Korea and
Thailand

The long flight over

• A midday nonstop from Seattle to Incheon, about 12 hours. You cross the date line, so you land in the evening of the next day.

A night arrival in Gangnam

• We landed around 6 PM. Budget about an hour for immigration and bags.
• Into the city: the 6006 airport limousine bus runs to Apgujeong, near our hotel, in about an hour. A taxi takes 60 to 80 minutes. Uber and Kakao T both work. Skip the subway with luggage; there are a lot of stairs.
• We stayed at Andaz Seoul Gangnam in Sinsa, close to Garosu-gil. A lift goes straight down to the subway.
• First errand: a Climate Card from the 7-Eleven around the corner.

A Michelin lunch, then Korean BBQ in Hongdae

• Anniversary lunch at Soul Dining, a one star tasting menu in Yongsan with a view up to Namsan Tower. Highlights: the makgeolli rice cake (chewy like mochi, fluffy like cake), the oyster shot, and truffle bingsu to finish.
• Dinner with friends at Ganggangsullae in Hongdae, a big Korean BBQ place that handles large groups, has English menus and grills the meat for you.
• After dinner Hongdae is all buskers, bars and karaoke. Note that the subway stops around midnight and starts again around 5:30 AM.

Shopping in Myeongdong

• A slow morning, then an afternoon in Myeongdong: skincare shops, fashion chains and street food. The food stalls set up later in the afternoon, so go hungry around dusk.
• Start at the HBAF almond store. There are free samples of dozens of flavours, and the bags make easy gifts.

Cold soy noodles, raw crab and mango bingsu

• Lunch at Jinju Jip in Yeouido, famous for kongguksu: noodles in a thick, chilled soy milk broth. Unusual and worth trying once. The portions are huge, so share.
• A walk in Yeouido Hangang Park by the river. It felt bare in winter; we'd save it for spring or a summer night.
• Dinner at Gebangsikdang, a Michelin Bib Gourmand spot for marinated raw crab. High quality and fairly priced. We liked the spicy red marinade far more than the soy one. Reserve ahead.
• Back at the hotel bar: mango bingsu.

Seongsu cafes, Namdaemun hotteok, Cheonggyecheon at night

• Afternoon in Seongsu, Seoul's warehouse district turned cafe and pop-up neighbourhood. Cafe Onion sits in an old factory and is known for its pastries. Pick a tray and grab what looks good.
• At dusk, the hotteok stand at the edge of Namdaemun Market, where there's always a line. Get the glass noodle and vegetable one: crisp outside, savoury inside.
• Then a walk along Cheonggyecheon, the restored stream through downtown, lit up at night. Pleasant if you're nearby, not worth a special trip.

The fast train south, Cheongsapo at sunset

• A morning KTX from Seoul Station to Busan, about 2 hours 45 minutes. From Busan Station, an Uber taxi to the hotel was quick and easy.
• We stayed at Park Hyatt Busan in Marine City, looking across the bay to the Gwangan Bridge.
• Late afternoon at the Cheongsapo Daritdol Skywalk, a glass-floored walkway out over the sea. It's the perfect start to Cheongsapo, a small fishing village of cafes and seafood shacks.
• Dinner at Dohee-nae: grilled shellfish and seafood over charcoal, BBQ style, with staff cooking it for you. Everything tasted fresh.
• After dark we walked the Blueline Park boardwalk toward Haeundae past the lit-up Haewol Observation Deck, and ended at Haeundae Traditional Market for fish cakes and tteokbokki.

We'd heard the Blueline Park beach train is slow. The boardwalk runs right beside the tracks, and at night it's a lovely, free way to see the coast.

Old Busan's markets and a night at Spa Land

• The Oryukdo Skywalk first. It's out on its own with little around it; the Cheongsapo one is better and easier to combine with other things.
• Gamcheon Culture Village, the hillside of painted houses. Great for photos, but the food and souvenirs felt very touristy. There's a quirky duck cafe if you go.
• Gukje Market is huge and sells everything, which makes the good food stalls hard to find. Plan what you want before you go.
• The best bite of the trip was next door in Bupyeong Kkangtong Market: Leegane Tteokbokki. The best tteokbokki we've had, with a perfect balance of sweet, spicy and fragrant.
• At BIFF Square, try ssiat hotteok: a fried pancake split open and stuffed with seeds and nuts.
• Evening at Spa Land inside Shinsegae Centum City: hot pools, themed sauna rooms and a jjimjilbang. Cheap and fun. It was busy even on a weekday, so avoid Friday to Sunday, and note the food court closes a couple of hours before the spa.

Gwangalli Beach, cold noodles, then fly south

• A walk on Gwangalli Beach. Next time we'd come back after dark, when the Gwangan Bridge lights up.
• Lunch was a tale of two noodles. Jajangmyeon at a small Chinese-Korean spot near the beach was just okay. Okine Milmyeon Kalguksu was the real find: Busan-style cold wheat noodles in a place full of locals. The portions are huge; one noodle and one soup is plenty for two.
• An Uber taxi to Gimhae Airport takes 40 to 60 minutes. Do the tax refund at the kiosk before security.
• In the international terminal, Sky Hub was the best lounge but had a 30 minute wait; Air Busan's had better snacks than Korean Air's.

A 1 AM landing and khao soi

• We landed at Suvarnabhumi around 12:30 AM and waited almost an hour for a Grab. The official taxi queue would have cost only a little more. Look at how many people are waiting before you choose.
• We stayed at Park Hyatt Bangkok, above the Central Embassy mall on Wireless Road, which was also the wedding venue. They have 24 hour dry cleaning, handy for a suit that's been in a suitcase for ten days.
• Dinner a short walk away at Thai Niyom, a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick. Great khao soi and pad thai, and a coconut dessert we still talk about.

A slow day and the welcome party

• A late breakfast, then a mani-pedi in the Central Embassy mall downstairs. It was overpriced for what it was and just okay; look outside the luxury malls.
• In the evening, the wedding welcome party at the hotel.

A Thai massage, then the wedding

• A late-morning Thai massage at DreamHouse on Sukhumvit 20.
• The ceremony was in the hotel ballroom in the late afternoon, then cocktails and the reception.

Recovery day, and a better massage

• A Thai massage at Plant Day Spa. It was on the pricier end, but clearly better than the bargain one we'd had, so we'd pay up next time.
• Then a wander along the covered skywalk around Chit Lom, which links the malls above the traffic.

centralwOrld, then down to the coast

• A morning at centralwOrld, the giant mall at Ratchaprasong. It was genuinely impressive, with good shops we didn't find elsewhere. Next time we'd stay at the Grand Hyatt Erawan next door.
• The Grab to the coast at 4 PM was our worst ride: a surge fare, an hour for the car to reach us through traffic, and a cramped drive. Book a private car a few days ahead instead. Nam's Taxi, with women drivers, is well reviewed but was full when we tried.
• We stayed at Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach, south of the Pattaya strip, with an infinity pool facing the Gulf of Thailand.

A real day off

• The pool, the beach and catching up on things. The Andaz was the most relaxing stop of the trip.
• Stay for sunset at the bar, then oysters by the pool.

Elephants, and back to Bangkok

• A morning at Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary, a no-riding sanctuary in the hills. You prepare food, walk with the elephants and help wash them. Pickup from the Andaz was included in the ticket. We'd recommend it to anyone staying in Jomtien.
• Back to Bangkok by private SUV, booked by email for a flat fare with tolls included: comfortable and on time, everything the Grab wasn't.
• The last two nights were at Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit off Soi 13, next to Terminal 21, a more budget friendly mall with a floor for each city. Fun, but we liked centralwOrld more.

A Thai cooking class

• The morning class at House of Taste on Sukhumvit 4, about 15 minutes' walk from the hotel. Our favourite thing in Bangkok. Only the morning class includes the market tour, and it meets somewhere different from the school, so check your confirmation. They share the recipes afterwards.
• Dinner at Burapa on Sukhumvit 11, an Eastern Thai Bib Gourmand pick. Solid flavours, but everything arrived lukewarm. Fine if you're staying nearby; we wouldn't cross town for it.

The long way home

• A 4:30 AM Grab to the airport. Order it early; pickups were slow all week.
• Suvarnabhumi can be very slow at check-in and security, so arrive three hours before an international flight.
• Home via Tokyo Narita, landing in Seattle the same Sunday morning thanks to the date line. In Narita Terminal 2, the KoCoo lounge has good mochi and usually curry.