Annyeong Haseyo Yorobun! (Hello Everyone!)
Fresh off the memory before it fades, I wanna record down some of the observations and small experiences that I had during my most recent trip to Korea (Spring, April 2015) - Which I miss soooo much now.
Before I begin, this blog would be updated on Wednesdays, might not be weekly but new posts or interesting things will be up on my shop as well. So do check back on Wednesdays for updates!
Down with a persistent cough for the whole trip, it was still a pleasant one with so many invaluable experiences and sightings, so leggo:
Good:
Korean Fashion, nuff said. Everyone looked so aesthetically pleasing. Everywhere you look, you really get inspired. Everyone seems to not only put in effort in their dressing but also their hair and make up. Their whole look is so well put together. The only pity is that I did not record their outfits, maybe mental notes, but there will be some in my upcoming travel vlog.
Bad:
They are pretty rude to strangers. Read online beforehand how they people push others in the trains and in public. That cannot be anymore true. They are mostly polite only to people that they know, and i barely heard a single "Excuse Me" ("Silyehabnida") when people are going through crowds etc. Even when they knock into you, don't expect a sorry, cause they are not.
Good:
Food food food, Okay when I was there, I tried to eat as much Korean food as possible and it was a good thing we went in a group of 3. When we dined at Korean restaurants, we just had to order 2 set meals for 3 people. (Which cost us about 6,000 won - 10,000 won per set, roughly $7-12 per set). That is because, side dishes side dishes and more side dishes. Did i mention how they are refillable? It's impossible to feel having not enough to eat once you step into a restaurant in Korea. The best part is that different restaurant serves different side dishes, so we got to taste many different kinds, but most of them included pickles, raddish, kimchi and seaweed.
(Which I will be doing a travel guide on how we pick a good Korean restaurant in Korea.)
Bad:
You might get scammed by the Ahjummas. Hahah we got scammed for a bowl of tteokbokki at Gwang Jang Market. We ordered a bowl and wanted to pay, when we asked how much it was, the Ahjumma said 3000 won, and all the Koreans dining at the store looked up and looked at her with the "What??" face. Dammed. So yeah, lesson learn ask for the price first before ordering. I'm pretty sure a normal price to pay for tteokbokki should be about 2000 won in the less touristy areas.
Good:
Their train station have stalls, on the inside and on the outside! That was one of my favourite part. I mean their stations are not the shortest stations I have walked. The journey to change trains at the same station can be long with many flights of steps (Many do not have lifts, just a heads up.) The stalls mainly sell snacks, some clothing and accessories shops here and there. There is one stall called "RedEye" and it sells quite rad accessories at affordable prices (10,000 won = $12). And many of the stalls outside the station sells clothing at 5,000won ($6) or 10,000won ($12) etc. And of course, expect to see a lot of cosmetics shops like Missha, Nature Republic, the Face Shop etc.
Bad:
China Chinese tourists everywhere. I almost thought I was in China. Not that this is really a bad thing, but my mood felt a little dampen and with occasional annoyance when they are really loud in stores talking to their fellow countrymen shop assistants. (Hahaha what a surprise, the shop assistants are also from China, but they speak really fluent Korean and many other languages (Kudos), you would almost mistake them for Koreans - They are more polite as compared to the tourists) And when they travel, they are usually in big groups which jammed up many walkways and shop entrances, not funny when it is pouring outside and people are seeking shelter.
Good:
You will great skin at the end of the trip, or almost everyday there. Hahaha. That's because cosmetic and beauty shops are everywhere at every corner. Since it was Spring, the weather is really drying and my face and hands (that are exposed to the weather) are tight and uncomfortable. So I played customer and casually walk towards the hand cream and facial mist section while pretending to browse for other products, then bammmm! Spam (exaggeration) that lotion and mist. Instant relief I tell ya. But I usually end up buying a thing or 2 from the shop in the end. Lol.
Bad:
Tax refund at the airport is one of the worst thing you will encounter in Korea. I shall break it down so that you can understand all tourists frustration (regardless of nationality).
First you had to queue this ridiculously long queue with your luggages just to get your tax refund receipts stamped > Then you need to check in at your airline with your passports and stuff, but they would not check in your luggages, you will be asked to return to the tax refund office to get your receipts and luggage checked again and then go somewhere else to check in your luggage > Then you have to queue up again to scan your receipts and they will take your passports (so keep an eye on which hands your passport lands in and not the person holding the passport, cause they changed hands and we did not know about it) > Then you have to go through customs and get your bags and body scan etc and going to 3 different tax refund counters inside the departure hall. (Yes, 3 different counters, at 2 different gates) > Then you have to queue up and claim your refund. > $$$
Everyone in the queue was complaining. My guess is that they do this to deter people to claim the tax. So many people almost missed their flights due to the long procedure, they had to give up half way and this made many people angst.
So tip, do go really early if you intend to claim your tax, it took us about 1 and a half hours or slightly lesser to complete the whole procedure. We were really early for our flight (about 4 hours early), cause we had many admin things to do there.
Good:
Their train and bus system is almost the same as Singapore. You just need to buy this "T-money card" which card alone cost about 3,000 won ($4) and then you add in the value. The cost of the card is not refundable, and I would not really suggest you to refund the amount at the end of the trip as you would need to pay additional 500 won just to take the remaining amount out.. So might as well keep it for the next trip. Each train ride is 1050 won ($1.50), which deducts when you tap in - I might be inaccurate on this point. But the train stations are all very conveniently located with many exits that leads you to the main tourists destinations. Best part is that they have this neighborhood map located at every station. So if you have not done your research and do not wish to ask for directions, you don't really have to with the help of that map :)
Bad:
The train smells funny. Hahaha if I had to describe what the train smells like, there are variations. Also point to note, their trains are not uniform, seats and designs are always different which are interesting. Maybe it is because of newer and older models of trains. But one thing they have in common is that they smell pretty bad and stuffy. Oh, and yea they smell like the smell old people give off or urine, mildly. It's hard to describe, but we came to consensus during the trip, you need to smell it to believe it.
Good:
Majority of the Koreans are really friendly. We got "lost" a few times cause there are so many bends and their transportation system, although seems simple, but can be quite complicating. We asked for help not only from tourist information counters, police stations, shop assistants, strangers, some even came forward to help us when we appeared lost. (There was this really cute guy on the bus that came forward to help us, he spoke good English too. *melts*)
Bad:
Traffic. If you wanna rent a car in Seoul, I suggest not. Their cars are really cheap at about $20k - $70k when I asked. With no COE or whatsoever, explaining the bad congestion. It was not fun having to sit in a car/taxi when we could have taken the train which was much faster and direct way to get to our destination.
Good:
Last but not least, SAMPLES. Hehehe. As a typical Singaporean, samples are so my thing. We shamelessly ask for a little more. They usually do give 1-2 more when you have built a little rapport with the shop assistants or when you give a little Aegyo (Cuteness). LOL, I did it for the samples. The only reason why I went to such extremeness is because the samples that they give, especially when you purchase large amount of products, are of the premium products that they have in stores. Like all the snail-product samples, ginseng stuff, argan oil, bb/cc cream. And honestly, samples are a life saver for travelers and for people like me who take forever to finish a bottle of product and wants to try variety.
(Hahaha so not my style)
Hopefully I gave some helpful pointers for anyone visiting Korea soon. You'll do good, and have lots of fun there, just bring a little bit more money. Korea felt like the Asian version of America.
The only regrets that i have would be not buying so many things that I wanted to (because I keep telling myself, I will see it again, even better than the previous one. And I never saw it again. *Tears in eyes*), eating a few traditional Korean food that I just could not find and not being able to go to a Jimjibang. The information above are purely based on my experiences and observations. Do let me know how your trip was like to Korea! Leave me a comment below or on my social media sites like at Instagram @SingingSpikes. Would love to hear different views and experience for my next trip.
Wrapping it up, I will be doing Travel Guides to Korea in parts and group them according to places to help you plan your trips easily. Till the next post, up on Wednesdays, love yourself and others!
(Forever hearts, Lee Jong Suk)
x Sharleen.
No comments:
Post a Comment