A trip to the City of Lights- In power saving mode (Day 2)

After the blast of Day 1 I still didnt have the inspiration to write. It was the second day that brought the inspiration on like a fire.

So like a normal day we get up. I get up in the end. We get ready and head out. First on the list is the most awaited Eiffel Tower. Yes it is just as beautiful as the pictures show. The closer you get to it, the more you begin to appreciate what an outstanding piece of work the tower is. The intricacy of the work that has gone into it is mind boggling. So my sister asked me, how do you like the Eiffel Tower? And I came up with one of the inspired one-liners that only things like the Eiffel Tower can bring out "I love it, but I am still not judging it. After all its the City of Lights, how can it be judged during the day?"

So we spent over an hour idling around the Eiffel tower. Posing for pictures. Looking at the Chinese people posing for pictures. One good thing that came out of the day came when a Chinese family asked me to take a picture of them posing in front of the Eiffel Tower. The only problem was they just asked me to take a picture. So I barely contained my laughter and took more than one picture of the Eiffel tower. Its what they wanted, just that they might have wanted a little more than just their hair in the picture. I handed them the camera and turned and scampered before they could take a look at the picture.

We strolled to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, took a few more pictures. Thankfully no one asked me to take a picture for them. What many people do not realize is that the Eiffel tower is more about the base than about the top. Sure its pretty high but without the exquisite base of the tower, its just a normal high rise radio tower. The closer you get to the base the more amazed you are. Its human architecture at its peak. But wait, thats not interesting. So lets move on to the more interesting part of the day. Lunch!

For lunch we decided to visit this restaurant that was a single subway stations away. It was some Thai restaurant that is supposed to be really good. So we go to the station and as we are about to enter the platform the train comes in. So we start running towards the train. My sister and Jaspreet get into the 1st compartment. But its really packed to the brim so being a Mumbai person, I look for a comparatively less packed compartment. Its not difficult, its right next to the compartment that the others got in. So I run to the next compartment and jump in as the door starts to shut. Now there are these little girls. I did not see their faces but they were small in size. So a couple of them were trying to get out of the compartment before the train could move. One of them had a hand stuck between the closing doors trying to pry it open. Finally it opened and they got out.

What I did not know was there were a few more girls in the next compartment trying to do the same. And all of them ended up getting out. My conclusion was that these girls had left someone behind and hence did not want to take this train. The same conclusion my sister and Jaspreet arrived upon. In fact Jaspreet helped them get out. Nice guy that he is he helped the girl stuck between the doors out by prying the door open. As soon as the train restarted there was a commotion. My sister looked at me and the look of horror made me realize that these were pickpockets. I was pretty sure of my wallet. Enough Mumbai local train experience, nevertheless I checked and yeah, my wallet was still there. I thought that someone in the next compartment got robbed. When we got down at the next station I realized it was no other than my two fellow companions.

Head in their hands they sat, as all the money was gone. So we stand there for 15 minutes.. Nothing can be done, once Paris takes from you, it doesn't give back. Think you have heard that before? Yeah, similar to the Bangkok line, if you haven't seen him since last night, then Bangkok has him. Hangover 2.

Nothing could be done. We decided not to withdraw money as long as I had money on me. So finally they dragged their heavy legs into motion and I said a silent prayer for those idiots in my compartment who would take a little longer to realize they had been robbed too. It was kinda funny prayer with all the laughter in my head.

So we go looking for the famous Thai restaurant that lost us so much money, and voila its closed! Yeah, had that coming. This is the point where it all starts getting more and more hilarious. No turning back. We know we are in the middle of a pickle. No hunger, little money, Terrible luck. Sounds exactly like the movie Euro Trip. Maybe would have been more fun had I lost all my money too. On the other hand my inspiration would have been lost. So worked out well. The Paris underground took our money, but not from me. And yet I got the much required inspiration.

It gets you thinking, how little girl gangs are so good at taking your money. And they leave you in a state that you cant do anything about it because you are in the train and they just got out of it, and in some cases like Jaspreet's; you are the one tha helped them get out. Thats like assistance to theft. Just that you are assisting theft of yo own money! Now surely this must be a big gang with big control players who have these kids to do the stuff. Or I have been reading too many novels. Anyway, with money gone and no restaurant we started looking for cafes. All cafes that served vegetarian were full or closed. All that served less expensive food were closed. Only ones open were the ones that were mocking you for losing all the money.

In no mood to eat, so we decided to go grocery shopping and finally put the kitchen at home to use. And which grocery store has barbecue sauce on the ground floor and milk on the second floor? Obviously must be the only store in the world that does so. And obviously we entered that one. And ya, we didnt need barbecue sauce, we needed milk. Took us 30 minutes to find milk. I know you French prefer your coffee black but milk on third floor is ridiculous!

And whats with the French pronunciation! R-O-M-E is Rome as in Italian Rome. NOT KHOUME!
Thats how they pronounce the subway station. And worse part is they do it twice. First time its a fast one the second time its announced, its as if they are pointedly asking you to get down. Lets look at one more place, Cite.
How would normal people pronounce it?
Just how its written.
On the subway there seems to be a different world.
To all those fimiliar with the Hindi version of Ramayan will know that Ram wife Sita was affectionately reffered to as Site..
On this subway, its Ravan (the villian of the story who kidnaps Sita) calling out to Sita.
Siiiteeehhh...
Second time its even worse.
Siiiittteeeeehhhh...
Ok, I got it!

Anyway, we got home and made some food. Decided what to do with the rest of the day. Decided to accept the challenge of roaming Paris as paupers with credit cards for emergency. So we set out to see the Eiffel tower at night. But before that we decided to take a look around the Arc de Triomphe.

As we walk back from the arc to the subway station, we are approached by an Indian couple. Around 45 years of age. So they come up to us and say, "Hello, we are from UK, we came to Paris in a tour, now our bus has left us behind."
So I look at Jaspreet, he looks at me. What are we supposed to do? Go find you bus? That would be a funny thing to ask. What else? Money? That would be funnier. That would be like going to a beggar and asking him to give you half of his collection.
So we as them what exactly they want from us. So turns out the problem is, they have lost their tour group. Both their phones are almost dead. They have the contact details of people belonging to the tour on the phones. They cant use pay phones because they only have pounds. So all they wanted to do was make a phone call. But the point of telling you this is that we realised that, though we got robbed, we at least werent the most stupid people in Paris. Nowhere close to being the most stupid people in fact. Anyway we directed them to the mcdonalds where they could make a call and left. With their genius I am sure they found a way to get lost inside the McDonalds.

So next up, Eiffel Tower at night. nothing looks better in the night than the Eiffel Tower. Or so they said. With our luck we went at a time when the entire city was in power saving mode. The French were celebrating South African week. Dunno what South Africa did to get the French to celebrate South African week but thats how it was. And in this honor they had lit up the Eiffel Tower in its ugliest possible colours. Dont believe me? Eiffel tower can not be ugly? It can be when you expect it to look this

And in turn it looks like this

Get my point?

That was enough for the day. We decided that we had taken enough beating for a day and found an Indian restaurant, went in to have food. Only to find that the rates were ridiculous. So we had our free papad. Drank some water. We were informed it was really late and hence no starters would be served. Gave us a perfect excuse. We said we came for the starters only and left.

Enough craziness for a day wouldnt you say?
We found another Indian restaurant, with an eccentric waiter who adressed himself as big boss. Had decent food. Watched as the big boss roamed around his castle hugging and shouting hellos and goodbyes to French people who only came to the Indian restaurant to eat Naan and drink wine and probably for the big boss show.

That was it from day 2.
Stay tuned. Coming up tomorrow day 3. Crazy punk rock freaks, subway shut down, and the bus ride with zombies.

Signing Off,
Buckchod
Lock and Load

P.S. This is the best trip of my life, please do not put off Paris on my behalf. But do make sure to watch out for little girls. At least take a look at their faces. But be careful, you might get sued for child abuse.

A trip to the City of Lights- In power saving mode (Day 1)

For starters, how did I land up in Paris? Naah its no hangover story!

My internship application at Leibniz University of Hannover was accepted. So here I am, working on criminal law at a German university. So hence the Paris trip from Germany. Living in a foreign country can be a pain in the ass. But then I do not know much about it. I am staying with my sister. How convenient, aye? 

Anyway, so the entire Paris trip is with my sister and her flat mate. Yeah, he agreed to accommodate me too. What luck! 

This is where it all goes downhill and hence this is where all the fun begins. Germans are known for their manners and hospitality. No, they are not. The one thing they are known for is efficiency. So if you cant get to the airport in time then they arent going to make 100 other people wait on your behalf and they dont care, if your cat/ dog died and hence the delay. So it was all set up according to time. It can be a little difficult to get ready in time when there are three people and only one washroom in the house. So we have to take slots to get up and get ready. Now I do not know who gets up when, as being a 19 year old has its advantages. You generally get to take the last slot. So our flight was at 1330, hence we decided to take the 1108 tram as it would get us to the airport by 1130 which would be good enough. The only problem was that we didnt make it into the 1108 tram. Reasons are easy to understand, having a girl on-board. Enough said. 

So we had to run all the way to the next tram station where we could get a bus which would take us to the airport. Only once we ran half way did someone bother rechecking what time the flight was. Voila! Turns out the luck has switched. No not for better, for worse. Yeah, the flight was at 1300 not 1330. So the running continues with renewed desperation. So we caught the bus, still made it to the airport in good enough time. Makes you see the whole "check in before a couple of hours" procedure under new light. 

This was the point after all the hurrying and thumping hearts that I finally rested. The journey could only get better. After all I had the emergency exit window! Huge leg-space and in case of emergency I could say choos (which is the German for goodbye) to the rest of them and be on my way. So I was happy. Even the metal detector let me pass, so one more positive! No guy putting his hands on me today! 

We would be staying in an apartment and not hotel. Seems like a popular concept in Europe. You get a much bigger house as compared to the hotels with kitchen and washing machine. Great! The only problem was we would be getting it only at 7. And we were there by 3. So four hours of Paris on foot with luggage. 

Now for people who thought Bangalore airport was far from the city, well Paris airport (Charles De Gaulle) is a city in itself. You need to spend 10 Euros to just go from the airport to the city. So things started going downhill again. 30 bucks spent just to get to Paris, where we would be with our luggage for 4 hours, and no place to go to.

But it had to be done, so 30 bucks were spent and we reached Paris. We got down at some station in the centre of Paris. Well guess what! The 10 bucks you just spent cant be of use anymore. You need to spend further 6.60 if you want to travel in the Paris subway. So its 10 bucks just to go from airport to the city. So with great astonishment we decided that it had to be done. There was an information desk cum ticket counter for which the line was huge. So Jaspreet gets the job of standing in the line as we decide to give the auto-ticket counters a go, still trying to find cheaper ways to travel Paris. 

And we go to the ticket counter, try to figure out a way to get the machine running in English when suddenly an Asian guy, about 50-55 comes to us and says, "Can I Helup you?"

No I didnt misspell it. Thats how he said it. So we asked him if the tickets we already purchased were of any good or how and where to get the 1-day tickets from. He told us to go stand in the line and it dawned upon us that he wasnt trying to help/helup us, but wanted to use the machine to get a ticket for himself. So we just left. The French guy standing behind him called us and took us to another machine some half a kilometer away which would give us the info and tickets. We thanked him and walked towards the machine when two men in green jumpsuits came running and right in front of us opened up the machine. Yeah, the machine was being repaired. Just as we were about to use it! Fabulous luck. So we head back, our only hope was Jaspreet had moved forward in the line. And as we make the 500 meter hike back suddenly its the Sri Lankan guy again! He looks at us and speaks angrily, "I told you go stand in that line! You is Asian People! Poeple will try to thieve you! Why you follow that guy!"

I could barely keep myself from laughing so we excused ourselves and went towards the line. Finally the ticket was ours after 20 minutes and 20 Euros. So we now visited the famous Notre Dame. Gargoyles are beautiful or ugly depending upon whether you are a crazy history freak or a realist. But no hunch backs. What a disappointment!

A closer view of the Gargoyles for the literature freaks

Next up was food, one part of life that can not be screwed up. So we went to a falafel place. It makes the biggest falafels in the world. I mean if they make it any bigger.. Well, i would love that! 

Finally it was time to dump the luggage at home. So we pore through the map of Paris Underground and made it to our station. Our building it seems was built before Paris was named Paris. Its that kind of stair case where you put half a foot outside the line and boom the enitre staircase will not exist anymore. The house was decent and we ended the day with a visit to the sacre-coeur. 

Dinner was at a fast food joint named as Quality Burgers with by the company Quick. What Irony. It took us 20 minutes to get our food and all we ordered was a burger and 3 fries. How long can that take! Its a burger, and a few French Fries! The only time I ate French Fires in France and it took 25 minutes, And the only time I ate at a restaurant named Quick! Should have been named Incredibly Slow! 

What was coming the next day is unbelievable as the small blips turned into major craters in out Paris trip. Stay tuned for more as coming up, is "getting thieved", Eiffel Tower, the lost Indians and much more! It just keeps getting better! 

Signing Off 

Buckchod

Lock and Load

P.S. If you do not agree with me, and know of a place that serves bigger falafels then please lemme know where.

A trip to the City of Lights- In power saving mode (Paris- Prologue)

Feels strange to be writing again. It makes me think why I gave up writing in the first place.
Its because writing can become an addiction like reading. It gets into your head. All you want to do is write. Everything else seems so unimportant compared to it. So when I was writing the blog and started writing for the online sports magazine sportskeeda, and also started writing a book the addiction took over. All I wanted to do was write and while that was possible during the holidays; though I also got grief from my father at times, when he would be up at 5 in the morning and I would still be writing. His day had begun, my night was yet to come. But going back to college meant I did not have the freedom. My internship at sportskeeda ended and I completed my book; and suddenly I lost the freedom to write. And that was it. Never written since. While a lot of other factors contributed to not writing, they are not worth mentioning. Its not as if I never picked up the pen, in fact laptop, to write. But that inspiration was lost. Every time I would want to write, all things came rushing back. About how all I wanted to do was write, chuck the law. Writing is so much more fun. But yet stuck at law school. Learning things that are fun but their practical usage so far away that the entire point seems lost.

So what changed? A single phone call to my mom, and the return of the inspiration. First the phone call to my mom. Well that happened right between exams. It was a few hours before the Trust Equity and Fiduciary Relationship paper. I hadnt touched my book nor slides. I only had 4 hours. Still no luck trying to study. My room mate entered and looked at me. I was sitting in front of my laptop looking at internship opportunities in sports journals or newspapers. This was in the month of April and i was looking for November December interns. He looked at me and said What in the name of Fuck are you doing! Well i had had a moment of realization. I was looking at the trust equity slides and it came to me, what am I doing? This is not what I want to do right now. Yes studying Constitution and Adminstrative law and Criminal Procedure code is fun. But trust equity and faloola faloola is not my idea of fun and future.

So i snapped out of the desperation, and called my mom. So she picks it up, I say Hi.. and bam! She knows somethings bothering me. How do they do it.. Anyway I am not complaining. Works for me. So I take the trouble of explaining all that I am going through, how I dont know what to do. While I love being a student of law, yet its writing that I enjoy the most. Letting my creativity run wild.. And after all that explanation, she tells me, What the hell are you talking about? You are in law school, so study law. Especially since you like studying it. And write when you have time. You say its fun, so I am willing take your word for it. Thinking about 3 years in the future? When was the last time you had any idea what you were going to do in the next hour?

And that was it. It was the end of the rut. So simple yet only could come through my mom, no one else.
So I finally told myself, you have been pushing studying trust and blah for a day and half now. Scoring 30 in the internals means you still need 10 more marks to pass the over all subject. While 10 out of 50 is no big deal, it will be if you go without looking at the subject. I have always been a person who studies naturally well when my ass is on fire. So I told my ass theres only a couple of hours left and if you dont catch fire soon I would fail this subject. So finally catch fire, it did. And the exam was done.

I knew now how to write. I would write to have fun. If that sounds nerdy then you are in for a surprise. So there was only one thing missing. The fire of inspiration that had burned down to desperation. All I needed was a spark. But instead of the spark the enitre forest fire caught me. And it was provided by the city of lights. Thats, Paris for people who think I am referring to Indian city of lights, Varanasi. Why it was in power saving mode, i shall explain soon enough in the next post. So stay tuned.

This was so much fun!
Signing Off,
Buckchod
Lock and Load