Spring In My Step: Step IV

Friday, 5 May 2017

I exited the terminal building after midnight and sat on a bench. After a while, I moved to join a couple in a restaurant sidewalk. I don’t think I managed to even doze off. Maybe I did for a very short while before I was woken up by a woman who was playing with her smart phone. Shame, if only owning a smart phone makes one smart.

It got progressively colder by the minute and I was soon shivering. I stomped my feet, wrapped myself up in another layer of scarf, dug my hands into my jacket pocket but it still remained cold.

The building finally opened at 04:00 and we rushed inside. I went to use the bathroom to freshen myself up and perform ablutions. I went to have my ticket and passport checked after performing morning prayers before going through security check.

We emerged into the cold Pisa morning to find a very heavy fog but went to board the plane anyway. As luck would have it, I was again assigned to the very last row, row 33 but by the aisle this time. We waited for take-off and when the door closed, I went to use the bathroom and then changed seats to the row in front (all three seats were empty). I must have dozed off for when I got up, the plane was on the runway. I thought we had landed (checked my watch and it showed it had been two hours since we boarded the plane and our flight time was supposed to take less than two hours) but no, we were only just taking off! We were delayed by the thick fog or mist or whatever you call it. Well, at least this delay meant I could catch some kip so I dozed back off to sleep and only woke up as we were about to make our descent.

This was how thick the fog was

We landed at Paris Beauvais Airport after 10:00 and I was attended to by a gruff immigration officer who asked me questions in French. I went eh and probably spoke Italian back to him. He checked with his colleague who confirmed that Malaysians do not need Schengen visa to enter France. Duh, I almost blurted out, aren’t you supposed to know all these? Of the ASEAN countries, only Malaysians, Bruneians and Singaporeans don’t need Schengen visa.

I wasn’t in a hurry and wanted to charge my devices for a bit and also get online so I left the terminal after an hour and walked to the bus stand. However, the few of us who were there were told to wait in the terminal as the next bus would depart in an hour’s time. So I went back to the terminal building and continued charging my devices. I had bought the bus ticket online just before departing for Europe and it gave a small saving compared to buying it from the ticket office (Malaysia is not stated in the list of countries, I had to scroll down until I found it spelt in Arabic. Not sure how Malaysians who can’t read Arabic would be able to buy the bus ticket online). I returned to the bus stand 50 minutes later and we finally boarded the bus at 12:45.

The bus arrived at Porte Maillot after 14:00 and after buying a bottle of water from a supermarket in Palais descongrès de Paris, I headed for the métro station but it was closed. So I studied the map I picked up on the bus and decided to walk to the next station. It took about six minutes to walk to Argentine and knowing how inaccessible and not-travel friendly most of the metro stations are, I decided to walk on. So I walked along Avenue de la Grande Armée to Arc de Triomphe to Avenue des Champs-Élysées until I reached Place de la Concorde. It was a lovely spring day and it was pleasant to walk in that weather. I then turned left to Rue de Rivoli before crossing over to Rue Cambon. All in all, it was a 4-km or a 2.5-mile-walk and took me about 50 minutes. No sweat.

Today was shopping day and I had already set my target on Fauré Le Page Daily Battle and Delage Lulu totes. Rue Cambon is more famous for Chanel flagship store but I have enough Chanel bags and am weaning myself of LV and Chanel. Besides, the Chanel boutique looked to be under renovation. After Fauré Le Page, I went to Rue du Mont Thabor to find Delage but had to return to Fauré Le Page when I couldn’t locate it. The lady who attended to me help to call Delage and told me it was a showroom and I would have to take the elevator to level 3. I spent some time at Delage and finally found a Lulu bag that I wanted. The credit card machine was down though so I had to pay via PayPal. I did state my reservation about using PayPal (the exchange rates are just horrible) and the kind bloke said he would give me a 5% discount to make up for the exchange rate charge (and I still got to claim tax refund too!). After concluding my transaction, I asked him for a favour: to use the bathroom (sure, no problem) and if I could use some space in the reception to perform prayers. He suggested for me to use the showroom instead and after asking twice if he didn’t mind, I thanked him profusely. Wow, I had been expecting a hostile reception from some locals (Islamphobia and indeed this was why I didn’t care to rush to the city centre as I wanted to minimise the time spent downtown) but this kind bloke was so understanding and helpful.

I had to return to Fauré Le Page, yes, again as they had given me the wrong tax refund form (it was issued to a Filipino girl and I only realised it when I was talking to the kind bloke at Delage). While waiting for the right tax refund form printed out, I unpacked my LeSportsac shopping tote and put in the two new totes I just bought (one into another and then both into the LeSportsac). I then folded the paperbags and shoved them into my suitcase. I think the sales assistants were all gaping at me but I was going to bring along those totes in their paperbags. It just wasn’t practical and I would bump into everyone.

I left the store and studied the metro map and decided that instead of taking the metro from Concorde station, I would walk to Madeleine and take line 14 to Bercy. This meant I wouldn’t have to change lines (especially with my bags which have since multiplied...). So I walked up Rue Cambon to Boulevard des Capucines and asked for directions to the station. I was purchasing the ticket and riding the train within minutes.

It was barely 19:00 when I reached Bercy. I exited the station and there were already signs directing the way to Ouibus. I went to check out the bus station before going out to explore the neighbourhood. i returned back to the bus station after purchasing a fish burger from an Algerian (?) restaurant. I sat down and had my early dinner while charging my devices and logging on to social media.

My bus was leaving at 21:00 and I went to queue at 20:30. I was surprised to see a lot of people queuing up to board the bus; turned out the bus would stop en route in Lille and some of them would disembark there. We left just after 21:00 and I dozed off until we reached Lille. The bus stopped for about half an hour in Lille and I took the opportunity to go to the washroom and perform ablutions.

To be continued

Autumn In My Heart: Fourth Beat

Thursday, 17 September 2015

I woke up early this morning and left at 0630 for a morning walk. I headed for the old town but didn’t stay long. There were a few joggers pounding the pavement when I left – what a life they have there: the sun, the sea, good food, lovely city. I’d be jogging regularly too. Here, we have to curtail our activities because of the lingering enveloping suffocating haze. Oh but I digress.

I returned back to the B&B within an hour and hit the shower. I packed and waited for breakfast. I wasn’t disappointed: it was another treat today. I decided to pack the food I wasn’t able to finish. I left at 1030 and walked to Piazza Aldo Moro and waited for the bus no. 16 back to the airport. The ticket cost €1 at the ticket office. The 1105 bus came at 1110 and left a couple of minutes later. It was a hot painful sauna-like 45-minute ride and we were all steamed up. I had some fruits before I went through security check.

A close-up of the mini tray of jam bottles and juice and milk bottles. Aren’t the mini bottles, the mini tray and the mini jam bottles just cute?

Our flight arrived late and as such we only took off at 1420. The flight was full and I had trouble finding space in the overhead compartment to store my bag. Well, actually I was among those who were asked to add our bags to those already checked in at no cost but as I was planning to rush out of the airport straight to the city, I stubbornly held on to my suitcase. And of course all the overhead compartments near to my seat (at the very last row of the plane, no less) were already stuffed. In the end, I sought help from the cabin crew and I was lucky to have a patient calm helpful cabin crew to help me out. In the end, he squeezed my back into the space behind the last row across the aisle. The space behind me was already filled with a small can of fire extinguisher.

We landed at Paris Beauvais at 1720 in the grey dreary weather - and it was indeed raining with temperature at 15C (now we’re talking autumn!) - and I rushed out of the plane (of course it took time for the rear door to be opened and for the ground officer to deem it safe for us to disembark. Murphy’s Law!). I bought a bus ticket at €17 no less (a steep increase after paying €1-1.50 in Italy, never mind that I knew the cost beforehand). My bus left at 1545 and we arrived at Porte Maillot bus station. My bag had been shoved further in the bus (yes, just as I was in a hurry) and I had to climb into the bag area to retrieve it. It’d be faster that way than stand there and wait for some knight to come and help me. I crossed over to Le Palais des Congres de Paris and followed signs to the metro.

This was where things got worse. I had been given a Paris pass and thought I could use it for the metro. Well, I couldn’t as the pass could not fit the metro ticket slot. So I queued up at the customer service for 15 minutes only to be met with a blank stare and shrugs by the woman behind the counter. She acted like she’d never seen the pass before. I was getting pretty annoyed and irritated by then so I quickly moved to the ticket machine to buy metro ticket. Well, that was another 5 minutes wasted queuing because when I finished making my selection, the machine refused to accept my note. It would only accept coins. I was already fuming by then and rejoined the slow customer service queue. It took another 15 minutes before I was served and it was already past 7 p.m. Definitely too late for me to go to Goyard at Rue St Honore. I decided to head for Printemps de la Mode Haussmann but when I arrived there at 1950 (it closes at 2000 on Thursdays), I was told they no longer have Goyard shop in the store. Say what??? I was too pissed off to do any shopping so I left and rode the metro back to Porte Maillot. By the way, I really hate Paris Metro. It’s not disabled- or traveller-friendly. Forget it if you have a bike, a stroller, a wheelchair...

I arrived back at Porte Maillot, well, Le Palais des Congres de Paris actually, well after 8 p.m. and wandered there. the shops were all closed and just as I was about sit down, I spotted a supermarket and quickly hurried over. The supermarket was about to close for the day and I just about managed to grab a bottle of mineral water and some biscuits and paid for them. It was then when I realised I had been conversing in Italian with the locals haha.

I made my way back to coach station for my 2215 megabus back to London Victoria. Unlike the bus I rode from Ghent to London, this bus was packed. We also stopped at Lille to pick up a few more passengers before arriving at Calais to clear both French and UK passport control. And unlike the bus ride from Ghent to London, this time, we waited a long time (more than an hour) before we could re-board the bus. Some fellow travellers were sharing similar stories of being delayed by more than 6 hours on their way to Paris because the bus missed the connecting ferry. 6 hours! I saw the immigration people checking the bus thoroughly – the bag hold, the tyres, the seats... when we finally re-boarded the bus and I was getting myself comfortable, a policeman (or border guard?) passed by with a main in handcuffs and brought him down the bus. I exchanged looks with a girl across the aisle, our eyes wide. Such drama!

Friday, 18 September 2015

The bus made the ferry and we had to get down from the bus and get into the ferry. We reached Great Britain 90 minutes later and had to reboard the bus. I slept, well, tried to. We got caught in the traffic in the City of London and only arrived at London Victoria at 0810. I had planned to take a bus to my hotel then thought about it. I had planned to ride the tube a bit today so I decided to take the tube to Finsbury Park instead and joined the thronging crowd.

The Arsenal store at Finsbury Park was already opened when I got there shortly after 9 a.m. Unfortunately, there was no sale so I left empty-handed. I walked to Arsenal station and rode the tube, changing at Holborn for the Central Line. I arrived at the hotel at almost 10 a.m. and went to freshen myself first. Finally, I felt somewhat human again! I left my bag at the porter and took the tube to Leicester Square for Chinatown. From Chinatown, I walked to Oxford Street and did some shopping. I returned to the hotel after 3 p.m. and checked in (I had requested for a double room instead of twin room when I arrived in the morning and thankfully the hotel was able to meet my request).

After shower and prayers, I went out to get some confectionery and crisps to bring home. I also had dinner outside at a halal fast food restaurant.

To be continued

Getaway 2010: Episode 10

Tuesday, 1 June 2010: CMN - CDG
Out Of Africa

We left early this morning and took the cab to the train station. We’d already bought our second-class tickets to the airport yesterday and went to the platform. The train was slightly late (how could a train bound for an airport be late?!) and at first, the electronic boards showed the train would leave from two platforms. Finally the right train pulled up and we got in. It was a forty minute ride to the airport and we had to go through security to enter the terminal one person at a time (imagine the bottleneck). After that, we made our way to the right terminal to check in for our easyJet flight.

There was just enough to time to have a cup of hot chocolate and some pastries before we went in. Not even time to shop (I was running out of dirham anyway) as we had to board the plane almost immediately, no thanks to the thorough body check we had to go through. I shopped from the airline duty-free though (oh dear!).

We landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle at 1 pm and after collecting our bags, took the RER B train to Gare du Nord. The stupid thing was we had to use coins to buy our tickets (and as we decided to buy return tickets, we needed Euro17 in coins) and the stupider thing was we only sighted one machine that could change your Euro notes into coins. After 30 minutes of train ride and ten minutes of walking in Gare du Nord itself, we finally emerged at Rue de Dunkurque and walked to our hotel. After checking in, we freshened up and left to explore the area. We had been to Paris twice before and never been to Sacré Coeur so we decided to head there first. It started to rain as we neared the church... I was worried that I wouldn’t get to experience a proper summer but I really needn’t have worried. What would summer be without rain, eh.
The rain got heavier and we entered the church to get dry. It stopped raining when we left the church and walked down the hill. We walked all the way to Galeries Lafayette; I left Lin there promising to meet again just before the store closed at 8 and walked on to the Opera/Madeleine area. I was late in coming back as the distance was longer than I expected. We took the metro back and had dinner at a kebab restaurant (I had lahmacun; the Düsseldorf version, while not great, tasted better). Kebab meals cost more in Paris too.

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

Versailles

The morning started off overcast. We took the train and changed for RER C to Versailles Rive Gauche station to visit Château de Versailles (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) exactly a week after we visited the Russian Versailles. We had bought tickets online and were waved in after a cursory glance and scribble on our printout tickets. We spent about two hours there before exploring the gardens. The sun came out and we spent a lovely summer day in the garden. We also walked to Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon. I couldn’t help thinking of the vanity, extravagance and arrogance of the past royalties for building all these great palaces and vast parks only to leave them all behind.
We finally returned back to the station and took the train back to Paris. We stopped first at Printemps and Galeries Lafayatte before returning back to the hotel. Dinner was had at another Turkish restaurant.

Thursday, 3 June 2010

Shopping!

Today, we took the RER A to La Vallée Village near Disneyland Paris (we had already been to Disneyland Paris when it was known as Euro Disney). Because we actually stopped at the Disneyland station and had to buy another ticket to Val d’Europe where La Vallée Village is, we only arrived at almost noon. I also called home to wish Abah Happy Birthday. We left after 4 pm and returned to hotel before venturing out again after 6 pm (stores close late on Thursdays). I didn’t buy much though as what I had set my eyes on were either not available or already sold out. Yes, such discipline!
Dinner was had at the resto we went the evening before. By now, I was already sick of meat in general and kebab in particular.

Friday/Saturday, 4/5 June 2010

From Paris With Love

Well, would you believe it, after months of planning, the getaway was coming to an end already. We left after 8.30 am, walked to Gare du Nord and took the RER B train to Charles de Gaulle. It was an express train (i.e. with limited stops) so we arrived at the airport after 20 minutes or so. Although it was not yet 10 am, the check-in counters were already opened and so we checked in.

We submitted our tax claims – I must remember to use my plastic next time, opting for the refund to be credited into my credit card instead; paying in cash does not pay as there was a Euro3 charge for cash refund (I only realised I couldn’t opt for the refund to be credited into my credit card after having paid in cash) plus it took longer – before walking up the ugly glass tunnel to passport control. A short browse at the duty-free shops followed before we headed for the gate.

It was an empty flight and so I was able to stretch out. But despite that, I couldn’t sleep. Bahhh. And the movie From Paris With Love was among those in the in-flight entertainment but I skipped it as I read the reviews were not good.

We landed at KLIA 10 minutes past 6 on Saturday. I went to perform prayers before walking to the carousel. Saw my bag pass me by, ran after it and then ran all the way to the train making it with four minutes to go. Yea, I get fit that way.

‘Til the next adventure then.

~~~~~~~~

Well, last night’s footie results were hardly surprising with Argentina registering a 4-1 win over South Korea, Greece resurrecting their chances with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria and Les Blues feeling the blues after a 2-0 defeat to Mexico.

And Arsenal will start the new season with an away trip to Anfield.

The Holiday

Casts: Adek and good friend Lin

Genres: Comedy, Holiday, Horror

Running Time: 2 weeks

Rating: PG-13 for some strong language

And this is how the story goes...

~~~~~~~~

28 April 2007

Frantic Panic
The adventure started this morning at KL Sentral. Bought tix for both myself and Lin and joined the dozens of people queuing to check in at KLS. It was a long, slow process and it was a good, or rather bad, half hour before we got to the counter.

Only to be told that as there was less than two hours before our departure, the system had been blocked and that meant we could no longer check in at KL Sentral. I was furious and told the lady that we had been queuing for so long and it wasn’t right for her to imply that we had been queuing for less than the minimum two hours required. Lin, being the calm girl she always is, reasoned that we should just head for KLIA so we rushed down but the train was only leaving at 7.30 am. Which meant that we would only reach airport at close to 8 and a mere 50 minutes before departure time.

I pointed this out to Lin and voiced my fear and concern that we may not be able to check in, or worse, board, as we’d be too late. After all, even AirAsia closes its check-in gates 45 minutes prior to departure.

And what do you know, there were literally thousands of people at the airport; long queues everywhere so much so we didn’t know where one started and one ended. In panic, we searched for an airport official and Lin managed to locate him first. He assured Lin not to panic and to proceed to counter D17 or something for immediate check-in.

Phew!

Somehow the 12-hour flight didn’t seem so long or unbearable. We reached Stockholm Arlanda airport at 3.15 pm. The custom was smooth and before long, we were reunited with our bags. We decided to take the airport coach into the city over the Arlanda Express. After all this is Sweden and not at all a cheap destination. This is my second visit to Stockholm.
We arrived at the City Terminal 40 minutes later and took the Tunnelbanan or T-bana to Mariatorget station and walked down to our hotel-boat. Yes, we thought we might as well do it in style and stay in a boat/ship! Hotel Rygerfjord is anchored at the north part of Somermalm Island overlooking the stretch of water that is Riddarfjarden. Our cabin was a charming double-decker ‘room’ overlooking the river and was directly across the river from the City Hall, which dining hall is used for the banquet hosted after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony.

After shopping at a nearby supermarket for our stock of mineral water and fruits, we rested. I bought carbonated mineral water by mistake [euwww!].

29 April 2007
Hardly Stockholm Syndrome But Overall Swede Experience

This bright and sunny albeit cold morning, we ventured out to Gamla Stan or Stockholm’s Old Town. We walked up and down the pedestrian-only street and found the narrowest street in Stockholm, Mårten Trotzigs Gränd. We then came upon Stadshuset or the Parliament and followed the waterfront to Kungliga Slottet or the Royal Palace. We walked on and decided to take an ‘Under The Bridges of Stockholm’ boat tour that took us under some 15 bridges of Stockholm and lasted close to two hours.
After all that sitting, we walked to the Royal Palace and bought tickets to enter the Hall of State, the Royal Apartments, the Apartments of the Orders of Chivalry and the Royal Palace Tre Kronor Museum. However, we had less than an hour before its scheduled closing time so we only covered Tre Kronor and the Royal Apartments.

Next, we walked to Stortorget, which is the old square of Stockholm. The buildings here are featured in many Stockholm postcards and fridge magnets. It is also the location of the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building, the seat of the Swedish Academy and The Nobel Museum.

We were sufficiently famished by this time and went for a late kebab lunch. Feeling more energised, we crossed over to Norrmalm and walked up and down the streets.

30 April 2007

Checking Out Of Stockholm; Checking Out Checkpoint Charlie

Another bright and sunny morning but oh how cold! We left the hotel after breakfast and took T-bana to City Terminal. Farväl Stockholm, we are now heading for our next destination, Berlin.

We were reunited with our bags shortly after arrival at Berlin Schonefeld. We then walked to the S-bahn station and then navigated the seemingly complicated transportation system before reaching our hotel at Sickingerstrasse, near the Beusselstrasse S-bahn station.
After freshening up, we left and took a bus to Hauptbahnhof, which looked really modern and recently renovated. From there, we took an S-bahn to Kohlstrasse where Checkpoint Charlie is. We took the usual tourist pictures before entering the Museum.

As you probably know, Berlin was reduced to rubble in the Second World War. Then in August 1961, the city was cut into two by the notorious Die Mauer (The Wall) which split life on either side between the two political polarities. Ironically, the scant remains of the Wall where so many people died not long ago are the tourist attraction today.

We only returned back to the hotel at 10 that night[!]. There was a beautiful full moon which reminded me of the full moon in Rome in May last year.

May Day 2007

Zoo Station

This bright and mild spring morning, we decided to go to Museum Island or Museumsinsel, but not before checking out Zoo Station first. Not to visit Cute Knut at the Zoo though. At Museum Island, we explored the Altes and Pergammon Museums [the latter houses collections of Eastern and Roman artefacts]. Both museums were huge, massive, and gigantic and I was feeling a bit tired after all that. We didn’t even go into the Bode Museum [it houses Egyptian works]. By the way, very strict guards patrol the museums.
After an Indian buffet lunch at Oranienburgerstrasse, we took the Bahn to Brandenburg Tor or Brandenburg Gate. We then strolled over to Reichstag, i.e. the Berlin Parliament. It was a hazy sunshiny day and there were loads of people sunbathing in front of the Parliament[!]. We then walked down the street along Tiergarten to Siegessäule or the Victory Tower [yes, it was featured in U2’s Stay (Faraway, So Close!) music video]. It was about two kms away from Brandesburg Tor.
We most definitely walked for miles, burnt thousands of calories and fat and developed serious leg muscles this day!

And even then, we walked on further and discovered to our dismay that while the museums were opened on May Day, Kurfurstendamm (Ku’damm) which usually pulsates with life late into the night and Berlin’s premier department store (KaDeWe) were devoid of action.

Watched Liverpool play Chelshit but was too knackered to see the game ‘til its end and only found out the next morning that Liverpool had advanced to the final match after beating Chelshit at penalty. Good job Liverpool!

2 May 2007

Auf Wiedersehen Berlin

Today we left Berlin for our next destination. Took the bus to Haupbahnhof and changed for S-bahn to Berlin Schonefeld.

This time the plane ride was longer - close to 3 hours. We landed at Athens International Airport [Elefthérios Venizélos] at almost 5 in the evening.

Took the suburban train into the city to our hotel near Larissis station. Shortly after checking in, we went out in search for food and some groceries and found to our dismay that Greeks sure love their meat, particularly pork.

Dinner was finally had at a deli at the railway station served by a surly waitress.

Watched AC Milan beat ManUre tonight. Yee haa! Go Milan!

3 May 2007
Greece Enlightening

Greece is the word

Greece is the word, is the word that you heard

It’s got groove, it’s got meaning

Greece is the time, is the place, is the motion

Greece is the place we are in

What’s worth seeing in Athens are all clustered around the old town or the Plaka district. So, this morning after checking out shortly after 9 [any minute later and we’d be swamped by the hordes of other tourists and schoolchildren], we took the metro to Acropolis station and walked up the hill to Acropolis. They sure didn’t call it city on a hill for nothing. We joined the hordes of other tourists and schoolchildren admiring the ruins of Parthenon, Erechtheum, Propylaea and the theatre of Dionysus. The temple Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is held up as the epitome of architectural perfection.

We then went to Ancient Agora located to the north of Acropolis [it was the marketplace and still has the remains of the old administrative centre], then walked past Hadrian’s Library before walking to the Roman Agora. All that walk and being Indiana Jones made us hungry so we decided to go for lunch, but not before stopping by at the Parliament at Syntagma (Constitution) Square to watch the changing of guards which takes place every hour on the hour.

Lunch this time was served by a gruffy waiter. I remember commenting to Lin, ‘What’s wrong with them? They are so bad-tempered around here. It must be the climate.’ Honestly, I didn’t recall them being so rude during my previous visit.

After trekking around the city, we returned to the hotel, performed prayers and set off for the airport. We later performed our evening prayers at the airport, in a chapel – probably that explained my two earlier dreams of praying in chapels. Our flight out of Athens was to take off the next morning at 4.30, yes, talk about an ungodly hour. I couldn’t sleep well in the airport as I kept coughing.

4 May 2007

Cracking Krakow

We arrived into Krakow, Poland, this morning at 6.15 am. We spent a considerable amount of time waiting for immigration clearance. Evidently not many Malaysians had arrived at this airport hence the long process. Anyway, I have been wanting to add Poland as the 40th country I have visited.

It was still a bit cold in Krakow (also spelt as Cracow); after all it was still barely 7 in the morning. We took the train into the city; it took only 14 minutes. The lovely mild spring weather and splendid scenery outside helped to lift my moods. We then discovered that not many Poles speak good English, some don’t speak any English at all! [which I had discovered earlier by watching The Amazing Race: All-Stars]. We were lucky there was a girl who helped us to buy tickets. We then somehow took a tram to our hostel.

After freshening up and breakfast, we walked to Wawel Castle but as the tours that we bought would only start later, we decided to go to Rynek Glowny or the Market Square first. Rynek Glowny, Krakow’s central market square, is the largest medieval market square in Europe. There is the Renaissance mercantile Cloth Hall and Cathedral, some museum and of course, hundreds of pigeons.

We then returned to the Wawel Castle for our tours, had a light meal in between, walked around the castle grounds and even went down to the Wisla River before returning back to the hostel, knackered and beat.

5 May 2007

Salt Mine Tour

This morning, we decided to join a tour to Wieliczka Salt Mine instead of to Auschwitz Birkenau, site of the largest concentration camp in Hitler’s final solution. The weather which had been kind to us all along took a change and was dull, grey and cloudy today.

The salt mine at Wieliczka is an amazing complex of underground mine of miles of corridors [the miles of corridors are supposedly as long as the distance between Krakow and Warsaw!], with many chambers and even chapels built down there. The guided tour lasted for two hours. We first went down 387 steps to 64 metres below ground and as we explored further into the underground complex, we descended further and further into earth’s belly until we reached 120 metres below ground (if my memory serves me right).

I would summarise the visit to the salt mine as fantastic. I was really glad we went there.

We returned back to Krakow and had lunch at an eatery that served seafood [how rare!] before shopping for some souvenirs.

I wasn’t pleased though to discover, on my return back to the hostel, that my freshly laundered Mango long-sleeves tees AND my contact lenses case were missing from the bathroom where I left them when we returned to the hostel. Spent some time hunting for my missing tee to no avail.

6 May 2007

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Spent some more time tracking my tee before deciding to call it quits. Left the hostel shortly after 11 am. Another cold, bleak, dreary morning. Waited for the tram and it didn’t show up. At 1140, we started panicking as our train was due to leave at 12 noon, even contemplated taking a cab to the train station.

But of course, Murphy’s Law prevailed and no cab was to be found when you needed one. We walked like cartoons - I would have won a walk-with-your-suitcase walkathon if there ever is one - and finally we took another tram after walking about a km or so. Got down the tram and walked like mad to the station; it was already 1158 then. The funny thing was - although at the time I barely had time to appreciate the funny side of it - I was at first leading the way, then Lin caught up with me and Suddenly, she overtook me and it was me who was then lagging behind. As she got to the station first, Lin found out that the train was delayed by 5 minutes but still it would have to leave from farthest platform. To my dismay there were flights and flights of steps to be ascended to reach the platform [but of course] and my lungs were about to burst by then. I somehow managed to summon enough strength to drag my suitcase up those bloody stairs and climbed into the train, panting and gasping, and yes, we only had seconds to spare before the train pulled away.

The train was crowded and although apparently we had seats in carriage 11 [we were in carriages 1 and 2 respectively], we decided to stay put as it was impossible to walk through the human traffic blocking the narrow passageway. So there I was perched on my suitcase [for the entire journey which took close to three hours], hanging on for dear life while trying to catch my breath. After a while, I managed to Relax enough to read my novel.

And oh do the Poles love their nicotine. Some chaps who shared the corridor space with me decided to light up [yes, in the train] and I started coughing and coughing. Thankfully, they took the hint and moved to the space in between the carriages to finish off their sticks of cancer-inducing pleasure.

We reached Warsaw (Warszawa) Central at almost 3 pm and it was raining cats and dogs. We walked a bit before taking a bus then walked some more in the rain before finally reaching the hostel. As I didn’t have enough Zlotny left, we told the receptionist that we would pay for our room after having a meal and changing our currencies. Our late lunch was had at a restaurant serving international cuisine.

Later at the hostel, we found out that Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy had been officially announced as the new President of France. And my bomber jacket had a faint nicotine smell to it too. Bugger.

7 May 2007

Unpolished Poles

This morning, the sun sneaked out after 9. We took the bus to Stare Misato and shortly after getting down the bus, I discovered to my horror that I had been pick-pocketed. Yes, all my dosh - Euros, USD, MYR and even PLN and oh, also my credit card, gone. Just like that. I was now penniless.

Thank God I still had Lin. Somehow I found the strength not to cry but by then, I had lost all desire to sightsee. I hated all Poles then. How could they do that to me? Why couldn’t I be left alone without having to be a victim?

We went to a Tourist Information Centre and Citibank but the people there were all expressionless, blank and compassionless when I told them my plight. I felt like shaking them and said, ‘Hey, Cry Me A River, will you?!’ Lin then helped to call Citibank and I reported my card loss. Then I decided I could perhaps contact my friend and asked if she could wire some Euros to me that I can access at our next destination.

We then visited the Royal Castle and viewed the exhibitions. Warsaw’s past is bloody and tragic [just as I was feeling bloody annoyed too and my situation as tragic]; Hitler in 1933 ordered that no stone of Warsaw should be left standing. Patriotic Poles had since rebuilt replicas of the original 19th century structure. After exiting from the castle, we explored the centre of the old town, the beautiful Rynek Starego Miasto (Old Town Square).

After lunch at Nowe Misato (New Town), we took the bus to Lazienki Park and took pictures of the Palace on the Water and Chopin [music composer Fryderyk Chopin was a native of Warsaw].

8 May 2007

The City of Light
After breakfast, we took a leisurely stroll around the hotel area to the square before having lunch. Didn’t buy anything today. Not in the mood at all despite earlier daydreaming of buying Polish crystals.

After lunch, we took the bus to the airport for our next destination, The City Of Light. We only landed at Paris Orly at 8.25 pm and after clearing immigration and collecting our bags, we took the Orlybus to Denfert-Rochereau. From there, we walked to our hotel at rue de Moulin Vert.

9 May 2007
Printemps in Paris
*Printemps means ‘Spring’ in French
An overcast morning greeted us today. After breakfast, we went in search of La Poste, the French post office from which I could retrieve the Euros wired to me. With my extremely limited French, I was somehow able to communicate to the lady at the counter and thankfully she was helpful and knew some English. I also discovered that morning that the area we were staying at has a lot of branded store outlets. Alas, we didn’t manage to visit them as they opened too late and closed too early.

We then took the metro to Invalides. The beautiful church of Les Invalides with its golden dome contains the mortal remains of Napoleon. Spent some Kodak moments there then crossed the River Seine, walked past Petit Palais to Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Now, Champs-Elysees is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris and one of the most famous streets in the world [Guerlain also has a perfume by this name]. I suppose it’s like what Oxford and Bond Streets are to London and Fifth Avenue is to New York.

We walked on to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile which is the great circle at the western end of Champs-Elysees. There are twelve avenues radiating out from CDG Etoille, much like a ‘star’. In its centre is the massive Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s thank-you to his army.

We then took the metro to Printemps and Galaries La Fayette at Boulevard Haussmann. The restaurants and cafes in Printemps however didn’t seem too accommodating to our taste, so we ventured out to a restaurant in the vicinity. And my, meals in Paris sure cost a lot in comparison to other cities! And do the Parisians love to smoke too! Our non-smoking table was just metres away from the smoking area. Duh! And as in Krakow, we were asked if were from Korea [cool! That’s the first time for me to be referred to as a Korean] and when we said no, we were asked if we were Vietnamese instead [how not cool! Well, I suppose better that than being asked if we were Filipinos or Thais].
After indulging ourselves to window shopping, we took the metro to the Georges Pompidou Centre. The Centre is a modern multi-cultural art centre conceived by Georges Pompidou and opened in 1977. This eccentric structure houses a cinema, galleries, museums and an excellent library.

We returned to the hotel in the evening stopping by at a supermarket on our way and had our dinner at an Italian restaurant much later near the hotel.

As with Stockholm, Berlin and Athens, it was my second time here. And while I am happy to report that the French are not as snotty as I found them to be the first time, I was dismayed to discover that there were noticeably less handsome or good-looking French guys around.

10 May 2007

Paris Highlights

An early morning in comparison as we read that the queue to the Eiffel Tower is normally long. Yes, that was among our planned destinations today.

We reached the Eiffel Tower shortly after 9 am and the ticket counters were not opened yet. The queue wasn’t too long either. There are three stages to the Eiffel Tower and we bought tickets to all three. You can buy tickets to just the first floor, or first and second floors, or to all floors. Or you can also scale the stairs up to the second floor and the ticket for this is cheaper [not sure if you can ascend all the way up by stairs should you wish to]. We got whisked up to the first and second floors by an elevator then changed at the second floor for the elevator up to the third.

The view from the top was superb and I was glad I wasn’t dizzy with the height. It was still a slightly breezy morning after a late night shower [which we slept through] so the weather wasn’t too kind to those in short sleeves and shorts which thankfully we weren’t in.

We descended down after an hour to the RER station and took the train to Saint-Michel Notre Dame. We crossed the bridge to the Île de la Cité, the tiny island where Paris began in pre-Roman times. The eastern part of the island houses the Gothic 13th century Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral is the first church in Paris and this was where Napoleon was crowned.

After some Kodak moments and a stroll through the church, we walked to a cous cous restaurant for lunch. It was during lunch when we found out that Mr Tony Blair had announced his intention to step down as the Prime Minister of the UK.

After lunch, we decided to walk to the Musée Du Louvre. Because it was previously a royal palace, it is a massive structure alright and our feet were aching just trying to get to Louvre itself! The once-controversial 21-metre high Glass Pyramid dominates the courtyard of Louvre. And once inside, we decided to concentrate on the more important and interesting sights [at least to us!].

Among the treasures if the Louvre is the Venus de Milo and the famous Mona Lisa. We also visited the Islamic Art section of the museum.

After that, we headed to a shopping place but as we didn’t think it was all that exciting, headed back to Printemps and Galeries La Fayette. I didn’t have much appetite for Shopping though; besides I much prefer Italian brands to French.

11 May 2007

Au Revoir

Another early morning. We checked out at 7.30 am and took the metro to Denfert-Rochereau and from there, the RER train to Charles De Gaulle Airport. I have a complaint here: Why, oh why, can’t they build escalators?! German technology far impresses me. Oh and another complaint: the train sucked big time. The train from Rome Termini to Rome Leonardo da Vinci Airport was wayyy better. And it wasn’t a direct train too; we had to change trains at a station, thankfully to another train on the other side of the platform [or we’d have to haul our bags up and down more stairs!]. We reached the CDG RER station and changed for another train to Aerogare 1 [Terminal 1].

The airport is huge and massive but hardly impressive.

After checking in, we checked out the very few duty-free shops there and bought some chocolates. Not much choice as Belgian and Swiss chocolates seemed to dominate the chocolate store. No Venchi chocolates sold by weight... *boo hoo*.

Plane departed shortly after noon. It wasn’t a full flight, not unlike the flights out of Rome. Some turbulence was experienced but not too bad.

12 May 2007

‘... to all Malaysians, Welcome Home’

Landed 10 minutes to 6 in the morning. As I decided to perform prayers first, my bag was already waiting for me next to the already stationary conveyor belt. Rushed to take the 0630 ERL ride to KL Sentral and reached micasa before 0715.

*Sigh* As Nelly Furtado sings it, All Good Things Come To An End.

~~~~~~~~