Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ella Bella]

Ladies and Gentlemen, in your noble opinion where are the best places to go for Chu-suk both in and out of Korea? The weather seems crappy in most of Asia at that time. Thanks for any advice Ella-bella.

[Cthulhu]

With such a short amount of time Jeju is always good, and very quiet too because everyone in Korea is at home with family (renting a car is recommended--traffic free driving in Korea is possible, and coastal driving is quite nice!).

China is another easy choice, as is Hong Kong. Or if you feel like blowing more money, Japan is close by. Going further afield limits what you can do. Thailand is nice, but five days is hardly worthwhile.

[waterbaby]

I did Beijing over Chusok in 2001 ~ it was a pretty crammed tour and very tiring (about 15 hours sleep in 4 days - wanted to sample the nightlife). It cost about 1 million all up (including spending money).

[Tancred]

actually, i was giving this some thought yesterday...i'm off to jeju next week for my institute's vacation but was considering either a sojourn to japan or thailand...anyone have any advice. I've never been to either place and would be travelling solo. My goal is to spend very little money...can a five day vacation to either place be accomplished for under say, 700,000 won or the equivalent in Yen or whatever they use in thailand?

Sorry to hijack this post, but it just reminded me...any info would be great...thanks.

T.

[justagirl]

I did the Beijing tour over Chusok 2001, too, and it was fairly good time to go. Didn't realize that all the Chinese would be on holiday, too. I can't remember if it was their Chusok, too, or just some National holiday. Anyway, things were crowded, but it was still a great trip. We got to see a lot of neat things, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Tickets are around 500-600,000 and include everything.

For Tancred, I know you can spend less than 700,000 in Thailand, but your limit of time won't do it justice. Thailand is a place you'll just want to stay as long as you can. I guess if you just have the 5 days, then my recommendation is that you leave as early in the morning as you can, and get back to Korea in enough time to get to your classes the following Monday. Squeeze as much time as you can, cause some of the travel agencies will take your 5 days and do something like this:

day 1: Fly out at 8 pm, arrive in Thailand 1 am
day 2:
day 3:
day 4:
day 5: Fly out of Thailand at 3 am, arrive in Incheon 8 am

Thus, your 5 days has shrunk to 3. Also, if you just want to hit the beach, you could fly straight to Phuket and skip Bangkok altogether. I've heard Phuket is beautiful, but I haven't been there. I know it gets a lot of tourists and has lots of ammenities.

[lawyertood]

If any are planning to escape Korea it might be too late. Surprisingly, many Koreans go out of the country over the holidays, especially the longer ones. Reservations for flights need to be made well in advance. Flights to Thailand and the Philippines usually have waiting lists by this time of year. Keep this in mind for future reference. That is not to say that it will be impossible to get a flight. Likewise, fares go up as it is always "peak" travel time unless you can leave earlier and come back later than the holiday dates.

As for in Korea . . . who in their right mind wants to be stuck on that huge parking lot they call the expressway over Chuseok?

[justagirl]

Good reminder. If you travel at the beginning or end of Chu-sok, prepare to spend 2-4 times as long on the road. I'd be willing to bet train tickets are sold out already for just about everywhere.

Last year it was really strange...no one was in our neighborhood and for the first time I really felt like I WAS in the "land of the morning calm." he he. It was like some aliens had sucked up all our neighbors, cause ALL the streets were empty; even the main street was void of cars. Gives you that feeling like something bad really did happen, even though your mind logically tells you that's stupid.

[Tancred]

[Cthulhu]

Actually, Phuket should be censored for another reason--the place has become outrageously expensive. A lot of people are giving it a miss these days in favor of other places. If you go there expect to spend a lot more money than you would for other places in Thailand, from taxis to food to accommodations (especially accommodations).

[rudyflyer]

If you have the money take the Thai 10:15 flight out of ICN, you arrive in Bangkok at 1:50P (earlier in many cases) then jump on a flight to Ko Samui, you can get a 3 or 4:20 flight and be there no later than 6P. Coming back grab a late evening flight and take the Thai 11:55P flight back getting into ICN at 7:15AM.

The flight to Samui will be expensive ($100 each way) but right now there are bargains galore on Samui and Sept is off season you can find a nice place on Lamai (a nice and much less hectic beach than Chaweng) for $10-15 night (400-600 baht) if you want to spend say $20 you can get a great air con room at the place I stayed at for 2 weeks this month.

I'd do it if I can convince the wife.

[rapier]

I've learned to avoid any travel in Korea during public holidays.. the traffic jams treble the journey time and give you a headache. you'll need a holiday to recover from your holiday.
Climb a couple of nearby mountains or something. save your long distance trips until you've got time off in between jobs...

[Dugsby]

Sorry if this is too much off in the wrong direction.

I completely second the recomendation of Koh Samui (I'm actually typing this at a computer on the island) in Thailand as a vacation spot. I'm staying in Lamai, which is one of the two tourist beaches I read about in the Lonely Planet guide. I visited Chaeung (sic) beach today and it's a lot busier and more built up than Lamai. This is definitely somewhere I'd come back to for some more R&R.