DLP London Hong Kong
I apologise in advance. This update will be quite wordy.
We woke up to another cold and dreary morning. Since we werent leaving until 11am, we had plenty of time to get our cases packed. We even had time for a last brekky at Pauls, before going back up to the room for our cases and checking out of the hotel.
We had all studied the train maps the previous night, and knew where we had to go. We all had to catch the RER into the city. My parents were to get off at Gare de Lyon to continue their trip. And I had found out that the airport RER left from Chatelet Les Halles.
We wandered across to the train station and made our way down to the platform. The next train was only about 10 minutes. This was a double decker train, which we thought might be awkward to navigate with our cases. There was a perfect set of seats just by the door, on the same level as the platform and with plenty of room for cases. However, one single guy who was only going 2 stops sat there first. We made our way downstairs and found a group of seating where we could be relatively out of the way, but still close-ish to the door.
It was a bit of a strange train ride, knowing that once my parents got off the train I would not see them until I next visit Perth. All too soon we were approaching Gare de Lyon. I decided I may as well get up too since I had only one more stop. When we pulled up at Gare de Lyon, we all said our goodbyes, and my parents got off the train and waved as it went off again.
Chatelet Les Halles was the next station, so I got off, prepared to search high and low for the right platform for my next train. Turns out, I just had to walk to the other side of the same platform!
Anyway, I was looking at the board, and it looked like the next train coming was the wrong line (the line to the airport branched off halfway along), so I didnt get on that one. The next one was only going a few more stops, so I gave that one a miss too. Then there was another one for the other line, then another one. I was starting to get concerned, and was thinking I should look for some information to find out when the next train to the airport would be.
As I was standing there with my suitcase looking confused, a very helpful French gentleman came over and informed me that I would be waiting for 2 days, as the airport trains dont run on the weekend! How had I not found that out??? Anyway, he gave me instructions to catch the next train to the very end of the line, then catch a bus from there to the airport. He said it would be very easy to find, it would be right there when I got off the train.
So without having much else to go on, I jumped on the next train and hoped that he had given me the correct information, and wasnt just trying to get his kicks by getting poor solo tourists hopelessly lost lol! There wasnt much else he could have gained by giving me the wrong information, so I felt fairly confident Id be ok.
As the stations came and went, I followed our progress on the map and thought, if he has given me the wrong information, hopefully I can at least take a taxi to the airport! We passed some
ahem
interesting scenery. Very messy and dirty, little shanty towns here and there I had no idea there was so much poverty in Paris. We did pass some nice scenery too, there was a National Park type forest, then some nice farmland getting towards the end of the line.
When we got to the end of the line, I got off the train and followed the crowds to the exit. There was a lady there who seemed to be directing people, so I asked her about the bus, just to ease my mind. She pointed in the direction that the crowds were heading to, so I was pretty confident I was still on track.
We got outside to the bus, and it was just about full! I squeezed on with my suitcase, and thought I was going to have to stand in the aisle. Wrong there! I had to stand right in the doorway! I nearly hand to stand on my case to get out of the way of the doors closing. On the plus side, I had a perfect view out of the front window for the approx 15-20 minute journey, and got to listen to the drivers French R&B radio station.
When we finally reached the airport, I got off the bus and I breathed a little sigh of relief. However, my relief was short-lived when I realised that we werent there yet! We still had to catch the little shuttle train to the terminals.
(A couple of weeks later, my parents would advise me that they were planning to catch the TGV direct from DLP to the airport, which would take about 10 minutes! I nearly fell off my chair how did I NOT KNOW THAT? I could have spent the whole morning at Disneyland and had a nice quick, convenient trip to the airport!)
I finally arrived at Terminal 2, but I had no idea which section I needed. I asked an official looking lady, and she said 2E, which was about a 10 minute walk to the end of the terminal. Off I went up to Terminal 2E. When I finally arrived there, I could not find any sign of my flight, or the airline (British Airways). I walked the whole length of the section looking for information, and ended up asking one of Air France staff where I might find the British Airways check in. The answer was 2B, about a 20 minute walk to the other end of the terminal!
Luckily it did end up being in Terminal 2B, but it was in a weird poky little office-thing downstairs. Still, I was pleased to have checked in, and decided to head straight through security/immigration to find my boarding gate. I looked at the departures board and it said gate 58, which I finally found right down the other end. Starting to see why Charles de Gaulle gets a bit of a bad rap lol!
It was the weirdest thing ever, but I was dying for an ice-cream! I even wandered across to section C trying to find one, but without any luck. I had to settle for a chocolate dairy snack (like a Yogo) from a cafeteria type place right near my gate.
After that I thought Id go and sit at my gate, and tried the free wi-fi. You can only get 15 minutes at a time, but it was enough to check in on facebook so that my parents would know I made it ok, and check for messages from DH. There werent many people in the area, and soon it was past my boarding time. No one seemed to be moving. I decided since it seemed to be delayed I may as well have a bathroom stop. When I came back there was still no movement. Suddenly it dawned on me that I should check the gate number.
Uh oh! (Well, my reaction was stronger than that, but I cant put my exact wording on this family friendly website lol!) I was at the wrong gate! I actually needed gate 56, which luckily wasnt too far away. By this time boarding time would nearly be closing, so I ran! I neednt have bothered. There was still a queue when I got there and I had to wait for another 5 minutes. I wasnt even the last one either, but definitely in the last few.
We had to take a bus to the plane, and of course there was a bus there waiting for us. Once the last of us were on, off we went to the plane. There was another bus in front of us which stopped first and let all its passengers out, who went to board the plane. We had to wait until that line had died down a bit before we were allowed off. Then I finally got on that darned plane!
Approx 45 minutes later we were landing in London. It was one of those flights where you pretty much start landing as soon as youve taken off, which as an Aussie, I am still fairly unfamiliar with lol! It was a fairly uneventful flight, and we got a packet of chips and a drink to keep us going. I kept myself amused watching the journey map.
I actually quite liked Heathrow airport, just from an international transfer point of view. I only had a couple of hours. I checked out some of the shops, and was tempted to get a London souvenir, but felt like a bit of an imposter, so didnt in the end.
I still felt like ice-cream, and managed to find a place there that sold frozen yoghurt, which was a step up from chocolate Yogo, but still didnt completely satisfy my craving. I think it was because I had all my warm clothes on still, and was feeling a bit hot.
Finally my gate number appeared on the screen. I would have to catch the shuttle train to the boarding gate. There was a big sign up saying to only catch the train when you were ready to board as there would be no shops or eateries at the gate. There wasnt that long to go, so I caught the train and found a good seat at the window. While I was waiting I tried out the free wi-fi and watched the sunset.
Before long it was time to board. I was happy to find that I was in the second row after premium economy. But unhappy to find that I had neither a window or aisle seat. Unfortunately the plane was full to the brim, and there ended up being a stranger on either side of me. All thoughts of getting any sleep were dashed, but I thought Id pick out a few movies and make the best of it.
We were of course served dinner not long after take off. I forget what it was now, and felt a bit self-conscious about taking pictures given my position. I soon forgot about my predicament watching the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But, just as the Pevensie children were about to meet Aslan, my screen went all fuzzy and covered in lines. I thought it may be the movie, so I tried a different one with the same outcome. Then I tried a different channel, turned it off and on again, anything I could think of that might help. I could just make out the picture if I squinted hard enough, but it wasnt going to do me for the next 9 hours.
I called the flight attendant, and she said she would re-start it for me, but that it would take about 10 minutes. I said that would be fine, I just want it to work! Unfortunately, it didnt. When it came back on, it was all fuzzy again, and I couldnt even see well enough to select anything on the touchscreen. She tried again, with no luck.
I was getting a bit panicky by this stage. I was 1 ½ hours into an 11 hour flight, I wouldnt sleep, and my entertainment system wasnt working? I explained my situation to the flight attendant. Unfortunately, since the flight was chocka-block, there was nothing she could do. All I had in my bag was a small Sudoku book. It would be my only friend for the next 9 hours. It was a long flight. Which reminds me, I am planning to write them about my experience lol!