You
have money to book a flight, but the problem is you do not have enough vacation
leaves to take a few days off from work? Or because school days won’t allow you
to? Or just because weekday travels are not for you? Well, let me share... it
is possible to tour South Korea on a weekend! Yes, you read it right,
weekend – not even “long weekend”, rather a 2-full-day trip!!!
Just a side story on how we planned this “unplanned” trip:
I and my fiancé booked roundtrip SG-MNL tickets for 4 days
mid-2015 as we had to attend a friend’s wedding in April 2016... Fast forward to early this year, we thought of
applying for a South Korean visa in January just because we liked it – for the
sake of having an SK sticker visa in our passports. Hahaha :) However, when we successfully
got our visa sticker stamps, the thought of “sayang” crossed our minds!
Initially, we were just laughing and joking about it but next thing I know,
we’re already booked! We were able to squeeze it in our schedule in Manila.
Okay,
so the cheapest flight we found was Jeju Air (235USD / 11066.03PHP*) booking it
roughly 2 months away from the trip itself. I guess this was a fair price
considering it wasn’t a promo fare. The itinerary leaves MNL to ICN 11:55PM of
April 08, 2016 and returns 07:35PM of April 10, 2016. Both are local time with
3 hours flying time. These times constitute two full days in Korea.
FIRST DAY
We
landed safely and on time in Incheon International Airport at almost 5AM local
time. I had to change clothes and wash my face because I was still dressed-up
and had my full-make-up on from the wedding event. Good thing there was a
dressing and comfort room near the belt area!
To
start our adventure, we bought AREX-Express tickets (Airport Railroad Express) to
get us to the city. The next earliest available time when we got there was
6:30AM so we’re lucky that my plan was working. It’s a 43 minute ride to Seoul
Station. One way ticket is 8,000 WON / 331 PHP*.
TIP #1: You can
get tickets via machine or information counter. We opted to get ours in the
counter because it saves time. Alll our answers regarding time and other stuff
has been answered right away by a person.
TIP #2: First
train from ICN departs at 05:20AM so you can book an earlier flight and actually
start your day very early J
As soon as we arrive, we grabbed breakfast at Mcdonalds – and since I didn’t expect Seoul
Station to be really huge, we roamed around the area first. We still have some time before the actual tour started.
TIP #1: There are
luggage lockers around the station so if you have heavy backpacks, you can
leave them while waiting for your check in time at your chosen hotel/hostel/guesthouse.
TIP #2: Always ask
if you don’t know where to go. We were lost while wandering Seoul Station.
Remember that this station connects to other 2 subway stations. And seriously, it is like a mall disguising as a station. Hahaha!
TIP #3: So yeah, you can actually do some shopping and food trip here! You can already buy your pasalubongs at Lotte World. :D
I basically planned that we could have the hop-on hop-off bus (HOHO bus) / Seoul Tiger
Tour Bus on our first day because it stops in all tourist stations for the
whole day. Just what we needed due to time constraint! 1-day pass access costs
12,000 WON / 497.23 PHP*. Note that this is from 9am to 6am only.
TIP #1: You can
check the timing and stations online. More information here: http://en.seoulcitybus.com/
TIP #2: We chose
Seoul Station as our first stop mainly because this is the station where AREX
stops.
TIP #3: You can
buy the Seoul Tour Bus tickets at the station itself (Seoul). Just ask the driver and
pay cash.
TIP #4: The Seoul
Tour Bus has audio guide so if you wanna learn, just take those headphones on.
The bus driver also announces the stations so as to guide where you at. There
are also maps displayed inside, though.
TIP #5: For every
station, there is a timing guide placed in a post. You may check it to save time.
The
following tourist stops are the ones we were able to accomplish J
1.
Namsangol Hanok Village
2.
N Seoul Tower / Namsan Tower
3.
Changgyeonggung Palace
4.
Changdeokgung Palace
5.
Cheongwadae
6.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
7.
The National Folk Museum of Korea
8.
The National Museum of Contemporary Art
Note
that this includes a lot of walking!!! So better be prepared. J
TIP #1: We bought
a combination ticket for the palace visit. You will save money if you intend to
check on the 5 palaces. This cost 10,000 WON / 414.36 PHP*.
TIP #2: AGAIN: Always
check the timings posted for each station so you will know how much time you can
spend for each stop.
TIP #3: The Gyeongbokgung
Palace, The National Folk Museum of Korea, The National Museum of Contemporary
Art are in one stop – so one stop can take you to places. Just walk and walk
and walk.
TIP #4: If you
really want to put up a love lock in Namsan Tower, better bring one before your
trip! The locks being sold in the area are outrageously expensive. I think we bought ours for 8,000 WON. I couldn't remember exactly but my fiance just wanted me to be happy. Hahaha!
Photos
follow!
 |
| Cherry blossoms! |
We
decided to check-in at the hostel before going to Myeongdong. Name of the
hostel is 24 hour Guesthouse. I believe this was the cheapest hostel I got from
booking.com which is super close to Seoul Station. It’s actually a 5-minute
walk from the subway entrance. The room has two-single beds, has access cards, basic
toiletries, free breakfast. The receptionist had a difficulty speaking in
English but he was generous enough to lend us sockets. The hostel costs us
72000 WON / 2983.39 PHP* for two pax.
TIP #1: I always
search for a hostel/guesthouse near a subway station. It saves time and money
too.
TIP #2: When
choosing for a place to stay in, my simple rules are: 1) it doesn’t matter if
it’s small, I will just sleep there anyway. I will be out the whole day. 2) I don’t
share the room with strangers 3) there is a comfort room inside – doesn’t
matter if they offer free toiletries or not (NOTE: I’d rather spent a few more bucks than worry
at night)
TIP #3: Before
booking a hostel, always read reviews! Tripadvisor, inhouse booking.com and
agoda reviews are out there. It will help you choose the right place.
Since
the tour bus wasn’t valid anymore as it’s already 8PM, we took the subway to
Myeongdong. What more can I say when we got there? I love Myeongdong!!! Gahd,
food junkies and shopaholics will surely enjoy this place!
 |
| MRT ticket |
Foodtrip!!!!
And shopping!!!
 |
| Face shop hihihi |
SECOND DAY
Our
second day was planned to visit Gapyeong – an area that is quite far from
Seoul. It’s more than an hour travel from Yongsan subway station. In Gapyeong, we were
able to visit two places: Nami Island and Petite France. I wanted to visit
Garden of the Morning Calm but it was too late already.
Yongsan
to Gapyeong via ITX train costs 9,600 WON / 397.78 PHP*. When we reached
Gapyeong, we bought the HOHO bus ticket that would tour us around the area.
This includes the places we’d like to visit and cost us 5,000 WON / 207.18
PHP*.
TIP #1: During our
first day, we already bought tickets going to Gapyeong in advance while we were at Seoul Station. I recommend
you to do the same because tickets are selling fast! You might not be able to
get your desired time if you book on the day itself.
TIP #2: There are
different ways to go to Gapyeong. One of which is riding ITX from Yongsan
Station. It is one station away from Seoul Station via metro subway. So, our
pick on where to stay in is really a good choice – saves time and money!
TIP #3: Make sure
you are on the correct platform when riding the ITX train!
TIP #4: And if you are
on the correct platform, make sure that you will hop on the correct train –
this is primarily because other trains also depart on the same platform.
TIP #5: When in
Gapyeaong, beware of taxi drivers who offer rides around the area. They will
cost you a lot! I heard that one-way to Nami Island alone is 4,000 WON
(compared to HOHO bus which is 5,000 WON). This is only a one-way price, how
about going to Petite France and returning back?
 |
| Timing of Gapyeong tour bus and its corresponding stations |
Nami
Island / Namiseom Island
The
half-moon shaped island is a popular destination because this where Korean TV series Winter
Sonata took some scenes for the show. Entrance fee is 8,000 WON / 331.49 PHP*
which includes the two-way ferry ticket to the island.
Petite
France
A
place mirroring what France looks like. Entrance fee is 8,000 WON / 331.49
PHP*. Honestly, I am not convinced with what I see here! Hahaha!
Here’s
the summary of my expenses:
Expenses
|
Per
person
|
Two-way
ticket MNL-ICN-MNL
|
11,066.03
|
1-night
stay in a hostel
|
1,491.70
|
AREX
two-way ticket (Express)
|
662.97
|
Seoul
Tour Bus (HOHO)
|
497.23
|
Ticket
for the Integrated Palaces
|
414.36
|
ITX
to Gapyeong two way ticket
|
397.78
|
Gapyeong
Tour Bus (HOHO)
|
207.18
|
Nami
Island entrance fee
|
331.49
|
Petite
France entrance fee
|
331.49
|
Food,
shopping, pasalubong, etc (estimate only)
|
3,000.00
|
TOTAL
|
18,400.23
|
*all FX are converted though http://themoneyconverter.com/KRW/PHP.aspx
*Your total expense would probably be lessened depending on your food and shopping budget. The flight is also a big cut if you book waaaay before the intended date.
I
might be putting up a short blog detailing our Seoul escapade and Gapyeong
adventure separately – that’s next time! :)
If
you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment!
Cheers!
Cha
