▪ Tour: Boys over Flowers – filming locations tour
“Do you know that feeling of coming out of the arrival hall in an airport, knowing you’re going to have a friend picking you up, a friendly expectant face in the crowd? Well, I have no friends in Korea; it was a holiday destination, one that my family and I have considered going many times, but due to the language barrier and a lack of contacts, we have decided against traveling there many times. Having come across HAPPIMIZE’s website in October last year, we finally decided to go out on a limb and plan a trip for the winter season.
It was a very pleasant experience.
From the start of the planning, up to the end of the trip, HAPPIMIZE’s travel consultants were friendly, cheerful, and filled with a can-do attitude that matched my own. It was my first time to Korea and I was eager to see everything. I wanted to experience every part of the culture- the shopping, the food, the classical theatre, the museums and most of all, the filming locations! With Korean dramas being so popular, how could we go to Korea and not see the place where it all happened.
We arrived at the airport on a cold December morning and were greeted by our guide. Very efficiently, he ushered us to our private car and told us, in fluent English (no more language barrier) that we would begin our tour immediately. Unlike big group tours, where you would have to wait around for every member of the tour group, our HAPPIMIZE tour started that very morning. We had a jammed packed itinerary, filled not only with sightseeing, but also a great learning experience. Our guide took the time to explain the different dynasties of the Feudal Korean era, pointing out the different buildings and the key points of Korean history. For a history major like myself, it was an eye-opener to actually stand on the same steps where monarchs once stood!
Our guide also interspersed bits of historical and cultural sights with the Korea’s pop-culture industry. He was very knowledgeable, worldly, and could answer all of the queries we had, and very willing to teach us. Most guides I have met merely point out buildings and sights, bring us to restaurants but our HAPPIMIZE guide was sincere in showing us Korea. On the first day, for breakfast, he drove us (with awesome skills, weaving through the traffic) through the meandering city of Seoul, only to park outside a nondescript store. We learnt later that this store sold the best fish stock soup in the city. Not quite understanding the terms ‘best soup’ my sister and I were not impressed. However, the quality of the food spoke for itself. This was where the locals ate, the home-cooked style. After finishing our meal, my family left the restaurant, only to find the a queue of people snaking all the way around the block! Now this is what I call an authentic experience!
I want to say a big thank you to everyone at HAPPIMIZE who has helped me to plan a brilliant winter holiday for my family. Never in our wildest expectations did we expect to see so much of Korea in the short time that we were there. It was the first time I took responsibility of planning a family holiday for my parents and my sister, and safe to say, it was a huge success. We look forward to returning to Korea in the future and if we do, we will most definitely be approaching HAPPIMIZE once again!”
Kristie Michelle
Singapore