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2 Stars - 6 Opinions
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Nakseongdae area, Seoul, South Korea
Changdeokgung Palace
for the collection!
I have a 12 hour layover at Seoul internation airport. I am flying from Vietnam to NYC. I change planes in Seoul. Am i allowed to leave the airport and venture into Seoul, if so is there a place I can dump my luggage?
Cheers
NYTim
As there is no need for a visa for US - citizens, you could easily visit Soeul (about 30 miles )by the airport-bus, taking about 1 hour. There are lugagge-lockers at the airpoirt to leave your belongings.
Happy traveling !
If your bags are not checked all the way on your connections, then there are some options to drop your bags.
I just wrote a tip on luggage storage at Incheon:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/a924a/103c79/1/
If you know Seoul or have a specific adgenda, then by all means you can leave the airport and venture out. As posted above, US passport holders do not need a Visa, so you are free to come and go as you wish.
If you do not have any plans, but just want to get out, there are transit and layover tours available:
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_5_1.jsp
(this was a tip on my Seoul page, but have now posted it to Incheon too.)
One more tip for Shower,
I know there's luggage locker for transit passengers.
Also you can take a hot shower in transit zone.
Take a elevator to 4th floor and you can find Shower Zone
when you have your own towel, it's free!
without it, USD3.0
I remember there's no soap bar or bathgel when I use it last December.
Bryan
While you are in Seoul switch your expectations. Seoul is a modern city with very nice high rise buildings. Big shopping malls and office centers..
I was expecting more Asian style, however I was informed that after the war nothing was left at Korea and they built everything from the very start.. And I must admit they are succesfull on this..
Besides the buildings, streets are also very wide and easy to travel. Big boulewards and streets are making a different view of Seoul
English is not widely spoken or understood here in seoul and in south korea, so if you plan to use taxis or other local services like the bus or subway, it is wise to have instructions written down in Korean by your hotel front desk or receptionist as to not get lost!
An open-air stage for traditional Korean performances such as the folk dance and mask dance. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, people crowd around the stage beside Seokchonho Lake for traditional performances.
Behind Lotte World, Jamsil stn
key chains cost about 1,000 won for wooden ones and about 1,500-2,000 won for metal ones and about 5,000 won for solar powered ones! that is if you haggle (no haggling means about 50% more expensive!) and they are available everywhere but you best bet to buy the cheapest ones are on the markets like namdaemun and dongdaemun than it touristy areas like insadong!
I finally got out and did some fun diving while here in Korea, and will definately be doing more.
The water here is definately not as warm as Thailand, but still fun if you are prepared for it.
I hooked up with a decent Korean shop based in Seoul, Nomadive, and they do regular trips both domestically around Korea and abroad to other countries.
Most of the shop's DMs/instructors speak English quite well, so it's easy to upgrade your courses here, or even take your Openwater if you are new to the sport and want to learn.
Shop's pricing is relatively cheap, compared to all of the US military outfits here moonlighting as diveshops.
I'll add info regarding divesites throughout Korea to their respective area pages. Take a look through my other Korean pages and see where I've been:
Yangyang Oct/08
Sokcho July/08 Equipment - bring/buy your own, or rent at the shop for a decent price.
You'll want a 5 to 7mm suit, and probably a hood and gloves (depending on where/when/how deep you are going).
If you have big hands/feet (or are plumpish) you'll have a hard time finding rental gear here that fits, and are better off to bring your own, or purchase online and have shipped over. It's easy and relatively cheap to have a suit custom made here, though, if you want to go that route.
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