11D10N South Korea travel guide: itinerary & tips

13:05 Jia Ying 1 Comments



South Korea, one of my top bucket list to discover and travel, mainly because of the influence of k-pop and k-drama.
The moment when I decided and bought the flight ticket, I was so excited, thinking about so many plan, place and thing I would like to do in South Korea.
One of the main barrier I worried so much will be the language, which almost stop me from planning for the trip itinerary.  I’m glad that I have the courage to step out and plan the trip to South Korea by myself, without following the tour package.
I chose to travel to South Korea during summer, a long 11D10N trip to 3 main cities in South Korea- Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island.
In this post, I'm going to share my itinerary in South Korea and some basic spending and tips.



1. Flight
For all my travel, the most important thing is to grab the Cheapest Flight ticket. With cheap flight ticket, I can spend money on other aspect, such as food, better accommodation and things to buy. For this trip, I purchased the return flight ticket to Incheon International Airport, depart from Kuala Lumpur at RM758 per person (without check-in baggage) with Air Asia.  Air Asia Ticket Price is always very competitive and budget, especially during the off-peak season.


Good news to most of traveller who like to go Jeju island, Air Asia will be commencing the direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jeju Island, starting from December 2017.  There are more options in arranging your South Korea itinerary.
Anyway, I used AIR BUSAN, a domestic flight in South Korea to Jeju Island. It’s very sudden and last minutes decision to add in Jeju island in my South Korea trip. The price of domestic flight ticket can be cheaper if I can purchase in advance, and avoid the weekend peak period.
Here’s my spending on my flight ticket (per person):
Air Asia return ticket (Kuala Lumpur- Incheon International Airport)
RM 758.00
AIR BUSAN one way ticket( Busan- Jeju Island )
RM 122.40
AIR BUSAN one way ticket( Jeju Island – Seoul )
RM 180.45



2. Accommodation
Basically, I don’t have much request on my accommodation, as long the room is clean, comfortable and with private bathroom. This is mainly because I don’t spend much time in hotel room during my travel. To choose a good hotel, you will need to take some time to search and read the review from other travellers. Another thing I will consider when I choose the accommodation will be the location. Normally I chose the accommodation that is accessible to public transport, and near to city centre.
Here’s my spending on my accommodation (per person):
Accommodation in Busan- near Seomyeon  (3nights)
RM 414.11/2 = RM 207.10
Accommodation in Jeju Island- near Seogwipo (3nights)
RM 317.55/2 = RM 158.80
Accommodation in Seoul- near Dongdaemun (4nights)
RM 544.44/2 = RM 272.20



3. Stay alert with the promotion with Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Malaysia.
Before depart to South Korea, remember to check out any promotion or discount booklet give away by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Malaysia. For those who going to travel before 31st March 2018, do check out this DKYW2017 discount booklet. Here’s the website link:
http://www.visitkorea.com.my/discover-korea-your-way-2017.html
It’s free to redeem from Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Malaysia, as long as you are Malaysian. Just show them your IC and flight itinerary. I really save a lot by using the discount booklet from KTO.


4. 11D10N itinerary
Day 1 : Arrival at Incheon International Airport à Brunch at Food on Air (in airport) à KTX to Busan à Check in Hotel à Bujeon Market à Seomyeon Shopping and Food Street

Day 2 : Gamcheon Culture Village à Jagalchi Fish Marketà Yeongdodaegyo BridgeàYongdusan ParkàBusan Towerà40-step Culture & Tourism Theme StreetàNampodong Shoppingà Taejongdae Recreation Area


Day 3: Dongbeak ParkàHaeundae beach àHaeundae Marketà Haedong Yongunsa templeàLotte Outlet Mall à Shinsegae Centum City




Day 4: United Nations Memorial Parkà Busan Museum (Cultural Experience Hall ) à Pork Rice Soup à Depart to Jeju Island à Arrival at Jeju Island International Airport à Check in Hotel à Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market



Day 5: Cheonjeyeon Waterfall à Jusangjeollidae à Teddy Bear Musuem à Halim Park à Hyeopjae Beach


Day 6: Follow one day Jeju World Natural Heritage Bus Tour (East) with Hana Tour (Gimnyeong Beachà Manjanggul Lava tube à Seongsan Sunrise Peak à Daheeyeon Green Tea Foot Spa à Saryeoni Forest Path)


Day 7: Depart to Seoulà Arrival at Seoul Gimpo Airportà Check in Hotel à  Dongdaemun’s food alley à Jongmyo Royal Shrine à Arko Art Center à Ihwa Mural Village àFortress Wall of Seoulà Dongdaemun history & culture park, Dongdaemun Design Plaza



Day 8: Gyeongbukgung Palace à  Bukchon Hanok Village à Insa-dong à Unhyeongung à Myeong dong Shopping


Day 9: Nami Island à Petite France


Day 10: Ewha Universityà Ewha University Shopping Street àDeoksugung Palace àDongdaemun Shopping



Day 11: National Museum of Korea à Check out Hotel à Depart from Airport


Stay Tune for more post and my experience of South Korea Trip!!


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Disclaimer: My South Korea vacation is NOT a sponsored trip. I paid for all expense of trip. 

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Batam DIY guide for Malaysian ( Updated version 2017)

15:06 Jia Ying 0 Comments



Batam Island, an island which is not far away from Singapore , is well-known for Singaporean to have a short escape during the short holiday or weekend.
I never been to Batam before. What I heard the most from my friends around me about the Batam island-- " nothing to see lah" , " No attractions lo",  " Just go and relax" .....
Ok, never expected too much, but still curious about this island, the island that I haven't leave my footprint.
When I did my research about Batam travel guide, most of them are written by Singaporean.
Curiosity came into my mind~~ " Is Malaysians not interested to visit Batam Island? "
Well, after my 2 days 1 night trip to Batam with my family, I think I know the answer. 

Here's in this post I summarise my 2D1N trip into few points and tips, especially for Malaysian.


 1. About the Ferry to Batam Island. 

You may book in advance the ferry ticket via online-- RM126 (2 ways)
Here's the link:
http://www.berjayawaterfront.com.my/booking

Note:
Note that the seaport tax is IDR115k or RM40, must be paid at the counter in Batam before boarding the ferry. The ticket bought from online didn't include Indonesian's seaport tax. So, spare your Indonesia rupiah money.
For Malaysia side, you not need to pay any extra tax before boarding. After book the ticket online, exchange the ticket in the counter in Malaysia. They will give you both go and return ticket. Keep the return ticket, and later show to the ferry counter in Batam to redeem the ticket for returning trip.



 2. Taxi in Batam
The most convenience and budget public transport will be taxi, especially if you have a group of 3-4 person. Beware of the scam. Most of the taxi will offer a higher price, especially to the tourist, you need to do a little bit of bargain and negotiation.
I used Bahasa Malaysia throughout my trip in Batam. It's seem ok and understandable for them. Here's some price guideline that I paid for my taxi for your reference.

Batam Centre Ferry Terminal --> Nagoya (1 way)  -IDR75 000
Nagoya --> Barelang Bridge + Citra Utama 188 --> Nagoya -IDR200 000
Nagoya --> Batam Centre Ferry Terminal (1 way) -IDR 70 000

Tips: Make a reasonable bargain and don't over bargain. Don't spoil your pleasure of travel and it's more important to travel safe.


3. Accomodation in Batam

After some research on the accommodation in Batam, I chose the hotel near to Nagoya ( aka Lubuk Raja) . I stayed at Hana Hotel, which is located near to Nagoya Shopping Mall. Here's the website of the hotel. ( http://www.hanahotel-batam.com/ )
Even it's 3-star hotel, most of the basic toiletries is available. The breakfast included is much more than expected with the price paid. 


4. Shopping Mall in Batam

One of the biggest and best shopping mall in Batam- Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, according to what I research from some website before going.
Don't expect this shopping mall will be something like in JB or Singapore. I would say this is just a very normal shopping mall.
As for Malaysian, I found that most of the price of the thing is almost similar like in JB, not very cheap, but a bit lower if compare to JB.
I went during weekday. There are some promotion offered by restaurant in Shopping Mall, which is quite cheap -such as IDR 8800 ( approx RM3 ) for a decent meal per person.






5. Food in Batam

You have to try some Indonesian cuisine when you are in Batam. In the Nagoya Shopping Mall, I tried Mie Goreng Jawa in Warung Cobain (Ground Floor inside the mall)


If you go the top floor of Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, you can find few restaurants offered promotion price for their meal during weekday. Taste is ok, portion not very big and it's really cheap.


5. Place of attractions in Batam
I didn't plan to go any beach or seaside during my stay in Batam. Therefore, I chose to visit the remarkable bridge in Batam- Barelang Bridge.
It's a bit far from the Nagoya, about 40 minutes drive of journey.
There are positive and negative argument about whether worth to visit this bridge.
Overall, I went at the right time, before the sunset, which the scenery is beautiful together with the bridge. 


After taking few picture with the bridge, I went to the seafood restaurant- 188 Citra Utama, which is just less than 5 minutes from the bridge.
This is really a good place to see the sunset, and in the same time enjoying your seafood feast.

You can see the Barelang bridge in another view, from the restaurant.

Address for 188 Citra Utama- Good place to view the sunset



Besides that, I went to the Tua Pek Kong Temple ( aka Vihara Budhi Bhakti )










6. Enjoy Massage in Batam

There are a lot choice of massage centre around the Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. I chose Reborn Massage (https://www.facebook.com/RebornBatam/ ) , which I got 30% discount due to weekday happy hour.
Do make appointment if you visit during the weekend.
I tried Balinese Body Massage for 1 hour, only IDR 84000 ( approx RM 26 ).
It's optional whether you want to give the tips to the therapist.







Hope the tips are useful in planning your trip to Batam, especially those depart from Johor Bahru.

Summary of my basic spending ( for 1 person) :

Ferry ticket (JB-Batam-JB) 
 RM126
Accomodation (1 night, include breakfast ) 
 RM38
Transport fees in Batam (Taxi)
 IDR345k ÷4 =  IDR 86.25k
Seaport charge, Batam
 IDR115k

Total Basic Spending : RM 227


 Disclaimer: My Batam vacation is NOT a sponsored trip, I am NOT paid to advertise for anyone or any place.

Like my blog FB page : https://www.facebook.com/mush4crazy

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