#you can have the most simple building btw with literally no ornaments and that's okay too

[deeplovelydark]

that's what churches should look like!!!!!!!!

[heyligaya]

MY KOREA 2019 ITINERARY

Okay. I decided to make (write) this guide that might help someone out there planning to go to Korea. I'm going to make this guide the one I wished I read when I was fixing our itinerary so let’s go to what needs to be done after booking your ticket.

Honestly, it’s just simple guideline any traveler I think already knows but just in case.

Check the weather. I am a freak when it comes to packing. There is no such thing as PACK LIGHT. Homegurl needs options okay?? So I always check if what I'm going to bring will fit the current weather. Ask yourself, “do I need extra baggage allowance?” If personal baggage isn’t enough am I right? Haha.. hahaaa...haaa. But do consider this once you booked your flight. In my case, I added baggage allowance AFTER we booked the ticket since I figured “teka, pasalubongs will be extraaaa on this trip so better come prepared”

RESEARCH. Yeah yeah I know it can be a burden making those itineraries but honey, if you can stalk your ex-boyfriend for a week, you can search some good activities to do on your trip too! So get your stalking skills in work! In my case, my priority was PROXIMITY and BUDGET but will discuss that later. Make sure to change your peso bills to dolla dolla bills yo! It’s better to change the currency in Incheon Airport from dollar to Won than in any place outside the airport so better get those dollars before your flight.

Keep at least ₱2000 with you on your departure day. Why you ask? Two words. TRAVEL TAX. I learned this the hard way. I thought all was paid upon booking the ticket but Cebu Pac be like “Sis no! Better get that money for this countryyy” so yeah. You can actually pay Travel Tax upon booking but I didn’t know that. ₱1640  per person for travel tax. SHAKS ANG MAHAL DIBA? But it’s mandatory so...

Bring your own light snacks. My family ain’t playin. Once the plane took off, they started grabbing their hopia, crackers, and chips and people hear them crunch through and I'm so proud! Not paying 150 for a cheese cupcake okay? No. So bring your own.

If you’re planning to go to Korea, here are a few of my recommendations to purchase:

KLOOK Nami Island + Le Petit France. = It costs (₱1689 per pax) and it’s actually quite sulit for the whole experience.

KLOOK Discovery Pass = This is probably one of the most worth it purchase we had. 35 sightseeing privileges for free for only ₱2222 per person! COME ON! I actually calculated the number of entrance fees of the places we want to go to versus the amount of DP and yup! I definitely saved A LOT from that.

KLOOK UNLIMITED WIFI = Okay! I mean there were a lot of 4G internet that you can purchase here in PH already but with my pro-research skills, I found out that you can actually rent wifi that you can redeem in Incheon Airport upon arrival.(��575 for 5 days) I purchased the 5-day free wifi. Para connected tayo diba?

If you are going to purchase, make sure to take note what terminal in Incheon you will depart since there are several choices where you can pick them up. Also, align your time of departure. Not all kiosks are 24hrs so if you’ll arrive beyond 9pm, choose the kiosk that has 24hrs running time for you to claim your rentals and passes.

If you booked your ticket with a late arrival LIKE ME (10:25pm but settled all the claims and reloads of T-Money at around 1:00am), your only choice is the NIGHT BUS. (see pic below for the airport bus schedules)

If however, you have a normal time of booking which reaches within the time where AREX is still going then I HIGHLY recommend using the AREX for ₩9000.

We took the N6001 bus which will drop us at Seoul Station.

Let us start.

So my itinerary wasn’t your typical one. I had the places as my priority so when I made this one, I made sure that I can utilize the location as much as possible. I researched all the places I can visit near

Myeongdong

Insadong

Ewha Woman’s University

Okay. So It might sound boring when I only mentioned three BUT do imply that these 3 have an abundance of tourists spots where either I can just walk or a 9min subway ride.

OUR LOCATION: We rented an Airbnb in Jungnim-ro.

(https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/214545347)

That is literally 7 mins away from Seoul Station subway which was HIGHLY convenient for us since we used the subway. ONLY subway (psh if I’ll rant about how many time I’ve been conned in my first time in KR, it’s gonna be to long) so I’ll attach my host’s details and if you want to rent her place WHICH IS SUPER DUPER NEAT BTW and we’re located near police station so the place is 100% safe so if you want to rent, you may do so. And one more thing, they have a youtube directional instruction on how you’ll be able to go to the main building of the house. LUV THAT! <3

PS: My Itinerary is made for my mum and aunt where they can explore but also minimize the stress of walking coz they’re old but STILL I made sure to expand the place I can explore as much as I can.

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Day 1.

Namsan Tower/Myeongdong

Disclaimer: Don’t judge! I know we only went to two destinations for Day 1 but I consider the fact that I'm with my mum who’s a senior citizen and we haven’t slept yet 😳 so I decided to shorten our destinations to visit for Day 1 so she can rest in the afternoon

Discover Pass can be used as T-Money (like beep card here in PH) so I suggest to load at least ₩30,000 for subway purposes.

Subway ride costs ₩1,2000 FIXED.

N SEOUOL TOWER

NAMSAN PARK

LOVE LOCK LANE

MYEONGDONG

Namsan Cable Car opens at 10:30. I specifically picked the daytime tour since Im with my mum and aunt and the would pretty much appreciate pictures in light BUT I highly suggest visiting Namsan Tower at night. The City lights is AMAZING.

Namsan Entrance fee is around ₩3000. You can choose if you want the one-way ride or the round trip. CAREFUL! The payment for the Cable car is different from the Namsan Tower Entrance. We have to pay for the cable car but have the Entrance fee for free in Namsan tower because of the Discover Pass (YASSSSSS)

You’ll find Love Lock Lane amazing scenery! If you get hungry, you can take the roundtrip cable car and just go back to Myeongdong and explore all the food!

PS : Okay, Korea has a few restaurants that offer “solo” on their menu. It’s always, MINIMUM of two orders. Doesn’t matter how many you guys are, the menu will always be a minimum of two. Example: Samgyupsal is around ₩23,000 so multiply by two, that’s ₩46,000 but I guarantee that it will feed 4 people. If you’re with more than four people who will accompany you, make sure to bring enough money for food. BECAUSE IT’S SOOOOOOOOO FLIPPIN’ GOOD!!

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Day 2

LE PETIT FRANCE + NAMI ISLAND

DONGDAEMUN

Le Petit France + Nami Island will take your WHOLE day. We departed at around 9am at the meeting place (Myeondong Station Exit 3) which is just where we dropped off for Namsan Tower and got back at around 5pm in the afternoon.

Nami is known for their DAKGALBI which is grilled chicken or Spicy chicken. Again, a minimum of two orders. There’s this place where we ate Dakgalbi two years ago and luckily, it’s still there when we visited and decided to eat there. I don’t remember the place BUT It’s in front of the Bus Parking space. It’s the only one there so I definitely suggest that place. Try their Buckwheat cold noodles too. IT’S THE BEST!

Dongdaemun for me was THE. BEST. ONE. YET!

So upon departure, the tour bus will give you instructions on where you can drop off. We had our meet up at Myeongdong and just our luck, the tour guide informed us that Dongdaemun station will be one of the drop off stations for those who want to explore the place WHICH WE DID. The drop off area was just at the gate of Dongdaemun so there’s not much walking needed. One thing you need to know is that it’s a very tricky place. It’s like a maze. A lot going up (not stairs) but the place was worth it. We went just before sunset but didn’t manage to experience the place at night. So I suggest you visit Dongdaemun at night too because the whole place is lit with lights and you’ll probably appreciate the structure more.

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DAY 3

GYEOUNGBUKGONG PALACE

NATIONAL FOLK MUSEUM OF KOREA

INSADONG

MYEONGDONG

I originally planned the Palace tour for 2 Palace visit BUT I underestimated Gyeoungbukgong palace. THAT PLACE IS TOO BIG for a day visit. I was telling myself there is NO way a Prince or Emperor could finish morning walk AROUND that palace coz it’s so big! So we only managed to visit Gyeoungbukgong Palace.

TRIVIA : It’s the biggest palace in the country AND many K-drama set place in G.Palace. An example would be Goblin.

National Folk Museum was actually INSIDE/BESIDE G.Palace and it’s free! We went there knowing they have CHAIRS coz our feet went bonkers after all that walking around the palace but we never knew how beautiful the museum was inside! All the history and ornaments and even old traditions were there.

INSADONG was probably one of my most awaited place to visit. Two years ago, Insadong was our last destination so we kinda rushed our visit here so this year I decided to take my time and really enjoy the place (so I didn’t really have that many pictures). Insadong is just a WALK away from G.Palace so it was pretty convenient. Insadong was a place for souvenir shopping. Literally, ALL kinds of stuff and magnets are there at such cheap prices. My mum hoarded A LOT of ‘em. Also, Insadong is where some of their traditional dishes are sold. I tried a honey thread-like candy (am so sorry I can’t remember the name of the stall) which for me was the highlight of my visit there. They have a public show of how they make these candies and also they know how to speak Filipino which is super cool. So if you’re going to buy souvenirs, I recommend Insadong. There’s a subway station direct to Insadong BUT it’s Jongno Station.

MYEONGDONG

This is probably the most mainstream place for tourists but I DO LOVE ME SOME GOOD FOOD. Cheap skin care products and awesome food!

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LAST DAY

We kinda rushed this day since our flight is scheduled that night but managed to still go ONE. MY. MOST. FAVORITE. PLACE.

EHWA WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY

I'm a sucker for good architecture and this place is mindblowing. Instagramable! Snapchat worthy! Photo walk legend!

The good thing about EHWA is they have a subway station for it. Literally EHWA University Station and just outside the station exit are stores filled with coffee shops and boutiques and my favorite, ARTBOX which is a store of tumblers and iphone cases and cute college bags and pens and notebooks and my heart JUSSSSST mmf! Paris Baguette is a very well known bakery in Korea and we just happened to pass by one at EHWA since we haven’t had any breakfast or lunch yet and let me tell you, BAKERIES IN KOREA ARE LEGIT. BEST ONES! Coffee in EHWA is different in Myeongdong. It’s like specially catered for students. It’s so goooood! Goblin also had kdrama shoots in EHWA so I was a little excited to see some of their buildings.

PS: EHWA doesn’t have entrance fee BUT you can only take pictures at the famous stairs but you can’t go further inside unless you’re a student.

AND THAT WAS THAT.

For our departure, we used the free ride of AREX that comes with Discover Pass. Price of AREX was mention earlier. It’s a 30 min. ride so you have to make sure you have enough time before your flight. ALWAYS BE IN ADVANCE.

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HERE ARE SOME OF MY TIPS:

Upload these apps! It’s definitely A MUST! This 3 apps made my life easier as a first-time subway user.

SUBWAY app helps you with the subway stations. It look intimidating at first because of the loops and colors but I tell you, it’s really easy! Im bad with directions and I understood the subway stations so much faster because of this.

KOREA TRANSIT GUIDE will help you with transfers and time. Your destinations may have a direct subway station but doesn’t mean you are connected to just one line. It’s like here in PH, there are instances where you need to transfer from LRT to MRT to get to your destination. It’s the same with Korea Subway BUT what’s good in Korea Subway is that transfers are all in one place. If you are going to transfer stations, there’s directions and instructional signs right when you drop off to point you to where you’re going. It’s so easy! Then you can use SUBWAY app to check the color of the subway transfer. As you can see, there are several color codes on each Subway lines. This app will also give you what BUS number you can take or if it’s possible to walk instead.

I posted a picture where you can see color codes in subway suggestions. Seoul Station (blue) to City Hall (green) then you can check in SUBWAY app the color code if it’s correct and to familiarize you with the station names you’ll encounter.

DISCOVERY PASS app IS A MUST if you’re going to avail one. You need to register your app so you can check the remaining balance of your Discovery Pass. You can also use it as T-Money for subways. I loaded ₩30,000 and I used it fully.

Bring good walking slippers (depending on what season you’ll go). Comfortable shoes goes a looong way but it’s good to have spare walking slippers just in case

Buy 110 plugs here in PH. Sockets in Korea is different so be prepared to have at least 2 or 3 for your chargers.

Bring clear packaging tapes. If you’re going to buy liquid skin care, make sure to put a seal because you don’t want your expensive skin care bottles to explode inside your luggage so better be ready that regret after.

POWERBANK POWERBANK POWERBANK. Never forget!

Korea is filled with PUBLIC wifi. So if you’re lost and didn’t avail the pocket WIFI they have at Klook, you can just go to a near coffee shop and have their free wifi just outside.

FOOD IS A MUST. I know you have your skin care list ready but don’t be thrifty when it comes to their good food. COZ IT’S GOOD! TOO GOOD!

Bring your own towel. We are used to big towels. Towels that can cover and dry your body. However, in Korea, they prefer a smaller towel. Like…..bimpo type of towel. It takes us 5 towels just to dry us up. They do give an abundance of small towels but come on! I need to be dried up in one swoop okay? So just bring your own.

AND THAT’S THAT! Hope this LOOOONG itinerary helps people one way or another.