

We've been long realized that you don't need a fancy accommodation when traveling, only a comfortable and safe one. Oh and of course the location! We always prefer our accommodation to be near to at least one of the bus, or train stations and if it's close to 1 or 2 tourist spots then it's a plus! After a lot of searching and discussions with my friends, we agreed on booking with the Morning Sky Hotel, in Myeongdong via Agoda, since it's near one of the train stations. Not only that, Agoda has a 40% discount on the said hotel, so we did not wait any longer and book it. To know more about this hotel, please click here.

Korean currency compared to Philippine's seems really a lot, but wait until you buy something. KRW1.00  is equal to Php0.04539, so if you have like Php10,000.00 converted into Korean Won, it's 220,312. I was the treasury when we travel and we always have pot money for all the travels to avoid delays when paying for transportation or food. So the total amount we have during our travel is more than a million won!! We were millionares for a while lol!

We visited Korea during fall season so the weather is really cold, well at least for us since we don't have Winter or Fall season in the Philippines. It's only during December that it's gets cool in Manila and we grab that opportunity to wear our hoodie jackets. So, when we visited Korea, we need to dress fashionably, as if lol, with our hoddie/winter jackets and boots. Although, there are times that it really gets hot, specially if you are walking. When we arrived, it was 9 degrees celcius, and that's very cold for us already, but by the time we get to our first tourist destination the sun is up and gets hot, I had to take off my jacket.

Food...food...food...I'm sure you all know by now how good their food is. And

Korea's transportation, for me, is the most confusing to figure out compare to other countries I've been to. My friend said, it's best to walk outside, than take the train, because it's easy to figure out where and what you want to see while walking. You can also see a lot of things to see and do outside, while walking.

Anyway, to make sure we will not get lost, I did a lot of searching about their mode of transportation. I printed all the necessary maps, depending on where we will go. Prepare a very details instructions on what to take and and where to get out, but of course, we're still confused.