Three things to take when traveling around Korea - and three to leave behind

Fellow blogger Nomadic Chick recently blogged about what works and what doesn't in her travels. While traveling the world and traveling around a first-world country are two very different beasts, I thought I'd share three things you'll definitely want when traveling Korea, and three things you can safely leave behind.

MUST HAVE #1: Entertainment. An iPod Touch holds enough music and games to keep me entertained on even the longest bus or train rides. Finding an outlet while out and about may be a challenge, but you'll always have one in your hotel room for the night. Note that a good book, a Kindle, an iPhone, or other similar things will work as well.

MUST HAVE #2: Cash. Even though much of Korea seems to have an ATM or bank around every corner, cash remains king. This goes double if trying to haggle down the price of something, or riding a bus (have 1,000 won bills and some change for that).

MUST HAVE #3: Directions. While guidebooks can be good at helping you find places to see, they often leave something to be desired in the directions category. For those, this Korean travel blog does its best to give directions of all the destinations visited. Other websites good at directions are Visit Korea and Gyeonggi-do's English-language tourism website.

LEAVE BEHIND #1: Your laptop computer. Unless it's absolutely required for your livelihood while traveling, it's more likely to weigh you down. Remember your passwords and log on at any PC bang around the country. For those concerned with privacy, download the portable version of the Firefox browser to your USB drive, or learn how to download and use Tor.

LEAVE BEHIND #2: Most (but not all!) toiletries. Virtually every low-end motel / love motel I've ever stayed in provides everything you need to get clean. If they don't have something you need, walk to a nearby convenience store and pick it up. The only bathroom-related item I bring with me is a razor - you might get a crappy single-bladed razor when checking in, but I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

LEAVE BEHIND #3: Your work and your worries. It's very tempting to bring that homework that has to be checked by Monday, but then you end up carrying it with you as you enjoy your weekend. Y'know, that free time on Saturday and Sunday you get off from work? Also, check your worries at home - relax and enjoy your trip.

Finally, a footnote: while there are plenty of tourist publications available at many touristy places across the country, I highly recommend picking up a good map of Korea from an English-language bookstore. Besides showing you how far away that place really is, the map won't be dominated with big pictures of the places promoted by the mapmakers.

Readers, what do you always take with you when traveling Korea, or what do you now leave behind?

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