source: google

source: google

source: google

source: google

source: google

And that's what I usually do. It might be your usual things to prepare before your trip, but I believe people divide all the task when they go on group trip or family trip. And my lazy bum never really prepare anything when I travel in group or with family beside apply for Visa and buy plane ticket.

Who's with me?


Oh! Before I forget... I plan to make the second part; the actual tips and trick when you go on solo trip. Since I'm preparing for my third solo trip, I'm kinda excited to write while doing some hotel research... until next time! I'll try to post it on April 2019! See you!


other images' source is stated below the image.

Hello again guys! :D This time I'm going to share about my very first solo travel to Korea. Since I'm going from Japan, I think the budget is slightly cheaper than from Indonesia (specially since I can't buy promo ticket that Indonesia usually has).

After my failed attempt to go there back in 2009, I've been dreaming about travelling to Korea, with or without company. This year, my dream comes true. Let me share a bit about the preparation.


1. Visa
I'm not quite sure about the procedure in Indonesia, but in Japan I only need these documents.
 ► a color photo 3.5 x 4.5cm
 ► application form (5 pages)
      I got it from the consulate staff because I emailed them regarding the visa.
 ► passport
 ► a copy of your front page passport (the identity page)
 ► alien card or zairyuu card (a resident card in Japan for foreigner)
 ► a copy of your zairyuu card (front and back side)
 ► fee : 4800 yen

The Korea embassy in Japan are located in several city, depend on your location. As for me, I went to the consulate office in Yokohama. We don't have any tour company that have any visa application service like in Indonesia, so I have to do it all by myself, and the procedure's not complicated at all..


2. Planning your itinerary
In Japan, I don't have to book the flight and hotel first, so it came in handy. After I apply my visa, I plan my trip, like which city I want to go to, how many days should I stay there, what kind of tourist attraction I want to go to, which area is better to book a hotel and so on.

Actually I've planned this trip from December, so I already search the tourist attraction both in Seoul and Busan and write it down on my cellphone. I just need to fix them all into a neat itinerary.




3. Flight tickets
I personally got my ticket from this website Student Universe It did wonders. Basically most of the tickets can be bought by anyone, but some condition apply (specially if you're a student or not yet 26 years old).

Another website you can check is this Skyscanner.
You can also ask for newsletter in case you want to know if the flight you want changes price.


4. Book the hotel
As far as we know, a lot of website have a great deal for hotels. Just mention them; Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, what else (please mention below for reference). Most of the website provide flight and hotel package, except for Airbnb.

Student Universe also offers hotel and tour package. Please check it out! :D



5. Check Korail Pass and pocket wi-fi
After your itinerary is quite done, you need to check if you need Korail Pass.

If you've been to Japan as tourist, you might be familiar with JR Pass. It covered train fee (only JR lines) in Japan (from North to South), and shinkansen for 7 days or 14 days. So if you travel to Japan for 7 days, and you have plan to go to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, then this JR Pass is your god. They helped you cut the transportation expense.

I think it's the same as Korail Pass. Unfortunately, I'm not quite understand about this pass even though I read the website already. Maybe because I don't understand the KTX system, or maybe the explaination is not quite clear, or maybe I'm just stupid. After my friend told me, then I'm quite sure the system is similiar to JR Pass. As for me, since I only plan to go to Seoul and Busan, my friend said it's not worthed. So, if you plan to change more than 2 city in 3 days, it will worth to buy. Korail Pass have 1 day pass, 3 day pass, 5 day pass, and 7 day pass. It's quite a short time, and pretty expensive if you travel alone.

In conclusion, if you:
● travel in group (2-5 people)
● travel into more than 3 city in 3 days
● youth (13-25 y.o)

then this Korail Pass is worth to buy.


Then the most important thing comes...... the pocket wi-fi, or as the korean said, 'the egg'.
If you're a soc-med queen or king, or a beginner in traveling solo, maybe this 'egg' will be an absolute list to check. In case you need a wi-fi when you lost, need a translation, check the bus and train schedule, or just to be up-to-date on your trip (yes, you blogger and snap-chatters out there), this 'egg' is your gold.

You can book the 'egg' here or here. Compare the two, and decide for yourself.
psst.... you need credit card for the 'egg'.

If you're confident enough without the 'egg', then a good news is here for you. My friend who studied in Korea said there're free wi-fi service all over Korea, like the beach, cafe, restaurant, etc.... If you have a lot of time to spare, I think you don't really need to rent the 'egg'.

www.travelmagma.com

6. Check your essential
such as,
► digital camera or handycam
► passport
► wallet
► debit and credit card
► phone
► charger (phone and camera)
► adaptor (if you come from Indonesia, it's the same as Korea. If you come from Japan like me, you have to search for adaptor)
►flight e-tickets, hotel booking mails, and so on....
► your itinerary (I always bring a note and pen with me)
► map maybe?


7. Check the weather, event and festival
I don't have to write a lot about the weather, but yeah, it's important to check before you go...
And of course the advantage of traveling without tour guide is that you can participate in the event or festival. Some of useful website can be googled. As for Seoul, you can try and check this website: Visit Seoul

That website also provide the tourist attraction spot, food and restaurant, accomodation, and shopping area. It can be helpful.




8. Make your personal wishlist
Not only about event or festival that might be going on when you're in Korea, but also what kind of food you want to try (the name of the food, the restaurant name and address --> I watched 2Days 1Night for this), what kind of skin care and make-up you want to buy, the souvenirs (for family, friends, etc).



And of course, make a neat note of your itinerary will help you around, specially if your time is tight and you want to go to a lot of places. It will keep you on track, and check whether there're place you skip or can't visit on time.

The example:





As you can see,  those are several example of itinerary I can think of, with some +/- point that I saw important. This kind of itinerary worked well when I went to Japan for the first time, without tour. I think that's all....


Is there anything you want to add to the list? If you have more tips, question, or story, please leave notes below.... I will update more about this trip after I came back from Korea ♡


See you soon!

Hi everyone! How's your holiday?

It's the end of July already, means we're back to study mood (psst.. In Indonesia, we start new semester around mid July so the students are back to school and study their ass off. As for college student, the beginning of the term depends on the college. Some in July, some in August, and some in Sept). If you're graduated from high school, means it's time for expressing yourself since there's no more uniform! Yeaayy~ \(≧∇≦)/ You can put make-up and wear your pretty shoes! Flats, sandals, heels, wedges, boots, anything! you can wear any types of shoes. That applies for clothes too. Isn't that amazing? ;)






For me, it WAS amazing. The first second months was like heaven, i can pick what i want to wear that day. My mom even bought me lots of clothes and bags for college preparation. But it became trouble since the third months. Why? Because of the total freedom of what you want to wear and make-up is allowed, i needed more time to choose my clothes, choose my bag & shoes for the day, and put some light make-up. Not to mention the assignment was given and my sleeping time decreased. Months after months i began to left my make-up and just choose simple clothes. (︶ه︶||||)


Heaven turned out to be hell. LOL~ i felt like crying, really. But! You don't have to end up like me (specially if you're confused what to wear but want to look perfect). I'll give you some trick and tips i've failed to applied on my first college life. So sad. (ˇ_ˇ'')‎





It's simple actually. You just need to plan your outfit on the night before. If you don't know what to wear or what to match, begin with your bag, or shoes, or top you want to wear. After you choose the significant item for your look, you can search which items in your closet that match well with it. Don't forget to stuff up your bag with your notes, pensil case, tissues, and your personal make-up or toiletries.



As for make-up, just put a natural and light make-up, specially if you have classes from morning to evening. You don't have confidence without complete make-up? Or you just begin to wear make-up? Well, that's different story. Unless you're okay with waking up earlier (like half an hour or an hour earlier), you really need to choose 3-4 make-up to wear. For me, i will choose powder, lipgloss, blush-on, and eyeliner/maskara.



What about hair, huh? Well, you can style it naturally. A simple ponytail, braids, just leave it be, or pin it up. If you have short hair or managable hair, you will save lots of time for styling your hair. That works too if you don't mind just put face powder and lipgloss as your daily make-up.

As for boys, you can skip the make-up part. *wink*


So, goodluck girls and boys! Have a good college life!
See you later!








Hype me here:





credit:
photos are taken and edited by me

Do you always want to travel by yourself without being tied down by tours super tight schedule? Don't you find travelling with tours annoying? -well, i mean, you don't really have your freedom, can't decide where do you want to go because of the damn schedule...it is annoying! For me, go everywhere with tours is super annoying. My first experience going with tours was to China -and i don't have fun at all. Thanks to that, i decided to try going to Japan without tours.


If you want to, but don't have the experiences, i'm here to share some tips & tricks to self-travel to Japan. It may not be so damn perfect since it based on my own experiences -my first experiences to be bold. But well, i hope it helps.

Let's begin with the basic.
First,
mark your calendar! Decide when will you go! It's all about the time.
To know the best time that fit you to your bone, do some research -like the tourist attraction, fee, local festival, local holiday, and the season. Do it long before you decided to go, guys.

Second,
you have to decide what type of travel do you prefer -bugdet traveler or the glamour one?
It will help you to know how much money you have to prepare. If you decided to go with the budget traveler one, i can promise you it will be cheaper than the tour!

Third,
you have to search for the flight and book your hotel. Why? because you have to provide the flight booking confirmation and hotel address when you submit your visa! Go to agoda.com or hostelworld or any other helpful website to book your hotel. I recommend you to carefully see the rating and read the review for each hotel. A travel insurance is also needed. Don't forget to purchase it!

Meanwhile,
please make a rough itinerary. Don't have to be specific, just give the place you're going when you're in Japan.

Fourth,
submit your visa. They will process your visa for 4 day. Make sure you have time to take your visa before your flight. LOL~ And oh! Japan embassy has a strict schedule, please read carefully about the details in the website. It is really helpful. If you want your visa to be processed fast, you have to gather all the file needed before you submit them. They won't accept your unfinished file. You're save as long as you don't have any problem with Japan beforehand.

Fifth,
after you get your visa, finished your flight payment, and any other point above, don't forget to change your money. Believe me, it's better to bring yen than USD from here. You can still bring USD, but just for emergency -in case your yen is not enough.

Sixth,
Go and buy yourself JR pass, specially if you have plan to ride on Shinkansen at least twice. It can only be bought before you go to Japan. They don't sell JR pass in Japan. It surely will save your money. Check the details HERE.

Last,
Learn basic japanese! Not a must, but it will be helpful because not all Japanese can speak English well. Don't have to learn about something difficult. Just remember some important key point, like direction, toilet. thank you, the difference between gomenasai and sumimasen, how much (for shopping), and how many (for ordering food or drinks). They will respect you for trying to speak Japanese even if you only say "arigato" or "sumimasen"


The basics are all done. It's pretty simple right!
Before we continue, i will share some fee for your daily life supply while you're in Japan.




Rough details:
a. Food
minimum price you can get is around 700 yen. I set mine 1000 yen/meal (4000 yen/day)
Believe me, you have to spare some money for your food because you will want to try their traditional food/snack.


b. Transportation
this will be you next biggest spare in Japan, next to food. I recommend you to go with Tokyo metro if you're in Tokyo, local bus if you're in Kyoto, and local subway if you're in Osaka. The fee might vary depend on your destination.
JR pass can only be used for JR train, and Kyoto don't have many JR train, the same as Osaka -not like Tokyo. JR pass valid for 7 or 14 day. Make sure you think carefully before you decided which date you will begin to use your JR pass.
As for me, i decided to use the JR pass to cover my Shinkansen fee (from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka to Tokyo). The Shinkansen is pretty expensive (13.000 yen for Tokyo to Kyoto), so if you don't go from city to city, don't bother to buy JR pass (28.000++ yen for 7 day). WHY? Because the purpose of JR pass is to make you save money. If you only go around Tokyo, the fee wouldn't exceed 28.000 yen.

c. Tourist attraction
I believe you have search about tourist attraction before you go and plan your itinerary. Check whether the attraction got you to pay for entrance fee or not. If you're in your first visit to Japan, go to the most famous tourist attraction. Take note of the fee needed for each attraction you want to go.


d. Hotel payment.
If you go and book your hostel through hostelworld, you will need to bring more money to pay the hotel, because you only pay DP from hostelworld.


Done with the rough details.
Now after you step your feet on Japan, please pay attention to this thing!


1. Rent a cellphone or buy a simcard. If you need to contact your parents by call or text msg and your provider can't connect, you can find a lot of cellphone rent centre. They can speak english rather well. If you're using android or iphone, you can buy a simcard for 2.000++ yen -paid by credit card. If you're using other type of cellphone, go rent a cellphone.

2. Go to tourist centre in the airport, and ask for the city map.

3. Ask for help to get to the city from the airport - or maybe you should check it out on google before you go to Japan. Narita has it's own website.

4. Make sure you check the map of the metro/subway so you won't get lost. If you don't understand, go ask the staff.

5. Don't forget to check about their culture, like the tradition on dining table, how to use the public bath, and so on. If you don't want to embarrased yourself, please take not of this point.

6. Pay attention to the hotel curfew, when the public bath open/close, don't be so noisy at night. They're rather quiet, so if you make a noise, it can be heard clearly.

7. You can eat snack/drink in Tokyo Metro, but please make sure you don't spill them. No cellphone ringtone allowed, specially beside the priority seat. I never heard a cell ring inside the Tokyo Metro, so please take note.

8. Kyoto local bus only operate until 10 pm, and they only have 2 subway line. Make sure you come back before the transportation is down. You aren't allowed to eat or drink in Kyoto local bus. They only accept payment up to 1000 yen.

9. If you go to Gion in Kyoto, and happen to see a geisha in front of you, please don't overreact or being rude, like taking photos/pointing. You will face the bodyguard for sure. Just act normal.

10. Bring several plastic bag with you everyday, because it's pain in the ass to find trashcan in Japan. -__- So, my advice: If you happen to buy something in Lawson/Family Time/7-11 in Japan, don't leave the plastic bag. It will be useful for you to gather your trash until you find the trashcan.

11. Pay attention to the weather forecast. If you go there on Spring or Summer, the weather can ruin your day --> if needed, bring umbrella or poncho with you.

12. Always bring your passport with you, sometimes you can get discount for showing your passport in shopping arcade.

13. It's safe in Japan. They're honest, and won't take tips. So don't worry about losing your money due to robbery or other kind of crime. But if you're pretty clumsy or not so sure about the situation, i recommend you to seperate your money to 2-3 seperate place. In case you lost your money, you still have saving. Pretty smart, huh? just make sure don't lost your passport/flight ticket.

14. Save the address and the telephone number of your country embassy in Japan. In case something emergency happen, you know where you should go.

15. Most of the hotel in Japan provide towel, soaps, shampoo, brushtooth, room sandals, and yukata. To make sure, you can see the review of the hotel. If they don't provide them, you will know from the review. So read, read, and read!!

16. Hotel in Japan don't provide extra bed. If it's room for 1 person, then it only for 1. If it's twin roon, then it only for 2. And so on..please pay attention to the max. guest can stay in 1 room.

17. Never leave your precious items in your hotel room. Eventhough it's safe, we never know when the bad luck will happen. So stay alert. ;)



===
That's all. Hope it helps!
See you again soon!


xoxo
Anastasia


credit:
photos are taken by me & Angelina G
edited by me