Frannywanny

Happy Holidays !! I know it has been months since my trip to Korea and yet I always get to remember it every time someone comes up to me asking for Seoul travel tips . That was definitely one of the best trips I've had this year and Paul and I are will hopeful that we can go back to Korea SOON! I realized also that I failed to create a summary to better guide you in going through all my Korea travel entries . First and foremost, here's a guide on how to apply for a Korean Visa for all Philippine Passport holders . Next step is to look for a place to stay. I highly recommend our hotel: Hotel Skypark 1 in Myeongdong, Korea . Here's also a quick 101 for all Korea newbie s. Be tourist-y and visit these places: Myeongdong for all out shopping (all the beauty brands are here!) and eating Gyeongbokgung Palace COEX Mall and Aquarium (although I don't recommend the aquarium) Everland Theme Park N Seoul Tower   Remember this: must watch the Cookin Nanta S...

I'd say, our week-long stay in Korea was really a good mix of some retail therapy, food adventure, cultural immersion and just more fun and intense bonding with the entire gang. On our 3rd day, we all headed to Everland Resort ! We took the subway to Gangnam (oppa Gangnam style!) where we rode bus 5002 to Everland Resort . The drive was long and the bus was so crowded that a number of us felt nauseous as we got to the theme park. After all, Everland Resort is located at the outskirt of Seoul already. It's a good thing also that we spotted an online promo that gave ticket discounts to groups of 4. In a snap, just like the game of "the boat is sinking", we quickly grouped ourselves to sign up for the said promotion. Paul and I teamed up with Jane lowering the regular adult ticket worth W40,000 (Php. 1,500)  to just W37,000 (Php. 1,400). Not much really but when traveling, we are definitely not saying no to any form of good bargain. Everland Resort is divide...

After coming home really late from Everland the night before, half of our group decided to just sleep a little more and to just wake up in time for lunch at the COEX mall . The other half headed out early to check out the Samsung Kids Museum. Researching on Seoul, Korea; the COEX mall is always included in the list of must-visit shopping malls. What probably makes this mall attractive to its visitors is its size and the fact that it houses two food courts, hundreds (if not thousands) of retails shops, a well-stocked supermarket, a Duty Free outlet, restaurants, a number of movie theaters and an aquarium. Some would say, it would definitely take you an entire day to go around the entire mall. The mall is also adjacent to the Intercontinenal Hotel as well as the Expo and Convention Center making it very accessible to foreign travelers. Arriving at the COEX mall via the subway, our small group headed to the food court to have lunch. The choices were quite limited but each stall h...

Our recent trip to Korea wasn't just devoted to eating. Aside from nourishing our tummies, we also nourished our minds. It's also perfect that we had three young kids with us and I believe taking them to places such as this will allow them to have a better idea of Korea's history and to see what life was back then. After all, traveling should also be educational. True, I'm the type of traveler who wants to have a good mix of cultural immersion while enjoy the fun cosmopolitan life of a particular travel destination however most of my trips just lasts a week and with all the sights and places that we have to visit, I have to be wise and to choice the best spots instead of boring myself out by visiting them all. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the history and the culture but at some point, I feel that you see one __________ (fill this in with palace/temple/mountain/ruins) , you've seen them all! There are actually a lot of palaces in Korea but our group de...

One of the attractions that I made sure we didn’t miss was a visit up to the N Seoul Tower . Researching about it, I found out that this 236.7m communication tower also goes by several other names such as the Seoul Tower, Namsam Tower or the CJ Tower . For starters, the tower sits on top of the Namsam mountain located right at the heart of Seoul in South Korea . Going there was pretty easy as there are buses that will take you straight to the base of the mountain. Look for bus numbers 2, 3 or 5 as you get off either the Chungmuro or Itaewon Station. As for our group, we took the train to the Chungmuro statio n and seeing that the tower doesn't seem to look so far away, we decided to walk. Yep! The Food Club decided to burn off all those calories gained from eating and so we walked. Luckily, we had Peter, Paul and Richard with us who were amazing navigators as they led us through an underground shopping center and up towards the base of the funicular . glass elevator. There’s...