Inspiring Korea ~ Travel tips for first time traveller

For first time visitor, you might be worried about your journey like I did.  Before you embark on your trip, there are a few things you need to take note. Here I listed out some travel tips and useful information based on my travel experience in Korea. 

• As a Malaysian, we do not need a visa to travel to Korea as a tourist for a trip duration of up to 90 days.
• South Korea is 1 hour ahead of Malaysia.
• Currency in Korea is Won (KRW) which is denominated in 1000, 5000, 10000, and 50000 bills. 1000KRW = RM2.80 (depending on Forex). If you have smart phone, download the currency convertor in the Apple's App Store or Android's Google Play . It is really useful. A simple way to do the maths is to remove the last three zero digits and then multiply it by 3. For example, 5000 won would be equivalent to 5 x 3 = RM15. 
• Visa , MasterCard, American Express are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and department stores. 
• T- money is widely use in korea as a transportation card like Octopus card in Hongkong, Oyster card in London , or Ezlink in Singapore. You can even make purchase in some convenience stores which display the T-money logo (e.g. Family mart, GS 25 etc.). By using T-money, you will be entitled to discounts for your transportation fee. You can of course recharge and refund the T-money card. 

• Korea Pass is a prepaid travel card for foreign travelers to pay for accommodation, transportation, tourist attraction entrance fee and to do shopping in Korea. With this card, we managed to get discounts for entrance fee in most of the tourist attractions. It is highly recommend to get one if you want to save money.

• Subway in Seoul is very convenient and tourist friendly. It is the easiest way to travel in Seoul. You can learn more about subway at this link: subway info.  If you think it's complicated to figure out the route, simply check your route in this interactive Seoul Cyber Station Map. Simply click on your Departure Station, followed by your Arrival Station, and the Cyber Station will show you the train schedule, quickest route, transfer points, and fare information. For those using smart phone, you may try Jihachul or Metroid from the App Store. 
• Buses can be more complicated to use compared to subway because the bus route maps are not always in English. English translation is only available at some major stations. Moreover, you need to be more careful to alight at the correct station. Before reaching the station, you have to press the bell to signal the bus driver as the bus will not stop at every bus stop. Please don't try to count the number of bus stop according to the route map, you may miss the bus stop. For more details, please refer here: Seoul bus info.
• Many of the Seoul subway lines are equipped with paid lockers. Small locker costs 2000Won while a large one costs 3000won for a 24-hour storage . 
• Non-Korean speakers can make inquiries and reservations for the international taxis by calling the exclusive call center (+82-1644-2255). The service is available in English and Japanese, and lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (Source:  KTO website).
• Kindly ask the hotel front desk to write down all your destinations of the day in English and Korean. It's easier for you to ask for direction or to show to the taxi driver.
• A tip to ask for direction: you may want to try to approach the younger generation. The chances that they speak English is higher. Otherwise, show them the map to ask for direction in body language. 
• Rent a local mobile phone to avoid hassle. Otherwise, you may need to pay for the hefty global roaming bills after your trip. You can reserve it via internet before your trip and collect it at the airport. Just follow the steps given in this link. 
• The standard voltage in Korea is 220 volts. The outlet has two round holes and is the same type used in France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Turkey, and many other countries. Thus,  for Malaysian, you need to bring along a travel universal adapter.

Thanks to KTO for the thoughtful gift :)

Seoul Fun~ Day5 @ Trickeye Museum

Last day in Korea! We were determined to fully utilize our time in Seoul. Before heading to the airport, we visit a unique tourist spot - Trickeye Museum. Trickeye Museum is an awesome paint museum with optical illusions. It's not that big likes a typical museum but it has many to offer! A picture says a thousand words, enjoy!

We don't need to carry our luggage in the museum. What we did is to rent a locker next to the ticketing counter for 500KRW. Don't worry about your luggage size, if your luggage is bigger than the locker, the friendly staff will help you to keep it in the store room. A very good service, thumb up!

Beautiful locker with Santorini theme. LOVE ~~~

The map of the museum. Simply creative :)

Inside the museum, there are mirages everywhere! Try your best for a creative posting on every illusion paint. There is no room for feeling embarrassed as everyone is doing the same thing there ;P

Opps!!!MOney dropping from the paint!

Giant and dwaft :D 

 Besides the paint, there are some photo tips for you as reference so that you could take perfect photos. Anyway, it's good to be creative than following :P

OMG! Where's my body? 

Greedy Korea Tourism Cultural Expert :D

Be creative! Paper bags, apron, paper can be a kind of fashion :D Do have a try!

The main hall was decorated with Santorini theme.  Everything is so lively and radiant.  

Oops, where did the two legs come from??? arrrhhhhhh!!!! help!!!

 There is a special room for Greek mythology. You can put on ancient Greek clothes and weapons. 

To makes things fun, trickeye museum were giving out prizes for treasure hunting games. You have to find the answer on the treasure map provided by visiting the museum. Great fun :) We manage to find all!

Yee Pei got a Santorini postcard as her prize. 

And i get this! Sweets from Korea :) Not bad right? 

In the main hall, there is a Santorini cafe for beverages and cakes. I love the green tea latte very much! 

The museum sells postcards as well. You can write on the spot and post it here. 

Our "special mission" journey to Korea ended wonderfully in this lovely place. It's definitely a great choice as we both love it SO MUCH!

To KTO KL, Thanks again for the great experience you offer!

To my travel partner Yee Pei, thanks for teaching me so many tips and tricks throughout the trip. I learned a lot from you. Great job! KTO must be proud to have you as their staff  *^.^*

Korea, I will miss you and for sure I will visit you again in near future. 

hmm....Honeymoon destination maybe? :P 

(Hope my husband read this post XD)

Bye Korea! Till we meet again!

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Travel info: 

Trickeye Museum

Admission fee: 13,000KRW(Adults) 

Operating hours: 10.00am - 10.00pm (Open all year round)

Transportation: 

From Exit #9 of  Hongdae Station (Subway Line 2), walk straight for 200m towards Starbucks.With Starbucks on your left, look across the street. There is an alley and Trickeye Museum is about 100m on the right. 

SeoulFun～Day4 @ Insadong & Dongdamun

Last night in Korea, we wish to have the best stay. Thus, we went to BENIKEA Hotel Acacia. BENIKEA means "best night" in Korean. Only those hotels that can meet the high evaluation criteria can attain the membership of BENIKEA. The participants of BENIKEA hotels offer clean, comfortable and relaxing facilities at affordable price. Room rate is at the average of below KRW 100,000 with guaranteed superb quality from KTO :) Great deal right? We had made an excellent choice ^.^

Upon arrival, we were served by the very friendly hotel staff who can speak decent English.  The lobby is equipped with computers and printers for guests.

Both of us were extremely excited when we saw the Santorini photo on the wall. This is our dream destination!!We loved the room so much! The room was comfy and luxurious with just little money spent :)

BENIKEA hotel Acacia is located strategically near Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Namdaemun and Gwanghwamun which are among the popular shopping districts in Seoul. We planned to have a crazy  midnight shopping at Dongdaemun to spend all our Korean Won as it was the last night in Korea. hohoho!

After a short nap in the cozy hotel, we headed to a famous tourist spot, Insadong. Insadong is one of the  memorable attraction in Seoul that represents Korea traditional culture and craft. Many tiny shops that sells a variety of Korean-made products can be found here. There were many alleys on the both side Insadong main road, full of galleries, traditional restaurants, tea houses and cafes. 

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Upon arrival, we were welcomed by a traditional live music and dance performance. The performance was nice, but I was attracted by the old folks dancing near the stage. I enjoyed watching them, feeling a peacefu atmosphere :)

Insadong is lined with a lot of roadside stalls as well. Keep an eye on every stall! Especially girls! You will like it! *^.^*

I felt in love with every single corner and alley in Insadong. They are so artistic and charming!

The Starbucks signboard in Korean! :)

Shrek in the house!! Spot him? XD 

We tried Hotteok, Korean pancake filled with brown sugar and peanut. Yee Pei told me that this is among the most popular street food in Korea. Consume it quickly, it was so tasty while still hot. 

What you can't miss in Insadong is a nice chit chat in an exquisite tea house or cafe. It's a MUST! You will love it! We ordered patbingsu with omija tea and rice cake snacks. It was my first tryon Omija tea (five flavor tea) and I love it! A little bit sour, sweet, salty ;)

OSULLOC Tea house. You can test fresh green tea prepared by the tea master for free :) 

A very unique signboard for the information counter in Insadong.

Last shopping night in Korea, we promised ourselves it would be a crazy one! Dongdaemun, Korea's largest wholesale and shopping district - here we come! Dongdaemun consists of 26 shopping malls, 30000 shops, and 50000 manufacturers. It's definitely a shopping paradise for EVERYONE! You can shop even after midnight in most of the shopping malls until 5am. Wow! Shopaholic anyone???  

The street was crowded with foreigners and locals as they bargained for high quality goods at affordable price here. 

The street overflow with street food too. We had our dinner here to save more time for shopping. You know, nothing is more important than shopping for girls :P

After your crazy shopping, do remember to ask for a tax refund form from the tax free counter. Fill in your particular and get the cash refund in the Global Tax Free counter in the airport. Simple steps as shown below :)

With that, we ended a fruitful midnight shopping ^.^ 

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Travel info: 

Insadong

Free admission

Operating hours: 10.00am - (closing time varies with each stalls)

Dongdaemun
Free admission
Operating hours [shopping malls] : 10am-5am (next day)

                      

Transportation:

Insadong

[Subway]

*Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 6.
Go 100m straight, then turn left.


OR

*Jonggak Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 3.
Go straight 300m, and turn left at the 4-way Intersection.
Go straight 100m, and take the left road towards Insadong-gil Road.

[Bus]
*Take any bus bound for Jongno 2-ga or Jongno Police Station.

Jongno 2-ga: 101, 103, 143, 150, 160, 201, 260, 262, 270, 271, 273, 370, 408, 470,
471, 601, 708, 710, 720, 721
Jongno Police Station: 109, 151, 162, 171, 172, 272, 601, 708

Dongdaemun

[Subway] 
Dondaemun station (Seoul subway Line 1,4) Exit 8 or 9


~Map courtesy of KTO Website ~

Travel tips: 

1. If you have time, do stroll down the Insadong alleys, many surprises awaits you.  Worth spending time  
    there as you can get many special items :)

2. Try Hotteok!(Korean pancake) eat it when it's hot.
3. Have an afternoon tea break in any of the tea house or cafe, feel so good!
4. Experience midnight shopping in Dongdaemun :) Most of the shopping malls open till 5am. 
5. Rent a hotel that is within walking distance to Dongdaemun. Then you will have no worries on your 
    midnight transportation after shopping. 

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*Click here for travel highlight of Insadong.

*Click here for travel highlight of Dongdaemun.