SEOUL (16 Dec- 20 Dec 2014)
When you're having fun, time passes way way way too fast. It's already the last day of our tour :(
Woke up early and headed out for breakfast of porridge, before we went to the supermarket to shop for groceries. I have absolutely no idea how to describe the supermarket we went to, except that it was more of a local specialties' store, approx. 10 mins journey away from Incheon Airport.
On the way to the supermarket, Jiejie was really showing concern for her fellow colleague when she sincerely shared with us regarding purchasing the photos taken by Jacky. Ends up, except for a few exceptional cases like mine where he slot in a wrong picture which didn't belong to us, I saw that most of our group bought almost the whole set of pictures. My family's set cost ~SGD$140, and the amount we paid was actually okay, considering how Jacky had taken care of us along the way.
No doubt, you could say he's just doing his job. But we saw other tour guides/ assistants/ leaders that just didn't bother with their own group, but instead just went to have their own meals. I'm so glad that my guides/ assistants/ leaders were all amazing in their own ways, always looking out for us, and we could all see how they went above and beyond their call of duty, to ensure our comfort and full tummies :)
We also had to bid goodbye to Jiejie as she had to go to the airport first, as she was leaving for Taiwan at 1330 (Our flight would be at 1450). So Perrine went to the airport with her to reserve flight seats for our group, and Jacky would head over to the airport with us after we were done at the supermarket. :( Was so sad when I had to hug Jiejie for the last time for this trip. Especially so because she would randomly just reach out for a hug and say she's cold. :) I think almost all if not all, the kids and adults alike, liked her so much!! Took a last picture for this tour with her before we bade her goodbye for now~
Didn't have much time to slowly shop for snacks to bring back, so I just grabbed as much as I could within that limited time frame!
While Jacky helped us by guiding us to the counter where they boxed our purchases for easy transportation and shipping, he also took the opportunity to take pictures with every one of us!! :D
Problem came when we reached the airport. By right, our check-in baggage would be only 1 item, and limit within 23kg. But a few days back, Jiejie told us that due to an ongoing promotion, we could check in 2 items, which would mean a totla of 46kg!! Naturally, all of us just shopped awayyyyyy at the supermarket. Then when we got to the airport, NOT A SINGLE STAFF KNEW ABOUT THE 2ND BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE GIVEN.
Though the issue was resolved within 15 mins with Jacky and Perrine both flustered and anxious, we also ended up being caught in a long queue to enter the customs. That being said, while all of us were flustered and anxious to grab a bite after entering the departure area, I realized my family forgot to big goodbye to Jacky :(
Still feel very bad for not saying a proper goodbye before we went off at the airport, cos even though we couldn't communicate as well with one another, he was always being all smiley and helpful, and could see how he actually placed us customers above himself, especially from the incident where he was walking around helping us with our baggage outdoors, WITHOUT his down jacket, because he had lent it to one of our tour mates whom felt cold. He was already shivering but he continued helping us to move our luggages without complaint. And even when taking pictures, he was more than glad to help me take a picture with my DSLR, even if it meant I might not purchase the photo from him since I had my own copy....
Ah well, to conclude this trip, I daresay it was money well-spent. My family was happy, albeit with small hiccups here and there, like having separate seats on the flight to Seoul from SG, but we were fortunate and blessed enough to have had a safe trip. We met an awesome tour guide Jiejie, an amazing tour guide assistant Jacky, and our ever cute tour leader Perrine. It was also a happy 7 days period with my tour mates. Though I never did ask anyone for their name, I'm so glad that we've added one another on Facebook, for contact purposes. My other regret, while filtering through photos, was not taking more pictures of my tour mates...
Hopefully, when Jiejie comes to SG next year, our dinner gathering will really take place. :)
<3
My first winter was amazing.
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