Narrative essay – A holiday I would never forget

Holidays it is a time where everyone gets hyped up over and most of parents will planning what are the activities that they will do for the whole family to spend their quality time with. Holiday is the best time for students, teachers or even lecturer to have fun, waking up late, celebrating and best of all, going for a vacation! In my case, a holiday that I would never forget is a fruitful one that I experienced two years ago, where my family and I went for a vacations and spend for a week in the land of K-Pop and ‘kimchi’-Korea.

            Finally, after ages n the plane, our family arrived in a beautiful Korea. The moment when we are stepping out from the plane, we could feel the chilly weather to our bones. We were never experienced that kind of weather before in our country so my siblings and I were so excited. When we passed through the immigration and baggage claim, we were talking animatedly about our surroundings. Since we went there with tour group, we knew we were in good hands.

The first thing that happen was we were supposedly needed to take a bus to check in at the hotel as instructed. I guessed I was overeager without thinking. Then I ran to a random bus and knocked the door. The old bus driver opened the door and locked me with a puzzled expression. He started asking me a question but he asked me in his languages, something in Korean which of course I did not understand what he was talked about and then I tried to reply in English. Luckily, my father came before I could make the attempt and he quickly apologized to the driver bus and walked me back to the tour group who was watching from far, shaking with laughter.

            It was a bit past lunch time when we were done checking our hotel. Suddenly, everybody’s stomachs were grumbling. I have no ideas why but 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 thing.

At the restaurant, a delicious meal was already spread out for us. To be truth, that was my first time we all tried to eat kimchi, a spicy and sour vegetable side dish. I did not think it was horrible, but for me I preferred the fish kimchi much better. We all used chopsticks, so that was quite awkward for me and my family as we were not skilled at using them yet. Being Malaysians, we used to eat rice, so I think it was a good thing that the Korean meal included rice and a few other side dishes, eaten from a Bento box. At first, it was weird though the rice was sticker compared to the rice that we used ate at home, perhaps it 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 it. Then I gulped the warm soup down my throat. It was a nice contrast from the shivering weather outside.

The most unforgettable moment that I want to highlights is when one of our activities that we did when we were in Korea which is skilling.  Everybody from the tour group was looking forward to that. But what impressed me is even the 52-year old couple travelling with us. They do not have any problems during the tour yet they were eager to do all the activities. Since it was not fully snowing yet, the hill was covered with artificial snow. After grubbing our ski gear, we listened to a briefing by the instructor. He was very kind and helpful especially toward the elders. Plus, he likes to smile.

            Feeling jumpy and hyperactive, my sister and I made our way to the cable car and successfully skied down a slope. I thought, “We’re natural at this,” and my sister do not agree with me that time when we see how our parents and brother doing. Then my brother suddenly started to throw a snowball towards me and my sister. No doubt, it hit me and we started having a small snowball fight of our own, just like in the movies. It was so fun because we cannot have this kind of moment in our own country, Malaysia. I guessed we got a bit out of hand and my sister accidently hit a man’s back. At the time when he turned around, he had and angry look on her face and started to walk towards us. Quickly I hurried my siblings to continue skiing with our parents and we ran away from him before he could catch us. Thank God we can run from him safely. It was one of the moments that we could never be forgotten as we recapped the moment.

 In our way, skiing is like swimming. Why do I say so? Well, when swimming, you will 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 stall 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.

 There was also a treasure trove among the stalls of the wet market- a tiny shop which served grilled seafood. My family stepped into the shop and ordered some grilled fish and cockles.

After saying our prayers, we devoured our mouth-watering find of the day. Dripped in a type of sauces, the seafood was the best I had ever eaten, as you could taste the freshness. Or maybe I was just hungry after a full day of activities.

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?