Sunday, June 10, 2012

Europe Trip: The Unfortunate Night in Paris.

Well, here the story begins.



It's actually off scheduled because we planned to depart as early as 8am but we had departed near to lunch time from Lokman's place in Leuven, Belgium. Hence, we packed things super fast. The father busily loaded all the things into the car while the mothers get dressed after cooking and get the children dressed and ready for the journey. Suddenly, there was an incident! From inside the house, I saw hubby was lying on the ground and i nervously ran out to him and hoped he's alright at the same time. hubby had strained his ankle when he slipped off the uneven ground to load the strollers into the car. Hubby sat on a chair after Fathullah and Lokman helped him on his legs. Yes, he cannot walk at that time! Lokman took out the First Aid Kit and Fathullah bandaged his ankle instantly to prevent the wind came in. After relaxing for a while, hubby practiced walking and then he convinced everyone that he could drive. Though deep in my heart, i know he's still in pain but i can't do much. The trip has to be continued for the sake of our friends..and i was relieved he made it. ;)


But As you know that kids get bored quickly so they cant stand being buckled on their carseats for too long even there were tonnes of food. We adults cant stand it too but we can control from being cranky, can't we? So we did stop to eat, pray, rest and let the kids stretch their legs out but unfortunately it took about 1 to 2 hours before we started continue the journey. Hehe we simply took time at our leisure. Of course the husbands aka drivers cannot leave anyone behind. ;p But if you follow any other travel agency, they will not hesitate to leave you if you do not follow the given time. Believe me, the owner from one of the travel agency told us himself. He told the unlucky passenger have to find other transport or alternative to meet them at the next stop point. Huhu. That's why hubby refused to join any travel agency because he knows his wife best! Haha.





Lunch break at the border between France and Belgium.

us enjoyed our lunch and the wind.

Iris and Adam, seronok dpt keluar dpd carseat. hihi

Zahin happy too, being cheeky with Irdina ;)

Anyway, we safely arrived at Sovereign hotel at St. Denis, Paris at evening. Before that, we were kinda lost few times when the signal from iPhone lost in the middle of the journey. Yup, we don't have a proper Sat Nav device like Garmin or Tom Tom since our beloved Garmin had been stolen since last year at our previous neighborhood. And since then hubby just used my iPhone as a navigator. It works excellent in the UK but not in the Europe. We kept loosing the internet signal there..! It's such a wasting time waiting for a signal at the roadside in Paris and had quite numbers of U-Turns. Aiyak!



Since we were on a student budget, we cannot afford more than a 60euro per night room and the hotel was located outskirt Paris. Yea, it's not cheap though but that's the disadvantage from the late booking. (Blame me, because i cant decide early as i was scared if i had a group meeting during the Easter Break) Unfortunately, we did not know this area until we had witnessed in front of our eyes and alive that a man was trying to snatch a japanese tourist's camera bag at one of the bus stop! It was scary especially the japannese was lying on the road next to our car! The man trying to save his bag which was pulled by the bad and maniac man! Even he's shouting and asking for help at the same time BUT no one's coming to help him!!! In fact, there were so many people at the bus stop! Tension ok..they were so coward! Poor the japanese man..;( We did not know what's the ending because we just drove through, did not want to cause a traffic jam. Hope he's fine.



However no matter how uneasy we felt of the area, we still went out for sightseeing that night. This sounds crazy too, i know but we didnt have a choice because Lokman and family really wish to see the Eiffel tower before going back to Malaysia. So we still went out. I think it's already near to 9pm. We prayed so hard so everything will be fine. I admitted i was scared when walking to the underground station. Aihhh it's quite a distance too you know..another disadvantage here. Please take this into account too when you want to book hotel k because in Paris, the underground train or Metro is the best transportation to use. So it is much better to find a hotel which is very near to the train station as well especially when you bring kids.



After buying the tickets at the counter, we went down to the train platform. When the train arrived, lokman's and my family managed to get on it on time BUT unfortunately our friends, Fathullah and family didnt get board on the same train as us!!! Omg, our hearts stopped beating, it happened so fast! The train has a lock, you need to unlock it first to make its door open. Nak jadikan cerita, the lock failed to be unlocked so the door didnt open for them to get into..;( so what we did, we stopped at the next station and waited for them there since we failed to contact them as there was no signal underground. We hoped they did not return to hotel but catch the next train and they did alhamdulillah. So when the train arrived at the next station where we waited, we all got into that train to be reunited with them. Fuh, what a relieved!!



Then to go to the Eiffel tower, we had to change train for three times. It's an hour journey so you can imagine how far it was. Finally we arrived there at around 11 ish pm. and We knew straight away that Eiffel tower will be the only one and last attraction that we could managed to see that night. Huhu.. But whatever it was, we still had fun to see the famous tower blinked beautifully at 12 midnight. It was still the same beautiful feeling i had since my two previous visit! And the most important thing, we were glad that Lokman's wish had been fulfilled. And all of us had taken nice photos with the Eiffel tower as the background! ;)


Bonjour Eiffel

at Invalides station. tgu next train to go to the Eiffel Tower

Mia familia with Eiffel! Mercy boucoupe Fath!! Love this photo! :)

But dear me, the beautiful feeling ended as soon as we knew that the train operation has stopped as we arrived at the Bir Hakim station. Our smiles stopped right away and we had to think of other alternatives. We followed a girl to the exit. She said we gotta wait for a bus or hail a taxi. 0mg, it's already 1am and there were us in the middle of Paris wandering and looking for a bus stop. Without we realized, we already walked until Trocadero where one can view the Eiffel tower best at. I told myself, i might had a glimpse of the tower as i wished but Unfortunately, the tower was standing still in the dark of midnight. There was no more lights on it, like an hour before. It was looking all dark and sorrow as what we felt during that time. Anyway, there was a souvenier stall still half opened to cheer us a bit! So we quickly begged to the seller not to close his stall yet and managed to buy some souvenirs there! haha Sempat lagik! hehehe..



The souvenir seller pity us but he's convinced that taking a bus was the best solution for all of us. He said not that the taxi charge will be damn expensive since our hotel was faraway but we might have to rent more than three taxis!! Ye la kami kan terlebih muatan! So we didnt have other choice, but to wait for a midnight bus at the nearest bus stop after asked him the direction. Huhu so sad..macam pelarian je rasa! Unfortunately, when we arrived at the bus stop, we knew that bus only came every 1 hour, sad sad sad! So while waiting, we were praying non stop! I prayed so hard and somehow i know Allah will send a help in anyways. It's just the matter of time. So we patiently waited and our kids also fallen asleep on our lap n strollers..mujurla heret jgk stroller.

at the same time, ada few orang kulit hitam kt situ. Ya Allah mmg takut sgt ok! Makin lama makin ramai. Aisey hubby kata takut ktrg kene mug so kami perlahan2 pergi dok kt Lokman n Ftahullah's family at the bus stop. Before that kami dok kt bangku jauh sket dpd bus stop tu. at least tak cukup tpt utk duduk which was some of us kene berdiri but yg ptg dekat dgn diorang sume kan klu something bad happen. I told hubby and myself, let's bersangka baik. Masa tu tiba2 diorang tu dlm 10 org ada kot mmg dah kepung n block ktrg tau kt bus stop tu. astaghfirullah mmg takut sangat.

Sekali tup2 one of them tegur kami siap bagi salam! Kami pon jawab la salam..his friend also asked if we were Malaysian..ya Allah sgt sgt peramah dan baik sgt diorang rupanya. Tengok2 diorang yg tunjuk jalan mcm torist guide gitu siap tolong angkat kan stroller bila bas sampai, sbb nak ke hotel kami, kami kene tukar bas lg sekali. So dioranglah yg guide from the next bus stop to the next, kami ikut aje. Dlm hati rupanya diorang ni lah yang Allah hantar utk menolong kami. Alhamdulillah syukur sgt2! Diorang ni muslim Senegal, tp dah dok kt France lama so dioranglah yg tlg communicate kan utk kami dlm French kt pmandu bas dan ticket attendant. At last we separated at the next bus stop becoz of our different path. Aihh baik kan..klu tiada diorang, tataulah apa jadi. Rasa berjuta kali ucap terima kasih pada diorang pon mcm tak cukup. ;(. May Allah reward and bless them always. Amin!


Alhamdulilllah, We arrived back at sovereign hotel almost at 3am. Itupon takut2 jalan kaki cari jalan ke hotel. We skipped the dark, narrow and deserted alleys. Just using iPhone hubby managed to find the way back to our hotel. ;) but as soon as we reached the receptionist entrance, no one's there! Puas tekan bell tp tade sorg yg dtg. Hampeh. So kami tpaksa guna laluan basement carpark. Itupon after few trials of password (room no kot) then the basement door finally opened for us. Phewww, what a relief but what a night! Huhu..the unfortunate one! it's like a nightmare and i will not forget it for the rest of my life! What an experience.


walking silently through the silence night

So here are some of the tips from our own experience that may be useful for whoever wants to go to Paris:

1. Plan thoroughly. Book hotel 6 months in advance so that you can get a good hotel room at a very low rate and within the city itself. If possible, find one which is near to all the place of attractions. Please consider a near underground train station to your hotel too. ;)

2. Arrange your schedule, plan tentative and stick to it as possible as you can. Travel early in the morning may prevent any difficulties.

3. If you want to sight-see the city by car, buy a good and reliable Sat Nav device which includes the Paris map to make your life easier and smooth journey. ;)

4. Stay longer in the city so that you can cover many place of attractions. 3D2N or more will be fine. One night is a BIG NO. :D

5. Avoid sightseeing over 8pm especially if you bring kids. 8pm kids should go to bed not go sightseeing. Night in Paris might be beautiful but can be quite daunting. Lesson learnt!

6. Take hop on and off sightseeing bus if you can afford, especially if you bring kids or parents. Underground train station can be hassled for them and strollers because there is not many elevator.

7. Always prepare for Plan B or C.

8. Always and always bring your tripod. You will have so much regrets if you dont. :D

Ok that's all. Hope anyone would not repeat the same mistakes like us. Hehe. If i have a free time, I will continue our trip story to Germany next time if God's willing. So much to share, but so lil time for me to do so but i will try my best. :)

Wassalam.

Sent from my iPhone4

17 comments:

RuZaNNa said...

Omg berdebar baca entry ni..syukur takde pape buruk yg berlaku..it sure did an experiece that u'll never forget..tp at least kita tau doa pd Allah sentiasa menjadi senjata whereever and whenever :)

ishamizu said...

Ruzanna

Yes Anne, you're right. Ktrg mmg takut sgt that night so ktrg Dh tatau nak buat apa selain keep berDoa byk2 especially baca Ayatul Kursi. Alhamdulillah masih ada lg hamba Allah yg baik menolong. And up to now, izu mcm fobia je klu nk travel jauh2. Huhu..

Diyana Khoo said...

fuhh, what an experience! alhamdulilah semua selamat.

Unknown said...

Alhamdulillah Izu dah selamat yer...saya baru jer balik bercuti dari Paris juga last week tapi belum buat n3 lagi. cantik tgk view waktu mlm tu tapi saya tak sempat nak tunggu sebab sekrng ni lambat nak gelap.

trip saya kesana juga agak mencabar bila kami dok hotel yg jauh dr station train. pernah blk lewat mlm tak ada bas dah tapi nasib baik ada org bantu tunjukkan jalan.memang rasa takut tgk org kulit gelap kat sana tapi kebanyakkan diorang muslim.

Mrs.NZ said...

mak aih..nervous ai baca..huhu.tapi mamat black sana mmg ramai muslim & yg jual2 souvenir tu.tak sangka diorang yang tolong guide akak semua kan.alhamdulillah tade pape buruk terjadi.

dulu ada dapat stay 1 hotel dekat dgn eiffel tower (leh jln kaki) & dekat metro apa ntah lupa.Rasanya Euro 60 lebih la semalam.hotel lain semua mahal..tp pegi disneyland jauh la naik tube dekat 1 jam.next time kalau nk bwk fahim cari yg dekat disneyland jelah.

mommaholicSURI said...

Izu, when i was in Paris, in their Metro train, a very skillful group of girls manage to snatch my travel wallet from my slingbag that i hugged (they should use the skill for a good deed.. :() . But alhamdulillah , the wallet terlepas dari tangan diorang before they ran out from the train when it stop at the next station. Oh my.. i think some part in Paris memang scary. Let us all be extra careful k. No matter where.

Nadine said...

izu, nadia pun berdebar2 baca entry ni. disebalik keindahan eiffel tower ditengah mlm ni, scary juga rupanya. thanks for sharing my dear. manalah tau, years to come dpt jejak kaki kat sini...berguna jugak d tips tu kan. :)

sitiezahim said...

ana ada cerita pasal orang kulit hitam yg kerumun u all tu..huhu..saya denga masa tu mmg sangat panik. tp alhamdulillah kan..btw, mmg byk pengajaran dr travel u all kali ni..takpe la belajar dr kesilapan..next time ke germany mesti singgah umah saya tau..hehehe

sitiezahim said...

oh ya, lepas baca komen2 kengkawan u ni, kompomlah saya takkan sampai kot paris ni. mmg takde plan nak pegi, sbb jaaauuuhhh dr sini dan lagi terbantut bila baca komen2 di atas...hihiihihihi

yatispeed said...

alamak izu...ini sangat2 menyeramkan! penuh dengan saspen n thrill ni. kakak baru ingat nak gi paris bertiga jer in september nanti during out visit there..tapi dengar citer izu ni rasa cam ..aisey..terbantut pulak..ish..nasib baik Allah permudahkan semua untuk ishamizu dan kawan2 malam tu kan..

ishamizu said...

CDee

Alhamdulillah. Thanks dearie..:)

ishamizu said...

Nieza

Oh Nieza baca cerita Nieza pon seram izu..sbb pnh experience so i know how you felt during that time..mujurlah ada yg baik hati mbantu dgn pertolongan-Nya. Alhamdulillah Nieza selamat..

ishamizu said...

Ninie

Memang ramai kn bangsa derg kt sana tp akk ssh sket nak tahu samada derg Muslim ke tak..hehe.

Ye, next time klu nk bwk kids pegi Disneyland pon akk igt nk duduk kt Disney resort je tp tatau la bila tu..hehehe..

ishamizu said...

Nuurill

Ya Allah, scary nya..baru tahu ni..Nuurill tak de cerita lg kt blog kan..ni mst busy dgn keje kan..takpelah dear, yg ptg Nuurill selamat, wallet pon terselamat ..dahsyat jgk kn girls tu..huish...

Ye betul, klu keluar hatta dkt sekalipon hrp kita tak lupe berdoa dan bertawakkal pd Allah. The world is no longer safe..huhu

ishamizu said...

Nadia

Hehe betul tu, scary jgk..sama je kt mana2 pon..cumanya kt Eiffel tu rmi org so tade la scary cuma kene hati2 jgk la kn..rambut je sama hitam tp hati lain2..cewah! :P

Nway, no prob dear..sharing is caring :)

ishamizu said...

Sitizahiem

Yes dear, mmg byk pengajaran fr this trip. Lesson learnt. :P harap kejadian ni tak berlaku pd org lain..insya Allah.

But Hajar, u must go to Paris..! at least once..org kata klu dah pegi Paris tu kira mcm dh konker satu Europe tau..:P lgpon tadelah jauh sgt dpd Duisberg kan..compare it fr Malaysia rite..hehe..so pls reconsider it k ;)

ishamizu said...

Yatispeed/Kakak

Hehe ala klu ada rezeki pegila kak..bwk Syira n abg Azuar..insya Allah ok je..;)

Nway, alhamdulillah tade pape buruk berlaku..kene byk refleks blk..ats apa yg berlaku tu..tak bley diambil ringan..sbg panduan di masa hadapan..hehe