My wife and I enjoy traveling, and every chance we get we try to visit new places. Ria has always been fascinated with Koreanovelas like Kim Sam Soon and Coffee Prince, while I have had a long-time crush on Jeon Ji-Hyun ever since I watched the Korean rom-com My Sassy Girl ten years ago. So visiting Korea has always been on our radar.
Cebu Pacific had a seat sale last January and the opportunity to go to Seoul at a fraction of the real cost (had we flown PAL or Korean Air) was too good to pass up, so we bought tickets at http://www.cebupacificair.com/!
Next, Ria and I had to apply for visas at the Korean Embassy over at Mckinley Hill in Taguig.
Tip: There is no parking in the embassy. You can park at your own risk in front of the entrance, but be warned it is a tow-away zone.
We were required to present our certificates of employment, bank statements and income tax returns. More info about these visa requirements at the Korean Embassy Website. Pero grabe naman mga requirements, hindi naman kami mag-t-TNT dun!
Anyway, it takes them 5 days to process the visa, and you can apply only from 9am to 11am, and pick-up only from 2pm to 4pm, so be prepared to take a leave from your office to accomplish this chore.
The only good thing is, for visits of 59 days or less the visa application is FREE.
Afterwards, we just waited for our departure date to arrive and researched on the places we wanted to visit.
TripAdvisor, BudgetTravel2Korea, WanderLust, VisitSeoul and VisitKorea were helpful sites.
TripAdvisor, BudgetTravel2Korea, WanderLust, VisitSeoul and VisitKorea were helpful sites.
In my next post I will talk about Chang Deok Palace!
Hello po. My friend and I are planning to go to Seoul this March. It's our first time to travel abroad. Which is better, to travel by ourselves or through a travel agency with planned itinerary?
ReplyDeleteHi, Olsiegirl! I wouldn't say my wife and I are seasoned travellers, but we have logged in quite a number of foreign trips already so we're kinda experienced. Majority of South Koreans don't speak English eloquently, which might pose as a problem to you and your friend, like let's say you are looking for a tourist spot or the toilet.
ReplyDeleteSince this will be your first trip abroad, I suggest you do it through a travel agency. Afterwards, you can go on trips on your own. Good luck and happy trip!
Thank you po. ^_^
ReplyDelete