Quote from: Jmtl on May 31, 2014, 01:37:38 PM
Oh wow!! Lots of beaches there too.

I think  your guys may have better go to Busan, the second largest city, if you like beaches. Although the distance to Busan is longer, actually it takes shorter time than to Gangneung when you take a Korail express train. It takes about 2.5-3 hours from Seoul to Busan by KTX.
http://www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizBfIndex_eng.do

On business days, you even do not need to make reservation except Friday. There is at least one KTX train to Busan every 20 minutes. Haeundae beach and Taejongdae are popular places.

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264155
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264167

barbie~~

If you really want to see beaches, then the best destination in Korea is actually my home town, Jeju island. It takes about 3 hours from Gangnam to Jeju airport including walking, taking subway, and waiting in Gimpo airport. I can guide for your girls by my car, except June 10 and 11 when I have classes.

barbie~~

Quote from: barbie on May 31, 2014, 02:14:16 PM
If you really want to see beaches, then the best destination in Korea is actually my home town, Jeju island. It takes about 3 hours from Gangnam to Jeju airport including walking, taking subway, and waiting in Gimpo airport. I can guide for your girls by my car, except June 10 and 11 when I have classes.

barbie~~

Thank you so much barbie for all the infos.   I will check all of those places. Is it pretty cheap to fly to that island?

Quote from: Jmtl on June 01, 2014, 09:32:26 AM
Thank you so much barbie for all the infos.   I will check all of those places. Is it pretty cheap to fly to that island?

There are several low-cost airlines, and a round trip fare can be as low as US$80 if you make reservation earlier. Typically, it is ca. US$200 or more. At daytime, at least one airplane departs to Jeju from Seoul every 5 minutes.

barbie~~

Quote from: barbie on June 01, 2014, 08:29:17 PM
There are several low-cost airlines, and a round trip fare can be as low as US$80 if you make reservation earlier. Typically, it is ca. US$200 or more. At daytime, at least one airplane departs to Jeju from Seoul every 5 minutes.

barbie~~

Ok, awesome! Im here now in seoul! so far i like the area gang-nam. Its just that its raining, not much to do. But hopefully tomorrow will be sunny. ok so you live in jeju island, i saw an advertisement in the korean air and its nice island. ill try and come down there. thank you babie!

Quote from: Jmtl on June 02, 2014, 09:27:01 PM
Ok, awesome! Im here now in seoul! so far i like the area gang-nam. Its just that its raining, not much to do. But hopefully tomorrow will be sunny. ok so you live in jeju island, i saw an advertisement in the korean air and its nice island. ill try and come down there. thank you babie!

Nice to hear that you arrived in Seoul. June 4 is the nationwide election day and a day off. June 6 is the memorial day, and also a day off. But most stores and restaurants will be opened. Asian dust is minimal. After today, the rain will stop, according to the unreliable weather forecast here. PM me if you are going to visit Jeju island.

barbie~~

Big sorry for the delay guys....I've been in Italy the last week or so...I've just left my apartment I was renting there to move back to England properly just in time before I head out to Seoul next Wednesday. I will catch up on these messages but I just wanted to say Congrats on your surgery Joanne......I read you post on Jenny's thread! You feeling OK? Wishing you a nice easy recovery! What day do you leave?

I arrive on Thursday 12th and my operation is on Monday 16th!

Gigi

Quote from: barbie on June 03, 2014, 01:04:33 AM
Nice to hear that you arrived in Seoul. June 4 is the nationwide election day and a day off. June 6 is the memorial day, and also a day off. But most stores and restaurants will be opened. Asian dust is minimal. After today, the rain will stop, according to the unreliable weather forecast here. PM me if you are going to visit Jeju island.

barbie~~

Thnak you barbie!! Yah i heard its holiday today. I hope some stores are open. Went to myeong dong yesterday. Oh boy! Lots of stores, i was in heaven! Ok, we probably cant make it to the island. But let me know when u have schedule to come to seoul next week! Have a great holiday! ☺️

Quote from: Gigi_J on June 05, 2014, 12:11:39 PM
Big sorry for the delay guys....I've been in Italy the last week or so...I've just left my apartment I was renting there to move back to England properly just in time before I head out to Seoul next Wednesday. I will catch up on these messages but I just wanted to say Congrats on your surgery Joanne......I read you post on Jenny's thread! You feeling OK? Wishing you a nice easy recovery! What day do you leave?

I arrive on Thursday 12th and my operation is on Monday 16th!

Gigi

Gigi!!!! no worries! I love italy!! What city did u stay at?? About me, yah im doin fantastic! Thank you! This is the most hardest thing in the recoevery which is not to talk and to cough, sometimes u cant just control it, it will come out.  But everything else is ok, koreans are very warm, nice people and very friendly, they will help u a lot and smiling all the time. im leaving on sat june 14, so we can meet for a lunch or somethins just let me know. Where u staying btw? 

Quote from: Gigi_J on May 15, 2014, 10:40:55 AM
Great news then Barbie..if that means June could be cooler Sure, Pm me when you know...be fun to hook up with a few of you gals!!

mwah,
G

I probably will be in Seoul on June 16-17 and June 23-24. I can arrive in Seoul one-day earlier on Sunday, if your girls want to have dinner together with me.

barbie~~

Quote from: Jmtl on June 05, 2014, 06:39:18 PM
Gigi!!!! no worries! I love italy!! What city did u stay at?? About me, yah im doin fantastic! Thank you! This is the most hardest thing in the recoevery which is not to talk and to cough, sometimes u cant just control it, it will come out.  But everything else is ok, koreans are very warm, nice people and very friendly, they will help u a lot and smiling all the time. im leaving on sat june 14, so we can meet for a lunch or somethins just let me know. Where u staying btw?

Hey Joanne!! Sorry for delay again..I'm so stressed and have left myself with so many things to do at the last minute...I leave for Korea tomorrow arghhhh!

Glad to hear you're doing well and in good spirits...I'm dreading not being able to talk or cough or clear my throat but nice to know the odd accidental one is normal!! Great....ill be arriving Thursday afternoon Local time and my pre-op examination is on Friday at 1pm. If you want to meet up on Friday evening (probably best) or Saturday (before u fly home) that would be great, let's do it..I'll be with my mother (how geeky haha). Private message me here and we'll arrange it ... or my UK number is +44 7929 378431 - I'll try and keep that on in Korea although I'm tempted to get a sim card for cheaper calls when I get to Seoul....can I ask what you did? I will soon be reading through some of the old threads about some of the girls hiring a wi-fi egg etc....I haven't decided what I want to do yet but will have to decide tomorrow before the flight hopefully so I can sort it at the airport if necessary....I know, I'm very late at organising myself when I'm busy :DSee you on Friday then hopefully...byeeeee!

Oh and I plan to put a couple of recordings of myself up on here very soon..probably on Thursday evening or Friday - so that I have my pre-op voice to compare with my post-op result and to get your opinions. I'd planned to do this sooner but as I said...busy times lately...I tried to do too much too quickly!

And Hi Barbie...if you're around on 16-17th as u said above...maybe we can arrange a meeting too..would be nice...chat soon!

Gigi

Almost forgot...

I'm staying at the 'Fraser Place Central Seoul' Residenced Apartments/Hotel in Jung-gu. You?? Got great reviews and have a 1 bedroom suite there with separate bedroom and lounge and full kitchen area etc and the place also has a rooftop terrace and a gym and swimming pool so it looks very nice and will let others know how it is! 

Chat soon,
G

Quote from: Gigi_J on June 10, 2014, 02:45:02 PM
Hey Joanne!! Sorry for delay again..I'm so stressed and have left myself with so many things to do at the last minute...I leave for Korea tomorrow arghhhh!

Glad to hear you're doing well and in good spirits...I'm dreading not being able to talk or cough or clear my throat but nice to know the odd accidental one is normal!! Great....ill be arriving Thursday afternoon Local time and my pre-op examination is on Friday at 1pm. If you want to meet up on Friday evening (probably best) or Saturday (before u fly home) that would be great, let's do it..I'll be with my mother (how geeky haha). Private message me here and we'll arrange it ... or my UK number is +44 7929 378431 - I'll try and keep that on in Korea although I'm tempted to get a sim card for cheaper calls when I get to Seoul....can I ask what you did? I will soon be reading through some of the old threads about some of the girls hiring a wi-fi egg etc....I haven't decided what I want to do yet but will have to decide tomorrow before the flight hopefully so I can sort it at the airport if necessary....I know, I'm very late at organising myself when I'm busy :DSee you on Friday then hopefully...byeeeee!

Oh and I plan to put a couple of recordings of myself up on here very soon..probably on Thursday evening or Friday - so that I have my pre-op voice to compare with my post-op result and to get your opinions. I'd planned to do this sooner but as I said...busy times lately...I tried to do too much too quickly!

And Hi Barbie...if you're around on 16-17th as u said above...maybe we can arrange a meeting too..would be nice...chat soon!

Gigi

Hi gigi!!! Dont worry about it to much! But i know what u mean.. Everything will be ok. i can meet you on friday after your check up with dr. Kim. As im staying 5 mins from his clinic. And we can get a bite or something. Thats the only day i can meet you coz my flight is very early on saturday.

Ok for phones and wifi, i rented the two. It is very cheap, maybe gonna pay $80 for both for 12 days. If i were you just get the wifi router. So you can use your own phone for internet. I didnt use the phone much, i just used it to text jessie. But its ok, its still cheap for both. I rented the olleh one from the arrival place of the airport. But i booked it online before i went to korea.

Ok, ill just pm you.. And we can connect from there, so get the wifi egg router hehe ok, have a safe flight and hope to see u soon!!!! Take care!!

Quote from: barbie on June 10, 2014, 03:19:05 AM
I probably will be in Seoul on June 16-17 and June 23-24. I can arrive in Seoul one-day earlier on Sunday, if your girls want to have dinner together with me.

barbie~~

I wont be able to see you barbie
As i am leaving on sat. but you can meet with gigi.. enjoy girls!!!

Quote from: Gigi_J on June 10, 2014, 02:49:45 PM
Almost forgot...

I'm staying at the 'Fraser Place Central Seoul' Residenced Apartments/Hotel in Jung-gu. You?? Got great reviews and have a 1 bedroom suite there with separate bedroom and lounge and full kitchen area etc and the place also has a rooftop terrace and a gym and swimming pool so it looks very nice and will let others know how it is! 

Chat soon,
G

That sounds amazing place!! Its good that u get a 1 bedroom suite, i think the hotels here are in small sizes. So that 1 bedroom will be perfect for both of you. ok.. Talk soon!!

Awwww thanks for the positivity Joanna, I need it

Ok so why did you rent the phone too...because your normal one doesn't work in Korea? I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 (so its not very new!) but I'm pretty sure it's GSM etc and works there....so I spose the best thing to do is rent a wireless egg, like u said. I checked on the Incheon Airport website and can see 'Olleh Rent a Phone Service' that can hire out those wireless eggs so maybe I'll go there. I assume I can get one without reserving? I would reserve one now but it says reservations have to be made 3 days in advance, ooops! And their shop is in the arrivals area you say? I'm actually using the Yeson pick-up service so I'm worried it will be rude to keep them waiting when I try and find this damn egg hahah...but I suppose I should do or I'll be stuck with extortionate data costs arghh!!

Going to bed now..it's 3:30am here and will be getting up quite early to finish my packing and organising...luckily it's a 7:30pm flight so I have time...hopefully you'll have replied about the things I mentioned above and I'll sort it out thank you so much for helping me! And as soon as I'm settled into my Hotel I'll be in a much more relaxed place to message you and see if we can organise thsi meet on Friday after my examinations. Are you with a friend or alone? I forget now without reading through your threads. I do wonder how interesting it will be meeting up when you can't talk...poor Joanna!! haha.

See u soon...hug!

G
P.s. I currently have dark hair...I'll change my avatar at some point so u can recognise me ;p Or I'll send you my facebook details in a private message maybe!
G

Quote from: Gigi_J on June 10, 2014, 09:30:45 PM
Awwww thanks for the positivity Joanna, I need it

Ok so why did you rent the phone too...because your normal one doesn't work in Korea? I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 (so its not very new!) but I'm pretty sure it's GSM etc and works there....so I spose the best thing to do is rent a wireless egg, like u said. I checked on the Incheon Airport website and can see 'Olleh Rent a Phone Service' that can hire out those wireless eggs so maybe I'll go there. I assume I can get one without reserving? I would reserve one now but it says reservations have to be made 3 days in advance, ooops! And their shop is in the arrivals area you say? I'm actually using the Yeson pick-up service so I'm worried it will be rude to keep them waiting when I try and find this damn egg hahah...but I suppose I should do or I'll be stuck with extortionate data costs arghh!!

Going to bed now..it's 3:30am here and will be getting up quite early to finish my packing and organising...luckily it's a 7:30pm flight so I have time...hopefully you'll have replied about the things I mentioned above and I'll sort it out thank you so much for helping me! And as soon as I'm settled into my Hotel I'll be in a much more relaxed place to message you and see if we can organise thsi meet on Friday after my examinations. Are you with a friend or alone? I forget now without reading through your threads. I do wonder how interesting it will be meeting up when you can't talk...poor Joanna!! haha.

See u soon...hug!

G
P.s. I currently have dark hair...I'll change my avatar at some point so u can recognise me ;p Or I'll send you my facebook details in a private message maybe!
G

Hahahha u made me laugh there gigi!!! Yah u have to find that damn egg. im pretty sure you guys will exit at gate 2, coz thats what jessie told me, but im not sure what happened to us and we exited at gate 3. Lol so the guy from yeson is waiting at no. 2. He is a very nice guy and dont worry he will wait for you to get that egg. The olleh is located between gate 5-6 i think. You will see most of them there, many choices, so yah i think u dont need to book before. 

Yeh,  supposed to rent a sim card but they said they dont have, so i just rented the phone instead.
Ok, sweet dreams and soon you will be here!! Yay!!

Ps. I traveled with a friend. Talk soon gigi!! good night!!

Quote from: Jmtl on June 10, 2014, 10:37:19 PM

Hahahha u made me laugh there gigi!!! Yah u have to find that damn egg. im pretty sure you guys will exit at gate 2, coz thats what jessie told me, but im not sure what happened to us and we exited at gate 3. Lol so the guy from yeson is waiting at no. 2. He is a very nice guy and dont worry he will wait for you to get that egg. The olleh is located between gate 5-6 i think. You will see most of them there, many choices, so yah i think u dont need to book before. 

Yeh,  supposed to rent a sim card but they said they dont have, so i just rented the phone instead.
Ok, sweet dreams and soon you will be here!! Yay!!

Ps. I traveled with a friend. Talk soon gigi!! good night!!

Hiiiiiiiii from Seoul Sorry for the delay....got here quite a few hours ago but needed to check into the hotel and get  little sleep because I thought I was gonna die from sleep deprivation (I couldnt sleep a wink on the 11 hour flight!).

LOL....well I got the dumb egg!! (from Oleh like u..thanks again for the recommendation!)....the wifi-egg alone is gonna cost 88 dollars for 10 days...but that's OK....the important thing is having internet when out and about so yeah, we probably won't bother with a sim! In the end, you said you only rented the phone and not the sim card....so does that mean you're paying a high price for any calls and text messages you make because you're using your home phone provider's roaming services?

You were right, the guy who collected us was super nice and smiley and super cute (and super short loool) - lovely guy...and the trip to the hotel was stress-free!

Ok soooooo....my appointment at Yeson tomorrow for my pre-op examination is at 13:40 - I don't know exactly how long that takes but I assume a few hours from what I've read?

If you private message me here with an idea about the kinda time you'd like to meet and any ideas about what we could do...a bite to eat...or a drink....we're easy then that would be a good start and I'll let you know tomorrow when I'm done at Yeson and we can decide....as long as you're sure you're happy to meet up knowing you can't talk....if you change you're mind and want to just hav a relaxing day with your friend with no temptation to talk that absolutely fine too.. so no pressure at all!

Hope you're still having a stress-free recovery and chat tomorrow then! As you probably remember, my operation day is actually Monday so I'm doing my best to stay topped up on echinacea and lots of  vitamin C etc as I'm so nervous about falling ill or catching a cold over the weekend...that would be a nightmare but fingers crossed!

Chat soon!

Gigi

Good luck, Gigi and we're looking forward to hear from your experiences and how it all goes afterwards

Quote from: Gigi_J on June 12, 2014, 10:02:43 AM
Hiiiiiiiii from Seoul Sorry for the delay....got here quite a few hours ago but needed to check into the hotel and get  little sleep because I thought I was gonna die from sleep deprivation (I couldnt sleep a wink on the 11 hour flight!).

Giji,

It is terrible not being able to sleep for 11 hours. I always drink several glasses of red wine in the flight to sleep. This relieves me a lot. If I do not sleep in the flight, it is so much boring.

No Asian dust in Seoul, and the weather forecast says it will be like summer this weekend and next week, the highest temperature will be 28-29 degree Celcius (82-84 F). I am sure it will be cool at night (lowest temperature is 21 C or 70 F).

There are two hotels of Fraser Place Central in Jung-gu, and I think you are staying at the hotel named "Serviced residence". As I remember, it is a quite expensive hotel in the old-town (Gang-buk) of Seoul, and the price is nearly the same as those in Gangnam. I guess you got a special discount offer. As I will have a meeting on June 23-24 near Seoul train station, which is very close to the hotel, I may be able to briefly meet you even on June 23-24, too (I will have to hurry up to fly back to my hometown on June 24).

On the map, I see a small park, an art hall and an old cathedral. Of course, there is 24-hour convenience store (711).



I guess the best way to go to Yeson is taking a taxi (cab). It will cost about 10,000 KRW US$ 10), taking less than 20 minutes.

By subway, it takes about 47 mins from the hotel to the Yeson Clinic (Walking for 9 minutes to City hall station to take Line 2 --> Transfer to Line 3 at Euljiro_3-ga_Station --> Getting off Apgujeong_Station, go to Exit 1, walking for 12 mins. (about 813 m = 0.5 mile to Yeson).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_Station_(Seoul)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euljiro_3-ga_Station
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apgujeong_Station

barbie~~