A Holiday I Would Never Forget

Holidays, a time everyone gets hyped up over, parents planning activities for the
family to spend quality time with and school children (as well as teachers) jumping
for joy. Hello, waking up late, celebrating, going for tuition and best of all, vacations!
In my case, a holiday I would never forget is a fruitful one I experienced five years
ago, where my family I spent six days in the land of K-Pop and ' kimchi '- Korea.

Finally, after ages of waiting, our family arrived in beautiful Korea. Stepping out
of the plane, we could feel the chilly weather to our bones. Never experiencing that
kind of weather, my siblings and I were totally excited. Passing through immigration
and baggage claim, we were talking animatedly about our new surroundings. Since
we went with tour group, we knew we were in good hands.

It was a bit past lunch time when we were done checking in our hotel. No doubt,
everybody's stomachs were grumbling. Thank God after checking in, we were going
to have our lunch and do a bit of sightseeing. While waiting for the others outside the
hotel, we walked around nearby. There was a row of vending machines that sold
various snacks and beverages, including Haagen Dazs ice-cream, and instant
noodles. My mother had a craving for Nescafe, so she spent her first Korean money
on that.

At the restaurant, a delicious meal was already spread out for us. That was the
first time we all tried kimchi, a spicy and sour vegetable side dish. I did not think it
was horrible, but I preferred the fish kimchi much better. We all ate using chopsticks,
so that was kind or awkward for me and my siblings, as we were not skilled at using
them yet. Being Malaysians, we were used to rice, so it was a good thing that the
Korean meal included rice and a few other side dishes, eaten from a Bento box. It
was weird though, the rice was stickier compared to the rice we eat at home, mainly
to make it easier to eat using chopsticks. There was also hot and scrumptious miso
soup together with the meal. Since my sister and my brother did not like it much, I
finished up theirs. I gulped the warm soup down my throat- a nice contrast from the
shivering weather outside.

One of the highlights of our activities that we did in Korea was skiing.
Everybody from the tour group was looking forward to that, even the 52-year old
couple traveling with us. Since it wasn’t fully snowing yet, the hill was covered with
artificial snow. After grabbing our ski gear, we listen to a briefing by the instructor. He
was very helpful, especially with us kids and the elderly couple.

In a way, skiing is like swimming. Why do I say so? Well, when swimming, you
do not feel tired, but you would see the effect when you get ravenous and eat more
after a session or when you intend to take a nap, but it is extended to long hours.
The same goes to skiing. When we arrived at the hotel after skiing, we were drained
out and starving. Instant noodles saved the day! We all ate curry-flavoured Maggi
together, savouring the momentary pleasure. We also dozed off quite early that
night, right after going for a walk to enjoy the amazing night view of the mountains,
and breathing the cool, fresh winter air.
 Shopping in Korea was also different compared to Malaysia. Its malls were
packed with small shops or stalls on every floor. Big boutiques were not seen as
much as the quaint kiosks. Nevertheless, I found shopping at their markets more
enjoyable, especially because you could haggle the price. Their specialities were
crystals, fabrics and outerwear. Apart from that, I also liked their wet markets, mainly
because they were very clean, and they did not have that fishy smell. I remembered
a shocking incident when walking through the stalls of the wet market. A large fish
jumped out its aquarium and onto the floor. I stared at it and suddenly, I saw a huge
cutting knife slicing through the fish's neck! It was the owner of the stall's doing.
Then, the owner left the fish flapping around lifelessly without a head.

If it was up to me, there were so many things to write on my memorable trip to

Korean. Not only we got to spend quality time together as a family, but we also learnt
countless new things and even discovered hidden talents. My father always said we
should travel with an open mind and an open heart. This is when you get to see your
capability to adapt to changes. Just enjoy the simple things in life and be thankful of
what you have. So, do just that. Who knows you might discover a part of yourself
you never know existed?

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