A snowy adventure

MANILA, Philippines - When I asked my five-year-old daughter Russell what she wanted for Christmas, she broke into a wide smile and started singing Let It Go from the movie Frozen. I was perplexed because she has seen the movie over 50 times so it couldn’t be a video of Frozen that she wanted.

I asked my wife if she could figure out what it was she wanted. Snow! That’s what she wants to see, my wife emphatically retorted. The real thing and not the shaved ice they offer at the winter playgrounds at SM Malls.

Russell has been obsessed with winter ever since she fell in love with Frozen’s lead character Elsa while my youngest Coleen loves Anna. In fact, Coleen could sing a few lines of the song Let It Go before she could even mutter her first words.

Sleepy kids Russell and Coleen at the Lotte Lobby

The countries closest to the Philippines with snow are China, Japan and Korea. I opted for Korea. Securing Korean visas for the family was a breeze as I had all the required necessary documents. Checking the cheapest airline rates to Seoul and family-friendly hotels was the difficult part.

Although there are several airlines (Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Jeju Air, Asiana, Korean Air, etc.) that fly nonstop to Seoul, the airfares are not as friendly as those to Singapore and Bangkok which are almost the same distance from Manila but only cost half the price. 

We decided on Philippine Airlines. We took the early morning flight-PR466 departing Manila at 1 a.m. and arriving Seoul close to 6 a.m. 

I won’t recommend this flight for families as kids find it difficult to sleep on seats compounded by the fact that hotel rooms are not available until after lunch. 

The temperature in Seoul upon our arrival was a freezing -8. It took an hour from Incheon Airport to get to our hotel Lotte World Hotel. As expected, there were no rooms available so we had to wait at the lobby shivering for four hours before we could get to our room.

That’s me with my kids

Lotte World Hotel is the best hotel in Seoul for families on vacation because it has everything within the complex to delight the kids and parents. From hundreds of shops and restaurants to a huge supermarket, plus a huge indoor/outdoor theme park. On the seventh and eighth floor of the hotel are cartoon character-themed rooms designed specially for kids. Our first activity of the day was visit the indoor theme park. The place was humongous with three floors of attractions, rides and restaurants. 

On the ground floor was a huge ice skating rink surrounded by themed attractions like Pororo Park. Pororo the penguin is the national mascot of Korea. 

There are Pororo cafés, Pororo clothing, Pororo drinks, etc. My daughters couldn’t contain their excitement when they entered Pororo Park. It is a theme park within the theme park with lots of rides, toys and hourly live shows featuring Pororo and friends. My daughters had the time of their lives until closing time.

An hour away from the heart of Seoul is another complex for the young and young at heart who love winter and water sports — Woongjin Play City in the Buchun area.

It has three floors of attractions open the whole year round. On one floor is a water park complete with wave machines and water slides. On another is a kiddie park surrounded by restaurants and shops that sell bathing suits and other swimming gear contrasted by shops that sell winter outfits, gear and skis. We visited the top most floor that features winter activities. There are four divisions within the winter complex. One for skiing, one for snow boarding, another for tandem “Tube”-bogganing and one for basic snow sliding. After donning our winter outfits and gloves, we spent the whole afternoon on ice. Brrrrr.