Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BrianInSuwon]

I'm thinking about taking my vacation in Eastern Europe. Can anyone share their experiences there.

How was the trip?
How much is a hotel room?
How much is food?
How is the nightlife?

[jajdude]

try travel forum

[sojourner1]

I went to Budapest 10 years ago and it's very pretty old world city, but the current costs will be 2 to 3 times more as it is most everywhere else. I stayed on Margaret Island, a small 2.5 km strip of land in the river, at the Danubius Grand Hotel for only $65 a night. This is a ritzy 4 star hotel where affordable ($3/ride) Mercedes taxis whisk you in and out. Excellent western food is to be had at the hotel and in the city around the Vaci Utca pedestrian shopping district. You'll get a very classy experience in old Europe with all the art, music, and culture very much alive in the streets and around town. The best lean, sweet maple, super thinly sliced, and fruity bacon I ever tasted. Very lovely memories.

I also went to Croatia and Bosnia 12 years ago when only troops were going and seen that it had potential of being very lovely old world country. I want to go back as the war is over, the infrastructure back in place, and peace has been restored. The locals who worked for us were very good at cooking our western food for me as I was a cook so again, expect great food, beer, music, and sightseeing.

Austria, kinda central, is a sight to behold too as it's Germany's little brother with more rural country and sense that little has changed as the old cities stood the test of time. Again, great beer, food, and music. Top notch quality is to be had in most of Europe, but not as cheap as 10 years ago when it was a bargain. In the 90's I traveled Europe (blew all my money) quite a bit and made about the same amount of money as I do today which went about twice as far as it would today. Great memories...

There's plenty of great nightlife all over Europe. You have discotheque clubs playing fast computerized music, often based on classical music and American music, and then you have beer gardens serving the finest beers in the world, often with a jazz trio and friendly folks. You also have dinner shows in the real classical performance halls of the ages. It was quite lovely.

[pest2]

Been there 3 times now. The first time may not provide too much insight because it was 12 years ago. Just cool,though, for me to go back 9 years later and see how it had developed since then (first time was only 6 years after the end of the cccp.)

Second time, I went to Krakow, Poland. It's great. The scenery there is just as good as any place in Europe I've seen, except maybe Rome or something. Krakow is not a big city. Its maybe like the size of Daejon or something, but it has a city center that is actually the old old 300 year old city, surrounded by a moat and a wall, with all the little shops and sights inside. Also, at one end of the wall is a real castle and you can go up in it...

There are a number of dance clubs inside, all very cool. Easy to meet people, hook up with girls/guys, go with friends, go alone, whatever.

Just outside the city center, there are a number of hostels. I was there a little while ago so the prices maybe have gone up. But for me, it was like 11$ per day to stay in a room shared by 3 other ppl. Not so bad compared to western Europe, at all. Away from Krakow, there are a few things worth seeing, too. Not so much in the rest of the town, which is pretty much just some town were it not for the city center. But you can see the salt mines, or for those who aren't faint at heart, you can go see Auschwitz/Oschwiesm, which was a major concentration camp for the nazis in WW2. (I didnt enjoy that latter place and no one will, but its something I think worth seeing anyway.)

So, Krakow is cool.

The third time, which was just less than 2 years ago, now, we (my wife and I) went to Prague and then Czesky Krumlov. This after a preceding 5 weeks traveling around western Europe and taking a TEFL course in France.

Prague is just about as awe-inspiring as Roma or Paris or London, IMHO. Again, it has a nifty city center and then a city that surrounds it that is just 'some city'; nothing special. Also, in Prague, you've got a huge palace sitting atop a hill that surely must have been the model for the animation in Disney's "Cinderalla". The bad thing about Prague is that its almost as expensive as Western Europe, now, and it's over-run by tourists. Also, because of this, partly, there are lots of scams and con jobs going on there. Also, we found the customer service to be pretty bad compared to how it was in Western Europe or Poland, even.

Hostel prices in Prague have gone up and I think we paid like 35$US per night to have 3 ppl (mother, wife, myself) staying in our own room in a hostel. Supply and demand. Everyone thinks Prague is the place to be for vacation, lately. There are TONS of hostels there, though. You wont have a problem finding a place to stay if you take minimal effort to book ahead.

Czesky Krumlov was, in my opinion, better than Prague in some ways. It's a small, picturesque town with a palace. Very cool old buildings and churches and restaurants... Perfect European-looking city. If you saw the movie, "Hostel", that's where they filmed it. They even have a real torture museum. In fact, there are tons and tons of hostels there but as far as I know, no one gets abducted to be used as subjects in torture games by crazy rich people.

[maingman]

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 7:50 pm Post subject: ,,

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Sea
International ferries are worth considering if you�re travelling around North Asia. You can catch a ferry to Incheon in South Korea from a number of Chinese ports, travel around South Korea, and then leave on a fast ferry from Busan to Japan. Another ferry option is travelling to or from Russia via Sokcho in Gang�won-do.

To/from China
Ferries link 10 Chinese ports with Incheon. Some are crowded with petty traders, but they provide a cheaper option than flying. The cheapest fares offer a thin mattress on a dormitory floor, while the more expensive fares give you a small cabin with a bunk bed and TV. Child fares are usually half the adult fare, and some ferry companies offer students a 20% discount. Prices listed are for one-way tickets and sailing times are subject to variation. Most ferries leave Incheon from Yeonan Pier, but the larger boats depart from International Terminal 2.

A ferry-and-train package is available from cities in Korea to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou or Shenyang in China via the Incheon-Tianjin ferry � see www.korail.go.kr for details.

Ferries (063 2171 6411; W105, 000-220, 000) also leave Gunsan in Jeollabuk-do for Qindao in China three times a week and take 18 hours. The international ferry terminal is a W7500 taxi ride from Gunsan bus terminal.

Four Season Cruise (243 6633; W125, 000) runs twice a week between Mokpo in Jeollanam-do and Shanghai in China.

To/from Japan
First-floor booths in the international ferry terminal near Jungang subway station in Busan sell tickets for overnight ferries to three Japanese cities: Fukuoka (round trip W152,000, departs 10.30pm, arrives 6am), Shimonoseki (round trip W161, 000 to W608,000, departs 8pm, arrives 8am) and Osaka (round trip W237,000, departs 4pm, arrives 10am).

For a quick trip to Fukuoka on the Kobe or Beetle hydrofoils, walk upstairs to the 2nd floor. There are five daily departures (round trip W171,000, three hours, departs 8.45am, 10am, 2pm, 3pm, 3.45pm) plus one additional departure on Friday morning (9.30am).

Other destinations are Hitakatsu (round trip W130,000, one hour 40 minutes) and Izuhara (round trip W130,000, two hours 40 minutes).

Add a W2600 departure tax for these international trips.

To/from Russia
Dongchun (033-639 2632) operates a ferry twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) from Zarubino and Vladivostok in Russia to Sokcho in Gang�won-do. With the cheaper fares (Zarubino one way/return W144,000/244, 800, Vladivostok one way/return W168,000/285,000), you sleep on the floor and share facilities. The more expensive fares entitle you to a cabin for two or four people with your own bed, TV and bathroom. You can connect to the Trans-Siberian railway, although most passengers are Korean and on a package tour to Paekdusan on the Chinese�North Korean border. These package tours cost from W549,000 for seven days (1 March to 31 May) or from W710,000 (1 June to 30 September).


http://www.lonelyplanet.com/south-korea/transport/getting-there-away

[pest2]

uh, thats all great info, but i tihnk the OP wants to go to Eastern EUROPE.

[DCJames]

[definitely maybe]

i was in eastern europe nearly ten years ago when literally everything was still cheap. it makes me very sad to hear how much more expensive most everything has become, but people were saying the same things in 1999/2000. with that said, i don't believe you'll be disappointed with the trip.
i can't give you an accurate idea of prices. i can tell you that there are a ton of great places to see, so budget your time wisely and don't try to do too much. there are some obvious countries/cities that everyone hits, but i'd encourage you to try to visit slovenia, and maybe venture into former yugoslavia, which still wasn't a great idea when i was living in europe.

[martinpil]

I am from the UK and have been to most places in Eastern Europe. If it's women you are after, I would say go to Ukraine. They are the best women in all of the world. AS a brit, I dont need a visa but if ur US, I dunno, you will have to check. Be VERY careful there though not to get ripped off by taxi drivers and I would suggest taking a woman back to your hotel not anything else.

Budapest is a rip-off
Varna in Bulgaria is nice in summer
Romania-nah dont bother
Poland-nah dont bother
Latvia- good nightlife in Riga.....lots of russian women.
Estonia is supposed to be good too (like latvia)

If you want to be first, try Belarus.....its still a dictatorship and poor but the women are russian origin and hot. Would be worth tryin it if u can get a visa.


If however you are lookin for art galleries and architecture, then I am not sure

[Tiger Beer]

I recently read that Ukranians currency has been devalued to nearly half of what it was...meaning, take out your Lonely Planet, and all listed prices (if updated) are 50% off.