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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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jugbandjames
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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 Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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If you're thinking about cycling through the US, here is an excellent website to start your research: http://www.adventurecycling.org/
I also used this one when planning my trip, it's a collection of journals people kept of their trips: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/
Another good one is warm showers, it's like couch surfing but specifically for cyclists. They get less requests in the major cities, so it's a bit easier to find a host: http://www.warmshowers.org/ |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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Am I the only one out there who still likes to vacation at a 3-5 star, eat good meals, be driven around and hit up some good night life while having a jacuzzi to go to and room service?
If I want to live rustic I'll join the Peace Corps and live in that place for a year and get into the lifestyle. |
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rollo
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: China
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Good post by old fat farang!! He sums up the changes well. the LP is often inaccurate, mostly doesnt mention out of the way places. Some of the best trips are never going to be mentioned in LP. because people who use or contribute to LP are never going to know about them. |
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DrugstoreCowgirl
Joined: 08 May 2009
Location: Daegu-where the streets have no name
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
Am I the only one out there who still likes to vacation at a 3-5 star, eat good meals, be driven around and hit up some good night life while having a jacuzzi to go to and room service?
If I want to live rustic I'll join the Peace Corps and live in that place for a year and get into the lifestyle. |
I would love to travel like that! Unfortunately, I can't afford any of that, so hostels with no jacuzzis it is. |
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curiousaboutkorea
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
Am I the only one out there who still likes to vacation at a 3-5 star, eat good meals, be driven around and hit up some good night life while having a jacuzzi to go to and room service?
If I want to live rustic I'll join the Peace Corps and live in that place for a year and get into the lifestyle. |
A lot of us want to experience the local culture, food etc. Fancy hotels and the like does nothing for me and others. I want the everyday food of the area and to wander aimlessly, taking in my surroundings. For me, vacation is not so much about relaxing (that's what weekends are for) as it is about experiencing a new place first hand. I'd rather not spend the money. |
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UknowsI
Joined: 16 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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| curiousaboutkorea wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
Am I the only one out there who still likes to vacation at a 3-5 star, eat good meals, be driven around and hit up some good night life while having a jacuzzi to go to and room service?
If I want to live rustic I'll join the Peace Corps and live in that place for a year and get into the lifestyle. |
A lot of us want to experience the local culture, food etc. Fancy hotels and the like does nothing for me and others. I want the everyday food of the area and to wander aimlessly, taking in my surroundings. For me, vacation is not so much about relaxing (that's what weekends are for) as it is about experiencing a new place first hand. I'd rather not spend the money. |
How will joining the Peace Corps not let you experience local culture?
I agree with Steelrails a lot, and I could see myself joining the Peace Corps if I want to see the countries were they operate. Many Koreans I have talked with in Korea also do travelling by volunteering, for example in eastern Europe. The last two times I went on longer vacation abroad I did it by doing local internships. You can often find this kind of work if you are willing to stay at the same place for at least 2 months. |
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curiousaboutkorea
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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| UknowsI wrote: |
| curiousaboutkorea wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
Am I the only one out there who still likes to vacation at a 3-5 star, eat good meals, be driven around and hit up some good night life while having a jacuzzi to go to and room service?
If I want to live rustic I'll join the Peace Corps and live in that place for a year and get into the lifestyle. |
A lot of us want to experience the local culture, food etc. Fancy hotels and the like does nothing for me and others. I want the everyday food of the area and to wander aimlessly, taking in my surroundings. For me, vacation is not so much about relaxing (that's what weekends are for) as it is about experiencing a new place first hand. I'd rather not spend the money. |
How will joining the Peace Corps not let you experience local culture?
I agree with Steelrails a lot, and I could see myself joining the Peace Corps if I want to see the countries were they operate. Many Koreans I have talked with in Korea also do travelling by volunteering, for example in eastern Europe. The last two times I went on longer vacation abroad I did it by doing local internships. You can often find this kind of work if you are willing to stay at the same place for at least 2 months. |
I know I left the mention of the Peace Corps in my quote, but how on earth in my post did I argue against his point about that? |
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UknowsI
Joined: 16 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| I know I misinterpreted your post a bit on purpose to make it more interesting. But for me, working in the community has been the best way to experience local culture while living with decent facilities has been the most comfortable way of relaxing. So if I want to experience the local culture I would do the former in stead of backpacking. |
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kiknkorea
Joined: 16 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:07 am Post subject: |
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| rollo wrote: |
| Good post by old fat farang!! He sums up the changes well. the LP is often inaccurate, mostly doesnt mention out of the way places. Some of the best trips are never going to be mentioned in LP. because people who use or contribute to LP are never going to know about them. |
Agree, very nice post OFF!
I find the maps and some of the tips in the LP guides useful, but forget about using it to guide my trips.
What kind of luck are you going to have finding a place to stay at the authors pick hotel/hostel when most everyone else is using the same guide?
rollo had a great point that pertains to all of the guide books.
Any of them just list what the contributors experience. It may be good information, but there's so much more they haven't seen may be worthwhile or better. |
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BoholDiver
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:20 am Post subject: |
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If I came into riches, I'd backpack for sure. I loathe paying more than $50 a night for any place to stay, as I generally just sleep there and spend 90% of my waking hours outside. As long as it's clean and safe, I am okay with it.
I had a cool idea for a route. Start in Manila by flying Cebu Pacific there and spend some time in Philippines. Then fly from there to Kota Kinabalu on Borneo, and go from there.
Also going from Vietnam area all the way to Turkey or Eastern Europe would be cool, but I would fly over Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Take a stop in India and then another flight to Turkey. |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 4:34 am Post subject: |
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Heck yea, if money comes my way, I'm a traveler for life or until I'm tired of it. You can always fly home for a breather and then go when you have the wanderlust itching. If you got money, you don't need to live and work in a foreign country for peanuts to go experience the world. In fact, it's probably better to do 1 to 3 month volunteer programs, just travel, and stay as long or as little as you like. That would be the ultimate way to live, generally speaking.
I like OldFatFarang's post. How do you do a 10 year round the world trip? You would have at least $1000 a month income to take care of your low cost of living by going to countries where rooming is cheap and where camping is available. I want to just go it on my own for a long time, but have something to come back to when I'm finished so I'm not in dire straights and limbo. That's a catch 22. Wouldn't it be nice to not just be on a treadmill of jobs paying peanuts just to minimally survive? I'm going to do something like a round the world trip when I'm finished in Korea. |
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jugbandjames
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| Am I the only one out there who still likes to vacation at a 3-5 star, eat good meals, be driven around and hit up some good night life while having a jacuzzi to go to and room service? |
Well, that's the difference between a vacation and travelling. When I vacation, I go to the beach, stay at a nice hotel or rent a house with friends, drink beer all day and relax in the sun. When I travel, I try to see as much of the world as authentically and as cheaply as I can.
Sleeping on the ground is really only bad for the first week or so, and then your body gets used to it. You get good at finding soft ground to camp on. The first time I slept on a real bed again, I was amazed at how unnecessarily soft it was. Cycling is great for your health and definitely increases your sex appeal, which can obviously make a trip more fun. When you find that good night life, wouldn't you rather have the body of someone who's been cycling 50-60 miles everyday for a few months?
On my trip, I traveled for the first few weeks with a friend, but most of the time on my own. I definitely felt more culturally immersed when I was on my own. It forced me to interact with people more. When travelling with other people, it's really easy to create your own little bubble and not really meet people. That said, since I was in Europe, I met a lot of other travelers at campgrounds (mostly Europeans, not rich) and with the internet and all, it was pretty easy to meet up with them again later when we were in the same major cities. |
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BoholDiver
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:13 am Post subject: |
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I would too, and you said it yourself why I don't do it.
I'd bankrupt myself and my family.
| AsiaESLbound wrote: |
Heck yea, if money comes my way, I'm a traveler for life or until I'm tired of it. You can always fly home for a breather and then go when you have the wanderlust itching. If you got money, you don't need to live and work in a foreign country for peanuts to go experience the world. In fact, it's probably better to do 1 to 3 month volunteer programs, just travel, and stay as long or as little as you like. That would be the ultimate way to live, generally speaking.
I like OldFatFarang's post. How do you do a 10 year round the world trip? You would have at least $1000 a month income to take care of your low cost of living by going to countries where rooming is cheap and where camping is available. I want to just go it on my own for a long time, but have something to come back to when I'm finished so I'm not in dire straights and limbo. That's a catch 22. Wouldn't it be nice to not just be on a treadmill of jobs paying peanuts just to minimally survive? I'm going to do something like a round the world trip when I'm finished in Korea. |
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.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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Mr. Farang, I think it's story time. I'd like to hear your tale of 10 years around the world. How is it done? How much of that is working, traveling, or both?
10 years is a long time 
Mucho kudos. |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| oldfatfarang wrote: |
On travelling solo. You will never be lonely when you travel. Especially if you're hitch hiking. There are some incredibly kind people, all over the world - and you'll meet them hitching - and just walking around countries. However, you'll also meet some very bad boys and girls - we were robbed 12 times in 10 years. |
I found traveling massively lonely. A few times I met nice people but you know, they move on and you have to try to find someone else. I'm very much not an outgoing person. I can fake it but don't have the stamina to fake it all the damn time for weeks on end. At the same time being constantly surrounded by other people was exhausting. The cheap rooms are shared, so even if you don't have anyone to talk to, you are never alone. The worst of every possible world!
I don't understand how other people can do it. Of course, the huge majority of people DO NOT do this alone, which is another reason making friends can be hard. Most hostels in my experience were packed full of people traveling with friends, who weren't really interesting in adding anyone else. |
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