Please check out this amazing special tour available to KOREA and THAILAND for travel up till March 15, 2013. 13 days, 10 nights including airfares from Vancouver - $2699.00.
Includes -
airfare from Vancouver
2 nights Bangkok
1 night Uthani Thani
1 night Kukhothal
1 night Chiang Rai
2 nights Chiang Mai
3 nights Seoul
16 meals
sightseeing tours
airport transfers
Call me for the full tour details, and check out my personal comments below.
Travel Consultant and Korea travel expert Gordon Davies
Seoul is a very modern city with a good and expanding infrastructure. One thing that I did notice was that there appears to be little to no single family homes or historic buildings, but there are many clusters of high-rise apartment buildings.
A city tour gave me a great overview of the city. We also took a day tour to the DMZ (Demilitarized Military Zone), the Dora observatory, Dora Station, and the 3rd infiltration tunnel. The DMZ is the most heavily armed border in the world, but these days it is a safe destination that is recommended to all travelers. From the Dora observatory I was able to use one of the coin operated binoculars provided to look into North Korea.
We also ate at some local restaurants and did some shopping in the Dongdaemun night market.
Dongdaemun night market
After we checked out of our hotel in Seoul, we started a 4 hour bus tour to Gyeongju. The area driven through was what I would describe as a "continuous industrial park". Very densely populated with all flat ground having been cultivated. I did notice some older Korean architecture and individual homes in this area.
In the Gyeongju area we visited Cheomseongdae Observatory, which is the oldest in Asia, the Daereungwan Royal Tombs, Bulguksa Temple and Seokgulam Grotto.
We spent that night at the Commodore Hotel in Bomun Tourist Resort, which is an area that contains midway type rides, quad rentals, and hot air balloon rides all surrounding a small lake. The next morning we departed for Busan.
Busan is the largest port city in Korea. We toured the area around the APEC house and then had lunch at the world’s largest department store, Shinsegae. Then to Gimhae airport to catch our flight to the volcanic island of Jeju.
Jeju Island was one of the highlights of Korea for me. We visited the Seweongson Tuff Cone, Manjonggul lava tube, and a tea farm. It is very popular as a honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds. The island itself and the lava tubes are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
We took a bus tour to Mt. Hallason Natural Reserve, which is a very popular destination for hiking. We also made a quick stop at the "mystery road", an optical illusion which appears to be sloping upwards but is actually a sloping downwards.
JeJu Island
After that, we went to Incheon airport for our departure back to Vancouver. Incheon Airport is very large and clean. There are 2 hotels at the airport and offers a lot of shopping. Korean Air has a lounge area for all passengers that include a free shower with towel.
I found that all of the domestic airports in Korea are clean and easy to navigate. Korea has been putting a focus on tourism; they have a 24 hour tourism hotline as well as a library and other helpful things for tourists. We were also introduced to medical tourism, which appears to be an up and coming sector for Korean tourism.
Also, when visiting a private home in Korea, you must remove your shoes, but make sure that you are wearing socks because bare feet are considered impolite!
We ate at mostly local restaurants so the experience was very authentic. Most meals consist of white rice and a burner on the table to cook different types of meat. A box of utensils (generally metal chopsticks and spoons) is provided. Breakfasts at our hotels were all American style buffets with Korean food as an option.
If anyone has any questions about Korea, please don't hesitate to contact me here at Marlin Travel Cadboro Bay
250-595-1181
