Change is the only constant.

We haven't even started and already we are having to make some changes to the plan !
 
The first relates to our very first destination, Tokyo. The lodgings at which I had made a reservation sent a bizarre email saying that they are having to cancel all bookings because a recent guest claims he had been bitten by a bed bug (eeks !) and they are closing all the rooms to exterminate any potential future threat.  This unexpected cancellation meant more online research to make alternate reservations.

The second change has to do with the second destination on the list, South Korea. I had spent a considerable amount of time planning a detailed itinerary to ensure that our stay in Seoul would include a Tuesday, one of two days in the week that Seoul USO runs a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between North and South Korea.  This is the only DMZ tour that also enters the JSA (Joint Security Area), where you can enter the negotiating room between north and south and also enter North Korea. Based on all that we had read about this tour, we were very eager not to miss it.  But USO suddenly decided to change the schedule for the very week that we will be in Seoul ! So I spent half a day changing reservations to accommodate a clockwise route from Seoul instead of the original anti-clockwise route starting in Busan, thus salvaging the USO DMZ tour opportunity.

Maybe we need to stick to just-in-time planning.

M