It has been 2 years since the last 'real' vacation in Japan. Korea was supposed to be our honeymoon destination.. and indeed, it really became our 'honeymoon' destination. In August, we went to the road show just before NATAS fair on the spur of the moment in search for a package tour. We were too tired and lazy to plan for a trip, so we decided to sign up for a package tour for the first time to 'try' it out. 

We ended up with the 7D5N Korea Ski Delight + 2N Hong Kong trip with Chan Brothers as it was one of the few tours which were within our budget and we could still enjoy early bird discounts. 

Package tour is not too bad. We just had to follow the group mindlessly and the tour guide and leader will take care of us. There is no need to think about where to go next, worry about how to get to the next destination, or where to have the next meal. There will be a guide to help do the translation, to sort out the logistics issue, and to provide the explanation and introduction to the places. We will have the transportation to bring us to remote locations which otherwise would be difficult or time consuming to reach by ourselves. We also do not need to worry much about transporting our luggage, and even 'excess baggage' is not that much of a worry during airport check in!!  

The down side of course, is that there is no flexibility in the programme. We had to follow the allocated timing and schedule and wake up in the early hours (although i heard from my tour group member that this tour is supposedly quite relaxed compared to her previous tours, likely because it is the winter season and the 'business hrs' start late and end early). The destinations were fixed and we had to go through the motion sometimes to visit shops "specially for tourists". We also had to wait for the entire group to arrive and complete each activity before we could move off together. But thankfully my group mates were generally very punctual; I was the one who always end up one or two minutes late (Oops!) but still not the last(phew!). Not having planned the programme, it also meant that I don't know where the location of the destinations/restaurants are.. so even if I were to return to Seoul by myself, I wouldn't know how to return to these places.  

Other than the places-of-interest, the trip is all about eating, shopping, and toilet visits. Toilet break is a must almost at every single destination. Somehow the bladder shrank really small in the super cold country and it can be as quick as half an hr before I felt like using the loo again. The freezing temperatures (mostly btw -10 to 5 deg C) and the cold wind dried up my skin so much I developed cold/dry rashes on my hands and legs - they are itchy even now. Shopping was amazing - the deals seemed so good/yummy/useful that I kept using my credit card as though I have unlimited cash. The meals always had 'free top ups' available and I just kept eating because my stomach somehow couldn't tell whether it was full - maybe the nerves were frozen or too slow to respond. Not sure how many kgs i have added on this time round (compared to 5kg in my japan trip). 

Still, it was great to be out of tiny suffocating Singapore again. And enjoying a cold Christmas once more is simply awesome. Can't wait to go on another trip soon.