Je t'aime Paris- I love Paris

First time Traveller.

How you felt when you landed on the foreign land for first time?

I just shouted- I love Paris, or as Francophone would say Je t'aime Pairs. There is a special feeling, landing on a foreign land. Off course I saw people, baggage, some announcements in the background, Police, security, beautiful ladies with perfect bodies getting ready to fly etc. But there was some difference. The melodious french in background was harmonious and giving feeling that I have been victorious is some perpetual war. 

As  any traveller we (me and my colleague, Sud) did a lot of Internet research and posted in our minds on all the possible and cheapest way to reach Gare De Lyon from Charles de Gaulle Airport. 

Possible options for anyone going to Paris:

1. Cheapest: RER and Metro: it cost us around 6 Euro 70 Cents (Latest around 10 Euros)- You can buy tickets at Airport itself

2. Shuttle service: Reliable and cheap for single travellers. Starts from 15 Euros

check some of them here:

http://www.airportvan.com

www.airfrance.com (go to shuttle service)

http://www.supershuttle.com/

3. Air France Bus Service: Again a cheap service from 15 Euros.

http://www.airfrance.in/US/en/common/resainfovol/achat/transfert_aeroport.htm

4. Private Taxis: You can find them at Airport but they are expensive.

So, we decided to take the RER and Metro Combination to reach Gare de Lyon. But we missed one thing important, rather we believed that my 2-3 internet classes of French is enough to communicate us to any French person. And we encountered our reality check when We could not purchase our Metro ticket.

It was hilarious as we tried all possible combinations of accent and sounds to entertain the lady sitting on other side of window. 

We were like eerrrrr, Garee du lyonnn at Di-john, Gar doo lyun at Dii jon and our Indian accent with some Indian Phonetics made our job even more difficult 

So finally we decided to show her on Map and then only she could give us the ticket. 

Tip 1. Be ready for this unexpected. Not only learn to write but also learn to speak few French words.

Tip 2: Keep change ready, it may be needed at the ticket window. They accept 1, 2 ,5 ,10 cents coins. 

Retarded Sud

Retarded myself

The Paris Metro is widely regarded as one of the most exhaustive and dense in City as people say that in every 1 KM, on would find a Metro Station. They are old and you can explore a lot of graffiti around. It shows the freedom people have. They paint their thoughts and dreams that make this city even more beautiful. 

Having said that, our miseries didn't ended. We bought 2 tickets for Dijon and as we were trying to call our student body (they were suppose to pick us from Dijon Gare to our Student Residence) to come to Dijon Gare at certain time, but by the time we could make call, we missed our Train. We didn't had change for the idiot Phone and by the time Sud got some change, we missed our train. We could cancel the ticket but had to wait again for some time to catch the next train and also call the Student body again to reschedule the time. 

But the day ended well when finally we reached our new home in Dijon. We got small rooms in University residential halls. The cheapest were for around 200 Euros and we took them. No wonder in that amount you can rent an apartment in New Delhi. 

But we were tired so much that we slept without even eating anything that night. 

I waned to sleep despite Jet lag because I had entered into my dream world for next 100 days. I wanted to feel wonderful and no state than sleep can give you that feeling. It was so easy to sleep that night. It was sleep of deep happiness. Je t'aime France. 

Losing travel Virginity

How do First time traveler feels?

Once upon a time in India...

22 years old medium class Indian student joined one of the most prestigious MBA school in India. His parents were proud that he could get admission to one of the best MBA school after he failed in his graduation once. It was dream for them.

Was it dream for ME?

Yes, indeed even bigger but not for studies or for securing a career but for travel. My first step to travel beyond India has just fallen at right place. Students choose College for its Pedagogy, Faculty, Placements and name. But I looked at a stat that no one pay attention. I saw the ranking of the colleges in International. Exchange Program and choose me college IMT-Ghaziabad. It is known for the best exchange program. My eyes lit up as my probability to go for an exchange program was highest here. 

Why Travelling was important for me?

I always had this fascination of going out and exploring World.I was crazy watching TV programs based on travel when I was kid and the stories of backpacking, hitchhiking etc attracted me. I was never passionate about bikes or cars or mobiles as my friends. But my eyes glowed when I heard Travel. I even started preparing myself with taking courses of German. I thought of travelling to Europe first and tried to get admission on French and German courses and got German courses while I was still undergraduate student of Maths.

I registered for LIVEMOCHA.COM and there i took online classes of French and Spanish. I took Spanish course in IMT while doing MBA. So my preparation were going pretty well. 

The Moment of joy:

October 2010 would remain a special month for me. After remaining in 1st waiting list finally I got chance to apply for one International College. I was too disappointed to miss Germany and in fact was left with just one College in France. I decided not to go but the traveller inside kicked me and as I believe, it was the best decision I had taken to go there. It was ESC-Dijon France.

So finally decided and 9th January 2011 was the D-day but just one problem I had no visa till 5th January. Even after applying 20 days in advance, I was not given any assurance of Visa. Had I not travelled to French Embassy on 5th January, I would have missed my flight as 8th Jan was holiday and I just had 2 days in between. I pleased to the lady to confirm my visa and after requesting a lot she told me to come next day to collect passport with or without visa. It was one of the longest night of my life. If cancelled I had no chance to re-apply, an option that some of my friends had due to time availability. 

It was like India won Cricket World Cup when next day I say the stamp on my Passport. Yes, the entry was given. A middle class guy who rarely travelled outside Rajasthan (his home state) has now entry to the World's most talked about country. France, I am coming. The vision that I saw for last 10 years has finally given me the first ray of joy. 

9th January -Bye bye India and France here I come.

Next-Landing in Paris