₦airaland Forum

Hey ya’ll,

Its been a minute, this trip is long and entails all the necessary experiences for anyone who is there for a meeting or just vacation. I had some wonderful experiences which include; using Automatic bumbum washer (first time 😭) and almost wating pork.
At this point i really need to start looking up cities and countries i travel too. I’m talking about fun places and cuisines. At best, i try to check the weather condition to determine if i should take my jackets or not. And the time difference to Nigeria.
The trip was a business/leisure type and i wasnt disappointed at the city at all. By now, i understand that unlike our dear country, the transport system and addresses are all put in maps. All it takes you to do in a new country/city is to approach any information station/desk and ask about the where and how to your requests. Currency exchanges at airport? No what i like to do but for the sake of transportation and probably food/snacks to be purchased, i always change $100.

VISA APPLICATION
I applied my visa through the RoK embassy, which has an alternative to VFS. Its easier to get from the embassy if you have a contact person from Korea that will confirm your trip (Mostly official visits). I downloaded the form after some regorous search on the internet and even including Nairaland as a keyword 😊 just to see the possible out come.

Filled out the e-form which was better for me as i hate writing. As part of the processes and depending on what type of visa you are applying, the document requirements may differ. For me, i was asked to submit invitation form, introduction letter from my office, bank statement, proof of employment, and payslip.
On the submission day after getting all the necessary documents, i was asked at the embassy if i had an appointment with the embassy and i said no. This is where it gets tricky i believe, if i hadnt insisted that i wanted to submit at the embassy, they’d have asked me to go and apply through VFS. Which would have taken longer time. At at the time i had only 10 days to get my visa and make the trip.
Sometimes i wonder if our nigerian brothers and sisters at various embassy have a way they cashout from frustrating people. Nonetheless, i presented my reason for coming there and insisted that i need to submit as my colleague did the same and submitted his (i used beni sense on them since they wanted to be tricky too). I was asked to come in, waited for about 10mins before being attended too as the hall is empty. The person at the other end requested my documents and i presented everything. Even though she wanted to frustrate the process by insisting i present a new focal person in korean or i should go and submit through VFS.

They always require you to take up cash as the visa fee, not transfer, not Pos, vut cash only which is N60k (with no receipt) - shady as f*ck if you asked me. I suspected that they’d have prefered i follow through agent for the submission since they’ll probably get their caught. It took them about 8 days to make decision and contacted me via text message and i rushed to get my passport as i needed to leave 2 days later.

PREPARATION

Preparation has always been the same for me, last minute packing and no much luggage as i planned to only spend 7 days and come back. I have already made my hotel reservation through booking app. Seoul Garden Hotel was the place as chose as accommodation. Its a wonderful place with great choices of eatries, station access and even bowling alley at walking distance. It cost me about $580 for the 7 nights which is decent if you asked me as the event was held at the venue and price skyrocketed few weeks to the program to about $1300 for the same 7 nights. (Advice: Book early for your trips).
Didnt need to pack much as i have only 4days of the meeting and 3 days chilling on my calendar 😀.
On the day of the trip, i had my ticket for Qatar airways (now a silver privilege holder) with accumulated avios points enough to make some shoppings at duty free 🤗. I hope someday i’ll have enough points to ypgrade myself to first class - and for the plane not to crash as i want to come and share with you wonderful souls how the experience feels like🥹.
Anyways, the flight is from Abv - Doh, Doh - ICN. This is the hectic part, we are talking about 7hrs to doha with 1hr layover and another 9hrs to ICN. 😒 which i wasnt looking forward to at all if not for my avios points that’ll gather. I was so jetlagged before the journet even began. I watched my ritual movie (Lord of the Rings - trilogy) for the entirety of the trip.

INCHEON

We landed at INCHEON AIRPORT, and was shocked to know that i still have an hour journey to SEOUL. Could have used the k-limousine ( bus from airport to different routes - specifically to popular hotel bus stops) which would have cost me about W18,000. One thing to note is that $1 = W1350. Which is just little close to our currency. So it was a bit easier to remember the currency. I changed $100 at the airport which is avout W135,000. Myself and my colleague took a taxi as we are very much exhausted to our hotel, we shared the fare 50/50 - that reminds me, he still needs to balance me my W5,000🤔. We bargained the taxi to our hotel at W90k. A trip that is as far as going from lagos to ibadan.
FUN FACT: korean has about 90% electric cars

SEOUL GARDEN HOTEL
When you search a hotel like this, the review will blow your mind. Normal normal, in every country you visit, the housekeeping are always asians. Now imagine in a city known for its housekeeping globally. That hotel is neat like Mf - excuse my french but i think i have seen only 2 on diffrrent occassions cleaning the rooms on my floor of about 25 rooms. And that includes: changing sheets, cleaning smart toilet, replacing toiletries etc. i was astonished by the view in the room, the smart room with minimal design but elegant and luxurious. (Best believe i had plans to take along some of the shampoo, shower get and indoor shoes. Cant be soending that much and still allow them have it).
I was so hungry and exhausted after the flight. We arrived at ICN at about 7pm which is 10am Nigerian time. You can inagine the confusion to adjust. Since i needed to rest and plan for the meeting the next day, i slept off after a hot shower and woke up around 12:50am. Most of the shops close by 11pm so i had to inprovise and use the vending machine at the reception to get snacks and some juice. Could have used the 7-11 shop just outside the hotel but was too lazy to get that.

MYEONGDONG NIGHT MARKET

I didnt plan to do anything much after the meeting as the only thing in my head is how to get some sleep. My sleep was F*cked up at this point. But this market is the one scene you can possibly see in movies. Tourists centre, good skincare products shops, street food of any kind depending on your cravings. Dont carry your partner to this route if He/she has sweet tooth. 😂. We went out with a friend i met at the meeting who is a canadian-pakistani. Very jovial guy with interest in Nigerian girls with big nyash. Story for another day when we reunite. I love everything about this street and the number of hotels around and the station makes it even a good location for tourist. I got my ritual sourvenir gifts (plague and fridge magnet). Which cost a total of W25k. Had a good crap + sweet chilli + cheese = w7k and used the metro on a single ticket = W2k. We initially used uber from the Mapo where our hotel is to the Myeongdong market = W9,800. So its lot alot cheaper using the metro and no traffic.

YOUIDO ELAND HAN RIVER CRUISE

This is one cruise i was looking up too, but unfortunately i lost interest in it even after making a payment of $17 for the cruise. My reasons are its cold, i dont like being in a confined space for too long and you dont get any form of small chops. As a Nigerian i believe that such cruise should come with some kind of food or choice to get drink or snack. My colleague made me to get the booking done - and its non-refundable . I’m sure it’d have been fun if the weather was ok for flexing in the river. Cant tolerate a 2c weather in a river.


LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE

Tried going to a mall where i can window shop and possibly eat, but its a bit scanty for my liking u like Doha. I feel like the stores and malls here are cool but their products are a bit high. Remember the difference to Naira is not much about 2-3k difference. And the currency has high denominations - W50,000, W20,000, W10,000, W5,000, W1,000 and coins in 100,200,500.

TIMES SQUARE MALL
On my way to the station, i enter through an underground passage and discover a whole new market below it. This is a place where you can have value fo your money. Things there are cheaper, you can price, and have the real Korean products. The name of the place is around Time Sqaure shopping mall. A made a wonderful portrait printout of my family and also got a very nice frame replacement for my glasses. Same frame that i almost got for $160 in a different location, i got for W35,000.

I really had a wonderful time at this city and looking forward to coming back someday. Very honest and respectful set of beings. AND VERY NEAT CITY in my opinion as you'll hardly see trash out.

THE END

Following

J

We’d love to hear from u

More pictures

OP,
You’ve flexed more than Dangote

I love threads like this

uchman:
OP,
You’ve flexed more than Dangote

Egbon no now

Some bonus images 😝

Bro,
Please can you help out with company that will give me letter of invitation, I have other documents, travel experiences and funds intact.
Reason of going is to scrap cars and buy auto parts before coming back to Nigeria.
I won’t spend more than 2 weeks

Wonderful travel experience! The advice you gave on public transport and using k-limousine
services was simply perfect. The comprehensive outline of costs and local transport options is
very beneficial to the travel and tourism professional like me.

You have pointed out a very important thing that very few travelers notice - good and
professional transport can drastically change your travel experience. It is not only about
the very basic needs of getting from point A to point B; it also includes comfort, safety, and
fully utilizing your time to experience the destination.

For those who would like to experience the same kind of luxury in other cities, such as
Dubai, entrance to high-class tours with the best limousines can be a great benefit. This kind
of service allows one to visit places without worrying about being lost, traffic jams, or
protection.

If there is anyone here who has Dubai in mind and is going to travel in a classy and
comfortable manner, sightseeing tours with limousine services would be a great option to
consider. The benefits are:
- Professional drivers knowledgeable about the fastest routes
- Sightseeing with and in total comfort
- Time flexibility (not like crowded tour buses)
- You experience no stress, just like you said you prefer

For those wanting to visit Dubai, here is a good offer:
https://www.citytourindubai.com/sightseeing-tour/limousine-ride-dubai/

I appreciate you for bringing up the topic of Seoul - it has been an eye-opener to realize
the necessity of planning transport well ahead!

Weren’t you bored traveling alone? I never got used to solo trips, and even though I try not to skip the chance to go somewhere I haven’t been, I’m not exactly happy realizing I’ll have to go alone again because no one can join me on those exact dates. Right now, I’m looking into Small-Group Guided Tours, and apparently this is pretty popular and a lot of people like it. Not sure if they exist in Korea or Japan, which I’m especially interested in now, though Asia is often covered in these tours too.