This sure sounds like lots of fun. It's too bad I am missing out. I'm visiting Korea during the Thanksgiving week this year.

I don't know how many of you have done DMZ tour before. I can tell you how interesting this is from my first hand experiences (I've done twice, one as a bus tour and another one as "VIP" tour) Just a couple things for you to know. There are usually no problems with the tour, but sometimes (often right before any "big" meetings between North and South) the area gets to be restricted. Thus, no tours...

Ok.. so what? President Noh is visiting North Korea 10/2 to 10/4. And they plan to drive to North, not flying. Obviously, this could change anytime for their security reasons. I just think you should know in case no one explains to you when the tour gets to be too short or canceled. :-)

Have a great time.

Good luck to all the DO participants and I'm sure you have fun. My next trip to Korea will probably be after Chuseok in about 1,5 weeks.

The timing of the DO is kind of optimal as Seoul will be far less crowded than usual because of Chuseok and chances are sights and restaurants will still be open over the weekend. And don;t give the Grand Hyatt lobby bar a miss...

Just saw reports that 39 million Koreans are expected to travel to their honetowns and villages during Chuseok this year.

Sorry we'll miss you guys and we do intend to have some fun.^^

Any thoughts/recommendations on bathhouses in Seoul ?

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All the outstanding Korean saunas I've experienced are outside of Seoul (Busan, Gwangju, Gyeongju, Jeonju,Jinju) but for spa type places in general the ICN Hyatt Regency is a good first or last stop in Korea.

The Gangnam long distance bus station has a good 70's retro style Korean sauna in the basement (next door to Marriott) but I would not necessary go out of my way just to visit.

Maybe someone else would know if the COEX mall or other Gangnam/Teheran Road area places have good saunas?

Prices for saunas are as low as 3000 won elsewhere in Korea and maybe 6000 - 10.000+ in Seoul. The Hyatt and other prime spas are more expensive.

Lucas and I just finished up breakfast at the Hilton, and I just wanted to take the time to say that this DO was incredible! The BBQ dinner, seafood lunch, and dinner at the Lotte Department store were out of this world! Thanks for setting this up Willie! I hope you're feeling better by now.

Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting up with old and new faces. Lucas had an absolute blast, and really got to understand the Korean culture...and food ^ He especially enjoyed the DMZ Tour and got a lot of of it.

^^ Am now sitting in the Asiana Lounge waiting for our 10AM flight to NRT. Fantastic weekend all the way around!!! Willie deserves mega kudos for the planning, and it was great to meet some new FT'ers!!

Hope everyone has safe travels -
Best, Dave

duplicate, deleted

You must be hiding from me then or in the wrong Asiana lounge. ;)

Great weekend no doubt !!!!

Safe Travels to all

Trip report and photos to come soon.

Per mosburger's comment below, this may explain why our flights to/from Seoul were wide open and why exhibits/tours we went on were not that crowded.

Just did some research on Chuseok, in 2008 Chuseok is on Sun Sept 14th.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuseok

So now the question becomes, do we have a Korea Do III around the same dates (end of Sept) next year or do we have Korea Do III surrounding the dates of the Chuseok holiday (Sept 13-14, 2008) so that Seoul is not as busy??@:-)?@:-)

Any thoughts would be appreciated, because I would like to get back next year for sure and this time of year (Sept/Oct) was beautiful.


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I will bump this thread up for you as I am still sooo interested in Korea Do III in 2008 and have yellow marked the last weekend in Sept. (27 -28) plus Sept 13-14 for now.....either will work for me right now....

I balked on this last trip because as a solo traveler, I couldn't get a feel where most of you might be staying, what the venue was. I was feeling a bit shy to wing it on my own....

I do want to stay in the in same hotels with those of you ICN FTers who have "scoped" the place plan to stay.

Thanks all and see some of you in SIN soon!

No no for me in '08 if it's Sept 13-14th, as I'm in AMS for a 9-day biz trip. Will keep an eye on the thread or a new one though. SweetWillie said Korea Rocks in an email :)

Cheers.

hotels have been scoped, full trip report here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=742504

Hope to see you next year !!!

:)
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Thanks, Sweet Willie...great report and very tempting options!...I am liking the looks of the Westin Chosun but still prefer to be at a hotel where other members of our (in)famous group might be.....:)
Will book tix once you all choose a date....a mileage run for me on DL, of course.....

Ok, in reading this through, this might not be a good Do for me. I'm allergic to all seafood/fish, which was mentioned heavily in all trip reports, and I'm a Marriott/Hilton gal. Will keep it in mind though.

Cheers.

The Koreans eat quite a bit of beef! Can you say bulgoki?

So maybe you don't go to the fish market, you'll probably need some time to recouperate from the soju anyways:p;)

Condition One stayed at the Hilton, it is very close to the Westin. couple buck cab ride away.@:-)

The Hilton was actually quite nice. The interior was huge, and it has 6 or 7 restaurants. Very new looking. The Seven Luck Casino is connected to the hotel.

When I checked in, I was upgraded to an Executive Room, which was a little smaller than I was expecting. But it wasn't a big deal. I was given the option of taking breakfast either in the Lounge or the restaurant downstairs. I opted for the restaurant, which had an excellent buffet spread each morning. There's a bakery in the hotel too, so fresh bread and pastries were available each morning.

Some people complain about the walk to the subway station. It's not far away, and it is a bit of an uphill walk going back to the hotel. But it's less than a 5 minute walk and I didn't find it a big deal. For the most part, I just took taxis since they were cheap.

I'll probably do a more detailed writeup on the Hilton forum over the weekend.