KTO TOUR EXPENSES AND CHEAPER ALTERNATIVES....!

I was lucky that everything during the tour was paid for by Korea Tourism Organisation. If I were to pay all those entrance fee, food, performance, rides, flight tickets and accommodation, than I would have to fork out quite a lot of money!

Here’s a breakdown of the total cost if I were to pay for it myself. The price/fare/cost is based on the current information found on the internet. 

The exchange rate at present  is 1000 Korean Won = RM 3.39.

	Won	Ringgit	Notes:
Malaysian Airlines flight to Seoul & Korean Air flight to Kuala Lumpur	558000	2100	Air Asia flight is cheaper!
Centre Mark Hotel, Insadong	88511.99 per night	300 and above	Guesthouses are cheaper!
Ice Gallery and trick-Eye Museum, Hongdae	15000 adult 12000 child	50.85 40.68	Worth your money
Buffet Lunch at Nature Kitchen, Hongdae	12,900  and above	43.73	Many Seafood and Vegetable options
Hello Kitty Cafe	4500 and above	15.25	Only for HK fans
Tuna sandwich breakfast set at Slow Park Garden Cafe, Samcheon-dong	12000	40.68	Worth the scenery
Coffee at Wiki Cafe, Samcheon-dong	4500 and above	15.25	Only for Super Junior fans
Entrance to Deoksugung palace,	1000 adult 500 child	3.39 1.69	Must visit
Entrance fee to Grevin Wax Museum	23000 adult 18000 teenager 15000 child / elderly	77.89 60.95 50.80	optional
Shabu Shabu dinner at nTable, Dongdaemun Design Plaza Basement	16,900 dinner	57.23	optional
Janggu drum experience and Miso play	40000 and above	135.45	optional
Dinner set at Eomoni Saengseon, Insadong	Starts at 12000	40.68	Cheaper if set is shared
ITX train ticket from Yongsan Station to Chuncheon Station	6900 one way	23.39	Cheaper to go to Nami island
Gangchon Rail Park Ride	2-seater bike 25000 4-seater bike 35000	84.66 118.54	optional
Banana milk	1000	3.39	Must try
Drinking water	800	2.71	Must have
Tringular / samgak  tuna gimbap	500 - 700	1.69	Must have
Buffet dinner at Todai, Myeondong	37000	125.31	Hmmm........
Freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice	5000	16.93	Must try
A box of strawberries	10000	33.89	Must try
Shrimp burger set at Lotteria	5400	18.30	Must have
Bibimbap	6000	20.34	Must try

(photo from www.korea.net)

Other must-try options:                     (FREE / CHEAPER / WORTH YOUR MONEY)

Gyeongbokgung palace	1000-3000   1 palace 10000  4 palaces	3.39 -10.15 33.84	Must visit
National Museum of Korea	Free		Must visit
Gwanghamun  square & King Sejong statue	Free
Yongsan Station via ITX train to Gapyeong Station ; then take Taxi to Nami Island	4800 4000	16.28 13.55	Must visit
Nami entrance fee & round trip ferry Eco halal cafe – nasi goncang	8000 Foreigners 5000	27.06 16.92	Must try
Buckhon Hanok Village	Free		Must visit
Dongdaemun Design Plaza	???		Optional
Dongdaemun Market	Free		Optional visit for souvenirs
Nandaemun Market	Free		Must visit for souvenirs
Itaewon :  (Seoul Mosque) Eid halal cafe Makan cafe Kebab	Food price from 6000 and above	20.30 and above	Must visit Should try any of these
Cheonggyecheon stream	Free		Must visit
Lotte World (nearby)	26000	87.97	optional
Everland (far from Seoul)	52000 adult 44000 teenagers 41000 child/ elderly	175.95 148.82 138.67	optional
Myeondong (Food stalls in the evening)	2000 and above	6.77	Shopping heaven!
Namsan Tower – cable car ride	8500 round trip	28.77	Must try
Nanta Performance Theater, Myeondong	40000 and above	135.45	optional

You can cut down on your expenses by buying cheap Air Asia tickets and book strategic guest houses much earlier. You should visit all the places that are without any or small entrance fee and select several attractions that you can afford. You can always go back to visit the rest in the future....! 

The only thing missing from this list of expenses is the daily / local transportation – train/subway, bus or taxi. That would require you buying T-money card (similar to Touch n Go card) which can be used on most of the public transportation. Now this requires a different blog entry altogether....! 

Stay tune.