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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller”

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Paris : Basic info to travel.

Just got back from bumi Allah with the family. We manage to have some sort of short getaway. I'll be sharing some infos on how to survive in Paris!

Transport (Bus/train)
If u're travellin' from London by bus it will take u around 7hours journey. Better take night bus as u can save up ur money from staying in the hotel. Euroline is one of the UK's company for train n bus to other country macam Munich, Brussel etc. Boleh jugak naik Euro train it take u 2 and half hours journey je, pretty cool aite? London-Paris in just few hours. Whatever transport u wish to take , it all depends on ur budget. Its sometimes cheap to travel by train starting from 30+ Pound but that is if u buy the train tix online 3 months earlier. They have the system which lagi last minute u buy any bus/train tix the price will rise. Peak or low season pun will influence the price. Maybe that's how they jana their economy negara. haha secara logiknya mungkin. 

Bus : Victoria Coach station - Paris(Gallieni) | 7 hours | 30 GBP ++
Train: Victoria - Paris (Gare du Nord) | 2 and half hours | the lowest 39 GBP ++ could rise higher

Like us due to late tix, we take bus which arounf 49+ pound per person. A few hours will be taken for the procedure to cross the UK border n enter France border, the bus need to stop for imegression checking and passport stamp. Pastu kne tunggu train cuz the bus will cross the Channel tunnel via train. Channel tunnel ni mcm cross harbour tunnel in HK. If u google world map, UK to France need to cross over the sea but the technology made it possible for jalan darat via channel tunnel under the water. It kinda interesting to do thesis and research pasal ni, ce try google wahai para structure engineer ;)

The bus will stop at Paris(Galleini) . We kinda have no idea where to head to tapi try to look at exit sign which in France it wrote as "Sortie" which means exit.

Before come try to do some research on how other peeps survive paris cuz i get this idea from some online peeps too. There's no lift and escalator (malfunction), so light pack dear traveller, xyah lah bawak luggage sebesar2 alam tu, cuz u will indeed cry to heret all those naik and turun tangga. 

As we arrive early at 6am Paris time, there's no counter open, but there's a machine which u can buy single train ticket journey. Murah je. Dont expect the station to be sangat high technology, pls expect low... people. Susah nak describe but i hope visitor could lower down ur expectation . Even diorg ni termasuk dlm first world country tapi some of their system is pretty old. Like their metro , our Putra Rapid is much better as we learn and 3rd world country dah improve their weakness. Print out online metro map on ur own and study how to get to ur hotel before come. It will ease u and ur family. 

Learn some basic french such as

Bonjour! = Hi/Good morning
Au revoir = bye
J'mapelle = my name is XXX
Merci = Thnkyou  
De rien = welcome
Sil vous plait = please
Parles vous anglay (pronounce "par-ley-voo ang-layy) - do u speak english

If u're happy when other speak ur language , they feel the same. diorg x suke sgt english unless if u're at tourist place. The taxi driver dont speak english usually. 




Our hotel is located at a walking distance from Anvers metro station, so ktorg xyah nak naik taxi from the metro. I've learn how to change metro line masa kat London and its not that hard to apply in Paris. Diorg gune warna. If in our country we have different train to different route. We have erl to KLIA area, Putra to go Gombak or Kelana Jaya, KL Monorail to KLCC and Bukit Bintang area and soon MRT to Damansara etc. Kita x guna warna, but London, Singapore n Paris did have the similar train system. So study before come. To use the train one day secara unlimited, just by one day metro pass around 6 Euro+ per person. kinda cheap as compare to taxi.

Budget Hotel/ Hostel
We take 1 room for 4 person with private bathroom. It is well suggested for those who with the tight budget stay here : http://www.leregent.com/

Why this hotel?
1.affordable. u can check the price on the web and the hotel is suggested by the trip advisor.
2.Very near to Metro station
3.Its in Montmarte area and located walking distance to The Basilica of the scared heart of Paris.
4.Provide airport transfer service (notified them earlier 24 hours). Hotel to Paris CDG Airport for 4 person 72 Euro.
5. Near to halal restaurant and souvenirs shop. On the way up to sacred heart tu. The shop is chicken spot.Ade certificate halal.
6.Walking distance to Al fath mosque.
7.Free wifi & breakfast & luggage store room.




Anvers is the metro station and the hotel is located seberang jalan je, 
dlm 10 langkah kaki berjalan dah smpai.

8 minute of walking from the hotel.

The way up to montmarte. along the road there's the halal restaurant n lots of souvenirs shop. The photo is take from Anvers metro view. 


From  hotel to Eiffel tower, u need to change the train twice, from Blue line (Anvers) - Charlse de gaulle Etoille change to green line . Untuk gi eiffel boleh pilih nak turun kat Trocadero or Bir Hakiem station. We got down at Trocadero.



Hotel here only allow u to check in late at 4pm, but the receptionist say "u're lucky" to me cuz our room is ready and we can check in straightaway . Alhamdulillah. gila nervous gak and tawakal so that Allah ease us, Alhamdulillah. and he wish me "Hapy birthday" sbb tgk bday date ngan check in date tu dekat2. haha. The receptionist could speak good english :) . bagus.

Tour
Its good to have like 2 days or 3 days to fully cover the central of Paris. But we only have like one day and try out Bus tour http://www.parislopentour.com/paris-accueil.php , This company had a better review than the big bus tour which is red in colour. But in London Big bus tour is better. Before choose any pls read some latest review at trip advisor or any peeps. It helps u to have such a better and memorable journey in Paris.

The bus cover most famous route and most frequent places tourist go and in summer time the company provide frequent bus. Redeem the ticket at the bus company in Rue Auber, jot down the address and find nearest metro. The route in Paris is pretty hard and confusing, dont waste time try take taxi from the nearest metro. 

One thing about paris taxi is u cant just stop them like  u did in Malaysia or London. U need to find the taxi stand or any sign "Taxi" . U can only take taxi from that place. If tak tau katne just ask people by saying "Taxi". or u learn their language :) Taxi x semurah kat london cuz if ramai we need to pay more. cannot really brain how but u try to do some research if u want to rely on taxi so much. I prefer metro. But difficult place with no metro mcm nak pegi Paris Grand Mosque kena naik taxi sbb jauh. 

Mosque 



Women toilet and wudu' place is a bit hidden, try ask muslim women who can speak english, 
she'll direct u the way. :) Tak tau kenapa org barat yg bukn muslim buat visit dlm masjid ni, cuma dah letak sign diorg xleh masuk dlm mosque. Maybe they are treating this place sama mcm tempat diorg where we can enter church to check on their seni bina and arts. 

Ni masjid sunni, masa nak smyg tu ade wanita syiah ni offer smyg kat prayer mat dia. agak blur sbb kiblat dier senget tak mcm kiblat masjid ni , simbol kiblat pun xde, gadget pun xde utk di refer, pastu baru notice batu smyg dia. berdebar jugak la tapi sbb dia tak tunggu situ i turn my self to the right kiblat and tolak her batu away. pheww mencabar tapi Alhamdulillah manage to perform my solat kat negara org. Bwk la kepala telekung tu atau jubah, sbb kat London and France ni diorg smyg pkai jubah je, xde telekung2. So if we want to pray at park or hidden place xpenah try, takut gak kang x pasal2 diorg bwk polis. so far, we manage to go to pray at islamic center and mosque in both London n Paris.

To get to the mosque, we got down from the bus tour at Notre dame at Saint Micael ke saint german tah and take taxi to the mosque. Print out or write down the address. They not easily understand us as our accent might differ from them. 

Where to eat? 

Mosque cafe.

They serve halal arabic food. The waiters bagi salam sbb dia nampak pakai tudung. Cuma some non give us a weird look. I dont know what is their impression to see those who wear scarf. There's some issue in France i heard. Tapi dont be scared or offended selagi kita x buat salah just ignore them. We do our thing sudah. Lapar tahap tak ingat, travel dgn Pa Ma ni sng sbb budget makan selalu x kisah. hehe. If i'm doing my solo travel mau den bwk segala makanan malaysia masuk, dan meggi. sapa nak bayar setiap kali makan 5 Euro++ . haha Even masa kat HK ktorg makan sehari sekali. and makan kat luar seminggu sekali je sbb student kan mana mampu.

Mosquee cafe ni jauh, so kalau dah solat makan terus. Kalau saja nak dtg untuk makan mmg jauh la tapi ramai org makan kat sini.

Area anvers tadi ade halal food, refer to the picture kat atas tadi.


Souvenirs
Penah tanya Hazmi he said Notre Dame area, mmg betul belambak2 kedai souveniers area Notre dame.
area hotel dekat anvers metro, keychain eiffel tu satu cuma 0.50 Euro. Dont buy from those who sells at eiffel, diorg tu scammer kot, u might discriminate their warna kulit tapi hati2 tu perlu. dont buy. just geleng2 kepala.

Safety
Paris ni banyk pick pocket, some wrote they are pro. So as for women wear ur handbags in ur jacket and dont bring a lot of cash. Cash only for taxi, food pun boleh bayar pkai credit card. Bukan nak galakkan credit card but that's the safest. 200 Euro or Pound in ur wallet is not the same like rm200 kat malaysia. So just be careful. 

For solo female traveller, dont make any eye contact with org hitam tu. Again not to disriminate but u never know their intention. Jgn tertipu dgn how gentlemen they are. carry ur luggage sendiri je even berat . Kang dier letak serbuk yg x diketahui kang xpasal. 

Masa nak naik bus from London, ade org ni tanye "can u speak english ?" dengan innocent nye i nodded my head yes, dia nak mintak tolong pass kan ape tah konon bini dia ade dlm bus tu, whatta? i know he had his own agenda, so geleng2 kepala. kalau org tanye u speak english? geleng2 kepala. jgn ckp yes. it may lead to something u may not know.

Dont walk around using underground metro alone at night, malam dia xhidup. Thought of watching the Eiffel tower light at night, pegi dgn angah je sbb parent malas nak follow, tapi pkul 8.30pm eiffel x keluar2 lampu. Abah suruh balik naik taxi, tap bazir la, cuz i dont know the road condition in fact its pretty far from eiffel to hotel. Metro lagi sng, so sementara ramai org putih guna metro ktorg chow awal sblum gelap n ramai org x cuak sgt.

Dalam metro plak ade org nyanyi2 bagai, buat bodoh je, kang dier suruh korg sedekah sbb dh tgk show dia. Pemintak sedekah pun bnyk kat sini. beware je.









Personal thought of the country and people
Indeed studying in construction area makes me amaze with the the carve on the wall and structure. Too neat and u wont get it anymore in this modern days. Their structure last for so many century. Cuba tengok structure skrg, could our house last for 40years? selalu after 10 years u need to do a major renovation. They construct building cuz there's history and story behind. interesting much. :) The man made structure and building were the best!


Kebersihan 
Not as bersih as u see in London or singapore. So lower ur expectation on this. Dont go question on people either they civilize or not, as a human u should do ur part and civilize ur self. Punctuality of Europe people is number one. But singaporean is more discipline in crossing the pedestrian, french peeps pun kadang lampu pedestrian merah xde kereta they just walk. haha. x kena saman xpe ye dok? hehe. 

They using their old system, their metro is classic and not so many places have escalator , majorly tangga. So if u're travelling with the elders who with wheelchair and hardly walk and climb a lot of stairs, dont travel by metro. Take taxi and increase ur budget to make everyone who travel with u comfortable. 

The peeps was okay, try to greet them nicely. Even they spoke their language, they still want to help us and give us direction. Even if u're nice and innocent dont be terlalu nice, cuz u cant predict diorg ni org baik ke org jahat. just beware and act cool :) its okay to be careful.

I dont have much time to dig in islam in France and what the people around think about muslim. If u have lots of time to do some research on their culture and religon pls do. Interesting sebab mosque dia cantik and the carve inside pun cantik cuma x berani nak snap a photo inside the mosque kang they offend me pulak. 

I wonder why people want to go Paris sangat2 ? 
cuz my whishlist was Venice & Rome (the history and building attract me) dan Munich (cuz Allianz Arena Stadium). haha Indeed Saudi Arabia pun nak tapi yg tu bajet kena lagi tinggi. 

I'm sharing this cuz i'm having my hard times during the trip research, hope this will give some idea to anyone who wish to travel. If u have more budget do stay at a better place. If u're not adventurous and dont wish to walk alot and travel in group, its better to consult travel agent and hire them to ease u. Cuz i love budget travelling and dont mind to use train and walking so did the tour without agent and just bought online Paris bus tour to see the city in one day :) . Hope it helps.  Till then.

p/s:  book train tix or bus tix 3 months earlier before come. If u love good weather come on summer time or around August, the blue sky is perfect for photographer to do some photo shoot. But winter season was low season which might give advantage to those with tight budget. 

1 comment:

AnnazuR said...

WOw.. bestnya.. jalan2 kat Paris :)