| 
In front of the Amsterdam Central Station.
Paris Bound: The clock at platform 14a at the Amsterdam Central Station, showed 10.00 p.m. With one hand pulling my heavy suitcase, I kept staring at the lighted overhead sign which read "Do not board train". There was a red train waiting alongside the platform. The platform was deserted accept for a young Asian guy.
Travellers Bonding I went up to the young guy and asked whether he spoke English. "Little", he said with a strong accent. Righto, he's from South Korea, and he was travelling alone, too. We talked with some difficulty to understand each other, but when the Paris-bound train finally arrived, we were already looking out for each other.
Boarding Train
I was struggling with my luggage that appeared to have weighed a ton. Thank goodness for helpful Hong Do. He picked up the bag with ease onto the train. We chose seats opposite each other. There were some other pasenggers already seated. The train left the station exactly 10.24 p.m., just as written on the ticket.
Onboard Train On the train, we made ourselves comfortable. The temperature outside was about 5 degrees Celsius, and inside the train was O.K., sort of. We had small talks, and later Hong Do was staring out of the window into the night. I asked him what was he thinking about, he said, "Korean food". "Also I am thinking of my darling," he added. We had a laugh about that and I said he should take her here for their honeymoon when they get married. He seemed amused and nodded his agreement.
Shin Hong Do from South Korea on the train.
Shin Hong Do
Hong Do is a student in Seoul. He has completed his mandatory military duty which lasted for 2 years and 3 months. He has a sister who is working in the Phillipines, but he himself has not been there. He did not find his stay in Amsterdam very enjoyable because he met some unfriendly people there. Of course, there's the language barrier, too.
|
|
|
Paris: Gare Du Nord After a whole night on an uncomfortable seat on a cold train (the heating system failed sometime during the night), the Gare Du Nord station is a welcomed sight at 6.50 a.m. Gare Du Nord catered for trains from the northern part of Europe like Holland and Belgium. I had pins-and-needles in my legs maybe due to the cold. Hong Do signalled me to follow him. So armed with a street map of Paris, we made our way to the Metro (a.k.a. subway) Station. We paid 8 French Francs each and went through a maze of alleys going up and down a few floors. |
First Lesson After realising we were going in circles, Hong Do decided to ask for help. He approached a man and showed the street map he was holding. The man said something and asked us to follow him. Again we went on a run-around, and boarded a train to another station. Then he asked us to alight and asked us to wait for another train. Hong Do then signalled me to follow him back to Gare Du Nord. On reaching Gare Du Nord he called a friend from one of the public phones. His friend told him to find the exit and wait at the taxi stand for him. While waiting for his friend, Hong Do said that he didn't trust the man who earlier took us for the train ride. I took a deep breath and felt a chill running down my spine. Geez.. that's scary!
 Bye Fellow Traveller
After about half-an-hour, Hong Do's friend turned up. We said goodbye, and I surveyed my surroundings. There were many hotels in front of the station. I wanted to find something not too expensive. Looking around, I mentally crossed out the big hotel right in front of me. Eventually, I decided to choose one just down the block with a big sign "NORD HOTEL" over it. A sign outside the glass door said 315 francs for a night stay. I went in and asked for a room, and paid 630 francs for two nights stay. I went up to the room, a small but relatively clean one. Leaving the heavy suitcase in the room, I picked up my bagpack and came down again.
Paris Oh Paris
The hotel manager recommended a city tour that would introduce me to Paris. He showed me to the taxi stand and a handed me a piece of paper stating the address of the tour agent's office. The ride cost me another 33 francs. I was just in time for the 9.30 a.m. tour. About a dozen people were already waiting at the office. After some preliminaries, we boarded a bus across the street. I took a seat on the righthand side of the bus, ready with a digital camera. Phew, Paris sure is an old, old city. Some of the huge, impressive buildings dated back to the times of Napoleon and King Louis XVI. There were buildings everywhere. The cold chilly morning was clear and bright. And the tour had me gapping with awe and fascination. There was so much history and intrigue, and I recalled a book I read when I was young called "A Tale Of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. I shuddered at the thoughts of the guillotine. The tour guide showed us the palace where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before she was beheaded. In a way I was glad not to be in the place where they chop off the heads. I would be having nightmares.
| 
continue here |
|
