Being sick in Korea

Today I want to talk about my experience of being sick in Korea.

Here is my story:

Last year when I was in Korea, 5 days before I would leave again I went to eat some (delicious) Korean pancakes with a girl from Hong Kong (who I met in my guesthouse). We also drank some soju and since I didn't eat anything before the alcohol got straight to my head. Later on we went to 'prince edward' for some karaoke and there we shared a can of beer together. She had a cold and I was at the point where I had forgotten sharing a can wouldn't be smart. 

So what happened? The next day my throat felt like there was something stuck in it. It wasn't a big deal first, because I thought It would just be a harmless cold. The next day I went to Lotte world with a Friend of mine. We had lots of fun but I started to feel sick. Thou I thought it was because of all the scary rides. 

Now, when I got into the subway to get back to the guesthouse I slowly started to feel sicker by any passing minute. When I finally reached the guesthouse I felt just weak and hot. The Italian girls that stayed in the room next to mine gave me a thermometer. Turns out I had a fever. I wanted to go to the pharmacy on the next day but I just felt so horrible that I couldn't stand it anymore. So the awesome and very very nice guesthouse owner went with me to the next hospital (I don't remember the name sadly). There was no one who could speak English so having the guesthouse owner with me, was very helpful. It also didn't take long until I got to a doctor. They measured my temperate and ask what symptoms I had. I told them everything (also about the light pain in my throat) but they didn't even mind checking my throat. They motioned me to lay down on a bed and I got an injection on my hip, they also gave a me a prescription. A few minutes after the injection I started to feel way better :) I payed the medication(?) and went to the pharmacy right next to the hospital to get my medicine. All together cost me 26.000 won. Which is soooo cheap for going to a hospital and getting medicine. 

I needed to take these pills 2 times a day for 2 days.

When I came back to the guesthouse I felt awesome... I felt like I could do everything... I actually would like to know what was in that injection to be honest ._.  The next morning the effect was gone. I felt horrible again but took the medicine and hoped that I'll get better. This day and the following day I stayed in the guesthouse and watched movies. I didn't feel like going out. Until the second day, when a french girl from the guesthouse ask me to eat samgyeopsal together. So we went to the nearest restaurant. I couldn't enjoy the samgyeopsal at all because swallowing hurt so much. The only thing that was pleasing was drinking the free cold water (BTW the people at the hospital told be to avoid drinking and eating cold food/drinks). The next day after I took a shower I brushed my teeth and saw something very weird. My Tonsils where very big and.. looked gross. Now it was totally clear to me what my real diagnosis was 'Tonsillitis' I put some cloth on and went straight to the guesthouse owner. This time we went to a way better hospital the Yonsei University Hospital. When we went in there was a woman who spoke English and assisted me all the time. It took a little longer this time to get to a doctor but still not too long. He just needed to look once into my mouth and gave the diagnosis that I already knew myself. They asked me if I was allergic to something and gave me medicine. This time the bill was quite more expensive, but to be honest I wasn't that surprised when I saw 210.00 won standing on the bill. Listen If you are a German than get a 'Reiserücktritsversicherung' you'll get all the money back. This medicine helped me a lot and made it possible for me to get to the airport 2 days later and get back to Germany. 

So the end of the story is:

1st  Be prepared that you can get sick when you are traveling so make sure to have a travel insurance or something that will make you get most of the money back.

2nd  Always take that little piece of paper with you that tells what you are allergic to (I never had angina before so of course I didn't know I would have an allergic reaction to the medicine that they gave me at the 2nd hospital)

3rd  Go to the university hospitals because there will be a person that can speak English and translate. 

4th  Don't be afraid of going to a hospital If you start to feel sick. At first I also thought it was just a cold but turns out its something way worse (Infectious mononucleosis aka Pfeiffer's disease and Tonsillitis)

and 5th  NEVER, NEEVEEEERRRR share a glass/cane with someone who is ill.

That's it I hope I could help you out with this little post of mine. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment. I'll answer as fast as I can. (And sorry for my horrible English -.-)

Stay healthy~~~

xoxox Mary

Very helpful apps for traveling to South Korea

안녕 여러분~~~ 

Today, after 3846 years of not posting anything, I'll talk about very helpful apps that you SHOULD download before you travel to South Korea. (If you have an android phone than just check out if these apps also exist in the google play store)

Let's start

#1 

You may think that you'll never need a Map when you are in Korea, but trust me, you will. Especially when you walk around without knowing where you are going. If you think now that "google maps" or "maps" (The app that is automatically on your IPhone) will work, than you are wrong. With these apps you can't zoom in a lot. It'll be quite impossible to see where exactly you are. So here comes app number 1

"다음 지도" aka "Daum Maps"

This App is the Korean version of google maps. When you see it for the first time, it might be frightening, because everything is in Korean. But don't worry ^^ I'll show you how it works. (It 's very helpful when you can read Hangul thou)

This is how the App looks if you open it. Let's say I want to find the next Innisfree shop. I'll click on the search....box? Let's call it search box 

Now here comes the tricky part, for some shops, cafes and so on you'll need to write in Hangul. I did it with innisfree too, but you can also write innisfree just like that. Write down what you are looking for and click on search on your keyboard. 

Now you can see what is the nearest Innisfree shop. Click on the nearest or on the sign at the right corner that says '지도'

If you clicked on 지도 you'll see all the innisfree shops that are near you (you are the yellow pin)

Now I'll show you some more stuff that you can do with this app.

If you click on the middle sign that is on the right side, you can change to satellite.

If you click on CCTV sign you can see live videos of Seoul.

There are a few camera signs as you can see, click on the camera that you would like to see the live video of.

And now you can enjoy a loop of a street in Seoul ㅇㅅㅇ tadaaa~

There is also street view available 

Just click on the sign on the right, that looks like a blue robot with one eye ㅇㅅㅇ

Then the streets will turn blue. Now you just need to drag the robot thingy to the place that you want to see in street view and click on the white banner over the robot.

That's it.

Let's go to the second app.

#2.1

I guess you are not fluent in Korean and can maybe not even read Hangul. Well don't worry! There is an app for that ^^

Number one of the apps I use is this one

"learn Korean"

This app has very helpful phrases that you can use in every situation.

Here are just a few of the topics that are listed in this app. Also, this app is for free ^^

Click on one of the topics and on a word that you would like to know. The word will be read aloud when you click on the word. The turtle stands for reading it out loud slower. If you want to listen to the word again click on the speaker.

You can also look for phrases or words when clicking on the magnifying glass.

Phrases that you think that might be helpful you can add to your favorites.

Pretty simple.

The second app that I use, because it has some words that "learn Korean" doesn't have 

is 

#2.2

"Phrasebook"

This app is set up the same way as "learn Korean" the only thing that is different is that its also available in German and other languages.

You can also record yourself saying a word or sentence and listen to it.

#3

When you are in Seoul you most likely will need to use the Subway one day. Here is the best app for that.

"Subway Korea"

When the app opens you can see the subway map of Seoul. Click on the Station that you want to depart of. 

Click on 'Departs from'

Now you can see the station that you'll depart from. 

Now choose the Station that you want to go to.

And click on 'Arrives at'

The orange circle is the station where you need to take another line. As you can see at the bottom there is standing the approximate fare for the ride when you pay with a t money card.

Let's go to app number 4

#4

When you are in Korea it's a MUST to at least try once delivery food. This is my favorite app. It loos very cute and you can even pay with your credit card ^^ yay~~~


"배달의민족"

This App has quite a lot to over. 
I guess its pretty easy to understand what sign stands for what. 
If you wonder what that Batman sign stands for, it means 'late night snack'
And that bowl of rice with an egg stands for 'korean food'

And now last but not least


#5

"Kakaotalk"

If you meet a Korean and you decide to exchange numbers this app is very important.
In South Korea its not common to give your cellphone number to everyone that you meet. For kakaotalk you get an account with an ID. So its not important to know the cellphone number of someone you just tell them your ID. Also writing messages is for free so is this app too.

Kakaotalk has soooo many cute emoticons >.<

These are all the apps I have for you today. I hope you find this post helpful.

I'll hear from you soon 

xoxo Mary

Tips for booking a flight

Hi Everyone,

Today I want to talk about flights. The Internet is a great help and nowadays most people buy their flight online. There are plenty of websites I'll tell you which websites I use for booking my flights and how you can save some money.

Here we go:

1. When will you fly?

I guess you already know that its cheaper to book a flight some month before right? Now there are even summer and winter prices. 

- Book a flight in 'wintertime' (November-March)

For example I wanted to book a flight in July to Seoul. I looked at several websites and found one for 570€ which is very cheap. It would have been from Berlin to Paris and the next day from Paris to Seoul. Back it would have been Seoul to Fukuoka and 14 hours later Fukuoka to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Berlin.

My dad didn't buy the flight right away he waited 4 weeks and it was April. When he wanted to book it the flight wasn't available anymore and there were where just flight for 760€. 

- Always make sure to book 6 to 3 month earlier

- Check the prices regularly in that time

Also you can save some money when you take a flight that departs in the week

- book a flight that departs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday (Same for the back flight)

You'll also save a lot of money when you don't fly on national holidays or the beginning of the school holidays.

- don't book a flight that departs at the beginning of summer holidays, Christmas, thanksgiving etc.

If you need to fly in that time than at least book the flight early.

2. Websites

As I mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of websites to book a flight. I always checked the price of a flight at airfasttickets 

I also wanted to book a flight there BUT  you'll need a credit card, which I didn't had at that time. That's why I couldn't book the Paris-Seoul-Fukuoka flight.

When my father and I wanted to book another more expensive flight the website would tell me before I give them the credit card number that the flight would be 200€ more expensive and that happened with a lot of flights I wanted to book even on other websites. 

So, where should you buy your ticket now?

I went directly to the websites of the airlines. And found a flight over Dubai for 629€ which i still could effort.

- book your flight at the website of the airline
- compare the prices of a lot of airlines

for example I checked the prices at Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa, Airberlin, Air France, KLM, Korean Air and British Airways 

In the end the cheapest flight (which surprised me) was from Emirates the best Airline in 2013.

I also recommend (If you have the money) to fly with Emirates, Singapore Airlines or Quatar Airways because even the economy class has a lot of space and you'll have a private TV on long distance flights ^.^ yay

3. Stops
You maybe have seen it before. When you look for a flight the one that have 1 or 2 stops are most times cheaper.

- book the cheap multiple stops flight

Now you don't need to follow that tip, because it can be very stressful to have so  many stops. I had, when I went to Seoul and when I came back, a 4 hour stop in Dubai Airport the first time it was totally alright because I got a free meal (cause when you stay over 4 hours you'll get one). Back was a little more stressful because I was ill. But I had enough time to get to my next check in. When you have a 1 hour stop I think that would be very stressful. Just imagine you need to get from one side of the Dubai airport to the other. The Airport in Dubai is huge and very very long. My feet killed me when I went from one side to another with high heels. SO always look at how long the stop would be and in which airport. I wouldn't like to stay at Berlin Tegel for 4 hours.


4. Last but not least 

- book an economy flight

Of course if you fly with Lufthansa for example you'll not have much space and your food will maybe be not that tasty but in the end its just a way of transportation. Comfort is great but in the end if you want it cheap you sometimes need to say goodbye to comfort. Of course not if you fly with the three Airlines mentioned before.




That's it for today. I hope you'll find a cheap flight and have a nice trip wherever you go.


Bye bye Marie

1st huge Gmarket Haul

Hello reader of my blog ^^

I FINALLY got my package from gmarket. For those who don't know gmarket. Gmarket is like the Korean ebay, the biggest difference is that when you order from different shops your orders will be packed together in one huge package. Because of the German customs -.- I needed to wait for my package not just 10 days, no 17 days, because customs don't work on the weekend and it was hard to get to the German customs without a car and a driver license. But now I finally have it here :))))

OK let's start

I bought one pair of high heels 

Here is the LINK: 
http://item2.gmarket.co.kr/English/detailview/item.aspx?goodscode=488665092

I'm in love with these shoes. They are sooooooo great. They feel really comfortable and I can recommend them to everyone who thinks about buying them. When you are from germany you should know that they are made in china and not Korea.

I also bought a pair of...sneakers? Don't know how you call them but I always wanted shoes like that. 

Here's the LINK:

http://item2.gmarket.co.kr/English/detailview/item.aspx?goodscode=369589205

These shoes are very comfortable, you don't even know that you are now 3-4 cm bigger.

OK, so that where the both pairs of shoes I bought. Before I show you now the dresses, shirts and skirts I bought. I want to tell you that I'm not as thin as the girls on the picture. All these cloth are free size. Still I was concerned that my boobs would be too big, my back too wide or I'm just to chubby. I'm not over weight and I think if you have a huge belly, then you should look for "plus size" at gmarket (which exists)

Also I'm very small, I'm just 1,58m big or 5'18 feet. I recommend to everyone who is under 1,65m or 5'41 feet to wear dresses and skirts who are not longer than your knees. Longer dresses and skirts will make you look shorter.

NOW, let's finally start

These are the dresses I bought at a shop called "리마인드style"

Here's the LINK:

http://gshop.gmarket.co.kr/Minishop/GlobalMinishop?CustNo=zI4MR38zMjMxMM5yMjk3NTE5OTJ/Rw==

Sadly I couldn't find the picture for the last dress anymore. I really like this dresses, I guess for the last too I'll put a belt around it. Also the second one is a little bit small. I'm pretty afraid that it will rip when I take it off, but it's made out of an elastic material, so I guess I don't need to worry.

The next dresses and shirts are from a shop called "디프니"

Here's the LINK:

http://gshop.gmarket.co.kr/Minishop/GlobalMinishop?CustNo=zE4OR38TMjcxMMzyMTkzNTc5NzJ/Rw==

Again I couldn't find every picture of everything I purchased. The 3rd shirt, well it's actually a dress but it's not as lose as it seems on the picture, that's why I'll use it as shirt. The skirts on the pictures are from a store called "cellogirl"

Here's the LINK:

http://gshop.gmarket.co.kr/Minishop/GlobalMinishop?CustNo=zI4MR38DMjkxMM2yMTkwNTI5MjJ/Rw==

All the purchased items cost 221,60€ with shipping to Germany included (Which is sooo cheap for sooo much cloth). I needed to pay 70€ at the German customs -.-

Will I shop at gmarket again?

Yes, but just under 22€, because I needed to pay too much at German customs, just because little Germany doesn't like it when you shop in another country and don't help the German economy. 

I hope you liked this little post of mine and found it helpful :)

Have a nice day or a nice night ^.^

bye bye, Mary