Category: Places

Posted in Places, Review, Travel

Virgin Trains to Manchester and Liverpool

Posted on by arlanadya

During our 7 days in London, another two cities were added in itinerary. Liverpool was there from the very beginning, while Manchester was added in the last minutes, thanks to Virgin Trains.

I had been eyeing  train tickets to Liverpool since London tickets were bought. It costed around £ 100 for three persons return for 2 hours journey. For me, it was quite expensive. I proposed to the doctor for him to go alone, so he could enjoy his trip to the sacred place. He refused.

During the searching, the price once went up above £ 100 and I couldn’t help regretting my hesitation. But then, I decided to keep waiting. 

In the mean time, going to Manchester idea was popped up. My father seemed very keen of such idea. Another research had been done and it was even more expensive than Liverpool tickets.

My mother taught us one of the most important skills that we should have in life : ability to wait. If things don’t go your way, wait. Try harder, search better, pray louder. Waiting has been saving me from lots of harms in my life. It did once again about buying these tickets.

While the departure date was getting closer, none of those tickets had been bought. One morning, I checked once again the price then I saw the advertisement. 

Virgin Trains celebrated its 20th birthday and they were giving extremely cheap tickets promo for many destinations in UK. London-Birmingham was as cheap as £4 one way, and bien sur, £8 return. CRAZILY CHEAP.

When I checked the price for Manchester and Liverpool, I couldn’t be more happier than that time. An normal price for an adult London-Manchester return costs around £ 30-40 something. With this promo tickets from Virgin Trains, I paid, …wait for it…

£ 90 only!!!

For 4 ADULTS and 1 CHILDREN!!!





Less than £ 100 for five persons. We stayed one night in Manchester for the sake of old memories. Having longer time to recall the good memories from the past absolutely needed.
How about Liverpool?

For this city, the promo wasn’t as extraordinary as Manchester, but still very much cheaper than those numbers I had been eyeing for some time. For Liverpool tickets, we got £ 79.50 for 3 persons. 

The best thing and also the worse thing from these western countries, they are so punctual until the very last minute. The trains to Manchester departed at 13.00 and we were almost losing it. We ended up running from the bus stop until the platform to make it on time. We boarded the train at 12.54, the door closed two minutes before the schedule. Exactly at 13.00, the trains were moving. So did the trains to Liverpool at 7.07. Exactly at 7 minutes past seven, the trains were moving.

As expected, the trains were clean, spacious, and not full, so we could move to several empty seats to have window seats. The view along the journey was very beautiful. England suburban with huge farm, brick house, animals farm, spring flower, such an eye candy. We really enjoyed the journey.

Thank you for the kindness, Virgin Trains!

Dream catcher
Window view
Little house on the prairie
Posted in Places, Travel

Hello From London

Posted on by arlanadya

Unlike last Autumn in Paris trip which I updated very often, a lot, and almost daily, this Spring in London is quite different. We have quiet tight schedule. Seven days to three cities in England, more people to be taken care of, more preparations to do.

We arrived safely and tiringly last Monday after three flights and two transits. It was surely exhausting, but alhamdulillah, everything went well. Even the baby had been less crankier than the last trip.

We checked in to our Air BnB and it was as good as the picture shown us. The house is clean, not that big, very suitable for four person. We also did the Manchester one day trip on Tuesday, stayed for a night and returned to London yesterday. More stories about Manchester trip in a separate post.

Me and my husband have been agreed to one thing : London is less than Paris in almost everything. The architecture, the ambiance, the shops, the park, playground, etc. When Paris is well described as beautiful, London is more stiff and old. But, for their buses, London has better ones than Paris.

One of the most annoying thing about this thing : the weather. Really, I don’t expect spring could be this cold. It’s about 2-5 celcius degrees in the morning. The hands are freezing. And as usual, my lips, hands are all in the terrible condition. Autumn in Paris welcomed us better than Spring in London.

I am currently writing from the trains to catch another dream. Whose dream? Which one?

Another story will come up later too.
Then, have a good day!

The famous double decker on London Bridge
The Eye of London and blue sky. Don’t forget the freezing weather.
Posted in Life happens, Places, Thoughts, Travel

Second Ilana Tan’s Trip : (Freezing) Spring in London

Posted on by arlanadya

I seem forgetting about traveling-with-baby mess quickly. Remembered how I consciously wrote few months ago said that I wouldn’t have the courage to do another long haul flight(s) with the baby until certain limit of time.

Then, voila.

Tickets issued just two months after the oath. Even crazier, with longer flights. I must have been insane.

This is not on my bucket list. I have been there twenty years ago and have no intention to go back again, unless something really forced me to or something made me have to or someone asked me desperately, free of charge. Then, count me in.

So, this trip is actually not about me, but more about other members of the trip.

The last Paris trip was very memorable till I had little regret that my father didn’t join us. We offered of course, but he refused. I enjoyed it a lot and often thought about him a lot when I was there.

My brother is currently pursuing his master degree in UCL. After lots of scholarships hunting, for two years, he finally made it. So, after went back home, I urged my father to go and visit my brother in this city.
He surely refused and said what he should do there alone. I was jokingly said I could be his companion if all expense would be on him. He frowned😃.

Nevertheless, I kept searching the cheapest ticket possible. Continously, daily, on every airlines possible. I was checking certain websites regularly.

I always checked the price for three adults and one child. Why? Because my father wasn’t interested in traveling alone, while I also couldn’t go alone. I had to bring this little baby and the consequence, another adult had to go with me too. Who else other than the baby’s father?

It is surely so tempting for a hard core liverpudlian like him when Anfield is just few hours by train from there. So, these four unseparated and tangled people should travel together, for their own reasons and motive.

It started with ticket hunting of course and it was such a painful thing to do. It was really heart-breaking seeing the price they offered for our travel squad. The Paris trip expenses all together equals to tickets cost to this city only. That was too cruel.

But, it didn’t stop me. I kept searching daily and religiously. One day, in a fine morning after subuh, I tried MAS website and had a light heart attack watching the price they offered for 3 adults and 1 child. They offered half price from others than I regularly checked.

I had checked MAS before continously since it was one of the most possible alternatives and the offer had never been that shocking. Slightly cheaper than other yes, but with less advantages, such as less agreeable schedules.

I told my father about this price but I didn’t receive a proper response from him. It was surely quite a lot of money, but it was also a very good deal, if the price was the only thing we considered important.

I checked the price day by day until it’s really gone and left me with something. What’s that?

Regret.

It turned out that the regret of not bravely taking the offer was bigger than I thought. I kept thinking about that day and night. I also conveyed this to my father. As a result, it caused more tense ticket hunting than before. My leisure time mostly spent on those airlines websites, every single day.

I had certain preferences. After flying with TK twice and considered its service was just okay, I prefered other middle east airlines. It’s either QR, EK, or SV would be fine. I flew once with EK to Manchester and really impressed until I still could remember it even after twenty years later.

But then, all those three prices were totally out of reach. No matter how many times I checked their websites, it hadn’t changed much.

During the interval of my search, I found two which had promo at that time : GA and THA. It was pretty similar to MAS promo, few millions more expensive, but still within reach. The MAS promo price became my anchor price.

Fortunately, both GA and THA were not that convincing for me. GA might be good for domestic flight but I didn’t trust them enough for international flights. Seen quite a lot of complaints related to lost/missing baggages. That was one. Another one, their schedule were not comfortable, especially when you travel with a baby and a parent. Thirteen hours straight return flight sounds scary. THA was once being considered. But, after reading some reviews, it wasn’t that recommended.

So, I let both go. This time, without any regrets.

I had tried every airlines possible. Literally EVERY AIRLINES. Name it, I had tried it. No result. Even some of them had very irrational numbers.

Then, I forgot when, an idea came. Instead of departing from Jakarta, I chose Kuala Lumpur. Turned out KUL flight offered a very very reasonable price. Almost every middle east airlines offered almost half of the price that they did in CGK flight. Of course the price was displayed in MYR, but it was truly agreeable.

I didn’t tell my father in an instant. I kept doing my research and continous checking daily. Since it was from KUL, so I also had to find flight from CGK-KUL as well. It became more and more researches.

I kept QR and EK in my list. Both had similar price and schedule. It was uncountable how many times I counted the total price of both offers. Reading as many as reviews that I could, comparing those two. I also did sounding this to my father.

Finally, in a Friday morning, I checked both websites once again and felt this should be executed as soon as possible if I didn’t want to keep searching without result.
I told my father before he went for Friday prayer. Told him to execute this.

I guessed the regret wasn’t only on me when I let previous MAS shocking offer go. My father seemed regret about it too. Maybe not much, but he surely had it. When I mentioned the KUL flight offer on that Friday, without too much hesitation, he said yes.

Even after he said yes, I didn’t book it directly but doing more and more reading and comparisons between QR and EK. I also added CGK-KUL flights cost.

The total amount of CGK-KUL-LHR return flights for three adults and a child was very very agreeable. We had of course longer trip and more transit than direct flight from CGK. But, with such millions rupiahs differences, which could be used for other expenses, I guessed (and desperately hoped) it was really worth it. More, it would be those two best middle east airlines we would fly with. There would be no hope if I decided to wait until their price went down for direct flight from CGK.

So, with many times of repeated bismillah, the deals were made. It was scarier than clicking the Paris tickets since I did it with my father’s expense.

We came to an agreement that tickets would be on him while me and le husband would be on transport and Airbnb. The rest we go dutch.

Done with tickets, another hectic thing to do came : visa. It turned out the visa is a lot more headache than Schengen. About the visa, flights and Airbnb, each separate post will do.

Hopefully we will have a good journey this time. I have one ultimate wish for this trip : I would be very happy as long as my father enjoys this trip.

It turns out that this trip also becomes my second Ilana Tan’s tetralogy trip after Autumn in Paris last October.

Which one is that?

To Spring in London we go!

A whisper heard from a far, “keep calm, mum. Lower your expectations. Done? Have it a bit lower again, please. Enjoy your trip”.

Sincerely,

A-won’t-stop-moving-toddler bunny.

Bismillah, 24 hours trip to the west we go!

Posted in Places, Travel

Moving On Is Hard

Posted on by arlanadya
Maubert Mutualité metro station. The nearest one from the apartment
Jardin des Tuilleries
Pont des Arts

A month passed and still can’t get over the dream trip. Couldn’t help posting unposted pictures of this beautiful city until now. Every corner gives the highest pleasure for your eyes, which will be forever saved in your heart.

You will never get bored in and of Paris.
Ever, I guess.

Posted in Places, Thoughts, Travel

7 Days in Paris (With A Toddler)

Posted on by arlanadya

It’s been quite some times this one is saved on the draft. It is not a typical clean, straight, and easy to read itinerary. Too wordy. This one is for me to remember.
Why do I put the words on the bracket? Because, the places we chose to visit, when and where also  halfly decided according to the baby. We decided to visit some places in the last minutes.

We started wandering from the very first day we set the foot in Paris. We went out twice a day daily. The morning trip was for main attractions while the afternoon one for the ones within walking distance from our appartment, or just short trip by bus. 

We had a break during morning and afternoon, resting and lazing around while doing photos posting and also prayed once our jama qashar time had expired on the third day. 

We went out around 8.30-9.00 until 13.00 – 14.00, had a break until ashar around 16.00-16.30, then continued wandering until maghrib, around 18.00-18.30. During our stay, daylight saving time, the changing time from autumn to winter happened, so the pray time also became an hour earlier, so was our afternoon trip. 

(Half) Day 1 – afternoon trip only

11.30 : arrived at Charles de Gaulle. 14.00 : check-in, cleaning,resting. 15.30 : first wander around neighbourhood and happened to arrive at Sorbonne University. Then, we stopped by at Franprix for small groceries.

Day 2

Morning trip

9.15 : Monge Mutualité bus stop to Eiffel Tower.

We spent time around park Champ de Mars, the yard in front of Eiffel Tower taking pictures, then crossing the street and found a carousel near Pont d’Iena. Played with Langit for one round, then climbed up to Trocadero.

We proceeded to the unfamous Rue Clér where le husband wanted to see a pop up market and ended up resting in one of the cafe enjoying baguette and hot tea.

14.00 : Back to appartment

Afternoon trip

16.30 : heading to Pantheon by walk. It was close to closing time and our intention was to buy Museum Pass for visiting Louvre and Versailles on the next following days.

Museum Pass is available in almost all museums and main attractions. It is available based on the days validity, either 2 days, 4 days, or 6 days. We only bought for two days. Honestly, I halfly regreted it. 96 euros for two persons couldn’t be used effectively. I prefered use the rest of it for more food or anything else. Never mind, anyway.

From Pantheon, we were heading home and accidentally found a small book store in a smal alley where we stopped for a while. I found some interesting children pop up books. I adore pop up books and ended up went home with three of them.

We then wandered along Boulevard Saint Germain. Watching people, taking pictures, enjoying the lively Latin Quarter. I am not into crowd, but really, I love Latin Quarter. It was crowdy in a pleasant way, for me. Listening the noise of people talking French, I love that sound!


Day 3

Morning trip

8.45 : Heading to Jardin Tuilleries and Musée du Louvre

We took a breath and wandered aroun Jardin Tuilleries for  a while. Rows of autumn trees with morning sunlight were so amazing. It was quite cold and we had a smokey breath.

We arrived at Louvre and luckily skipped the long line. Not because of we had Museum Pass with us but the baby. We went straight to the middle door while having the people stared at us.

Enjoying Louvre for only two sections. Middle age and Islamic Art. I have never been into any art or museums actually. But, Louvre has quite stunning collections. We also saw the reverse triangle before heading to Printemps.

Done with Louvre, we went out and had a lunch nearby. Then, we crossed the street and waited for the bus to Notre Dame. It took quite a while until the bus came, so Langit and I enjoyed playing on the bridge while watching ferries passed by The Seine. I don’t know why, I love watching Seine. Just stood up and watched felt pretty soothing.

13.00 : Notre Dame

We lined up for this one, but of course the line wasn’t as long as Louvre. Surprisingly, there was no entrance ticket checking although we had the Museum Pass with us. 

In Notre Dame, we were just having a round tour. Since I am not going to church, so I didn’t find any particular interest for it. Beside, it was pretty dark inside, so we hadn’t be able to see and actually understand well what had been shown there.

After Notre Dame, we went home by walk.

Afternoon trip

16.30 : Jardin du Luxembourg

The second Jardin for today. Jardin du Luxembourg is a large and beautiful one. Langit enjoyed playing, running, chasing bird, and she was so eager to jump to the pond where some ducks were enjoying their afternoon. We stayed there until the gate almost closed at 18.00. 



Day 4

Morning trip

8.10 : heading to Chateau de Versailles.

It was Saturday morning and we had planned in advance to go north west to Versailles. Versailles is located outside Paris and we needed to take RER C train to get there. We catched the 8.30 bus from Clunny La Sorbonne metro station.

RER train is above my expectation. I thought it is just like KLIA express. But, it turned out bigger and more spacious. It is a double decker train. For departing trip, we chose the below seats while chosed the upper ones for return. The train was quite empty. The fare is slightly higher than metro. For return tickets, we paid 14 euros for 2 persons.

Versailles is one that I was really eager to visit. I read a lot about it, had it pictured in my head about how beautiful it is. Many forums said although the line would be quite long, it would be worth the time doing it. So, I was so full of hope.

Sadly, it was only one third came true. On that Saturday, it was pretty full. The line was quite tolerable, but not the tourists. Specifically, those pretty loud, annoying large group of tourists from China. There were a lot of them, liked taking selfies in almost every pictures, and really, so unpleasant. I skipped rooms where I saw a bunch of them inside. We went around to the King’s room and the main palace. It was surely beautiful. We skipped the park since the museum pass didn’t include the park. Another 9 euro per person is needed to enter the park. Thank you, 18 euros can be saved for a good lunch.

It was colder in Versailles than Paris. So, we finished the main palace, rested for a moment in one of the benches while sipping hot chocolate and sandwich we brought, then went back to metro station for another RER train riding to Paris.

10.30 : back from Versailles and heading to Centre Pompidou
This one was my husband’s idea knowing our museum pass would be expired this day. I was quite against it since I knew that none of us were really into art, let alone modern art. When we saw the queue, I was getting more uninterested. So, we canceled and just wandered around the area while searching places for lunch. We ended up having an outdoor lunch on.

13.00 : Back to the apartment

Afternoon Trip

16.30 : Shakespeare Company and street musician watching around Notre Dame.

Shakespeare Company had been one of a must visit for me and le husband for a different reason. I am Before trilogy shipper and this book store is the place where Jesse and Celine meet again in Before Sunset. While le husband’s reason is the book store is where Hemingway published his first book.

The book store is very small. There was a short queue in front of its door because the number people inside is being limited. We didn’t line up. Next to the book store, it has the cafe. We planned to sit and enjoy some coffee, but it was full.

So, we walked nearby and decided to enjoy the almost evening in one of the bridge with Notre Dame view, watching street musician, sitting on the bench,eating chocolate, and enjoying the sunny autumn breeze. 

Doing merely those simple things, in a place I have been longing for long time, made my heart so full.

18.00 : stopped by at Mason George Larnicol Macarons.

On the way home, we stopped by to buy our first macarons in Paris. We once wanted to buy Ladurée in Versailles. But, it was too expensive and we couldn’t buy it for one or two pieces. We had to buy a pack of eight for 16 euros. Olala, c’etait trop chér pour nous. Two euros for a small macaron, I’d rather go for two pieces of small croissants.

When we passed George Larnicol, it was quite full and the writing on the glass wal said we could buy one or two and it costed only 0,7 euro per piece. Ouiiii, trés bon!! I ended up buying eight and paid 5,6 euros for them. One third from Ladurèe’s. The best part was, they were all good. All flavors were really good. Coffee, chocolate, lemon, and strawberry. 

The baby was sleeping when we bought it, then woke up found her parents were munching something and left her behind. We planned to divide the macarons four for each of us. In fact, I ate two, while le husband and the daughter ate three.

Day 5

Morning trip

08.30 : Heading to Pére Lachaise Cemetry then proceed to Bastille.

Here is where some famous ones like Chopin, Jim Morisson were buried. It is a very large area of cemetry. The ambience was far from creepy and somehow, peaceful. The sound of bird chirping, the sunny autumn breeze were perfect. We took turn to go to certain tomb we would like to visit since the road was not suitable for stroller. The baby was sleeping. I paid my respect to Chopin while le husband paid to both Chopin and Jim Morisson.

Done with the deads, we had a very looonggggg walk to Bastille. It was Sunday, the bus was quite rare. So, le husband suggested that we better took a walk instead of waiting for the bus. What he didn’t tell me it would be a very long and far. I had my face changed from smiley to wrinkled and grumpy. I love walking in Paris. It has no sweat, make us warm, and enjoying the scenery by our own pace. No rush.

BUT, not that far. More, le husband just wanted to see a market. A Sunday market. While I was so impatient to go to… Champ Éllysées.

We didn’t stay for long in Bastille. Bought a croissant and macarons there and the baby rode on a carousel which a failed one. She cried hard once it was running. Surprised because she was there alone, without me or her dad. 

11.30 : Heading to Champ Éllysées

It was one of the rare chance if metro riding. It took no line changing from Bastille to Champ Éllysées and quite a lot stops. So, it was worth the hassle climbing up and down the stairs carrying a stroller and a baby.

We arrived at the world most famous shopping avenue and got into a Disney Store to meet my sister’s request. Champ Éllyesées is such an eye candy. Famous brands are on the left and right side. The scent is surely different. But, guess it wasn’t my happy place. Too crowd and stuffy. 

We had a lunch at Brioche Dorée after couldn’t stand the queue at McDonald. Honestly, I wasn’t good to have my precious euros spent on McD. Glad we found Brioche Dorée and very very satisfied with everything that we eat. Tuna sandwich,  Pizza Poulet Curry, a croissant, and hot chocolate. 

We walked along Champ Éllysées until we saw the grandeuse Arc de Triomph, another Paris iconic monument. It was a clear blue sky when we took some pictures of it while waiting for the bus to back home.

That day also daylight saving time happened. The hour becomes an hour late as the result of season transition from autumn to winter. It changes the prayer time too. We rushed to go home thinking zuhur time was almost up. It turned out my watch still showed the old one.

Afternoon Trip

16.15 : Monoprix second visit and shoes searching.

We spent the afternoon trip by walking along Boulevard Saint Germain looking for shoes, for me and some affordable things for the family. We stopped by at Monoprix to buy some food. Entered few shoes store but ended up with nothing. I always buy when it only suits me in everything. Other than that, I skip it.

Day 6

Morning trip

08.30 : Grande Mosquée de Paris and Jardin des Plantes

The mosque is one of our must visit.     It is located in a quiet neighbourhood in 6th arrondisement. When we visited there, we were the only visitor. We did two rakaat prayer there.

Done with the mosque, Jardin des Plantes is only in another turn. I really envy these Parisiens for having lots of beautiful Jardin around their city. Jardin des Plantes, though is not as beautiful as Luxembourg and Tuileries, still, enjoyable.  A group of oldies was doing a light exercise there. We strolled around slowly and stopped by the bench, sipping our hot chocolate.

10.00 :  Heading to Rue de Commerce

We decided to visit Rue de Commerce in an instant, knowing the nearest metro stasion is the line that took us directly to Rue de Commerce. Such a good coincidence.

Rue de Commerce is located in 15th arrondissement where many small shops are available, which these were more suitable for us than Champ Éllysées. We strolled from one corner to the other, entered almost every shoes stores in the right and left side. Finally, le husband went home with a pair of black suede ankle boots and I brought a man’s leather sling bag for my father with a very decent price with such good quality. My shoes were still not available there.

Afternoon Trip

We didn’t go to any particular places this afternoon. We decided to sit and relax enjoying a crepe in one of an outdoor cafe nearby. Living as Parisiens felt so good.

Day 7

Morning Trip

08.30 : Heading to Galeries Lafayette and Opera

We previously wanted to see Montparnasse Tower. But, after some discussions, we decided to visit Galeries Lafayette and Opera. Galeries Lafayette is a large Department Store located in 9 arrondissement. It wasn’t opened when we arrive there and it was quite unbelievable that people were queuing in EACH of its entrance waiting for the door to be opened. Most of them were Chinese mainland tourists. It was so packed.

I decided to cross the street and looked for the shoes in a less crowded store. Then, after days of searching, it was over. I found mine on the strees across Galeries Lafayette. Done with my shoes, we still went inside the department store to look what it is like.

The famous expensive brands were all there. Another queue happened in the famous Louis Vitton store. It was enjoyable sight seeing, watching people patiently lined up just to buy things with the famous brand. No, it’s not cynical at all. For me, it was something pleasant to see since I guess I would never do such thing even if I had the ability to buy it one day. But then, who knows?;)

We decided to have lunch at the restaurant next to our apartment for our last lunch in Paris. This restaurant was almost always full whenever we passed by. We had a very delicious Chicken Basque with a very big portion there.

Afternoon trip

I had a solo walk for the afternoon trip to the souvenirs shops near Notre Dame while the baby and le husband were spending time in the park nearby. I followed them to the park when I was done. 

Walking alone on the last evening in this beautiful city felt quite sentimental. It had been a very great pleasure to be there. Staying in one of the most lively yet less touristy boulevard, in a nice small apartment that we loved so much, were beyond what we expected to have. 

When others say Parisiens are not friendly, we had been met with those friendly ones. Wherever we went, whatever we asked, we had met the nice ones. Really.

I wonder if my mum could see how happy I had been for those past 7 days from up there. My heart felt like bursting out of happiness.

Those twenty something years of waiting to set my foot in this city was truly paid off beyond my best expectation.

After all, dreams are meant to be executed. The feeling of having all three big dreams executed very well is incredible.

I think I can live and survive any hardships in the future by remembering these great journeys for the rest of my life.

Master degree abroad 2012 : checked.

Hajj 2012 : checked.

Paris 2016 : checked.

​

“And  when you have a dream, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting”.

Paulo Coelheo, The Alchemist.

Thank you for your great conspirations, Universe.

Posted in Places, Review, Travel

Turkish Airlines with A Toddler

Posted on by arlanadya

The first intention is about writing a (good) review. However, since the service was not satisfying enough, so it will be just another story. More or less, it could be a review as well.

This trip was a bulk of reading one. The top three were about Visa, Air BnB, and … flying with a toddler. It scared me a lot whenever I thought about this bunny would spent eleven hours straight plus another four hours one being trapped up in the sky, without a proper bed.

We have never been anywhere outside Jakarta for a long period before. Being in a car for hours, I didn’t have any experiences with that. So, this trip was just like one big jump to the ocean without any proper training. So, all I could do was learnt the theories as much as I could.

Departure Flights

It was … disaster. A crazy like hell one. Ah, no, they were disasters. Both Jakarta-Istanbul Istanbul-Paris were pretty nightmare. Judging from the transit, it’s easy to guess which airline I flew with.

On the first flight, there were several babies on board. It was quite soothing. It took of on-time and for the first few minutes, it was okay. We got the bulk head seats, with configuration of 2-4-2. We got the two on the left. We had booked a bassinet, just in case, although the baby had exceeded the maximum height. We didn’t use it at all.

The baby was really restless although she was still sleeping. She cried with her eyes closed, then stopped, slept quietly, and then, it repeated again. We had been taking turn to soothe her. I breastfed her until I felt so exhausted.

While in the other hand, another problem of mine whenever flying, my skin around the mouth was irritated. It was so painful. I kept asking for water continously.

We tried any possible ways to soothe her, even by letting her slept on the plane floor since at home she always do that before we moved her to the bed. But, almost none worked. When she finally really woke up, it was quite better. At least, we could distract her to any other entertainments.

We watched some in-flight entertainments, not for long, we read books, magazines, singing, and of course, lots of breastfeeding session. At times, she was whining again and again. As far as I remembered, she didn’t sleep again until we arrived at Istanbul.

We were so relieved when the plane finally landed. We only had two hours before our connecting flight to Paris. It turned out two hours wasn’t that long. We went to the food court first. Burger King and orange juice were chosen to charge the body. We were heading to the gate right after that. When it was time to fly, I prayed so much it would end sooner.

It turned out that my pray wasn’t hard enough. The second flight was even a bigger torture for three of us. We flew with smaller plane which had 3-3 seat configurations, we didn’t get the front row ones, but the second, almost no space to move easily. Meal time was even more disastrous since we had to open the table with such small space while having a baby on our lap.

Above those all, the baby kept being so cranky and cried outloud. Worse, no other baby was on the plane. Another worse thing, we were stuck inside the plane before take off for almost more than an hour. I really wanted to cry so much and cursed this damn big bird for trapping us inside that long.

In my calculation, it would be only three hours flight since the schedule of arriving in Paris at 9.30. I really forgot about time differences between Istanbul and Paris where Paris was two hours behind Istanbul. So, it was actually five hours flight. Trust me, another two hours could have felt like the longest time of your life.

We were provided by two jars of baby food this time. The fruity one was safely landed in the baby’s tummy happily. We almost hadn’t had any sleep for another five hours. Just another shift taking turn to soothe and play with the baby. She wasn’t continously being cranky, there were sone intervals. Whenever the cry was on, those passenger eyes were fixed upon us and made us suffering more.

I couldn’t describe how grateful I was when we finally landed at Charles de Gaulle. Went through immigration and baggage pick up smoothly and safely, then finally sat in the comfortable taxi seat.

Watching the autumn scenery for the first time along the taxi riding, made me almost forget what I had just been going through for hours. We really survived first two long haul flights (disasters) and it was such achievements to be proud of.

Return Flights

Right after we settled in our apartment, we cleaned ourselves, took a bath, prayed, then did our first strolled around the neighbourhood. We did some groceries for tomorrow breakfast and bought the t-tickets for bus and metro. When we went around, I almost totally forgot and forgave everything that happened in those two flights. Things I saw by my own eyes might deserve such pain beforehand.

Fot the return flights, we chose evening flight from Paris which departed at 18.35 and it turned out a bit delayed. We learned better than the departure. We reduced our cabin carry, put the stroller to baggage, we brought spare food, chocolate, and snacks. Food was one of my baby’s soother. Food that she could eat by herself. Unlike the departure flight, I left rice behind. I brought indian curry chicken sandwich, cheese stick, small portion of rice, grapes which the baby loved a lot, almond chocolate, and cheese sticks.

When we took off, the baby was already quite sleepy. Thankfully, this time the plane was a big one with 3-3-3 seats configurations and it was quite empty. So the man next to us moved to the back where he enjoyed all three seats for himself.

When meal was distributed, the baby joined us. I didn’t know what happened, not for long after meal, she slept restlessly again and this time she felt somehow itchy because she kept rubbing her body. Some red spots were there and finally I agreed to let the husband gave the allergic medecine.

It wasa very right decision. Thanks to that, we all three had a quite good rest and sleep for some times. Until we arrived at Istanbul, the baby was still sleeping. We waited at one of the empty boarding room, where few people also had some rest. We put the baby on the chair where she could sleep as comfortable as we could afford. Until we took off again for Istanbul Jakarta flight, she was still asleep.

Didn’t really remember when she woke up. Since she had quite enough sleep, she woke up with a good mood. She ate the baby food, watched Secret Life of Pets almost a whole of it, playing here and there, snacking several times, and babling slash singing sometimes. We also changed her diaper.

The eleven hours return flight was much more bearable than the departure. The only dissapointing thing was about the interval of the meal. We were given a meal right after take off, then hot drink of ur own choices, and almond nut plus mineral water for snack. Then, it was actually sleeping time.

The sleeping time felt quite long for me and really made me hungry. When others starting to wake up, they looked quite anxious too and seemed looking if the food cart would come in short time. Le husband even proposed that we just bought it if they still didn’t give us any.

When we finally asked the FA, he said it will be given one and half an hour later. It was almost landing time and we had been starving for almost seven to eight hours. Sigh.

The baby also showed sign of hunger several times. But she still played happily. When finally the food came, they said it was breakfast and the main course was just scrambled egg. Second big sigh.

We safely arrived at Jakarta as scheduled happily, yet so tiredly.
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If I compared my readings than the actual practice, toys didn’t really give much help but just a mess for me. Video songs and games were quite helpful. But, food was the most helpful ones. The baby enjoyed food a lot, so whether during the stay in Paris and during the flight, food really calmed her.

Survived those four departure and return flights were really something for me. While we’re still dealing with the jetlag until today, I have been thinking when I will be ready again to have another experience flying with a bigger baby.

Of course not within the short time. Let’s work hard once more until the next adventure.

Ah, flying with the one that we chose was not really recommended for long haul flights. Average food, average services, not much baby friendly. Teddy bear was given once and that was it. The FAs were not that charming too. In-flight entertainment was also not extraordinary.

Before I bought the tickets, I did make comparisons to other similar airlines. But yeah, money talked. To the closest price compared to this, the difference was about more than four millions, too much to be ignored for me. We could use those four millions for something else.

So, if the budget didn’t really strict, go with Emirates or Qatar. People said Etihad is quite good too.

But, whatever I had experienced, it was the one who brought me to my dream place in the end. Couldn’t be more grateful than that.

Thank you for having and sending me, guys. Improve your service better in the future!

Posted in Places, Travel

Paris Trip Facts

Posted on by arlanadya

Writing this from home and couldn’t be happier after surviving two long haul flights and two medium ones with a toddler. 

While the mood is still here, would like to write some facts about Paris that I experienced. When we talk about facts, it can’t be helped to talk about it by numbers. So, enjoy calculating a bit.

1. The taxi fare from and to Charles de Gaulle airport is fixed.

I love this one about Paris. No worries of fare watching during your trip with a taxi to and from the airport. When you stay in the right bank, it is 50 euro, while left bank 55 euro. You can give one or two euros for tips.

Expensive? For those who travel by group, it’s surely cheap.

When you go by bus and carrying large luggages, it’s around 11 or 17 euro per person. Then, from the bus stop in city centre, you either have to take a metro or bus, or taxi to reach your hotel or apartment. 

When you choose a RER train, it costs very cheap, around 2 euro, but have yourself covered in sweat because you need to go underground by stairs.

Metro and bus have the same fare, it is 1,90 euro while taxi fare starts from 2,60 euro. Don’t forget about dragging your luggages here and there, climbing up and down the stairs. It’s another intangible cost.

2. Buying t-tickets for your transport saves a lot than having a pass. Paris Pass is quite pricey and overpriced, for me. Glad we didn’t buy it and bought t-tickets instead.

We bought two bundles of two t-tickets at first (each bundle has 10 t-tickets). It can be used for metro and bus for the trip around Paris (1-20 arrondossement). Bus ticket can be bought inside the bus with different fare. With t-ticket you pay  1,90 while direct purchase is 2,00 euro.

For seven days going around Paris, we spent buying 4 bundles of t-tickets. One bundle costs 14,10. So, total of four is (only) 56, 40 euro (two adults).

Compared if you buy Paris Visite Pass : for five days pass, covering zone 1-5, it costs 63,50 per adults.

So, don’t bother buying it. Use the money for enjoying any other things about Paris. Like buying the nice macarons, croissants,  or a pair of french made shoes.

3. Big croissants cost around 1,2-1,7 euro while the small ones cost around 0,50- 0,60 euro. I’d rather go to the big one.

4. Paris two last numbers of zip code show the arrondissement. 75001 means it is in the 1st, 75017 means it is the 17th arrondissement.

5.  Seen lots of electric car while they were being charged and hadn’t seen any singles gas station during the stay. Don’t know why.

Charging the car, like a phone.
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6. You will always being greeted and better to say ‘Bonjour’ almost everywhere. Bus, store, cafe, office, attraction places, just everywhere. While saying ‘ Au Revoir’ is only when you have the chance while parting.

7. Everyone has their own way to enjoy the trip. Since we enjoy food a lot, most of our euros go to good food. In fact, after calculating the expenses, 65 percent of them go to restaurants and… Monoprix. Champ Éllysées and Galeries Lafayette didn’t tempted us. Monoprix food section did a lot.

8. I don’t know about others’ experiences, but I really have a very good experience with Parisiens. The officers, the taxi and bus drivers, the people. Wearing hijab is totally indifferent. They answer your questions nicely, serve you well at the stores, cafes, and restaurants, helping me to hold the doors, and all those kind little gestures I really love.

Maybe, just maybe, it was because I traveled with a cute little toddler who had been attracting others to play. Or another maybe, was because I spoke the language. Or, if I can just suggest another possibility, it was simply an answer to my pray. 

I always pray one thing whenever I am facing new things, new places, or new people : for me to meet the kind ones. Those who won’t do any harms to me (and my companion). 

When I went for postgrad, I asked to be given a good roommate. I had two, and their kindness were really beyond my expectation. During hajj, I asked to be given the good ones who shared the room with me and my mom. I was given a pair of mother and daughter like me and my mom who were very considerate and kind. Then, Paris… was even more surprising. We’re saved from any pickpockets, scammer, even met too many kind people during the trip.

Well, that is all just my guess about this fact. But, meeting those kind parisiens meant a lot for me.

Still try to remember more, but up to now, that is all.
Bissoux!

Posted in Favorite things, Places, Travel

Last Batch from Paris

Posted on by arlanadya

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Autumn sunshine a chess crossroad
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A full view of National Academie de La Musique
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The famous department store
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A (fake plastic) christmas tree inside Galeries Lafayette
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Leaves are falling, the weather is getting colder, time to go back to the warm place we call home
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Though the steps are going back home, a part of the heart will be left forever here. Taken at Grande Mosquèe de Paris

Automne à Paris, le 26 Octobre de 2 Novembre 2016.

Posted in Langit Senja, Places, Travel

Langit Senja in Paris

Posted on by arlanadya

Celebrating the 23rd month with this view
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A happy face in the park
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Enjoying quiche lorraine at an outdoor cafe
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A big lunch after visiting Louvre

Snacking Maison George Larnicol Macarons
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Morning sleep at Pére Lachaise Cemetry
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Horse riding in the playground
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Look at that big smile and hard laughter! Paris seems doing a very great job
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I believe the first real trip will always stay in one’s heart. So will Paris for this lucky baby. She will definitely come back here one day, Insya Allah.