Category: Tips

My Top 5 Asia Travel Destinations

4/11/2019

Asia is so big and diverse there are so many options when it comes to which are the best. There are so many factors that play into what are the best countries to visit. Do we categorize by cultural experiences? Safety? Cost? Friendliness? Ease of access? Pollution? As there are many different factors there can be no definite answer. If I were to choose my top 5 based on these criteria I would probably rank them:

Taiwan: I am a woman who travels alone a good 95% of my time. I chose Taiwan on a whim after dating a Taiwanese man for 2 years. As a woman, Taiwan was EXTREMELY safe, I could travel alone throughout major cities with a friend or by myself without any issues at all, even at 4 AM (while a little tipsy)! In terms of cost, Taiwan is a fairly cheap country with few places really driving up the price. At bars, you usually pay an entrance fee but will get alcohol for free once inside (If it’s a Wednesday night it’s usually ladies night so free entrance and alcohol). A hotel room (not even a hostel!) will set you back only $30 in a major city. A meal will only be a few dollars, I never paid more than $5 for any singular food item while there and even got a few discounts for being a sweaty American woman (just kidding, but I did get a free mango). The people in Taiwan were extremely friendly, they operate on a lot of traditional customs and mannerisms that make their hospitality on point! When I was lost in Tainan, a man offered to drive me to where I was going (he literally went and got his car because I couldn’t figure out the bus system) just because I couldn’t read Chinese on a bus poster. This leads to my final point, ease of access, Taiwan while still a developing country has some of the fastest and most efficient transit systems in the entire world, you can pay only $30 US and go from one end of the country to another in less than 2 hours on the High Speed Rail. The Taipei metro system is one of the cheapest and most accessible in the world, where they even recycle single ride passes! A trip only costs a dollar and some change and you can go so far on that!
South Korea: My heart is still in South Korea. While it’s my favorite country that I’ve visited it just doesn’t make the top of my list for a few reasons. For one, while it’s cheap there are certain things that are way more expensive there than in the USA. You can definitely do things cheaply there if you stay in a hostel, but a private room in an AirBNB or a hotel will run you more than Taiwan. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous you can stay as a solo person in a love motel (they’re actually pretty clean!). Their subway system is quite advanced and it’s very cheap (around $1.5 per ride no matter the distance within the city which is very cheap by American standards). The only issue with their public transit is the cards that you use have to be refilled in cash unless you have a Korean bank account and cash can be hard to come by as the ATMs are scarce for visitors. Entertainment wise there is SO much to do in Seoul alone that you’ll never be bored. They have everything from museums filled with optical illusions to tandem biking down the Han River, there’s something for everything. They have a HUGE cafe culture there that is a treat as the cafe culture has created some unique cafes such as the LEGO cafe, comic book cafes, flower boy cafes, and even raccoon cafes among other unique places. The best part of all of this is the cafe culture and food culture has made food so cheap that it doesn’t make sense NOT to eat out! I personally had so much fun in South Korea that if I had the chance I would move there. Safetywise I always felt safe but you need to be careful if you’re approached by people as South Korea has a lot of cult members who are recruiting on the streets. [1]
Japan: I personally have not been to Japan but they are ranked as one of the safest countries in the world. Their violent death rates due to guns are under 10 per year! However, they do have a high suicide rate due to societal pressures. Out of all of these, Japan is one of the most expensive countries according to my friends who have gone, this is in part due to the cost of food and other things, but should not deter you from going. Their transportation system is the most advanced in the world and it shows! You can do so much in Japan and there’s always something going on. I would say that by going to Japan you won’t be disappointed.
The Philippines: The Philippines is one of the cheapest Asian countries to visit and one of the most gorgeous. I haven’t been but there will be a day when I finally get the chance to go. You can’t go wrong with the country with the friendliest locals you’ll ever meet.
Singapore: One of the most expensive cities in the world (and home to the Crazy, Rich Asians), Singapore is absolutely stunning and filled with unique things to do, Chiangyi Airport alone has a butterfly garden, movie theater and other amazing amenities. Singapore is famous for it’s hawker centers and food as it’s a culturally diverse country filled with all sorts of ethnicities.

0 Comments

5 Things You Should Know Before Seoul

10/5/2018

4 Comments

So you've decided to travel to South Korea, great! Maybe you know about the country and wanted to experience it first hand or you're on track to become a teacher over there. Maybe you're even trying to decide whether or not you want to visit South Korea. With such a beautiful country available to almost all travelers, who wouldn't want to visit.

Taxis are Zoned

Growing up in an area where Taxis operate throughout an entire city without adhering to zoning, the first time I tried to take a taxi in Seoul I ran into some issues. Because of how large Seoul is (a smidge smaller than NYC) the taxi drivers are split between different districts and can only pick you up in their home district, meaning if the taxi is coming from Itaewon and you’re in Hongdae you will not be able to take the taxi because of the zoning for each.
Seoul does not allow companies like Uber or Lyft to operate in the city as the taxi drivers petitioned against their use. However, the cost of taxis are quite low so this isn’t as much of an issue as you would expect. The pricing for a 7.8km (4.56mi) taxi ride was under 10 USD.
As a traveler, I would suggest downloading the KakaoTaxi app which operates in the same way as Uber or Lyft. The text is in Korean, but follow the steps on this article to set up your account. I never had to use the app as I was with a friend but it was nice knowing that I could use it if needed.

Couple Culture is Real

Seoul is definitely a friend and couple based society, with many activities geared towards two or more people. Food for example is often served family style or requires a second person to help out (Korean barbecue is so hard to eat by yourself). Also, since most cafes in Seoul are Instagram havens it’s always better to have a second person there to document the process.
In the same vein there are several activities that are better with two people, including the Ihwa Mural Village and the Trick Eye Museum. While you can do these things by yourself, it’s more fun and easier with a friend to take pictures.

Cash is King

This is a big pet peeve of mine. As such a large city system you would think that metro cards would be rechargeable using whatever currency method you have (cash, credit or debit). However, as it stands Seoul is still a largely cashed based city and South Korea a cash based society. As such, t-money cards and the like must still be recharged using cash. They can be charged in convenience stores but they are still requiring cash to be used when completing the transaction. I have been in a bind before with cash since not all ATMs work (as I shared in “Seoul Must Haves”) and having to find an ATM that worked for me just to take a bus or a train can be stressful. If you think your card is getting low you can always check the balance and plan for getting cash, but if it catches you by surprise, I hope you can find cash easily.

Prepared Drinks are Expensive

I’ve mentioned this before in my post about Cafes in Seoul, but things like coffee and tea are much more expensive in Seoul than I expected. Even things like aides were up there in price. While not exuberant the prices are more expensive than their cousins in America at almost a 71% increase for a latte (from $3.50 USD to 6500 KRW). This is in part due to many cafes needing to keep up with cost of product, living, and touting creative drinks. Places like CaFace have higher price points due to their product, a face printed on coffee foam, while Korean chains like Angelinus can afford selling items at a lower cost because they’re a chain.

Cults are Huge

This is probably the most extreme thing I discovered in my time in Seoul, the cult. In Korea, cults are usually faith based churches that recruit members through shady means, specifically coersion. They offer to take you to a cultural event and will flank you on either side so that you can’t get away. The cults are usually the Unification Church or the Church of God. They target foreign women specifically and have a track record for making women go to events that are less than savory. I’ll be covering these more in a post later this month on my experience with the Unification Church.

4 Comments

Author

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
At the beginning of 2017 I made a New Years Resolution to travel as much as I can, as far as I can. Since then, I have visited places abroad and local that have helped me gain a better understanding of the world we live in. I am by no means a nomad, rather, I believe that in order to understand the world we live in, we must travel to the far reaches. As a recent college graduate, I know what it's like to pinch pennies to get by, and how to make sure those pennies do not go to waste.

My Top 5 Asia Travel Destinations

5 Things You Should Know Before Seoul

Taxis are Zoned

Couple Culture is Real

Cash is King

Prepared Drinks are Expensive

Cults are Huge

Author

Archives

Categories