I posted this in r/travel a week back and I thought I would write this up from the perspective of someone who just arrived a few days ago. I usually see things from people who spent months, but they normally forget the small things. Here's my impression so far and thoughts for other travelers.Learn to read Hangul. The trains and buses are fabulous, but the 'foreigner boards' are not always turned on/working. This makes finding your stop fun as you have to squint at the tracks on approach. Being able to sound out the words makes a big difference. Also, the tmoney card is great for the trains. I bought one in the station - note that it does not come with money on it. You have to take out the card and load money (usually cash) into it using any of the transit machines. Most trips cost 1200 krw (~$1). I personally did not use the tmoney card at convenience stores since I have a chase travel card that waives transaction fees.Many, many people don't speak English. You don't have to be fluent in Korean, but you should try to know how to count in Chinese and Korean. Know how to ask for prices. How to ask where things are. Know how to say thank you and 'please give'. Those are the phrases I used the most and it got me most of the way.Download Naver Maps or Kakao Maps. Google Maps does not work in SK (blocked by the government), so you're stuck with Naver. It's.. okay. You have to constantly look at it to keep track of where you are. Also, Seoul is huuuuuge. Make sure you give yourself time going district to district. Even on the train it can take over an hour to get from Hongik Station to Gangnam Station.If you're a foreigner, you will get stared at, but not for long. I definitely had people stare at me on the train and buses, and most especially at restaurants. But they're not malicious, just curious I guess. When I was in Busan people were more blatant about staring (especially old people).Arrive early at the airport. If you can get a flight that arrives early you're in for a mostly empty airport and about 2 minutes through customs. It was a super lovely experience.Menus are bilingual. Every restaurant, even the obscure ones, have several languages: English, Chinese, Japanese.If you're a foreigner, you will have people barrage you for taxis, clothes, makeup, etc. I'm a white female so I don't know if this applies to everyone, but I felt targeted at every shopping district. They definitely thought I needed a taxi everywhere I went. So just be aware that they will be overly helpful/annoying.Subways are a bit crazy sometimes. If you get on the wrong train by accident, you're probably going to have to walk a half mile to get to the other side of the tracks. Most of the subway stops don't meet in the middle so it's inconvenient as hell. I've walked a metric ton in the past two days. Also, the trains have designated seats for elders and pregnant women. Just keep an eye out for those sections. I've almost sat in those seats by accident. Finally, get used to the track numbering system, that's probably the best way to ensure you're going in the right direction.Subways stop running at midnight/1am. The bars and clubs are open all night on the weekend so if you take the train to another district you'll have to get a taxi back. The bars are happy to call one for you and you can just pay with credit card. I think on average I paid 6-10 for taxis and $15-$20 at night. Nothing outrageous considering how far they're driving you.Bring water with you (in summer). It is quite warm, and if you're visiting popular tourist places, they do not sell water inside. You should stop at a convenience store and grab water before going in. I almost died of thirst at the palace.Be careful of guesthouses. I got a room in a guesthouse that had good reviews, but when I arrived they said the A/C was broken and they couldn't fix it. So I said screw it and got an expensive hotel (yes it was that hot). The hotels aren't terribly pricey compared to huge cities like New York or Tokyo, so you can get one for $60-$70 per night or a really fancy one for $100.Gangnam is pretty boring during the day unless you like shopping. I walked around the area for half the day and it's just a posh area with not much to do besides go to spas. Hongik Station/Hongdae is fascinating and has a lot of great restaurants/bars. Although if you're over 35 it might not be your scene. Tons of younger, college kids. Myeongdong was kind of the middle ground with a diverse age range and good bars/clubs. To be fair, Gangnam is hopping on the weekend. I stayed in both Hongdae and Myeongdong and thought they were both fun. Myeongdong has amazing night street food you won't want to miss out on.Restaurants tend to serve meals for 2+ people. As a solo traveler, it was hard to get small portions at restaurants/be allowed inside. The food was always really good, but I have yet to clear a plate.Get the cold soup. I had it at a restaurant and from a street vendor. Delicious and refreshing both times in the boiling sun. Also, I thought I hated kimchi. No, I hate American Kimchi. The pickled vegetables have been insanely good at all restaurants.You need to find an ATM with 'Global' banking allowed. There are atm's everywhere, but they don't allow foreign transactions. And if they do, they limit it to 100,000krw (~85usd). I tried five or six atm's before stumbling upon ibk bank. They have a Max of 800,000 krw, and I finally withdrew cash.The most shocking thing is how uh.. rude? old people are. Not all of them, but I've been shoved aside by a few grannies on the train. Everyone else is nice, but I think it's part of the 'respect elders' thing. Just let them go first and avoid an elbow in the back.Finally, if you're a solo lady, you'll very likely get hit on at the bars/clubs. They're quite aggressive, but are surprisingly friendly if you tell them no, and don't seem to take offense (at least my experience). There seems to be a lot of foreigner curiosity so for those looking to hook up I think you're in luck in the big cities. via /r/solotravel https://ift.tt/2Y7zabc