Walk Me Through It: Seoul

You’ve made it! You used the airbnb code and have already ubered to your local airport so, now what? There are so many more things to note on your first trip to Seoul. I’m here to walk you through the basics so that the most stressful part of your trip, doesn’t need to be what kicks it off.

Here we go.

Plan ahead

The very first thing you need to take care of happens before you board your plane. Have you called your CC or Debit bank to let them know you’ll be out of state/country? Give them the heads up so that you don’t have purchases abroad being blocked with no way of calling to confirm/deny them. Also, in the event of lost or missing baggage, many credit services will cover the fees to support you until you get your bags back. Definitely call your company on that one to see if you are covered! The second most integral part of this set-up is deciding what you want to do with your phone. The first time I traveled abroad I chose a plan with my carrier that enabled me to have a certain number of allowed texts/minutes for calls. Now, when going to Seoul I definitely recommend picking an airbnb that has a portable wifi egg or something else to that affect. Also, quick reminder to bring portable batteries. Your phone WILL die. Just be ready. You can also pick these up in the airport for anywhere near ~$11 a day. If you are able to keep your phone in airplane mode (turn off your data to be safe as well) there are plentiful resources even along the streets in Seoul to provide wifi for browsing the web or last minute contacts. As I said earlier, having an airbnb with a portable wifi egg allows you to have wifi wherever you are, even in the metro. Speaking of the metro…

Grab a T-Money Card

Image courtesy of Visit Korea

A T-money card is your best friend for your trip to Seoul, unless you’re rich and want to take taxis all the time. I do not recommend taking a taxi unless you’re doing something after hours when the metro has closed. Taxi services are known to cost an arm and a leg over in Korea and you could end up with the rare driver that overcharges the foreigner. It is always helpful in these situations to at least be able to say where you would like to go. For example, if you are heading to Hongdae Station 3, you can say 홍대역 3번 출구 부탁합니다~ Which can be romanized to “Hongdae yog, sam bon chulgu, butak habnida” I feel weird writing it this way but it is the best way to read it if you haven’t learned Hangul yet!

anyways back to the T-money card.

You can buy the card itself in the main arrivals floor of the airport in a generic CVS 4 U or similar convenience card. The last time I purchased one, it was around $8 or 8,000 won. Then, you can take your card to the lower level where the metro station is and fill it up with the rechargeable machines. Don’t worry, the machine has additional language features.

Make sure to additionally download the Kakao metro app for an easy time going through the stations, be sure to load it before you lose wifi if you haven’t gotten your egg yet. You can also use google maps, a lot of sites will tell you it doesn’t work, but it has worked perfectly for me the last few years. The only thing I do suggest is keeping in mind that if you are walking everywhere, be mindful of the directions on google because they will only show you the subway/bus routes. You can also use your T-money at the vending machines and bus systems and I believe, some taxi.

Image courtesy of Visit Korea

Exchange Your Money at the Airport or With a Friend

I’ve always exchanged my funds at the airport so that it’s ready for me when I arrive. There is a nasty fee, but it’s better than the ever changing fee’s you’ll find at individual spots in Korea to exchange. The best case scenario would be to find a friend that has cash and has the ability to exchange for you at the closest rate. You also have the ability to take out more funds via Woori and Shinhan bank in Korea, however their fees are always changing and you may not have the best time exchanging. When in doubt, most Taxi and department stores take Visa anyway. You can learn the won system via this link, but it’s super easy. If a bill is 10,000 Won, it’s $10. 5,000 Won is $5 and so forth. There is shopping on every corner in Korea, whether it be in the metro stations, the street food snacks, or the department stores with whole floors of restaurants. You’ll want to know how to budget ahead of time.

So you’re here, walking around new coffee shops with your fancy wifi egg and your portable battery charger. But there’s one problem: you haven’t learned any Hangul prior to coming and don’t know how to ask for anything. For starters, use your plane time to learn some basic phrases, and if you can’t memorize them try writing them down. Here are some apps that I highly recommend when trying to speed run the language:

Duolingo, Korean, and Naver

Duolingo will test you and make learning fun. You can’t look at stocked phrases, but you can treat learning as a game and get some quick syllables under your belt. The Korean app will have a ton of free helpful phrases, and while they are a bit formal, you should use that tense to talk to the older strangers you meet to maintain politeness. Lastly, Naver is a great source of essentially everything for the average Korean. It’s a blog, a translating app, dictionary and news source. That will probably be the most up to date in translating.

There you have it. The first time I traveled to Seoul, I was alone and with very minimal skills in the language. While my language skills aren’t necessarily the greatest, they are enough to have basic conversation and get me where I need to go. I pursued Korean as a minor and find myself loving the food and the culture every time I go back. If you follow these basic starting tips, you’ll do fine! Just remember your 주세요 (Chuseyo: Please Give me), 제발요 (Jeybalyo: Please) and your thank you (Kamsamnida: 감사합니다)!

Have any questions or additional advice? Drop a comment below to enlighten everyone reading!

Travel Like Me

The one question I get constantly is how I manage to travel on a low budget domestically and abroad. Traveling through Tokyo while staying in their quiet residential district of Sumida-ku and taking the metro daily shouldn't be that cheap, right? Wrong. I had spent a total of $650 between my flight, housing and my 2 week JR pass (we stayed for a month, but chose the pass for taking our bullet train at the start of the trip). Finding people to travel with you throughout the country, let alone within your own state, is difficult. But, I'm here to help you at least find a way to convince yourself to take the trip of your life.

Typically I travel alone. I've never felt uncomfortable or lonely, it just always felt good to know that everything was on my own time and I wasn't stuck doing things that I didn't like for the sake of following the group. In fact, the first two times I traveled out of the country was to Ukraine. And I was alone.

and I also got stuck in Amsterdam for a day because the states had few flights.

So, I decided to take my trip to Japan with 5 other friends last Summer around this time, and this is where my coupon clipping genes came in.

 

I traveled to Ukraine during the 2013/2014 Maidan Revolution and once more for New Years in 2015. Images are taken in Lviv, Kiev, Shumsk and Cherkassy

 

Booking: the start of your journey

Okay. So, you've found where you want to go -- or maybe you haven't and you just need to do some searching. The first choice you need to make is this: domestic or international. When I plan trips internationally I like to fly out of an airport a bit closer to the destination to double up on sight-seeing and minimize travel time. I used to be GREAT at flying but recently I've contracted horrible nausea from being airborne. 

Side Note: remember to pack any air sickness medications, your skin care regiment for retaining moisture

For example, when I flew to Japan, I chose booking from LAX rather than DFW. Dallas is relatively in the middle, but LAX brought my tickets down at least $400 and my flight to LA was only $150 anyway. In total, to fly out to NRT (Tokyo Narita) from LAX was only $430 while my flight from Dallas to NRT at the time was around $967 - 1100. In total, I spent much less and got 2 days in Los Angeles before and after. It made my post-trip depression a bit easier, and I didn't have to spend those extra 4 hours on a plane. 

When flying domestically the search is essentially the same except you don't really need to worry about flying to a different port as you'll ideally be traveling to one location. Now for the secret you have all been waiting for --  Incognito mode.

Incognito mode is your ticket to a cheaper flight. With every search you make in your regular browser comes IP address tracking. Expedia and all of your other favorite sites are able to track the other prices you've seen and prevent you from seeing cheaper options on other sites. If you use incognito mode, you cannot be tracked. Another way to minimize pricing? Book your flight on a Wednesday. For some odd reason, this is the ideal day to search up flights. A great key to finding your ideal flight is also to extend your stay or avoid weekends/holidays. I've flown through both and haven't had too much of an issue with this, but if you're truly on a budget you can try this way. 

Travels to Seoul, South Korea during 2015

Itinerary: document and search early

I cannot emphasize ENOUGH the importance of setting up an itinerary. You don't need to stick to it, but you can save yourself time and trouble if you do. I always preface my itinerary with the addresses I'm staying at so that I can show it to a taxi if I am stuck and need a ride back. You should also include all of your flight information at the top. I always choose to airbnb abroad, usually I have friends in the states I travel to but I've used it in California too.

Click this link to receive $40 off your first airbnb -- then you can save your money for more experiences that you can also find on airbnb!

There are a lot of locations, especially within Asia, that require tickets to be bought in advance. Sometimes months in advance. I planned super early on, but since I didn't know that until I went I ended up missing out on some spots that were only taking pre-reserved tickets. Don't let this happen to you! Look up pop-up shops that are happening nearby and map out the time it will take from your original location that way you don't pass up spots just to turn around and go back. If you're traveling somewhere like Japan, you can even pre-order your JR Pass to travel on the bus systems and have it ready for you upon arrival! Another handy way to travel while within the states is through Uber or Via!

Use my invite code: allien279ue for a discount on your first Uber or allie7w3 for Via.

Via is a great way to ride within New York and Uber is a better option within Los Angeles. Some countries do have Uber, but prefer taxi service -- just take public transit for that one.

Travels to Japan in 2017. Images are taken in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka

Budgeting: the hard part, but also the last part

You've found where you want to go, you've bought your ticket and hopefully you've planned enough in advance that the funds won't affect you when the time comes. What could be left? Your budget.

Take your itinerary and search up every location you'd ideally want to go to. Log in the hours they are open and the prices it will take to do or enter that location/activity. Here you have the minimum-maximum range of what you could possibly be looking at in terms of spending. Always research how much an average meal is in that location so that you can properly know. I always work as much as I can and set aside funds. I also tend to let my debit/credit card companies know when I'll be out of state/country so that I can use my card there if needed with ease. When you're traveling abroad it is smartest to get your cash exchange in the US airport before you land in your destination because regardless of the politeness of the country you're visiting, you will probably get scammed. On top of that, once you leave the states the rates are still subject to change, so know your conversions prior. A helping factor is if you know someone at your destination that can help convert for you. When I was in Japan, one of my travel partners' dad was living there and exchanged all our cash at the more true rate rather than what the corner stores were offering. 

Travels to San Francisco in 2014

I hear all the time from friends and family that they could never travel here or there realistically because the first thing people think when they consider traveling is that it's only a dream. I wrote this post to tell you it's not -- it's much more real than you think and surprisingly, it's cheaper than ever currently. I have the ability to work while abroad, and I do often travel for the sake of my side jobs, but it really is so attainable and traveling is one of the most uplifting things you can do to live your best life. 

Have any tips I didn't list? Comment below or message me! I'd love to continue updating this in the future, if you all don't think it's too long already~

Visual ilinx

HELLO NEW WORLD! A recap post

*WELL HELLO THERE*

It's been a while. Maybe a little more than a while...maybe three months. But enough of that, let's get down to more important things for anyone that actually enjoys reading about my little ramblings!

To start off, I've been doing a lot of work recently after getting hired on to be the Yelp Fort Worth photographer, which turned in to Marketing intern which this upcoming September will turn into....Assistant! I feel like this is the fastest I've ever been promoted and although I'm majoring in CLIS and two languages...Marketing is one of my strong suits. Growing up a millennial it's kind of difficult for it not to be, ya know? So I've been doing that since maybe the day before I left for Japan. Speaking of, I met wonderful models Georgia & Misuzu while I was there, along with some adorable random and willing street models. 

I saw lots of interesting and cultural things on my trip and found out a lot about myself as well. I also learned that the metro in Tokyo is much different from the one in Seoul...which also is much different from the one in San Francisco..dually noted. I didn't take many shots outside of my models because I was trying to force myself to live more in the moment and not spend it all behind my lens.

But here's me in front of the lens for once~

This was at Tokyo DisneySea which is not as photogenic as one may think! Anyways, after all of that traveling, I came home remembering that the Kidoh S.O.H.K tour was an immediate follow-up trip. We traveled to ATL, DC and LA on top of running a show in Dallas the night before the trip started. I was dead tired but was fortunate to link up with creatives and artists all over the states. You can see all their images here. 

Oh, but the fun continues!

I met up with Jinny, a super personable and totally adorable freelance model on my last full day in LA, which ended up also doubling as a product shoot for Purveyor & Loyal K.N.G. Now I have a few article and photo collabs up on their site as well!

I've continued my work shooting for them in Dallas lately and plan on taking it to Houston for a pop-up late September. There is also a New York trip in the works once again to meet up and collaborate with KORElimited. 

I capped off my first day back from the tour shooting with KOREOS in collaboration with Mnet and KCONTV and complete an Officially KMUSIC video interview with them that will (hopefully) be soon released to the public. I also have finished A LOT of new cosplay shoots including Jodie & Hanna's which are both featured on my page. Bookings for AnimeFest are piling up and soon I won't have any slots left. 

This has been a super long recap but I'm sure it's all up to speed now! I'll try to keep on to this blog portion of my site more often, but busy is always best!

Thanks for indulging me,

Allie