The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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3 Things To Know Before Renting a Car on Jeju Island, South Korea

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When we were planning our trip to South Korea, it was always a given that we would visit Seoul and Busan, Korea’s two largest cities. But there was one more place I wanted to go, after reading The Island of Sea Women a few years ago: Jeju Island. Matt had never heard of Jeju Island, but when I told him it would be an escape to nature after spending five weeks in some of Asia’s biggest cities, he was immediately convinced. πŸ™‚

During the majority of our trip, we used public transportation to get around, but we decided that renting a car on Jeju Island would be the most time- and cost-effective option — it would allow us to explore more of the island at our own pace, without having to deal with catching buses and dragging our bags around with us. The rental car worked out really well, and it actually helped us stumble across some places we wouldn’t have been able to visit otherwise!

So while I highly recommend a rental car for your Jeju trip, here’s what you need to know before renting a car on Jeju Island. [Read more…]

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How To Eat Gluten-Free in Naples, Italy: Naples Gluten Free Restaurant Guide

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A couple of weeks after returning home from Asia, it was time for our next adventure: meeting up with my parents and my sister for a week in Naples, Italy! Not only was I excited to be visiting a new city in Italy and to see my family, but I was also interested to find out what it was like to eat gluten-free in Naples. I’d heard Italy was one of the best countries for celiacs, and it was my first visit since being diagnosed last summer! So, was it true? Is Italy really a gluten-free paradise?

Here’s what you need to know about being gluten-free in Naples, Italy. [Read more…]

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What It’s Really Like To Visit the DMZ in South Korea

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As we were planning our honeymoon to three countries in Asia, I feel like we put a lot of time and energy into booking things for Japan — just because it was the first stop of the trip. We planned a few things for Taiwan, since it was second. And since South Korea was last, we prepared the least. Which meant we didn’t really stop to think about whether we wanted to visit the DMZ, or the Demilitarized Zone between North & South Korea, until very late in the planning process.

Neither of us felt super strongly about it, but in the end we decided that if we were going to be so close to it, in Seoul, then we might as well. When in Korea, right?

Here’s what it was really like to visit the DMZ between North and South Korea. [Read more…]

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A Review of Japan’s Shinkansen Bullet Train: Tokyo to Kyoto

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Being from the U.S. — and not from the East Coast — I never really had the opportunity to take a lot of trains. But my first few trips to Europe changed that for me, and I’ve been a big fan of trains ever since. So I will actively seek them out when they’re available — whether it’s an overnight train in ThailandΒ during a solo trip, or trying Japan’s famous Shinkansen bullet train on our honeymoon this past autumn.

The Shinkansen is famous because it was the world’s first high-speed rail line, built to reach speeds of more than 210 km/h (130 mph) back in the 1960s. These days, you can travel between 285-320 km/h (177-199 mph) depending on the line!

While bullet trains aren’t so uncommon anymore, and we regularly take Spain’s high-speed rail service, we couldn’t miss the chance to check out the Shinkansen. So… here’s my review of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line from Tokyo to Kyoto. [Read more…]

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City Review: Naples, Italy

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Less than two weeks after arriving home in Spain from our honeymoon in Asia, it was time to set off on our next trip — to Naples, Italy, where we would be meeting up with my family! (And by the way, I’m not done with all the Asia posts… there are more to come! Just switching it up a bit.)

My mom had asked whether we’d be ready to travel again so soon after Asia, but I reminded her it would only be about a 2-hour flight from Alicante, so we could manage. πŸ˜‰

There were only a couple of things I knew about Naples before our visit: one, that it was the birthplace of Neapolitan-style pizza; and two, that the city had a reputation for being “dirty” or even “dangerous.” I wasn’t sure I believed that, so I was excited to be getting the chance to decide for myself.

Want to know my verdict? Keep reading for my full review of Naples, Italy. [Read more…]

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7 Things To Know Before Visiting Taiwan

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On my second-ever trip to Asia — for our honeymoon — visiting Taiwan may have seemed like an odd choice, nestled in between stops to more popular tourist destinations Japan and South Korea. But we’ve always liked visiting places a bit off the beaten path. And the few people I knew who had been to Taiwan had loved it, so I was like… why not?

If you’re planning your own trip to Taiwan, here are a few things to know before you go! [Read more…]

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What’s the Best Way To Book Korea Rail Tickets Online?

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As we planned our nearly six-week honeymoon to Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, we knew that we wanted to try out some of Asia’s high-speed trains. First, we took the Japanese Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto; a few weeks later, we took Korea Rail between Seoul and Busan.

However, it was a little tricky trying to figure out how to actually book Korea Rail tickets online — far more difficult than it had been to book the Shinkansen. So, here’s what I learned about how to book Korea Rail tickets online, to hopefully help you have an easier time than we did!

[Read more…]

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What It’s Like To Get Naked With Strangers at a Public Onsen in Japan

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Before our trip to Japan, we spent quite a lot of time researching and reading about the top cultural experiences that you couldn’t miss out on. And one thing that we saw mentioned over and over was to visit an onsen — a traditional Japanese hot spring. Most of the recommendations were to book a private one for your family, typically in your hotel or guesthouse, and most often quite far outside the major cities.

We had already booked all our hotels for Japan, and it didn’t sound very convenient to go super far outside the city, anyway. But I still wanted to have a traditional onsen experience. So I turned my attention to the other type of onsen: public ones.

As I was reading about public onsens, I found that pretty much all of them were gender-segregated. And that’s because you have to be naked.

We decided we wouldn’t let the potential awkwardness prevent us from having a totally unique experience on our trip, so one night we made a short trek out to a Tokyo suburb to a public onsen called Toshimaen Niwa no Yu, with basically no idea what we were in for.

So… here’s what it was like to get naked with strangers at a public onsen in Japan. [Read more…]