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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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 Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 6:31 am Post subject: |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
| It's like judging Hawaii by a nightlife neighbourhood in Honolulu. |
I'd actually be quite interested to hear someone's description of that. |
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sid
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Location: Berkshire, England
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| JackSarang wrote: |
| VanIslander wrote: |
| The Lonely Planet guide says very little about the second largest island in Korea known as "The Island of Fantasy" and considered by some foreigners as better than overhyped Jeju (I'll have to compare later this year). |
You're kidding right? I spent a weekend in Geoje, in Okpo. It was like a sunny hell. First of all, it put me off travelling anywhere else in Korea. I spend 9 hours travelling on a bus from Seoul with my soccer team going to this magical island.. to find... that its just a cheesy miniature version of Seoul. Same apartments, same bars, same bc bangs, same brothels. |
It was actually on Gojedo that I found that rare thing - a Korean 'tourist attraction' not surrounded by the usual motels, no-rae bangs, dan lan joo jums etc. Possibly because it was inaccessible to the touring coaches due to a narrow and pretty steep approach road. All that was there was a nice sandy little beach, a few minbak, some restaurants, and about twenty people quietly enjoying a sunny August afternoon! |
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kozzlow
Joined: 22 Feb 2004
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 7:36 am Post subject: |
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| The guide book for Korea seems really old. I haven't been here that long and I've already spotted a lot of mistakes. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 8:13 am Post subject: |
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| I don't know about Lonely Planet. It seems overrated. Maybe because it's the best known and most available series? But there are 2 or 3 others I've seen that look better and more accurate. Or at least better pictures.... though that can be misleading as the right pictures can make any place look great. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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| I found the LP guide to Seoul pretty accurate and invaluable to a traveler back in 2000/2001. I'm not sure if they've come out with an update since 1999 so the version I have is becoming out of date in a number of ways. If they've released a revision (you think they would have in time for the 2002 world cup but I guess not) then it might be very handy. I agree with the other poster about visiting the lifeinkorea site and with a copy of Word and a laser printer/ink jet make your own little guide. |
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just because
Joined: 01 Aug 2003
Location: Changwon - 4964
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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Lonely planet is good for Seoul........
......Outside of this it is crap.
Anyhow, i don't find LP any fun anyway, like to do it the old fashioned way, by myself. just get some basic information, go to the place, start walking. Find a lot more wierd ass and interesting stuff that way. |
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tokki
Joined: 26 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
Guys, Okpo is a great little port community.
And it sounds like Tokki didn't see much else of the island on his trip here.
It's like judging Hawaii by a nightlife neighbourhood in Honolulu.
I agree Namhae is a wonderful island,and I've raved about it on this site. But it's more of a Norweigan type of beauty.
Did you know there's a waterfall nearly right into the ocean at a Geoje beach? (old spelling: Koje). You can actually stand under it on a hot summer's day for reprieve, then dive into the ocean and swirl around where fresh meets salt water. Wonderful.
Have you ever visited the Buddhist temple at the base of the tallest mountain and hiked alongside the creek to the top?
Have you ever visited the 750+ tree species on Waedo (Oedo) or ferried around the southern side?
If not, please don't talk like a know-it-all because you spent a weekend in a bar district of one small community, or even six months holed up in a town.
It's a big island, and while I've been here since 2002, it'll be until well into 2005 before I've seen all the wonders I hear about. And I haven't been disappointed yet.
Go with someone who knows.
Maybe I should offer guided tours. |
I drove around Geoje a few times, I didnt spend any time in a bar there. From what Ive see of Geoje and Namhae, Namhae is way better. |
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Patong Dong
Joined: 06 May 2003
Location: On Nut
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 1:03 am Post subject: |
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I agree that outside of Seoul the LP put in a pretty half assed effort, especially when it came to other cities. The description "only good as a point of transit" or something along those lines is used much too often. Especially considering the number of expats in those communities who own a LP guide book.
Like BATMAN said The Moon guide contained a lot more info. |
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baldrick
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: Location, Location
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:16 am Post subject: |
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| Having relied on LP in a number of other countries for survival, I had to lie down when I discovered my SK destination wasn't mentioned once. "This place must be great......" I thought. |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:24 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| The description "only good as a point of transit" or something along those lines is used much too often. |
The Korea guide, up until the 2001/02 version, was overpoweringly negative about Korea and Koreans. But the last guide changed too far the other way - for the first time, a Korean woman helped write it, and it became too positive, losing its irreverent edge. It reads more like a KNTO brochure.
I like LP (and Let's Go) guides as a basic foundation, and if I'm exhausted after a long train or plane ride I'll pull one out for accomodation suggestions. But many of the best things I've found in the countries I've visited have been nowhere near the LP guide. |
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cacheSurfer
Joined: 07 Dec 2003
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:31 am Post subject: |
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I've read the Moon Handbook and the LP book.
-Moon is very detailed, but sometimes it feels more like a novel than an acutal traveling book. You can probably skip it.
-LP is a good choice if you are going to do some traveling.
The Positives: -It gives a good overview of the country. -It has some decent maps. -It is small and easy to carry around.
The Negatives: -It lacks important details. -Many of the smaller cities aren't even mentioned in the book.
Overall.......it's vague, but it's a great starting point.
The best thing to do is to take the tourist brouchers that you can get from the bus/train stations. |
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buddy bradley
Joined: 24 Aug 2003
Location: The Beyond
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 7:12 am Post subject: |
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As to the OP - I wouldn't know...
Zed stole mine, along with my bag (in-joke). |
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popper1976
Joined: 27 Jan 2004
Location: San Diego, California
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:01 am Post subject: |
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| cacheSurfer wrote: |
I've read the Moon Handbook and the LP book.
-Moon is very detailed, but sometimes it feels more like a novel than an acutal traveling book. You can probably skip it.
-LP is a good choice if you are going to do some traveling.
The Positives: -It gives a good overview of the country. -It has some decent maps. -It is small and easy to carry around.
The Negatives: -It lacks important details. -Many of the smaller cities aren't even mentioned in the book.
Overall.......it's vague, but it's a great starting point.
The best thing to do is to take the tourist brouchers that you can get from the bus/train stations. |
I have also read both, but I'm not in Korea yet. The moon handbooks definitely has a lot of great detail if you are interested in learning more about background and culture...LP is great for maps, accomadations etc...so I ended up getting both. I think it's worth the money if you're going to be traveling around the country for a year. |
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just because
Joined: 01 Aug 2003
Location: Changwon - 4964
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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I liked the Moon handbook.
VERY detailed but had great sections on the culture and history here.
The only problem is that it was printed in 1997 so you can imagine how out of date it is. All the prices in it are double what they were. Still a good reference for getting around the backwaters. |
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wylde
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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