Alvan’s company organises incentive trips every year and for the past two years, I did not join him. The trip this year is to Korea, Seoul! Haven’t been there myself and intrigued by their culture, scenery and the locals (too much Korean drama serials!), I was eager to put my name down when they did the registration almost a year in advance :P
Nearer to the date, I came to realise that it would be organised as a group tour, unlike what Alvan told me earlier that it would be very much ‘free and easy’. It was quite a put-off and my interest level dropped drastically. It was one of the rare moments that I hardly looked forward to a holiday. Itinery was planned for, accommodation and meals were settled, activities were arranged. I felt so ‘not in control’. I had a bad feeling about Seoul.
Grudgingly, I packed my bag and took off to Seoul with the whole gin gang. Even before getting onto the plane, it was chaotic at the check-in terminal. We were all divided into groups and each group had a guide. So every guide was trying to check in for the people under their care. I wished I could have done my own internet check-in, instead of waiting around for everyone in the group to be ready. Little did I know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Subsequently, for every single destination and activity, it was wait and wait and wait. I was made to go with the groups to the jewellery shops, ginseng shops, cosmetics shops and kimchi-making classes. Time that I would rather spend sight-seeing or just exploring the streets on my own.
Alrite, just in case I complained too much, I did enjoy some parts of the holiday. We went skiing at the skiing resort where we spent our first night in. It was a first time experience for both of us and I was proud to share that I did not fall even once when I was down the slope, unlike my counterpart :) For the subsequent few days, we stayed at the Lotte World Hotel, which was the place where one of the famous Korean dramas was filmed. It was my favourite Korean drama serial and it was a pleasant surprise to see that it looked exactly the same as you would in the drama. It felt surreal.
Nearer to the date, I came to realise that it would be organised as a group tour, unlike what Alvan told me earlier that it would be very much ‘free and easy’. It was quite a put-off and my interest level dropped drastically. It was one of the rare moments that I hardly looked forward to a holiday. Itinery was planned for, accommodation and meals were settled, activities were arranged. I felt so ‘not in control’. I had a bad feeling about Seoul.
Grudgingly, I packed my bag and took off to Seoul with the whole gin gang. Even before getting onto the plane, it was chaotic at the check-in terminal. We were all divided into groups and each group had a guide. So every guide was trying to check in for the people under their care. I wished I could have done my own internet check-in, instead of waiting around for everyone in the group to be ready. Little did I know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Subsequently, for every single destination and activity, it was wait and wait and wait. I was made to go with the groups to the jewellery shops, ginseng shops, cosmetics shops and kimchi-making classes. Time that I would rather spend sight-seeing or just exploring the streets on my own.
Alrite, just in case I complained too much, I did enjoy some parts of the holiday. We went skiing at the skiing resort where we spent our first night in. It was a first time experience for both of us and I was proud to share that I did not fall even once when I was down the slope, unlike my counterpart :) For the subsequent few days, we stayed at the Lotte World Hotel, which was the place where one of the famous Korean dramas was filmed. It was my favourite Korean drama serial and it was a pleasant surprise to see that it looked exactly the same as you would in the drama. It felt surreal.
Overlooking the ski slopes from our room balcony
The ski resort where we stayed for the first night.
Does this look familiar? This is the meeting place where the lead actor and actress always meet in the Korean drama serial.
At Lotte World
Can you spot us?
Glad that we had a day to ourselves where we took the subway on our own. It helped that our hotel was directly linked to the subway so we did not have too much of a trouble getting around. We did some shopping and by 10+ we nearly dropped dead from exhaustion. Stuff at The Face Shop was cheap and we bought nearly a year’s supply of face and eye masks :P
I swear that this will be the last group tour that we will take. And I am glad that our next trip will be our honeymoon at Bali come this November.
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