For first time visitor, you might be worried about your journey like I did. Before you embark on your trip, there are a few things you need to take note. Here I listed out some travel tips and useful information based on my travel experience in Korea.
- As a Malaysian, we do not need a visa to travel to Korea as a tourist for a trip duration of up to 90 days.
- South Korea is 1 hour ahead of Malaysia.
- Currency in Korea is Won (KRW) which is denominated in 1000, 5000, 10000, and 50000 bills. 1000KRW = RM2.80 (depending on Forex). If you have smart phone, download the currency convertor in the Apple's App Store or Android's Google Play . It is really useful. A simple way to do the maths is to remove the last three zero digits and then multiply it by 3. For example, 5000 won would be equivalent to 5 x 3 = RM15.
- Visa , MasterCard, American Express are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and department stores.
- T- money is widely use in korea as a transportation card like Octopus card in Hongkong, Oyster card in London , or Ezlink in Singapore. You can even make purchase in some convenience stores which display the T-money logo (e.g. Family mart, GS 25 etc.). By using T-money, you will be entitled to discounts for your transportation fee. You can of course recharge and refund the T-money card.
- Korea Pass is a prepaid travel card for foreign travelers to pay for accommodation, transportation, tourist attraction entrance fee and to do shopping in Korea. With this card, we managed to get discounts for entrance fee in most of the tourist attractions. It is highly recommend to get one if you want to save money.
- Subway in Seoul is very convenient and tourist friendly. It is the easiest way to travel in Seoul. You can learn more about subway at this link: subway info. If you think it's complicated to figure out the route, simply check your route in this interactive Seoul Cyber Station Map. Simply click on your Departure Station, followed by your Arrival Station, and the Cyber Station will show you the train schedule, quickest route, transfer points, and fare information. For those using smart phone, you may try Jihachul or Metroid from the App Store.
- Buses can be more complicated to use compared to subway because the bus route maps are not always in English. English translation is only available at some major stations. Moreover, you need to be more careful to alight at the correct station. Before reaching the station, you have to press the bell to signal the bus driver as the bus will not stop at every bus stop. Please don't try to count the number of bus stop according to the route map, you may miss the bus stop. For more details, please refer here: Seoul bus info.
- Many of the Seoul subway lines are equipped with paid lockers. Small locker costs 2000Won while a large one costs 3000won for a 24-hour storage .
- Non-Korean speakers can make inquiries and reservations for the international taxis by calling the exclusive call center (+82-1644-2255). The service is available in English and Japanese, and lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (Source: KTO website).
- Kindly ask the hotel front desk to write down all your destinations of the day in English and Korean. It's easier for you to ask for direction or to show to the taxi driver.
- A tip to ask for direction: you may want to try to approach the younger generation. The chances that they speak English is higher. Otherwise, show them the map to ask for direction in body language.
- Rent a local mobile phone to avoid hassle. Otherwise, you may need to pay for the hefty global roaming bills after your trip. You can reserve it via internet before your trip and collect it at the airport. Just follow the steps given in this link.
- The standard voltage in Korea is 220 volts. The outlet has two round holes and is the same type used in France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Turkey, and many other countries. Thus, for Malaysian, you need to bring along a travel universal adapter.
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| Thanks to KTO for the thoughtful gift :) |
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