Most Inspirational Moment
The early morning ceremony in the Haeinsa Temple was a special experience.
Thoughts on Group Leader
A good tour leader makes or breaks a great trip. Although Park was kind, conscientious and shared a lot of information about Korea, we were her first Exodus group and in particular, her arrangements regarding eating options were confusing and, in some places, inadequate. Although some group meals were organised, she didn’t eat with us, had very limited knowledge of local restaurants, and there were several nights where we were left to our own devices. When you are tired and hungry, wandering around an unfamiliar city trying to find food when you can’t read or speak Korean is hard work. This was particularly true for the single travellers in the group. She managed to get us lost on several occasions, particularly on the way to the temple stay so that we arrived over an hour late. There was confusion about single rooms at Haeinsa Temple. Our tour leader thought that those who had booked a single room for the rest of the trip would have one at the temple. This was not the case.
Advice for Potential Travellers
If Exodus book you on the group flight via Frankfurt airport, either ask them for an alternative (e.g., via Munich), or make sure you have a minimum of 2 hours' transfer time. The notes we were given on arrival in Seoul said there were cafes in Eulji Square, near the Kukdo Hotel. This turned out to be a building called Eulji Square, not a street, so it took us a while to locate the restaurants hidden in its basement area. There are also a few cafés along the raised walkway next to the hotel (ask hotel reception for a map). There’s a good restaurant opposite reception in the Commodore Hotel in Gyeongju, which is worth knowing about as other eating options around the hotel are limited. There are often convenience stores in the hotels, selling a wide range of food and goods. (However, take your own tea bags!) A nice thing to do on your last free afternoon in Seoul is to walk north from the hotel to Jongmyo Shrine and Changdeokgung Palace through some pleasant parks (NB, free entry on the last Wednesday of the month). South Korea is blessed with an excellent network of public toilets which are plentiful and clean. The temple notes say there is a tea ceremony in the evening. Our group had an enjoyable bead-stringing session instead. The trip notes suggest that the group participates in a meditation session in the morning. There is no requirement to meditate. We sat quietly and witnessed the monks’ early morning ceremony, which was lovely. Food at the temple is plain, but edible. Our trip, departing on 14th October, was billed as an ‘Autumn Colour Departure’. Although there were some lovely colours in the national park, generally, the trees were still green and we were a little disappointed. Although this changes from year to year, we would suggest late October/early November may be the best dates to see the autumn leaves.
Suggestions
More time needs to be allowed for transfers via Frankfurt. On the outward journey our flight from Heathrow was delayed by an hour meaning that we arrived in Frankfurt to find our connecting flight to Seoul was already boarding. We only just caught the flight– our baggage didn’t. As a result, five of us arrived in Seoul without our luggage. Some of the group had been booked onto flights via Munich and had no problems. Our bags arrived the following afternoon, but it was an unnecessary worry and inconvenience. Our return flight was slightly delayed and we missed the connection from Frankfurt to London completely and had to spend a night in a Frankfurt hotel. This was well organised by Lufthansa, but if Exodus had booked the group flights to allow more transfer time it could have been entirely avoided. Day 2: we didn’t spend long enough in Insadong, merely passing through this interesting area, whereas we found time spent earlier in the day at the Bukchon Hanok Village a little disappointing. Day 3. At the DMZ the JSA part of the border was closed, which was disappointing. However, we had a cable car ride over the river, which was an excellent extra option organised by our tour leader. Day 5. The trip notes are misleading: in the Seoraksan National Park the group did both the cable car trip and the optional, self-guided walks. It’s not either/or as the trip notes suggest. Day 10. Busan. Our tour leader arranged a group boat trip around the harbour, which was an excellent way to see Busan. We hope this could be incorporated into the itinerary of future trips. The trip notes for the temple stay are out of date. They say the accommodation is single sex. However, mixed/same sex couples and sharers were able to share a room as usual.