Official Krank Golf - Shop for Formula 7 & 7X Long Drivers, Fairway woods & Hybrids. More Long Drive Champions than any other Driver 20 World Championships! Do you need an international drivers license in Italy? Yes - it's required by law. Here is information about how to save money getting one. South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula jutting out from the far east of the Asian land mass. The only country with a land. How To Get Drivers License In South KoreaSouth Korea | Asia Forum. Finally! - - a start to my promised trip report on South Korea. I plan to summarize my final itinerary, comment on what I enjoyed least and most, recap my planning activities, and then – because South Korea gets so little coverage on Fodor’s - - give you a relatively detailed account of my time. So consider yourselves warned: This TR will be LONG (feel free to skim! Even so, your questions and comments are welcome at any point! Context: As some of you know, I’m a woman with reasonably extensive experience as a solo, independent traveler. This was my first visit to Korea and my third trip to the Orient. I previously visited Japan for 3 weeks and northern China for 4 weeks.) Wherever I travel, I seek to maximize the diversity of the experiences I will likely have during my trip. My tastes are fairly eclectic, but not entirely indiscriminate: I typically enjoy art, architecture, museums, religious sanctuaries, parks and gardens, natural scenery, castles and fortresses, markets (for their atmosphere, not for shopping), picturesque villages, good food and wine, folk traditions, and the chance to see and experience other parts of the world. I generally don’t seek opportunities to relax (relying on meals and time in transit for that) or shop (except for buying gifts for family and friends). Itnerary: This trip took place in May of 2. My final itinerary was: - Day 0- 1: Leave the U. S.; reach my hotel in Seoul by early evening; begin exploring- Days 2 – 5: Explore Seoul (with more time in Seoul at the end of my trip); day trips to Yongin and Suwon- Day 6: First part of day in Seoul; move on to Daejeon- Day 7: Day trip from Daejeon to Buyeo- Day 8: Day trip from Daejeon to Gongju; move on to Gwangju- Days 9 - 1. Gwangju and day trips to Gochang, Soswaewon, Songgwangsa, and Yulpo/Boseong- Day 1. Move on to Seogwipo (on Jeju Island)- Days 1. Explore Jeju Island- Day 1. Visit Jeju City and move on to Busan- Days 1. Explore Busan and Tongdosa- Day 1. Move on to Haeinsa for an overnight templestay- Day 2. Finish seeing Haeinsa; visit Daegu and Jikjisa; move on to Gyeongju- Days 2. Explore Gyeongju and visit Seokguram and Bulguksa- Day 2. Move on to Andong; visit Hahoe- Day 2. Explore Andong- Day 2. Move on to Yeongju; visit Buseoksa- Day 2. Return to, and explore more of, Seoul- Days 2. Explore Seoul- Day 2. Return to U. S. Likes and Dislikes: What I liked least: - In many areas, seemingly incessant and frankly unnecessary, irritating noises. Music blaring, people shouting, cartoon- like commercials and announcements (SO irksome, whether auditory or visual!), honking cars, sounds of hacking and spitting, etc., all (of course) against the “usual” street noises one encounteres anywhere. I remember one hike when - - just as I was thinking about how nice it was to experience a few moments of silence, broken only by an occasional bird call or the rustle of the leaves as a breeze caught them - - my thoughts were interrupted by blaring karyoke from a radio somebody was carrying. Seriously? And if someone is going to share his/her music with everyone else, does it really need to be Korean- dubbed disco music, decades- old pop music, or “White Christmas” (in May)?!? Sigh.- Litter and the lack of trash cans/disposal options. One of my first impressions of Seoul was that it had a surprising amount of litter. The next morning, when I wanted to dispose of a take- out coffee cup, I realized that part of the problem is that it is almost impossible to locate a disposal option. Even the areas around vending machines – which were almost as common in Seoul as in Japan – didn’t necessarily have any trash receptacles. If I asked someone where to put my trash, s/he would inevitably simply take it from me, which I must admit felt like an incredible imposition, especially the time I asked a police officer. I came to the conclusion – which could easily be mistaken - - that at least in Seoul, garbage is picked up early in the morning and people simply leave their trash at the curb. The problem didn’t seem quite so prevalent outside of Seoul, and I’m glad to report that when I did find trash receptables, they were almost always designed to separate recyclables from trash.- The seeming absence of consensually acknowledged rules of the road other than stopping at a red light, so that just about every time I took a taxi, it was with the sense – no, make that the certain knowledge!!! I was risking my life. Nonetheless, I only saw one accident, and neither of the two cars involved were taxis.- The VERY long waits to cross streets. It seemed that at almost every intersection, each distinct approach had it’s own, separate light. And each red light was long enough that some drivers (including some of my crazy taxi drivers) literally turned their cars off. A wait of up to 4 minutes for a green light for pedestrian crossings was not uncommon, causing me uncommon frustration.- some truly awful coffee. I mean REALLY bad. I thought I could endure just about any cup of coffee if I felt the need for caffeine. I was SO wrong! I did find a number of decent coffee shops (Starbuck’s franchises or those of many of its competitors) in major cities, but many of these shops were open for afternoon or evening business only. Finding a good – or even just barely decent - - cup of coffee in the morning was not always an easy task, particularly outside of Seoul or Busan.- the nearly complete absence of options to enjoy a glass of wine or beer when not also eating a meal. Wine was extremely hard to find and was seriously overpriced. And although it seemed that one could buy beer at any 2. Koreans relax over a beer in the absence of a meal seemed essentially non- existent. Beer did not seem an unusual accompaniment to dinner.)- the seat belts on intercity buses. I don’t mind wearing a seat belt. My complaint is about the particular seat belts used on intercity buses in South Korea: The piece to the right is HUGE and is firmly fixed to the seat, so it can’t be moved, and the seats are made for SMALL people. I may not be the slim little wisp that I was when in high school, but I’m not much over the ideal weight for my height, and I still developed a HUGE bruise from where this seat belt part dug into my side on every bus trip. Ouch!- The lack of a top- is- north convention for maps. I think the convention may be that the top is what you are facing, but I’m not certain.) I didn’t realize that it wasn’t top- is- north until well into my trip, but I was soon aware that I was having great difficulty using publicly posted maps. That was disconcerting, as I am usually pretty good with maps. Eventually, I remembered being in another country where top is not necessarily north: Lightbulb! The very limited space for hanging things in Korean lodgings. Only one room in which I stayed had more than 3 hangers (it had 5!?!); some had less. Most rooms had enough rack space for me to hang my used towels and my day’s handwash; some did not. My idea of a dinner napkin is something one can use to cover one’s lap and wipe one’s hands. Not so in South Korea! As a rule, dinner napkins were no larger than what I consider a “cocktail napkin,” and they were often made of much thinner tissue. I did reasonably well – IMO – with the metal chopsticks and spoon, but I went through a LOT of the insubstantial little “napkins” I found at my tables. What I liked most: - the people and their truly warm hospitality. In every country I have visited over the years, I have been the fortunate recipient of some incredible acts of kindness, and those moments remain among my most precious memories of prior trips. Even in that context, the warmth and hospitality of the people of South Korea awed me, and it could well be that my memories of these people prove the most enduring of this trip. I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere where so many people have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome or to find ways to help me or share something with me. As examples, I don’t think I ever stopped at a public map without someone politely offering assistance. And even though there was no reason to do so, an incredible number of people who passed me as I walked around a temple or climbed to a fortress wall or whatever took a moment to greet me, whether in English or Korean; and they beamed, and sometimes paused to speak, when I responded.
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