Vienna, Austria

Two life-saving travel websites to use while in South Korea. And by life, I mean time & money.

During my year in South Korea, there were basically two websites I used to plan ALL my travel adventures: ga82.com, and kayak.com.

ga82.com is AMAZING for getting around South Korea. All you need to do is type where you are, and where you want to go. It will tell you essentially every option you've got, including trains, subways, and buses - possibly even flights. It's also quite customizable - you can specify the date, time of day, your price range, travel method, and how many transfers your willing to make. You can make it as specific or as ambiguous as you want. It will also show you precisely on google maps where various stations are. After playing around with it, you'll figure out how to maximize it's effectiveness. Sometimes, if you're trying to get to a relatively remote area, it's easier to break your search down into two parts - first, find the closest large-ish city to your destination, and use ga82 to figure out how you're going to get there. Second, from that nearby city, use ga82 to plan your route to your desired destination. I find breaking it into two steps gives greater results than simply doing it all in one step (entering your location, and then the obscure location into the destination box). Hopefully that makes sense. Once you get a feel for the site, it's such a time saver.

kayak.com is a great resource to use if you're planning a trip to somewhere outside South Korea for a vacation. It compares various airline companies against each-other, and shows you the lowest price. Play around with this site too - prices can change drastically depending on the date you're flying on. You can also add multiple airports into your search - it might be a couple hundred dollars cheaper to fly to a neighboring city, than to fly to your desired city.

Tongyeong, South Korea

Tongyeong is a small coastal city located in the south-eastern corner of South Korea, about an hour drive south-west of Busan.

 This is a view from the top of Hansan Island (Hansando). It's a large island off the southern coast of Tongyeong, and was the site of the Battle of Hansando during the Imjin War.

 Hansando is home to a few small communities, and some extensive hiking trails. 

 Jeseungdang Turtle Lighthouse.

 Tongyeong is part of the Hallyeohaesang National Marine Park, which was designated as the fourth national marine park in Korea. Hallyeohaesang is a unique marine ecosystem which extends along the 120km shoreline from Geoje to Yeosu.

 Located in the middle of the 23 Km long Sanyang Ring Road, Dal-a Park offers one of Korea’s best sunsets. There is a local bus from Tongyeong that offers access to this park.

 Dongpirang Wall Painting Village is a small neighbourhood in Tongyeong where the majority of buildings are covered in colorful murals and artwork. There are a few small cafes that offer great rooftop views of the city.

 Yi Sun-sin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty.

 The Turtle ship, also known as Geobukseon, was a type of large Korean warship used from the early 15th century up until the 19th century.

 Fishing is front and center in this small coastal community. All the fishing boats have bamboo attached to their masts for good luck.

The street food isn't for everyone, but if you're feeling adventurous, some of the food is pretty awesome - especially the freshly cooked octopus. 

 A large roof-covered street market - specializing in all things seafood.

 Not only do the markets offer vast amounts of freshly caught fish and shellfish, but also many different dried varieties too.

There are many small - less-formal - seafood markets in many of the streets too.

 A fishing boat beside a fish pen.

 Looking down the coast of Yeonhwado - a small island with a lot of great hiking. There are also two buddhist temples on the island.

 A large buddha overlooks and protects the island of Yeonhwa. 

 Seven-storied pagoda atop Yeonhwado.

 A precariously placed temple on the edge of a cliff.

 Viewing platform near the top of Bijindo.

Bijindo's sandy beach stretches and connects the two main parts of the island. There are a few nice hiking trails, and some of the best fishing in the country.

This is a view from the tent where I stayed the night - nothing beats falling asleep next to the ocean.