Korean Job Discussion Forums

[canucks14]

Hey guys,

I have a 9 day vacation in July and I need some help planning out my itinerary.
First off, my budget is around 2-3 million won, which includes the airplane ticket.

I like walking around and exploring cities to see what they have to offer.
I don't want to spend the whole time in just one place.
If possible, I would like to move around the country.
Also, I would prefer to have a nice, secluded trip to the beach somewhere during my travel.
And the most important thing is that there must be great food to be eaten!

Having said all this, I'm quite open to new suggestions.
So, I'm asking for help from all those seasoned travellers on planning this trip. If you were in this position, where would you go? And specifically, what would you do there?
I'm looking forward to all of the creative/interesting itineraries you guys can suggest.

Thanks!

Sam

[ThingsComeAround]

Rail trip in Japan

plane ~ 450,000 won
rail pass ~ 450,000 won

food + hotel ~ 500,000 won

Lonely Planet guide ~ 30,000 won

[iselynjenniep]

for my 9 day vacation last july, i went to japan (tokyo and kyoto, 4 nights each). 4 nights was way too long for tokyo and it was so hot and humid that i was miserable most of the time.
this july i am planning to go to thailand for my 9 day vacation. fly to bangkok, maybe go over to cambodia to see angkor wat, and definitely hit up the southern islands/beaches of thailand.

[northway]

[interestedinhanguk]

[iselynjenniep]

[canucks14]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Oops, forgot to mention that I'm saving Japan for another trip.
But thanks for the suggestion anyways!

Thailand does sound great!
Where would you go and what would you do in Thailand?
I dunno much about Thailand, as I haven't done much research, yet.
But, what is there to do other than going to the beach and water sports?

[interestedinhanguk]

Vietnam. Stay in one region, the country is far too big/long for it to be enjoyed in its entirety in 9 days. I suggest Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and the Mekong Delta. Go independently; don't do one of those 1-3 day Mekong Delta tours they sell in Saigon.

Vietnam is my favorite country of the 11 I've visited.

[iselynjenniep]

[northway]

Thailand is just really cool. I like hanging out in Bangkok, hitting up the markets, taking the ferry on the river, eating street food. There are also some temple complexes in Thailand itself, not as big as Angkor Wat but nothing to sneeze at either. You can also go chill in the mountains in the north (I hear good things about Pai), go on trekking tours, etc. There's a hell of a lot more to Thailand than the beaches.

[tomstar86]

9 day vacation?! Lucky git. I get "5 days" in July: note - Wed, Thurs, Fri. My boss includes the Saturday and Sunday and says it's half the yearly vacation allowance...despite me never working at the weekends...

Anyway, I'd go to Indonesia if I were you, cos Air Asia just started going there from Seoul! Or maybe Bangkok with JinAir, then out to one of the islands.

Tom

http://waegooktom.blogspot.com

[canucks14]

@iselynjenniep: I would send you an email, but I don't meet the minimum 25 message requirement that is needed in order to pm someone.
Anyways, my email is hyungnim26 at hotmail dot com.
Please do send me an email once you start planning! I would love to know what activities you have planned!

@northway: Yeah, but do you think 9 days is enough to do all those things mentioned at a comfortable pace? I do like the sound of Thai street food, though!

@tomstar86: Oh sorry to hear that. Your boss sounds like a heartless man.
Where in Indonesia would you recommend?

[northway]

Air Asia doesn't fly from Incheon to Indonesia, the website just allows you to make a connecting booking rather than have to transfer your bags and check in again as you often have to with Air Asia flights. You still have to fly to KL and wait an inordinately long time for your connecting flight.

@canucks: could you do all those things in nine days? Probably not. But you asked what else there was to do besides go to the beaches. Personally, I put the beaches on the bottom of my list of reasons to go to Thailand.

[sweet_potato]

It's SO HOT everywhere in Asia during that time, honestly. Almost unbearably hot.

It's a good time to go to Mongolia. Do a bit of research and see if anything sounds interesting to you. Personally, I'd hang in UB for a day, then do a trip to Gobi desert, and then do some horse trekking/camping in the north. It's the only time of the year to visit Mongolia, unless you want to be really cold.

But you did say you want to go on a beach. I would suggest Thailand. North Thailand (Chaing Mai) is apparently much cooler than the south. You can do some trekking and other things people have already mentioned for a couple of days. Then you can just fly down (to save time) to one of the islands for another couple of days.