Korea

wedding9999

New Member
Hi,

Juz finding out anyone heard of Wingo Travel ?

Anyone had travelled with Wingo b4 or recently?

Care to share yr experience ?

Anyone went to Korea with Wingo b4 ?

Thks !
 


noscon

New Member
hi

anyone F&E in korea before? Can share whether it is difficult or very expensive?

Or anyone extend on their way after package trip?

Thanks
 

cheekybee

New Member
Hi noscon...i F & E korea for my honeymoon...all the way for 11 days!
happy.gif


Hi ling...depends whether you want to shop till you drop..hee...
 

noscon

New Member
cheekybee

can u share with me the good places to go? how did u survive the language barrier? hows the place and pple there?
happy.gif
 

xiaomao

New Member
Hi,

For those who went to Korea by tour group, did the tour guide bring you all to the Korea ginseng shop in Seoul called '韓國高麗人åƒ'? I need to get the address of this shop urgently and also any idea whether this shop has any website? I heard it is owned by the Korea govt.
 

hapict

New Member
i just came bk fm korea end june. exchange rate is 750 KRW to 1 SGD. gd weather, gd varieties of shopping, gd scenery. unfortunately ppl there duno english. i personally feel they are also rude. while browsing thru racks for not more than 2 mins, i got chased out of a shop in jeju by an auntie shopkeeper who preferred to paint her toenails...things are expensive there too.
 

noscon

New Member
hi

i just got a f&e package to seoul in the natas fair too... got to learn a bit of korean to travel on our own but well, we are not keen to go many places in korea so its ok.... but its the first time i saw fne package to korea from hongthai...
 

eugo

New Member
Hi noscon,

I have been to Seoul F&E. Its was fun. You can try the street foods... very nice.
Actually language is not a barrier.. For e.g. If you order your meal from the FoodCourt, there will be a cashier counter for you to order the food. At that counter, there is a menu for you to choose the items.. beside those items there are no. assigned to them... you can write down the item no. and the cashier staff will key in the item for you.

If you wanna ask for direction, you can ask those youngsters or pple in their mid-twenties or thirties... these group of pple know abit of english and some of them are good at it.

You can try to commute by subway (mrt). Every station there will have english annoucement. You can pick up a map / subway lines map from Korea tourism board / Tourist information counter.
 

noscon

New Member
thanks EuGo...... Can we bargain a lot at Dongdaemun? Where did you stay? What attractions do you think are worth visiting during F&E?
thanks for sharing
 

eugo

New Member
Hi noscon,

You can try.. but normally i dun buy at Dongdaemun... I bought my stuffs at Myeongdong...

I would recommend you to go to Myeongdong for shopping... Then you can go to N Seoul Tower, you can see this tower from Myeongdong.

If you don't mind, you can actually take a subway train ride to Yongsan (Line 1). Go to the EMart... you can buy seaweeds and other snacks at this supermarket.. its like Carrefour in Singapore.

Here are a few places you can go:
Han River (I took the cruise ride),
63 building (if you have watched the k-drama "My Girl") - I prefered N Seoul Tower,
Gangnam area (High-end shopping),
Everland (Theme Park),
Coex Mall,
Palaces (Deoksugung Palace, Gyeongbokgung Palace),
Kyobo Bookstore (Jongno-gu),
Cheonggyecheon Stream (Very near to Kyobo Bookstore)

I mostly hang around Myeongdong as the place i stayed was very near to Myeongdong.

And Myeongdong is a good location, its easier to commute to other places. Most of the time, I go to some of the places by foot (Kyobo, Cheonggyecheon Stream and the palaces). Myeongdong is an interesting shopping area. Its very crowded during the weekends (Sometime, there will be some stage performances right outside the shopping mall). Alot of things to shop and alot of yummy foods to eat.

Oh..I stayed at Myeongdong Guesthouse. Mr Park is a very nice and friendly host. ^^
 

noscon

New Member
EuGo

Thanks for sharing. i plan to go everland, myeonngdong, namdaemun, dongdaemun(I will be staying there at Western coop), Gyeongbokgung, Yongsan for IT stuff and n seoul tower....

can you recommend some good restaurants to try? or things to buy? how do u travel to everland"?

thanks for the tip abt emart. I was wondering where I can go to buy good-priced seaweed
happy.gif


cant wait to go...
 

eugo

New Member
Hi noscon,

I took subway to Gangnam Subway Station (Line 2) then I took City Express Bus No. 5002. Actually there are quite a few ways to get there.. you can visit the tour2korea website to check the updates on the bus schedule to Everland. Or Everland website for more information.

Food wise.. i normally try those restaurant at Myeongdong. There is one 24 hrs restaurant I think their dumplings are quite famous... forgot to mention... you must try the rice cake.. very nice.. and fish cake too.. you can find it anywhere.. pushcart or restaurant...

You can buy face masks / cosmetics from Faceshop, missha, beauty credit or Etude.. cheaper than the faceshop in SG.

Bags.. t-shirts... earrings.. necklaces etc... from Myeongdong.

When is your travel period?
 

noscon

New Member
Eugo

Yes I read about bus 5002 from the everland website but I dunno whether I will recognise the bus or bus stop or not....you got directions after getting out of Gangnam stn? is it a red bus, how do you pay the fare? i want to reduce the "ji1 tong2 ya1 jiang3".

im going Sep 10-17. will collide with their chuseok(korean thanksgiving day) when all shops will close sigh....but no choice due to work commitments...

Do you know korean language at all when you went?

gumsahamnida
 

squareeyebrow

New Member
Hi noscon,

I have also done F&E Seoul. Noticed u have a week there, so u may also wanna consider out of Seoul trip such as to Suwon, Korean Folk Village. There is v nice Galbi (BBQ beef ribs - a must have) at Suwon. Jus ask the tourist info center next to the train station when u reach Suwon.

Do also explore the women universities area for cheap & good shopping, eg, Sinchon and Ehwa Woman Uni - walking distance from each other.

Oh the in thing now is BB cream - Hanskin, Dr. Jart, Skin79 are some korean brands to look out for. Of course, not forgetting Missha, Faceshop, Skinfood - they r half the price of those here!

Food - too many! jus to list a few!
(1) samgyetang (ginseng chicken) - a must have v yummy! There is a famous one - sit on the floor type near Gyeongbokgung! Still rember i was eating alone n blur on how to go abt eating it the korean way - drank the ginseng wine directly when suppose to pour in tog w salt & pepper for flavour b4 eating! Ha!!

(2) spicy chicken DIY on a hot plate - Sinchon has one!

(3) samgyeopsal - pork belly w lettuce at Hyehwa

(4) Traditional full course meal (like those show in da chang jin) - requires at least 2 persons, lots of small plates of food! there a few at Insadong! can also go for traditional teahouse there!


Jus do ur homework b4 departing.. u will b fine! there's a v good 'visit seoul' website by their tourism board - gives good reference to places of interest, food etc! if u can read chinese, go to library n borrow travel books printed by Taiwan or HK companies. They r much better than lonely planets for Asia places. They give good suggestions such as time ur visit to palacces on free local guided tours in English/Chinese or even change of guards.

I have some info on food/restaurants. If u can read chinese, drop me an email i can share it with u
happy.gif
 

necrosis

New Member
hi eugo,
i also stayed at MY guesthouse, Mr Park is indeed very nice.

i also did free and easy, didnt go to the amusement parks tho.
We took a hike up the old fortress walls of seoul, the path details can be found in lonely planet (can't read those chinese guidebooks).
Up in the hills, we met some locals who were performing some rituals (some ladies were doing the spirit calling thing, the guys were sitting around drinking coffee), so we were invited to sit with the guys and drink coffee.
we couldnt communicate at all! they couldnt speak eng, we couldnt speak korean.
but they were very friendly nonetheless.

another place i went was gongju.
not a touristy place, but no problems with finding rooms (Even if we can't read korean and we did not make advance booking)
we showed the guidebook and pointed to the place, the bus ticket seller gave us the tickets and told us which bus.
ta da!
we were there!
the locals are so friendly and the place is very safe.

look up virtualtourist.com for other off the beaten track places if you arent keen on the to touristy areas.

do try the korean BBQ. the full charcoal one. with the raw garlic, leaves and red chilli paste.
*slurp* shiok man.
 

necrosis

New Member
oh yes, at insadong, there is this tea house with birds flying all over freely.

song birds, lovely chirping and they come over the eat the crumbs off your table.
(they dont poo all over the place, so it's very clean)

gosh, i can't remember the name of the place, but it's entrance is tiny (next to another one of those lonely planet recommendations for tradition afternoon teas), just a doorway, up some steps and into a tiny slice of paradise.
(fishes swimming inside the tables)
 

noscon

New Member
squareeyebrow

have emailed you
happy.gif


where did you buy skinfood and dr jart? Are they available everywhere? in shop outlets or dept store?

For ginseng chicken, im planning to go to one recommended by virtualtourist - it's near sinchon or rather near to KoreanAirline bldg.

hmmm will take on your recommendations about gg to lib and borrow some chinese books. so far i have only read english recommendations online...
happy.gif


For shopping at Sinchon and Ehwa Woman Uni , how is it compared to Dongdaemun? cheaper? cos i keep hearing people asking me to go dongdaemun for cheaper clothes...
happy.gif
 

noscon

New Member
nec

thanks for sharing....

i want to go to bird flying tea house., pls pm me the directions etc....
happy.gif


you seems to have gone to quite a few places off the usual paths. that's good... what's at gongju?

there's a twotwo fried chicken stall (franchise) that is quite good, seen that?

For shopping what is your take on where is good?

I want to go trekking at national parks. Any recommendations from anyone?
 

squareeyebrow

New Member
Hi noscon,

Skinfood is everywhere! Myeongdong is the best place to shop for such products cos all the common korean brands are there, eg. Missha, Skinfood, Faceshop! Some not only just 1 but 3 outlets! Oh, also Langeie found in Toda Cosa. Dr Jart is found in Lotte Dept Store, which is also in Myeongdong.

For shopping, personally i felt the women uni areas are cheaper. Yes, even than Dongdaemum cos target at students mah!
happy.gif
 

necrosis

New Member
hi noscon,

Mount Sorak is one of the most picturesque places, unfortunately i didn't manage to fit it in my travel plans.
i think it's THE mountain to ascend when in korea.

actually, nothing much in gongju except a restored fortress (not that nice, only the entrance was impressive), just that we were in daejeon, so gongju was much nearer than mt sorak.
but since it was so un-touristy, we had interesting times at the local markets, restaurants ... ....

if you're in seoul, do try to trek up the seoul fortress wall....you can see the entire palace and the blue house from the summit...the whole of the city is laid out before you.

i didn't shop much since most of my daylight hours are spent trekking. :p
but myeongdong has a fab collection of shops and i did stock up on face shop/skin food products, they give loads of samples too.
i did find a 2nd hand shop with a crazy collection of everything..en route to the seoul fortress wall as described in lonely planet.
bought some nice korean china and woodwork there...(imagine carrying all the up the hill!!)

i think the others have very good tips on shopping, i must take notes for my next trip!!! :D
 

sweetcl05

New Member
Hi,

Anyone know fr seoul palace hotel how to get to Myeongdong, Namdaemun & Dongdaemun? which sub-station to take/alight? or any other must visit place to recommend?
 

lsling

New Member
Hi, need your advise.

This is my 1st time visiting Seoul+Jeju, during winter season.

1. Is it advisable to wear track shoes during winter? (wish to keep expenses to min)

2. Must we wear down jacket as outer layer? (was advised that it is a must)

3. What type of "long john" is advisable? (was advised that we should get 100% wool)

Thank You
 

lsling

New Member
I will be on group tour Seoul+Jeju Island for 5pax.

As most meals are provided (I only need to settle 2 Lunch & 1 Dinner), for 5 pax. Approximately how much should I be bringing? Should I be bringing USD or Korean Won?

Your advise is appreciated. Thank You.
 

cloe

New Member
<font color="0000ff">lsling,
You can seek advice from those shops selling winter clothing.

Check this website for some tips:
http://www.wintertime.com.sg/weather_chart.html
http://www.wintertime.com.sg/what_to_wear.html

I presume you're taking tour package. If yes, it's good to bring some USD to pay for the tour guides' tips. When I went there last year, I think we have to pay USD 4 per day per pax. So you have to bring enough USD as the exchange rate in Korea is NOT attractive. You can also pay in WON but I think, USD rate may be better (please check the conversion rate between SIN-WON and SIN-USD to compare).</font>
 

rayrachel

New Member
Isling> For clothings i really have no advice..
happy.gif

We were there for 7 days during Autumn.. we basically only spent on some food on 1 nite coz we didnt like the dinner we had.. so we roamed the streets for supper....

Other than that, unless you are buying lots of souvenirs (we bought a lot!!) I dun think u'll need much.. we brought along SGD$1500 worth of KRW.. And USD$300. (me and HB)
But we didnt spend any USD at all....

For the tour guide tips.. most of us in the group gave extra.. we gave in KRW.... we were supposed to give USD$28 or 28000KRW per pax.. it's US$4/day... most of us gave 70000KRW per couple..
Coz we had a reallll good tour guide..and she took really good care of us..and since we all had spare KRW to spare... we all used KRW instead..
happy.gif


So its really up to you..
happy.gif


I would think USD wont be necessary.. coz in the end.. we used it to buy stuffs at Duty Free when we reach Changi Airport..and we changed the balance USD100 back to SIN....

But for just in case... you can bring maybe just USD200-300 for spare..
happy.gif


can help me buy something back from there??
 

lsling

New Member
Cloe ...

Thanks, will compare the rates.
Is it easy to change USD to Won in Korea?
Luckily u reminded me abt the tour tips (slipped my mind)

Did U visit Korea during winter?
 

rayrachel

New Member
Isling> can on ur PM or PM me???
happy.gif


click on my nick to send me a message.... then it'll be sent to my email..i'll email u through there..
happy.gif
 

cloe

New Member
<font color="0000ff">lsling,
I visited in late Oct 2007, so it's still autumn.

I think it shouldn't be a problem to change USD to WON, but I think the rate is not as attractive as in SG's.

rach,
We're the opposite as you. We spent all the money, and had to scrimp and save in order to pay for the photographs (we took all of them).</font>
 

lsling

New Member
Rachel;
Am I rite to assume, for 2pax, u brought $1.8K to Korea &amp; spent $1.5k?

Cloe;
How abt u? How much did u bring?
 

rayrachel

New Member
cloe>what photographs?? u mean those that the PG who followed ur bus took??
surprisingly, we were told there'll be PG following us.. but apparently..there werent any... so we save on those pics.. hahahhaa.....

Isling> yup.. we changed $1500 worth of KRW...and USD$300... so its about SGD$1900++...
we changed USD$300.. not SGD$300 to USD....
We spend the whole $1500 of KRW....and brought back USD$300...spend abt USD$200 buying liquor and perfume at Changi Airport Duty Free.. hahaha.. :p

But we brought back ALOT of stuffs....
$300 worth of Faceshop products...
$3000 of Ginseng (swiped with Credit Card)
and a stupid $120 worth of Jeju oranges... which had some rotten.. its 8kg of orange bought at Jeju airport..should have bought at Jeju Island..when we went to visit one of the seaside.

Its really nice...and cheap.. half price of what we paid at the airport.. if u want to eat.. u can buy 1kg from the roadside stall at one of the sea attractions.. its about 10,000KRW for about 40pcs of oranges..very sweet and nice....
Dun bother to buy any back home.. u wont know if it'll spoil...and u wont know if it'll ripen... i still have some in the fridge..and cause me a lot of heartache.. can u imagine SGD$120 of oranges? silly rite??? miscalculated when i paid la... sigh......

we bought back very cute and nice nail clippers with korean dolls attached to it... 10pcs for 8000KRW or something like that.. we bought back 80pcs... hahah....and we bought alot of food stuffs like Jeju Honey, korean tidbits...kim chi.... so actually.. if u dun need to buy back so many souvenirs.. no need to spend that much de.... i guess we spent about easily SGD $500 on souvenirs....and plenty of face masks too...
happy.gif
 

annabella

New Member
Hi Isling,

What's yr tour package like? You have the itienary? which agency u booked? When u going?

I have just decided on korea for my honeymoon, planning to go on late Dec and I haven't started my research yet.
 

cloe

New Member
<font color="0000ff">lsling,
I can't remember liao. Think we changed SIN 2K locally + another few hundreds $ in Korea. But, my case is slightly different as my DH was there on a business trip, and we joined him for an 8-day tour package after one week. So expenses are higher.

We didn't buy souvenier but lotsa food - seaweed, chocolates, snacks, ginseng stuff, Face Shop products, and spent the rest of the money eating.

rach
Yes, I'm referring to the photographer who followed and served us throughout the trip.</font>
 

rayrachel

New Member
cloe> ah.. icic...
happy.gif

We were told initially somebody would be with us... they are sent by the tourist board... but maybe our grp too small.. we had only 14 of us.. so i think nobody came..and guess its a good thing too.. hahahhaa..
happy.gif
 

lsling

New Member
Annabella,

My itinerary as follow;
I will be on group tour Seoul+Jeju Island Winter Tour by ASA Holiday

1. Daejanggeum Theme Park
2. Yongduam Rock (Dragon Head Rock)
3. Seongsan Sunrise Peak
4. Rape Seed Flower Farm
5. Teddy Bear Museum
6. Mysterious Road
7. Everland
8. Mount Sorak National Park
9. Dongdaemun Market
10. Lotte World Adventure Park
11. Gyeongbok Palace
12. Presidential Blue House
13. Insa-Dong
14. Shinchon Fashion Street
 

lsling

New Member
Cloe &amp; Rachel,

For the photos taken by the "assistant", is it a must that we buy all? Read it from other forums that it is compulsary.

Thanks
 

lsling

New Member
Cloe &amp; Rachel,

Initially, I was thinking of change SGD 2.5k for 5pax. It seems that you guys spend so much there, ~ SGD 1.5k for 2 pax.

Guess I have to up my budget.

Haiz ...
 

lsling

New Member
Cloe &amp; Rachel,

I am really confused, my colleague keep encourage me to bring USD instead. However, I am worried I have difficulty changing them to won in Korea.

Do most of the places I will be visiting accept USD or Won?

Pls advise.
(sorri for being so troublesome)
 

lsling

New Member
Hi, anyone out there been to Korea Winter(Jan),

Can pls advise whether is it neccessary to buy 100% wool john or cotton one will do??

Thanks
 

noscon

New Member
hey gals

I went in sept F&amp;E and its really easy and it can be very flexible and more chances to interact with the local. Language should not be a problem if u know how to say a few lines... like how much is it? give me discounts, etc.
 


rayrachel

New Member
Lynn> hihi.. i went to Seoul + Jeju with ASA too.. 3-10th Sept.. for our honeymoon..
Its almost exact same itinery.. u can check out our photos online.. PM me and i'll give u the link..
happy.gif


But we didnt get to go both Theme Park as promised.. we only went to Everland.. we stayed in Lotte World Hotel for the last 2 nites...
but we didnt get to go to the Lotte World Theme Park though it was just next to it.. no time to go...
We gave up on Insa Dong.. we all (14 of us in the grp) exchanged that for shopping at Myeong Dong..and its much worth it..
Myeong Dong is much nicer to shop than DOngdaemun.. at least thats what we felt...
DDM is too ex... alot of shopping centers like.. like Orchard Road.. Myeong Dong is more like Bugis Street... alot of alleys and shops...
Plenty of Missha and The Face Shop there.. super cheap loh..

I suggest u check out local stores on what u wanna get...and what u might be getting.. and swop everything off the shelves in Korea..
Hahah.. since its ASA, i'm pretty sure they'll bring u to TFS on the last 2nd day... its like only tourist can get to go there to buy...
The Face Mask Sheets is like $1.35 per piece there... Spore selling 3 for $10 loh..
SUper cheap...

If you wanna do ur frens a favor.. ask them what they want.. and get it for them.. save alot alot!!
Most of the stuffs are like 30-50% cheaper loh.. depends on what u get... do check out the local stores before u fly...and save the price in ur hp as Drafts..
hahaha.. u definitely wont regret...

I've never touched TFS before gg Korea.. but now, i've plenty of stuffs in my cupboard..and i'm using them liaoz! hahaha...
From makeup to cleansing to beautifying.. its all worth it!! Hehehe..
happy.gif


OH ya... i may need u to help me get something too.. coz only the one at TFS (where only tourists can go to) sell what i want..
its not TFS product.. but one of the brands they carry.... very good...
Tinted moisturizer...

When u flying???????????

You can dun buy.. we were told by the ASA officer.. not compulsory.. but then.. its up to u...
happy.gif


Nobody followed us to take photos leh... dunno why.. but we were glad.. coz heard will be pressured to buy..
happy.gif


If you are gg with ASA.. i really cant think of when u'll need to pay with USD.. the places we went to.. we hardly need to buy anything..
and even if we need to, its paid in KRW.. like roadside..when we bought souvenirs....
Didnt really get to spend much.. unless u always wanna supper..

I would think SGD$500 each would be more than enough... esp if u are not gg to buy back alot of stuffs...

We only paid for Korean Ginseng with Credit Card at the Ginseng shop.. it was charged at USD rate.. we bought SGD$3000 worth..
sure dun have so much cash la...
happy.gif


Most of the places.. would accept KRW... like i said.. we didnt used USD at all.. in the end.. we used it at Korea Airport for our last lunch in Korea before we board the plane..
and we paid in USD coz we used up all KRW liaoz....

And then at CHangi Airport we used it to buy liquor...
happy.gif


For winter clothings i cant advise.. we went at Singapore weather..
happy.gif


We had language barrier though... hard to buy stuffs.. koreans are very rude people..
not customer friendly at all....

Cant really bargain...and when you ask how much..they'll tell u in their language.. with no efforts to show it in sign language...
sianz...

in the end..they'll use calculator to type and show u...
hahaha...

If u get a good tour guide... it'll be better.. we were fortunate to get æ¨å§å§... (Yang jie jie)
She's a very very good tour guide.. but then again..there's sooo many trips..
not sure if she'll be taking urs. hahhaa.. but if she does..she sure rem me &amp; HB...
we were the only couple there for HM among the 14 of us....and she still calls me now and then to keep in touch..
hehehe.. its very nice!
happy.gif
 

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