Sakura Seas: Japan and S. Korea
Hello--for anyone taking this trip, you should check with the tour guide or Tauck ahead of time for the day in Seoul. When we visited (late April this year), the excursion to Gyeongbokgung Palace got us there 30min. too late to see the performance by the costumed palace guards and attendants. This event is done a couple of times per day, and it's their equivalent of the "trooping of the colors" in London. 'Advice is to check the location website ahead of time, and confirm with the guide or Tauck that the arrangements with the bus will get you there in time. Being led around on the "palace grounds" is not a good substitute--and beware of the local "wardens" who police the places where you can and cannot rest or lean (weak knees or not). We do carry a collapsible stool for my wife, who is due for a 2d knee surgery, but before we could unfold it, one of them came at my wife, as if to physically shove her off one of the foundation stones. Fortunately, I was able to get in between them (as I did not want to spend the week in a Korean jail), and assisted her onto the stool. 'Hope this info is useful for anyone wanting to take an otherwise excellent , well-curated trip.