Category: Things We Wish We Knew Before Going To

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How To Get A UK Tourist Visa From The Philippines

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Before I start, I just want to say that seriously, I think getting the UK visa is the most nerve wracking visa experience I’ve ever had just because I never got the chance to speak to a person in the British embassy in the duration of the whole application process because it goes through a separate agency called VFS Global Services. So yep, they’re not hands on and frankly their process was the longest compared to other countries for me. I got my visa 13 business days after showing up in their office but in reality it’s 15 budiness days if you count the online application process. FYI, I already have Schengen, Japan, Korea, and China visas when I applied for UK visa so my situation could be different from yours. Here I’ll try to give a simple and comprehensive guide on how to get a UK visa.

How To Get a UK Tourist Visa From The Philippines (With a Philippine passport)

How To Apply for a UK Tourist Visa (2)

1. Make Sure You That a SHORT TERM Tourist Visa is the proper visa for you

Are you going to London, Edinburgh, Dublin to roam around the cities and have fun or are you seriously looking for a job? You have to keep your needs in check and make sure to apply the correct visa. Do not lie on the application and for that matter, never put false information on an application form. The web of lies that you will weave is not worth it.

Here are the reasons that qualify for a tourist visa or as they call it, a Standard Visitor Visa

  • apply at the earliest 3 months before intended travel date
  • for leisure, eg on holiday or to see your family and friends
  • for business, or to take part in sports or creative events
  • show that you’ll leave the UK at the end of your visit
  • show that  you’re able to support yourself and any dependents for the duration of your trip
  • show that  you’re able to pay for your return or onward journey and any other costs relating to your visit
  • show that  you have proof of any business or other activities you want to do in the UK, as allowed by the Visitor Rules

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12 Things We Wished We Knew Before Going To Tokyo

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It’s the middle of May and since my last post, I’ve traveled to 2 countries – Japan and Thailand thus my lack of updates. My mind was still savoring the experiences. You know how it feels right? They do say that when you travel, leave only footprints and take only memories. We’re all here for responsible traveling!

Now presenting the second post of my Things We Wish We Knew series (check out Korea here). In this series, I stumble, try new and odd experiences and make mistakes for you so you guys don’t have to go through it (though feel free to make your own mistakes and learnings and share them here as well). I want to save you guys the trouble and hassle that goes with traveling.

 

12 Things We Wished We Knew Before Going To Tokyo

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1. Reserve the Best restaurants in advance (LIKE 3 MONTHS)

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My Best Sushi Meal at Kyubey <3
Foodies would know that Tokyo has the most Michelin starred restaurants in the world. They also have the cheapest and most expensive ones in Tokyo. But it is VERY TRICKY to get a seat/reservation because Tokyo as a concrete jungle, only has limited space and so do their restaurants. It is cramped and there is only limited seating. You have to reserve 2 months AT LEAST to get a seat (I would suggest 3 months in advance to be sure) at the top restaurants. Now I didn’t follow this advice and lost the chance to eat at the best sushi restaurant at Sushi Saito. I did thankfully get a reservation at Kyubey because they had a lot of branches and Nakajima does not even accept reservations. For those that do not accept reservations, eat a light meal before going to you won’t starve while waiting through the LONG LINES.

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10 Things We Wished We Knew Before Going To Korea

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Traveling is on everyone’s bucket list right now. For the financial savvy people, they probably even have a savings account tucked away for just this specific purpose.

Under all that glamour and selfies and photo shoots and what have yous, lies the nitty gritty but also exciting part of traveling – planning.  No matter how much you plan or not plan, you will inevitably encounter something frustrating when visiting a different country especially one where you don’t know anyone. You may experience being trapped in a language barrier, getting lost in their intricate transportation systems, losing valuable items (hope not!), etcetera.

Well I and my friends are here to guide you through some of the twists and turns we’ve experienced in Korea. It’s a beautiful and lovely country and we had so much fun there! Will make a post highlighting everything good in Korea but let me tell you the things we wished we knew before going to Seoul, Korea. These tips could have saved us some time and money but don’t worry folks, we’ve charged it to experience so you don’t have to.

1. Learn and PRACTICE  speaking and writing some Korean words  (or learn Mandarin as well)

Every site about travel must have suggested downloading a good Korean-English phrase app or get a good phrase book but nothing will prepare you to the real world if you don’t practice it at home. Simple things such as learning the Korean words for the different kinds of food, calling the attention of the waiter, asking for directions are a must because, hardly no one speaks English in Korea and they have the oddest subway signs. It is a PAIN to get lost and also ordering food because either you look like an idiot to them because you don’t know the difference of grilling skirt meat and pork belly or you look ridiculous to yourself. So yes, bringing the app and practicing Korean before you leave, IS A MUST. Also do download GOOGLE TRANSLATE. It saved our lives when we had to translate pictures with words on them.

Some useful phrases:

  1. Cho-gi-yo = Call Attention to the waiter
  2. Kam-saham-ni-da = Great thanks!

Why learn Mandarin? Because the Chinese tourists are taking over everywhere! Salesladies in beauty shops already know how to speak Mandarin so conversing with them was pretty okay despite not speaking English.

2. Note the difference between ITX and Korail (IMPORTANT FOR NAMI ISLAND TRANSPORTATION)

Download the app SUBWAY for a good map of the Korean subway system.

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We learned this the hard way when we went to Nami Island. After researching how to go there, we knew that it required 2 transfers of trains. We just didn’t realize that the last transfer was moving to a different provincial train line and required separate and different tickets. What we also didn’t know is you had to purchase these tickets prior to boarding (we actually sat in the train before realizing we had to buy tickets. You could just go in the trains without swiping a card or ticket) and you had to tap your T-money on a specific side of the machine that will prompt your card that you have disembarked the Korail.

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