Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Richardjw84]

My parents are visiting me in Seoul for two weeks, arriving in mid February. As it's their first visit to Asia, I thought it would be nice to spend 4 or 5 days visiting another country as well as Korea before they fly home.

Obviously as it's only a short trip I don't want to fly too far, so my initial thoughts were Beijing, Japan or Hong Kong. My parents are fairly health/safety concious, so have expressed doubts about Japan (radiation) and Beijing (smog), so that seems to leave Hong Kong as the only option.

Can anyone suggest any other destinations or give recommendations about the places I've suggested? Please forgive my ignorance about countries in this part of the world!

[young_clinton]

For tourism Thailand is quite good. You can make excursions into Laos very cheaply from Thailand. If you come to Thailand please ignore the trash at the Grand Palace telling you it is closed and that it's a government holiday. Those people are thieves and they do it in front of the police and security guards. Just ignore them.

[christopherjk]

In regards to traveling to Japan, if you will be in the major cities (Tokyo or Osaka) there is virtually zero concern of radiation in these areas. I assume most large Chinese cities will have some sort of pollution. Perhaps you should consider Taiwan or Macau, two countries often overlooked for tourism but are relatively cleaner and "healthier" destinations. Of course Thailand is an awesome tourist destination (I'll be in that area all winter break) if you want some warmer weather this time of year and are willing to travel a bit farther from Korea.

[Richardjw84]

Thanks for the replies.

Good to hear that Japanese major cities are safe, so that's definitely an option. Obviously I realise there's a lot of pollution in most Chinese cities, but there was a lot of news a couple of weeks ago about the smog in Beijing being particularly bad at the moment, so I'm assuming that's what's causing their concerns.

Taiwain and Macau are definitely places I'd like to visit, but I think my parents would probably prefer more of a 'well-known' Asian destination as its their first, and possibly only, trip over here.

Thailand would be great, but I think it's probably too long a flight for only a 4 or 5 day break.

Does anyone have any info about visiting Hong Kong at this time of year?

[GrasshopperKR]

East Coast of Taiwan is pretty bad for pollution. West coast is nice.

[ttompatz]

[brickabrack]

If your parents have not already paid for their tickets
to Seoul, you might want to rethink the logistics.
Why on earth would they want to come to Korea unless
they REALLLY wanted to see their young one's apartment?

Have them meet you in HK or Tapei or Cebu. It would
save some moolah and you wouldn't need to drag
them all the way here. Just a thought.

[young_clinton]

[pugwall]

Do Hong Kong, the flights to Thailand are too long for such a short amount of time and you would have to go somewhere else than Bangkok to make it worthwhile. You would spend most of the time in transit

In my opinion Hk is the perfect destination for a short trip and the first one in Asia. it has everything there and the infrastructure and English ability is excellent. Food, shopping, sightseeing. Get a suit made for your dad, eat dim sum... its the Orientalists paradise.

I think you can get a JAW ticket entering HK and leaving Macau. Some airlines do this and definitely China Airlines from Taiwan offers this. Macau is pretty cool and manageable with the folks.

[missty]

I also think HK would be great for a short break. If your parents have never been to Asia before, then this can be a better way for them to experience the culture without the culture shock.

There are western and local foods, great shopping, sights like The Peak and the outer islands, plus Macau is just a boat trip away if they want to experience something a little more European in feel. I would definitely recommend it.

Okay, I sound like I've been employed by the tourism board, so I'll stop.

[pugwall]

http://hotel.ywca.org.hk/eng/AnneBlack/anne_location.htm

Good clean hotel recommendation in HK

[Richardjw84]

Thanks to everyone for all the information!

Hong Kong certainly sounds appealing. I've actually had some success with persuading them to go to Beijing after all, but if it doesn't work out for any reason we'll certainly head to HK.

Thanks again.

[ttompatz]

[Richardjw84]

[ttompatz]