Beautiful Seoul | Kiwi Rugby Stories | Guest Blog Post

Tell us a little bit about yourself - who are you; how your blog came about; anything else you'd like to add:

Hey my name is Lauren, I live between Brisbane AU and Christchurch NZ! My blog is called Kiwi Rugby Travel Stories, where I get to show the world my story of my love for Rugby Union, my obsession of travelling the globe, my interests in Korean Culture & Japanese Culture and my experiences with Jewish Culture & NZ Culture!

What is your preferred style of travel?

Budget

Do you get to travel quite often?

Yes, generally once a month but at the present it's been reduced due to illness

For the purposes of this blog - think of a destination where you travelled that you'll give us some hot tips on in this blog and tell us the destination below

Seoul, South Korea

When was this trip (month and/or year)? Do you recommend this time of year to visit this place?

24 September - 2 October 2016, it was the perfect time to go; as the infamous Seoul humidity had left and it was just pleasant, with cool nights.

How many days did you stay in this place?

5 days

What was your choice of accommodation?

Backpackers

What was the name of the hotel/motel (if this applies to you)?

24 Guesthouse Seoul Station

Was this accommodation conveniently located from public transport and/or major tourist spots?

Yes it was a 5 minute walk from Gate 12 of Seoul Station.

What was your experience staying at this accommodation? Highs, lows, what made you choose to stay here - would you recommend staying at this place?

I chose to stay here because of the price as Seoul is expensive accommodation wise. I would definitely recommend this place, it was small but got the job done and I went around Seoul on my first full day there with one of the staff.

If you were to go back to this destination, would you stay here?

Yes

I hope you guys can understand the last couple of months I've been battling an auto immune disease so I know I could do better in the editing and uploading part when it comes to promising a schedule but I've had some really bad days lately and I just want to put my health first before anything.** This week's TBT Vlog is about how to get to and from Incheon Airport!

Did you book (group) tours or see the city by yourself?

Saw the city myself

Give us a glimpse into some of the sights you saw - (what did the sights entail, how long should they spend there etc.)! How should one plan their day when selecting certain sightseeing options?

Gyeongbukgung Palace, Insa-dong, Bukcheon Hanok Village, Myeongdong, Gwangjang Market & Hongdae. I would stick to one district and stay in there for one day as it's so large and sometimes a lot to see. If you wish to do the Gyeongbukgung Palace, Insa-dong and Bukcheon Hanok Village is in walking distance so you can easily do it in one day.

Speaking of sightseeing - What do you recommend an absolute must do?

Definitely Gwangjang Market, it's a great place for cheap street food and cheap produce as well.

Depending on your style of travel (i.e. solo, group, family, luxury, budget) is there a tour or an attraction that you would recommend to someone who's looking to travel like you, should do?

Hongdae was the drawcard; the alternative and expressionism vibe was amazing.

Food - that's the important stuff! What were your favourite restaurants/food joints etc. to go to? Tell us all about where we should and shouldn't go?

Food in Seoul is cheap and you can fill yourself up on about 10,000 won very easily. Try out the convenience stores and Kimbap Heaven as well for cheap food as well.

Every Thursday, I'll be uploading vlogs from my trip to South Korea from when I visited in September/October 2016. Today's vlog is about Gwangjang Market, had an absolute blast here and was so full despite only spending about 10,000 won here! You will find humour in that I forgot at some points to turn on my microphone as well!

What was the highlight of your trip? Whether it is related to the destination or the way you travel is up to you (maybe both)

Going to Seoul was the biggest drawcard as I learnt Korean for about 12 months prior to coming to Seoul, so it was major highlight of my travels.

What was an absolute low of your trip? And how can one be prepared to avoid it if they are visiting this destination?

Beware that Google Maps and perhaps even your phone won't work in South Korea due to their bandwidth/government policies. If you have a multi bandwidth phone you maybe in luck to use it in Seoul. My iPhone 6S Plus worked fine.

A lot of places including menus are in hangeul (the Korean Alphabet) so you might find it a challenge to read a menu. I definitely advise anyone to learn hangeul, it's very easy to learn, before leaving.

Also be aware, racism does happen a lot in Korea, do not be deterred about going because of this, it's rare but it happens. You will find that majority of the comments are made from the older generations but please do not deter yourself from going to Korea because of this.

Any hot tips or extra information that you'd like to add before you sign off?

Seoul is a city that never sleeps, you can have an amazing time at any hour of the day and still be blown away on how this city is truly under appreciated by the major tourist companies.

What’s your next destination?

Melbourne, Australia

What are your social media and/or other links where people can find you?

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2jmzaBp

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2jxB1Wm

YouTube: http://bit.ly/1qxda9k

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2iL6Uqq

Blog: https://kiwirugbytravelstories.com/

Can’t wait to share my stories with you!

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