John and I just got back from a wonderful Thanksgiving trip to Korea. We stayed at the Dragon Hill Lodge, which is located in Seoul on the Yongsan Army Garrison. The Dragon Hill Lodge (DHL) is a military rest and relaxation hotel designed for members of the military and their family taking leave.
If you're living in Japan, I strongly encourage you to take a trip to Korea. The cost is relatively low (less than $300/person for plane tickets) and the flight is only 2 1/2 hours. Most of the Koreans we encountered (even those hawking goods on the street) spoke great English. The atmosphere is less formal than Japan and there's tons of great cultural sights right there next to the hotel. John and I were able to visit the DMZ (demilitarized zone) marking the border between North and South Korea. Very cool since I'm really interested in recent political history.
A few tips for traveling to Korea and staying at the DHL:
1. Bring two forms of ID (passport and military ID).
The Yongsan Army Garrison has strict security policies. If your military ID is not in their database, they require a second form of ID to access the military base.
2. Only active duty military members can shop at the exchanges and commissary right when they arrive. This includes the exchange on the first floor of the hotel.
Yongsan still has a ration policy in place (what up, World War II!!) and dependents, retirees, and visitors are not allowed to even enter any shopping facilities without showing a ration control plate. Temporary ration control plates can be issued, ask the front desk to point you in the right direction. Active duty military will have their ID scanned and do not need the ration control plates. I tried to go into the main exchange with my husband but was told I wasn't allowed to enter without showing a temporary ration control plate. I did notice the first floor Exchange in the DHL would let you enter without a ration control plate even though a sign in the front said it wasn't allowed.
3. Don't eat at the restaurants in the hotel!
The restaurants in the hotel are WAY overpriced. The buffets run about $16/person. Our average meals ended up costing $30/each + tip so we were paying nearly $70 for lunch and dinner for two people. Find other places to eat on and off base.
4. On the first day, hit the commissary.
Not only are the restaurants overpriced, but the Exchange on the first floor of the hotel is also overpriced. I noticed an energy drink I usually pay $1 for at the commissary in Yokosuka was marked up to nearly $4! If you're traveling with an active duty member, send them to the commissary to get provisions for snacks, drinks, and breakfast for your stay.
5. Don't go tour crazy (aka the Amethyst Center is a rip-off).
Try one or two tours, but truly they're pretty pricey for what they include. There's plenty to see right outside the gates of the base including a FREE war museum with tons of interactive experiences. Most tours (no matter who you book through) end with a stop at the Amethyst or Ginseng factory. Sounds cool until you realize EVERY tour that has ever been done in Seoul includes a stop here. It's just a place where pushy sales people try to get you to buy overpriced jewelry or herbs. The tour companies must get some sort of monetary kick back for bringing the groups in. Honestly, if you find the bus stopping there just sit on the bus and wait. It's not even worth it to go inside.
6. Expect minimal help from the front desk.
We ran out of coffee in the room and I went to the front desk to ask for more. Instead of just reaching under the desk and offering me a pre-made coffee pack, they had to look me up in the computer, verify I was in the room I said I was in, then they told me I had to return to my room and call the front desk (which is where I was standing) and tell them to send someone to bring my coffee. WHAT?!?!?! More on the minimal help in the next point.
7. When checking out have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C for getting to their airport to catch your flight.
We checked out the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Turns out 60 other people had the same idea as us. We were planning to take the free bus that runs from the hotel to the airport only three times a day. Turns out 60 other people had the same idea as us. The free bus is supposed to be loaded by priority (active duty traveling on orders, active duty on vacation, etc., etc.). This was not the case AT ALL. The bus pulled up and it was like Black Friday for a bus. People were pushing and shoving their way aboard. There was shouting, there was fighting, there might have even been some hair pulling. John and I, plus about 20 other people, got left behind.
When we asked the front desk to call TONS of cabs, their response was: "You have to text a cab we can't call them. Cabs don't want to go to the airport this early." What, what, WHAT?! This was also followed by a, "We didn't expect this many people to need to use the bus today." Sooo....let me get this straight DHL staff, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, the most traveled holiday in the world, you didn't expect a large number of people to be checking out and using the bus?! Yeah, okay. Needless to say the wait for taxis was excruciating and there was a fair bit of pushing and shoving in that line as well. There was also some guy making the situation MUCH better by screaming that everyone who had gotten on the bus was an "a**hole."
After paying $75 to take the cab to the airport (and have the taxi driver try to rip us off, they're not as friendly or honest as in Japan), we found out there was another bus that leaves from a nearby hotel off base and for $15 person we could have jumped on that. It's weird the front desk didn't tell us about this option when we were asking for cabs.
There you have it, my tips for traveling to Korea. We really and truly did have a great time, I just wish someone would have told me about all the little quirks we were going to encounter when visiting the Yongsan Army Garrison. We do plan to go back in 2014 before we leave Japan for good. However, next time I'm armed with information about how to make a good trip a stellar trip.
