sim card vs. portable wifi in Korea

Before traveling abroad, I know a lot of people look up Sim card information and sometimes even purchase them before going. There are lots of websites that sell prepaid sim cards for travel overseas. Depending on how many people you are traveling with and how long you are planning on staying might determine which plan you go with.

Personally, if I had to pick between a Sim card vs. Portable wifi device, I would always go with the Sim card. The convenience of not having to carry around another tech (and having to charge it as well) makes it easier. Plus, many of the Sim cards nowadays allow for tethering so if your family plans on staying together, you might only need to get one Sim card.

Many prepaid Sim cards that are available in the States have data limit as well as usage date limit. So you will see something like 10Gb 30 days Sim card. From the States, the prepaid Sim card only offer data. Nowadays, with internet messengers like Line and Kakao talk, you might not need a phone number. This will also be something to consider. Also, since these prepaid Sims are meant for travelers, they are all short term, from 1 day to maximum 30 days.

Usually, when I’m traveling abroad, I only purchase data plans myself. However, when I travel to Korea, I usually end up purchasing data and local phone number. This is only because I have family here. You may opt to just data.

I’m going to introduce you to my favorite Sim card in Korea, Korea Sim. It is considered (my) best because of easy access and how easy it is to use. They have the option for the portable wifi rental but I’m only going to introduce their Sim card. I’m also going to skip the eSim card since this is limited to certain phone types.

They two regular Sim card options: Blue and Orange. The major difference is that Blue includes both data and phone number while Orange only includes data. One of the big plus for Korea Sim’s Sim cards are that they have unlimited data.

There are some limitations as well. For Orange, they cap the speed limit to 10Mbps but this is still fast enough to watch netflix on the go. And since you can tether, the whole family can be sharing one Sim card without having internet issues.

For Blue, you get 10Gb of fast internet and once you hit the limit, your speed drops for unlimited data (400Kbps). The difference is very clear. Once you get dropped to the slower internet, watching youtube at higher resolution can be challenging but reading things on the web is not a problem.

After some deliberation, you probably have come to a decision on which Sim card works best for you. Now, you can purchase this Sim card at the airport or pre-purchase it from their website. You want to pre-purchase so you have the one you want in stock. Don’t worry about not having internet in the airport. Incheon Airport is one of the best airports in the world and it has fast and FREE internet throughout the airport. I purchased the Blue this time.

Once you exit the baggage claim, you should notice alphabet letters next to your baggage claim exits and also numbers on the airport exit doors. Follow the letter/number to D/4. There is a convenient store named CU between D and E / 4 and 5. You just need to head into CU and ask them for the Sim card and voila! You have your Sim card.

You want to set up the Sim card in the airport so you have internet when you leave the airport. It takes about 10 minutes to setup. If you are having trouble with it, usually there is an agent near the CU convenient store to help you.

The Sim card comes with everything you need to set up. It comes with the pin to push out the cartridge and the Sim card. It also has a step by step instruction on how to set up the Sim. You will need to submit your passport information so have it handy.

The registration is really easy and all you need is practically just your passport. Once you have registered, give it a few minutes and restart your phone a couple times for the Sim card to be recognized. Once recognized, you are ready to go adventure around Korea. Of course, once the number of days has expired, the Sim card is no longer valid and you can just throw it away. Easy as that! Hope this makes your travel to Korea a little bit easier 🙂

[day 2] lottery and onwards to page, az

Today was a big day! Lottery day for the Coyote Buttes permit. According to their website, the lottery would take place daily at the Kanab Center at 8 am. Luckily, the Perry Lodge was walking distance (across the street!) from the Center so it was an easy walk. There is a parking lot at the Center if you are bringing your vehicle. At 8 am, they open the doors for people to fill out their application.

Things you need to know about the application

• Bring your own pen/pencil
• license plate number
• emergency contact (someone who is not traveling with you)
• cash or check of $7 per person in case you win the lottery

I arrived around 8:15 am and there was already several applicants. After filling out my application, I decided to wait in the room and ask some questions about the lottery. The rangers told me that only 20 people can enter per day and 10 are pre-selected from the online lottery and 10 are selected during the in-person lottery. For the in-person lottery, they keep picking groups until they hit 10 people, not 10 groups. Meaning, if the first lottery picked has 2 people, the rangers keep picking the lottery until 10 hits. And if they are at 9 people, and the next group picked has a group of 4, the group can decided to pass their chance or kick people off their group.

While waiting in the room, I noticed a lot of repeat applicants from the day before. The ranger mentioned that they keep the application since people do come for second and third rounds. The ranger also told me that the day before they had 82 applications and it was their busiest day so far.

At 9 am, the room was packed with applicants and the ranger did a roll-call and gave every applicant their lottery number. Today there were 75 applicants and I was number 50. The ranger asked if everyone remembered their number and there were several people who could not remember and the rangers provided the numbers again. The lottery proceeded quickly from here and unfortunately, I didn’t win. Sad but I guess more reason to come back 🙂 The ranger recommended several different local spots we could visit so we decided to pick one and go with it.

After not winning the lottery, I headed back to the lodge’s lobby and pick up our breakfast bag. Usually they would provide continental breakfast but since COVID, they were giving out small lunch bag. The Lodge’s bag wasn’t bad. It had yogurt, pastry, fruit bowl, juice, apple, string cheese, granola bar, and a water bottle. Not bad. We thought it was perfect to take it for our hikes. We packed our things and checked out and headed towards the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.

On our way, we made a pitstop to see the Sand Dune Arch. This wasn’t on Google maps but it was on the pamphlet that the ranger gave out. The direction on the handout wasn’t very clear so we got lost a bit but luckily, there was no one around and it made it feel like we owned the place. While following the google maps toward the Dunes, from HWY 89, you will make a left turn at Hancock road. From there, you have to park your car around 64B. Walk towards the bird-like rock (on google maps, this is the Lone Rock Overlook) and keep following the road to the left that goes down the hill. At the end of the hill, you should see the Arch. It wasn’t as grand as the name makes it to be.

It was a mid-sized arch. It looks pretty small in the picture but the hole in the center was about 5feet5inches. We spent some time here, climbing the Arch and looking around the area. But other than the Arch, this area was empty and no visitors. After seeing enough, we headed back to our vehicle and drove off to the Dunes. About 15 minutes in, we started to see the Dunes and lots of ATVs. And while driving, the GPS told us that we arrived but it was in the middle of the road?! Not even a parking lot! So we parked on the side of the street and walked into the Dunes. There were small trail like area so we followed that in.

Guys. The sand dunes are not something you should just walk into. We saw the high dunes and thought they were relatively close but it wasn’t. We ended up walking around 40 minutes to get to the bottom of the dunes. However, it was really impressive! The sand was really soft and as we climbed to the top, we kept sinking a bit. By the time we got to the top, we had sand in our pants and shoes! The sand waves were really pretty and from the top, you can see the other dunes and there were teams of people in ATVs and also sandboarding.

One thing to definitely consider is the sun. There were no shade and it was 98 degree sun just beating on us. After our climb, we headed back but we got lost. All the trails were starting to look the same and we ended up somewhere we didn’t pass. We were lucky we brought our water bottle but it was just too hot. We ended up following the sound of vehicles passing on the road and got out. I think if you were to walk, make sure you bring something to help you navigate (like strings you can tie around plants?).

After getting out of the maze-like Dunes, we headed to our next destination, Page, AZ. The drive to Page was very straight forward with lots of canyon views. The red colors of the canyons along the roads were a sight to see! And once at Page, we were amazed to see all the water from the Lake Powell into the canyons! We quickly checked into our hotel for the next 2 days, Sleep Inn & Suites, ate a quick lunch/dinner, and headed to Lake Powell.

We brought our swimsuits just in case and it was a good thing we did. The hotel gave us two options for swimming: The Wahweap Marina and The Chain. The Marina was a bit further but it has a beach and is part of the National Park. The Chain was more of a local people’s gathering area and was close to the dam. We decided to give The Chain a try and I’m so glad we did.

From the hotel, you have to follow signs/GPS to The Hanging Garden Trail. Do not park at the parking lot but keeping driving down until you see another parking lot (there is a small building at the end). Park here and you can follow the trail down to the bottom. It is about a 10-15 minute walk. Once at the bottom, you should see people swimming, fishing, and just enjoying themselves.

It was amazing to swim between the canyons! The colors were amazing and the water was just right. At some parts, it was shallow but it dips rather quickly so if you cannot swim, I would not recommend this place. On the deeper end, we noticed small motor boats driving by so watch out for those as well. This place was really peaceful and nice. No wonder the locals come here to relax! And I couldn’t believe we were able to swim so close to the dam! It was definitely an experience 🙂

We played in the waters until sundown. After getting out, we explored the area a bit before heading back. The view of the canyons along with the rock formations were just amazing. We didn’t want to leave! Plus, there were still several groups of people here when we left.

Once back at our hotel, we washed up, relaxed, and talked about our plans for the next day. Tomorrow was going to be our big day: Grand Canyon!

Roadtrip with my roommate (Goal: Grand Canyon)

I have been working from home since Covid-19 took off and have been loving the idea of working from home. However, after 7 month of being stuck at home, I was starting to get a case of cabin fever. So I decided that I wanted to take some time off to rejuvenate myself by taking some time off.

During this time off, I wanted to go see some open fields to make myself feel free again and I instantly thought of Grand Canyon. It was going to be a long drive (about 14 hours) and I knew I couldn’t do it all in one day and I knew I couldn’t do it alone. So I asked my roommate if she wanted to come along. We had some Covid-19 scares and had to be careful but in the end, she agreed to come with.

This trip was pretty spontaneous with no actually plans except that we were going to Grand Canyon on one of the days. This was because I was planning on attending the day lottery for The Wave. I will talk more about this in the day to day write up but because of this, we needed to make plan A and plane B. Plan A was for in case we win the lottery and plan B was for in case we didn’t win the lottery.

The places that were listed to visit during our trip:

• Grand Canyon (north rim)
• The Wave
• Seven Magic Mountains
• Coral Pink Sand Dunes
• Lake Powell
• Horseshoe Bend
• Antelope Canyon (on the list but couldn’t go because they were closed for Covid-19)

So for Plan A (we win the lottery)

Day 1 : Drive to Kanab, UT. On the way, see Seven Magic Mountains
Day 2: Win the lottery in the morning, drive to Page, AZ, see Horseshoe Bend
Day 3: Early morning, drive to Grand Canyon (North Rim) and head to the Wave in the afternoon
Day 4: Drive back home

And Plan B (we don’t win the lottery)

Day 1 : Drive to Kanab, UT. On the way, see Seven Magic Mountains
Day 2: Don’t win the lottery in the morning, visit the Coral Pink San Dunes, drive to Page, AZ
Day 3: See the Horseshoe Bend in the morning, drive to Grand Canyon (North Rim)
Day 4: Drive back home

These were my original plan. A bit ambitious with lots of driving but lots of nature! We also thought about renting a campervan but had to X that plan because of the drop off and pick up time. However, I would love to try camping in a campervan next time.

Spain! And where else in Europe?

Back in September, my brother and his wife moved to Madrid, Spain. So since then, my family started to plan for winter break in Spain. My parents have never been there before and same with me so I thought it would be perfect. So I talked to the family and they all agreed! Spain for winter break for my parents, 2 brothers, 2 sister-in-laws, and me. This was exciting! So I started planning right away.

However, planning for this trip was difficult. I’ve never been a long vacation like this nor have I planned a trip for so many people. So this was new to me.

First thing was to figure out what day to fly out to Spain. What days can we all be available. We had to figure out our parent’s schedule and work around that. We were able to find 9 days that worked for all of us.

Second, we decided on what cities to go to. Usually, I like to go from city to city and hit up all the major spots. However, this time, we wanted to take it slow. Take time to enjoy the city a bit more. So we all agreed to do 3 cities. But which ones? The major must were Barcelona and Madrid. Barcelona was unanimous between the kids and Madrid because my brother and sister-in-law moved there.

So which city would be our third?

I was stuck between Seville and Granada. Seville is the bigger city but Granada had Alhambra. I ended up making a powerpoint presentation for my parents and they decided on Seville by just looking at pictures from the internet. Here is my presentation. Which one would you have picked?

Photos from Google images

Photos from Google images

Photos from Google images

Photos from Google images

Third, after we had the dates and the cities, I picked a route that fit our schedule. Barcelona in – Seville – Madrid out. So once the route was set, I went ahead and purchased my parent’s flights using my Chase Reserve card. It was going to be an early Birthday gift to them from the family. When I told them the news, they were so excited.

I wanted to make sure that they were not arriving in Spain and being strained alone. So I looked for flights that arrived before my parents. And perfectly enough, I found a KLM flight for my parents that arrives at 5:05pm and a TAP flight for me that arrives at 5:00pm. Perfect!

Once, we had our dates, flights, and cities, we booked our accommodations. I did not realize that booking a place for 7 people would be so hard. Hotels were out because we would have to book 2 rooms and would not know how to separate the family members.

So we started looking at Airbnb. We were looking for apartments that had multiple bedrooms and bathrooms and living area. With a whole apartment, our family could spend more time together. So we all looked. All the cities we picked were tourist cities so there were a lot of Airbnb rooms and apartments to choose from.

However, there were some issues with some of the places for family use. A lot of the places had room for more than 7 people.However, it would be 2 bedrooms with several bunk beds. This was not suitable for my parents. So when making a booking on Airbnb, don’t just look at the number of people the apartment can host but what type of beds they have and how many rooms they have.

After all the arrangements, we are just all looking forward to this family vacation!

I’ll write about my experiences when I come back!

[Day 16] Last day in Bolivia

Last day in Bolivia. I wanted this to be a lazy day and the accommodation I picked was the best for that. The official check out was until 1pm! I’ve never heard of a hotel’s check out time being this late. However, this was my only full day in La Paz so I wanted to check it out.

I packed my bags, checked out of the hotel around 11am, stored luggage at the hotel, and ventured out.

First, we headed to st. Francisco church to meet a new travel buddy for the day. As this trip was my first trip alone, I tried to gather people to travel with, before and during the trip. And I think I was very successful. Throughout my whole trip, I was with someone and everyone has been awesome.

So today, I met up with my new travel buddy and headed to Valle de la Luna. Before, I looked at tour agencies but could not find something that suited my schedule. So I decided to take the local bus. After some searching, a lot of people were pointing me to bus #43. However, after waiting for over 30 minutes, we asked the police for help. They told us to take #902 going to Mallas.

The bus was only 2 bol but the traffic was awful! If you are going to visit Valle de la Luna by bus, please go early in the morning. It took over an hour and the road was rough. The bus system was interesting. It was more l ike a mini van. People would fill in the seats and when it was full, the driver would not stop at any of the other stops until someone got off. And people paid the driver as they got off.

Once at Valle de la Luna, there was an entrance fee of 15 bol and there were several different trails, all marked with how long it takes, and we decided to take the 45 minute one. The trail was beautiful and presented itself with a very different kind of view than what I expected. Since it was named Valley of the Moon, I was sort of expecting craters or something similar to it. However, the Valley was filled more more sharp peaks and cliffs. Luckily, the trail had a lot of railings for safety. They also had lots of picturesque areas to take photos so even on the 45 minute trail, it took longer.

Also, it was really hot! The Valley did not provide any shade and since we were there around 1pm, the sun was really on top of us. Make sure to bring a lot of water because the trail doesn’t have any fountains. The trail is one way so you just have to keep going. There are lots of ups and downs so be ready to walk.

After finishing the trail, we decided to go back to the city. This time, we wanted to take the telefarico. So we took a cab to the closest line, which was the green line. The cab was 25 bol and at the green line, we bought tickets to Prado, which was 15 bol for 3 people.

From the green line, we transferred to the blue/celestial line and got off at Prado. From here, we walked to Witch’s Market. It was so small. Smaller than I expected. There were small, individual shops that all sold similar things like stones, perfume, incense, and items for rituals like dried animal and animal parts. I wasn’t sure what to buy here so I just took pictures. I wasn’t super impressed but very unique.

So we headed to dinner. We wanted to find some traditional Bolivian food so we searched for a place and found “Luciernagas Restaurant” and this place was amazing. It was all home cooking and tasted great. The restaurant is in a residential area so while looking for it, I thought we were so lost.

Once we were at the restaurant, we met the owner and his wife. The owner recommended our meals and the wife cooked for us. It was a family owned business and really great for home cooked meals. They had an extensive menu but there were several things that were not available, so ask! We ordered a soup and main entree to share. The portions were pretty big here.

After dinner, we wanted to see the city light up the night. I was told the best view of the city was at Killi Killi park. I was told the Park could be dangerous at night but when we were there, it didn’t seem too bad. There were several travelers taking photos there and some locals playing around. It was cold but the view was nice. The lights from the city sparkled and provided a good city view.

One thing that worried me was the ride back. Our hotel was nice enough to get us a cab when we went up to the park but the way down was different. We tried to call an Uber but they wouldn’t come. We thought about walking down but that was a long walk. Lucky for us, a tourist came up and we were able to take that cab back to the hotel.

While going back, we saw the night market and it was really lively. I wish I could have visited. It looked like there were lots of food vendors. Once we were at the hotel, I said good bye to my travel buddies and headed to the airport.

Since I was taking the night plane out of Bolivia, the airport was very empty. It took only minutes to check in and it was very simple and quick. I wasn’t looking forward to ending my trip but was looking forward to sleeping in my bed again. After checking in, I headed inside to use the lounge. It had a small selection of things but had warm food like pancakes, cold food like cereals, and drinks. They have 3 different local beers and pepsi products.

This concluded by trip to Peru and Bolivia. It was my first time traveling in South America and it was amazing. I cannot wait to come back soon.

[Day 15] Last day in Uyuni

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do another tour before leaving Uyuni but everyone I talked to said that day time is different from sunset so I decided to do a last tour. (3 tours just in Uyuni!) There are usually several tours each day and they are all separately by time.

Starlight+Sunrise is the earliest one, usually from 3am to 7:30am. Day time is 10am to 3:30pm. There is also Day time+Sunset which is from 10:30am to 8:30pm. The one I did previously was the Sunset+Starlight, from 4pm to 10pm. And lastly, there is just Starlight, which is from 11pm to 3am. The times could be slightly different for each tour agency but it would be very similar to this.

I checked the moon and sun phase to make sure I would be able to see the stars. Depending on when the sun sets and when the moon rises, you might see more stars in the Sunset+Starlight or Starlight+Sunrise. They are all beautiful.

So the day time tour was from 10am to 3:30pm and since it was our last day, we also had to check out. So we woke up early, packed our things, eat our last breakfast, checked out and headed to the tour agency. We were able to leave our luggage at our accommodation and they also told me that they can provide the shower after the tour. Score!

We requested another Photography session with As and headed out. As told us that if we go with a photographer, usually the driving route changes so that people can get more of the salt flat shot. However, since we requested it, we were able to visit the train cemetery. It wasn’t as impressive as I imagined but still very cool to look at. There were several trains that were just abandoned on the unused tracks. Interesting enough, there was actually an active track right next to the cemetery. We were able to go on the trains to take pictures but As told me that there were several accidents here so be careful.

After looking around the train cemetery, we headed into the salt flats. First, we visited the dry flats. This was our first time here since for the Sunset+Starlight, they only take you to the wet flats. The dry flats were so different. The ground was sharp and it felt more like a desert. And it was 100% less crowded compared to the wet flats. I mean, we were the only ones here.

There were 4 of us taking photos with the photographer and in between our sessions, we took pictures of each other. We were able to do some illusion shots with different props that the tour agency provided. This includes the dino shot, wine bottle shot, and the stomping shots. These are probably the most common photos you would see online if you searched Uyuni. Our driver was nice enough to take some photos of us while we waited for our photographer!

*Remember! They are your driver, not your photographer! Some of them have had this job for a long time and may have experience taking these types of photos but they are not required to take them for you. If they do take photos/videos of you, make sure to tip well for their extra service.

I thought the weather was perfect for pictures. No cloud in sight. However, we found out it was a bust when we got to the wet flats. The wind was too strong and we couldn’t get the reflections at all. You could see ripples everywhere. It was unfortunate but we still had fun. This time, the photographer brought some props along, like flower bouquets and colorful umbrella! It was different and difficult, taking pictures with props. This was my first time taking pictures like this so I felt so awkward. If you are interested in doing a photo session, make sure to practice at home!

The day time tour was short compared to sunset+starlight so we were back in the city a little past 3:30pm. When we got back to our hotel area, we realized there was a huge market outside our hotel and we wanted to check it out before flying out.

First, we decided to take a shower. However, the hotel told us that they could provide the shower but no towels. Luckily, I had brought a towel just in case and was able to take a quick shower. They even provided a rest space if you wanted to take a nap. It was a smaller room upstairs with a single size bed. Because Uyuni is a tourist town, hotels might offer such service. Make sure to ask the hotel you are staying in to see if they have such space.

After washing up, we went out to the market. This market had everything! They had live animals for sale, mostly chickens, clothing for all ages, kitchenware, and of course, food. I walked down for about 10 minutes but I was still seeing rows of shops. However, it looked like they were still setting up. So I decided to check out the city a bit more.

Walking up the main street, there was a decent size super market. From here, I got an ice cream bar and it was so refreshing! During the day time, the sun was still hot so it was nice to just chill and eat some ice cream.

Also, right across the street, there was an arcade. They had several different games from street fighter, tekken, FIFA, and more. But their biggest thing was PUMP. I was so surprised to find a PUMP machine here so I just had to play. All the games were 1 bol. I didn’t have coins on me but there was someone here that did the exchange. I wanted to play more but after 1 game I was done! Not because I was tired but because of the altitude. My lungs were just screaming for air but I had a lot of fun, walking dancing through memory lane. While I was catching my breath, I watched some of the local kids play games and did not realize time was passing so fast.

When I walked back outside, the market was now bustling with people. A lot of kids were out with their parents, shopping and hanging out with friends. I wanted to grab something to eat before heading to the airport so I looked around the market. I really wanted the fried chicken cutlet again but it was closed. I’m guessing it was because of the market being open. So I looked around the market and several of the places looked like it had lines.

I knew I didn’t have much time now and I needed to get something to-go, so I found a stall that was selling chicken and other things. I wasn’t so sure what was on the menu but I pointed at the chicken and chorizo and was able to get it to-go.

After getting my food, we took a cab to the airport. It was 15 bol per person this time. The cab ride was short and the check in process was even shorter. It took less than 5 minutes to check in. We were flying with Amazonas and they allowed 1 free checked bag. So I checked one of my bag and ate my dinner using my other bag as a table.

The chicken was cooked perfectly and the chorizo was spicy enough. As I was enjoying the food, more and more people were coming into the airport and the line was getting longer. There were only 2 people working the check in desk but it was moving pretty quickly.

Soon, they told everyone to move into the actual lounge area. Before moving, we had to pay the airport tax. You cannot fly out of Uyuni without paying the tax. It was 11 bol and they gave me change back.

To get to the lounge, you had to go through a metal detector. However, they did not have one for bags. Some of the bags were hand checked but not all of them. It was a very short process and also very interesting. They also do not mind if you bring water in. And as I stated before, it was a very small airport. We had to walk to the tarmac again to get on the plane, just as we did when we got here.

The plane ride was uneventful. Once we were out of Uyuni’s range, it was pitch black outside. It really felt like there was nothing out there but soon, the lights from La Paz started to glow. When we got to La Paz airport, we had a taxi driver waiting for us and we got to the hotel safely.

We were not planning on doing anything too crazy the next day so we decided to Netflix and chill for a bit. The Loki Boutique, our accommodation, had free Netflix, so we watched John Wick. What a good way to relax and end the night.

Peru and Bolivia Master Plan 2019

This was the first time I took a long vacation in 4 years. Mostly of the time, I would attach 1 or 2 vacation days to a weekend or a work trip. The most I have taken was a week. So this was definitely something special for me.

I took 2 weeks to see Peru and Bolivia but this was definitely not enough. Of course in the span of 2 weeks, I did my best to see the major cultural points in the 2 countries. Or at least what I wanted to see.

Here was my list of to-do.

For Peru:

• Machu Picchu
• Vinicunca/Rainbow Mountain
• Sacred Valley Tour
• Humantay Lake or 69 lake
• Huacachina (Dune Buggy)
• Nazca Lines Tour

For Bolicia:

• Uyuni Desert
• Ride the teleferico
• Witch’s Market
• Valle de la luna/Moon Valley

I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. So I had to compromise on what I can see and do. I heard the beauty of 69 lake from other travelers but that was quite far from where I planned on going and it would not be a day trip. So instead of 69 lake, I decided to visit Humantay Lake. From reviews, many travelers said that if the weather permits, Humantay Lake is also beautiful. I took a chance. I also wanted to see Nasca Lines since it is close to Huacachina. However, it was another compromise I had to make since I would need to stay in Huacachina for a night and I wanted to do a day trip.

Also, I knew I was going to have only a day to see La Paz because of Uyuni. I have been told that Uyuni’s weather can be unpredictable and if you want to see the salt flats as you see on the internet, you might need to stay extra days just in case.

So with this in mind, here is the schedule I made.

So when a plan, I was pretty set. Now, I just needed to pack.

Packing was a bit challenging. I did not want to take too much but since the weather was all over the place, I had to basically pack summer AND winter clothes. Overall, the weather was going to be in the high 60s to mid 70s. However, Uyuni Desert was something else. Everyone said to take winter clothes, lots of layers.

So things I packed:

• Travel essentials (toothbrush, paste, shampoo, skincare, etc)
• 2 Long sleeve and 2 short sleeve
• 1 sweater
• Water proof winter jacket
• 2 Jeans, 1 jogger, 1 yoga pants
• Pajama
• 1 hiking boots and 1 rainboots
• 12 packs of disposable heating pads
• Flashlight, wide brimmed hat, disposable raincoat
• Camera (Sony A5100)
• Phone (Samsung Galaxy note5)
• Portable Wifi (GlocalMe U2)
• All the charging cables
• Journal and pen

I made sure to book accommodations that offer laundry service for a fee. So I planned to pack as little as possible.

Of course, with traveling, there are always mishaps even if you try to account for everything. So even though this was my plan, I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to. I will write about my day to day and how my travel plans changed. I will also do reviews of the travel companies I used and the accommodations I used throughout my trip.

Cancelled trip

I haven’t been to Grand Canyon in over a year so needless to say, I was excited to visit the place with my friend. Unfortunately, my friend had to cancel her trip to the US and we had to cancel all the subsequent trips. She had a sudden surgery and was bedridden. She thought about postponing the surgery for the trip but her doctor insisted that the surgery was urgent. She called to ask and of course I told her that her health was more important. It was really hard for her to take time off from work so she was really upset but we decided to push back this trip.

Credit to Alachua County

Which meant, we had to cancel all the reservations for tours and hotels. Usually when we plan for vacation/trips, we don’t plan to cancel them. But we cannot plan for unexpected emergencies that come up. This is one of the reasons why I usually try to read all the fine print and book things that can be cancelled before the trip, if need be. With most international trips, I try to book that can be cancelled because you can never be sure what will happen during an international trip. You can plan for A, B, and C but you might need plan Z.

Photo by CreditScoreGeek.com

In our case, we had several hotels, rental car, tour and flights booked for the trip. Many companies have 48 hour cancellation policy, which means if you cancel 48 hours in advance, you would get 100% refund. Of course, you would need to check the fine print. They will tell you when you can cancel and what you would get back.

I was able to cancel my hotels, rental car, and the tours. One problem was the flight. These days, flights have gotten harder and harder to cancel. Most of them are non-refundable unless you buy the more expensive ticket(I mean, who buys those tickets?! The fare difference is like $500+). However, if you have an emergency such as surgery or death in the family, you can cancel the flight and get a refund. You would need to send them documentations such as death certificates or doctor’s note.

In our case, the airline we used could not give us the full refund in cash but they were able to give us full credit for future flights. We had to email them about the situation and the agent was able to give us more information on the process. We had to get a doctor’s note about the surgery. Since my friend was getting the surgery in Korea, I asked if the note could be in Korean, and the airline said it was okay. So we sent an email with our flight information and the doctor’s note and the airline gave us the full refund in credit.

One thing to remember is that the agents are human too. They understand that things happen. So if you are lucky, you might find a nice agent who is willing to accept your situation and refund you. However, it will be almost impossible to get the refund back as cash unless it is one of the situation above. They may give you back the funds in form of credit as a courtesy. So please do not demand money back or yell at your agent. They are doing their job and will try to help you as much as they can(whatever their capacity might be).

[Note: In previous trips, I was able to get a full refund due to a death in the family. The process was a bit tedious. When you call the airlines, they make you talk to their claim team and the team sends you a bunch of links where you have to submit documents. I know they will accept the documents in any language as I submitted them in Korean and they took them]

So we were not able to go on our trip this time but there will be a next time! I look forward to planning the trip again with my friend in the near future.

Antelope Canyon

Busan: the Port City

Busan. I love this city. It’s the second largest city in South Korea and although it doesn’t have the old and new feel of Seoul, it does have it’s own charms. Also, Busan contains the word for mountain but the city is also surrounded by water. So if you are looking to vacation, this could be it.

Busan is a city with a lot of history. After WW2, Korea was just freed from Japan’s colonial rules and had no real leadership and was a strategic location for the US, China, and Russia. China and Russia were pushing for communism while the US was aiming for democracy. The country was way too vulnerable and took in what was near them. So the northern part took in the communism ideals with Kim Il Sung as their leader and the South took in democracy(more like capitalism) with their first president, Syngman Rhee. Both leaders claimed that they were the rightful leader of freed Korea. Unable to come to an agreement, Northern Korea, attacked the South.

The innocent people of Korea, not knowing what was going on, fled. They had just been freed from the Japanese but now, they were fighting each other. Many people, including people in the North, were leaving everything behind to save their lives. The North kept pushing and pushing and eventually, Busan was the last city standing on the South Korean side. And from here, the South, with the help from the US, pushed back. Eventually, they came to terms and set the 38 parallel line and the DMZ.

So within the city of Busan, you can still see the remnant of the War. Gamcheon Culture Village is one. People now come to see the Village as this colorful, artsy place, but actually, these were the houses the refugees built on the mountains. There were so many refugees, this was the only way to house all of them. People from the era still live here but now it has become more of a touristy place to take pictures from.

Gamcheon Culture Village (From https://www.gamcheon.or.kr/?CE=about_01)

If you enjoyed some history from Gamcheon Culture Village and want to see something new, head over to Haeundae area. This is the up-and-coming (not really coming anymore, just up) town. With the highrise buildings that overlook the ocean and gentrified restaurants and cafes, this is the town that everyone wants to be a part of. During the day, enjoy the ocean view from a terrace cafe or walk around the Dongpaek Park and during the night, take in the night view in front of the Bay 101 and enjoy the night life. Also, Gwangandaegyo during the night lights up the beach pretty well if you want to just sit around.

View of the Gwangandaegyo from Dongpaek Park

These are two things I really enjoy about Busan. I’ll write up a list of places to visit for now but will talk in more detail about other places as well later.

• Other places to visit in Busan:
  • Taejongdae Park
  • Songdo Skywalk and cable car
  • Yonggungsa Temple
  • Nampodong and Gukje Market
  • Bosudong old book street
  • BIFF Square

Spontaneous Peru and Bolivia

While I was planning my trip to Grand Canyon, a friend from College contacted me asking if I wanted to travel to Peru with her and her group. I’ve always wanted to visit Machu Pichu so I had no reason to say no to her, right? They always say follow your heart so I did. It was totally spontaneous since I had no plans for Peru this year but since she gave me ample time to plan, I went away with it. She told me that the trip would be in May for about 12 days including Memorial Day and this was good for me since I get national holidays off and can save on PTO days (I have so few ;_; ). She gave me her initial itinerary and I started to work on it.

I started to look at what to do in Peru and a lot of people were suggesting crossing over to Bolivia. Bolivia was also on my bucket list because of Uyuni Desert so I started to do my research on both countries. Of course with 12 days, it wasn’t going to be enough so I changed my plans to 16 days. I still feel like it isn’t going to be enough but I would be able to just hit some of the places. More like touch and go. I would not be able to get the full immersive experience but at least I would be able to cross them off my bucket list.

I’m a big advocate for using books for research. So the first thing I did was to visit my local library and borrow books about Peru and Bolivia. Libraries are a great resource for any type of research so I recommend you use it to your advantage. I mean, you can get all the books for free! If your library doesn’t have it, you can make a request to your librarian and I’m sure they will be happy to assist you with it.

the three books that helped me with my planning

There were certain things that the group wanted to do that I was made aware from the beginning. The main thing was the Inca Trail up to Machu Pichu. This is a 2 day trail that covers about 10 miles and you would be able to see some of the Inca ruins close up along the way. This trail is also only for people who book through registered guides and would require us to make reservations way in advance. I’m not against hiking but to do a 10 mile hike in high altitude was new to me and I did not want to risk myself getting too sick in the beginning of our trip. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who was backing out of the trail from the group. So we were able to split the group a little.

The second one was doing one of those fancy dinners at one of the course meal places in Lima. Lima is filled with amazing food choices and I was learning more and more about them as I was researching. Two restaurants in Lima are Top 10 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant and it would be a great opportunity to try them while visiting Lima. And I’m always down for good food so I was becoming more and more excited for this trip.

I only had Machu Pichu and Uyuni Desert in mind but with more research, there are more and more places I want to visit so I’m looking forward to what my itinerary looks like when it’s finished. I’ll share it with you once it is all finished.