South Korea

I've always wanted to experience Autumn, so Korea was our pick for this year's international trip. My Mom always wanted to travel through booked tours, which was quite more practical since we were to busy to make travel plans. I've told countless friends that South Korea was not my choice of destination with the perceived pre-requisite of appreciating K-dramas and their music.

So we were with a bunch of people all the time, doing a hop-on hop off on certain destinations. What was cool was that we were able to make friends with a couple named Ysa and Gino, who were our constant table buddies every restaurant we're in. We went to the usual places to go: Nami Island, Little Paris and Everland. I was more excited when we're in Meyongdong where I found grilled Lobster Mozzarella and Kimbap while strolling in the busy streets full of cosmetic shops and fashion botiques.

I'd really love to go back there minus the planned tour, yearning to experience the hassle of looking for directions, asking locals to translate their language and etc. I wish we has more time exploring Seoul on our own, but time and schedules were so limited that we have to be stuck in certain places. I think there's a lot more to see in this country, and I'd be glad to come back to give it another try. Spontaneous planning was something I was so familiar of since, and I realized this instant that all of the fuss of traveling makes up the entire experience. The destination is what we're keeping our eye on, but the journey towards it, not most of us realize, makes the storytelling a lot better.