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Richardjw84
Joined: 12 Aug 2011
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 Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Richardjw84 wrote: |
| ttompatz wrote: |
| Richardjw84 wrote: |
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. |
You are aware of the visa issues and costs for a visit to Beijing (or anywhere else in mainland China)?
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I was aware of needing to have 6 months left on your ARC, which I will just about have. In terms of price, I know in the UK it's about �90 for a tourist visa, I haven't yet looked into how much it costs to get one in Korea.... Is there anything else I should be aware of? |
55k won for most passports + agency fees.
Takes 4 days to process.
You need 6 months on your ARC.
NOT sure about your parents getting a visa here. They may need to do it from home before they head over. They are good for 90 days (from issue to expiry) with a stay of 30 days or less.
If you (or your parents) are not on UK passports then the costs may be different (up to 200k won for Americans for the combined visa and agency fees).
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Thanks, my parents will be getting their visas in the UK before they come over to Korea so there shouldn't be any problems. |
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cobbles
Joined: 23 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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some good tips here.
can anyone reccomend a cheap airlne?
what is the average cost for hostel or cheap hotel.
how much would you bring per day for simple sightseeing + food? |
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pugwall
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
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Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:37 am Post subject: |
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| Beijing is fantastic. What damage is it going to do someone's health being there for 4 or 5 days? Also what better tourist spots are there than the Great Wall and Forbidden City that are so close to Korea? I can't think of anything. It's only 2 hours on the plane |
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Mosley
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Grasshopper said the east coast of Taiwan is worse than the west. Really? I just spent 10 months there and the consensus is the opposite. |
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detonate
Joined: 16 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Tokyo is so cool if you have the money and want an urban vacation.
Sushi, better shopping than Seoul, random cool stuff all over, clean, more sushi that is relatively cheap. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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| cobbles wrote: |
some good tips here.
can anyone reccomend a cheap airlne?
what is the average cost for hostel or cheap hotel.
how much would you bring per day for simple sightseeing + food? |
For most touristing, mid-range accommodation and food you can pretty much plan on US$100/day.
If you want to go upscale or go to expensive places like Tokyo you should double that to $200-300 day.
IF you want to go back-packer style you can probably get by on 1/2 (about $50/day) as a tourist.
LONG stay vacations work on a different price scale and are usually substantially lower in daily costs ($1000/month) as compared to short stay vacations ($3000-10,000 / month).
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:42 am Post subject: |
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| Squire wrote: |
| Beijing is fantastic. What damage is it going to do someone's health being there for 4 or 5 days? Also what better tourist spots are there than the Great Wall and Forbidden City that are so close to Korea? I can't think of anything. It's only 2 hours on the plane |
I have a friend who goes to Beijing every weekend to see his Chinese wife and daughter (he's working on getting them to Seoul). He can't stand it because of the horrendous air pollution, drivers that make Korean drivers look like saints, and a host of other complaints.
If I went to China, I'd hit Shanghai. |
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mmstyle
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: wherever
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:37 am Post subject: |
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Okay, let me start with, different strokes for different folks.
Beijing was the worst vacation I ever took. Although the temple of heaven was amazing and I really did like the Great Wall, I will never, ever go back unless desperate.
The pollution! When we left our hotel to take a walk, you could see a "floor" on the pollution that was at about the height of the second floor of our hotel. I could feel the 20 minute walk in our lungs when we got back, and we both took showers. Also, I hated the cab drivers. They blatantly break the law with smile on their faces. I have been cheated elsewhere, but it never made me so angry. It's hard to explain.
In general, had no issues with people, other than cab drivers, and felt less conspicuous than I do in Korea, which was nice. The concierge at our rather well rated business oriented hotel gave us the worst restaurant recommendations, and sent us to a brothel for massage (he rectified the problem when we were clearly dissatisfied, I have no idea if he thought I would be okay with my husband getting a happy ending massage with me right there! Maybe my husband said something he took as a kind of code??). I don't feel right saying that I didn't like the food, because even though I was there for 10 days, I don't think I had representative food-I also know that there is a lot of variation (I had no meals that I would go back for, like in Vietnam, Thailand Malaysia, here in Korea).
On that note, went back to Malaysia for a short second vacation in row because we loved it so much the first time. Great weather! Fascinating art! The place we stayed (at least part of both trips) has the best food of any restaurant anywhere I have been in the world (so far-here's hoping!). |
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CaliUSA
Joined: 30 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:47 am Post subject: |
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Thailand sounds like a good place to go for a break. If I plan to stay for about two weeks, do I need any special visa, or can I just get out my passport and ARC, and go?
I'm thinking it might be a bit expensive to buy what amounts to a last-minute ticket. I'm seeing about $500 for round-trip on the websites I'm visiting ( ICN - BKK ). |
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Stout
Joined: 28 May 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:38 am Post subject: |
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| christopherjk wrote: |
| 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. |
Not true.
Not only have there been threads monitoring the situation and reporting on high radiation readings in Tokyo, it's been on all the major news websites- where have u been 
Additionally, I had a friend whose sister was studying in Tokyo 'till she had to suddenly come back last month, due to an outbreak of disfiguring red marks all over her face (initially showed up 3 months ago).
When I talked to some Japanese students studying Korean here about radiation and their hometown Osaka, they said it's a no-go there as well, due to the radiation pissing down with rain (also reports of it showing up in the sewage sludge).
Well, that still leaves Hong Kong and Thailand  |
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