Before traveling, one of the things I do is research on local transportation. It gives me a sense of confidence getting around Seoul, or tackling the streets of a foreign country knowing I know even just a little bit about what modes of transportation are available to me and how much they usually cost. This also allows me to set aside a more realistic budget and plan a more hassle-free trip. I was particularly more thorough during my South Korea trip, because OMG SEOUL! I felt like this was a long overdue trip (like, a decade overdue), and I wanted to be prepared for it as much as I could.
Hate crowds? Don't go to MyeongDong. It is one of the major shopping districts in Seoul where tourists and locals flock to get some serious shopping done. But. If you love shopping and would want to experience Korean street food and get souvenirs on the cheap (and not-so-cheap), MyeongDong is heaven on earth.
Raise your hand if you're watching Legend of the Blue Sea or have watched any Koreanovela before. I know I have, many times! They're the best at creating romantic scenes with beautiful cinematography. This is partly the reason why I
If I were to list all my dream destinations, South Korea would be up there in the top 5. I'd always wanted to go there but never really made it a reality because I thought the visa process was much too complicated (It's totally the opposite though! I blogged about my visa application process here.) A couple of months ago, on my birthday week, I finally realized my dream and spent 6 days in Korea. 6 days is too short to fully enjoy the place, but that's all I had so I had to make do.
There's just a couple more days before we officially say goodbye to 2016. This year has been crazy! I've had a lot of memories, good and bad. My year-end blues came early this year which resulted to hard decisions being made. It was such a depressing time but I am happy that I'm leaving some things behind in 2016. It's impossible to tell you all of the great stories in one post, so I'm posting pictures instead. (This would've been easier had I been a diligent blogger!)