staying with a friend, bumping into creepy guys, dancing with strangers, breaking the ‘boring unfriendly Parisian’ stereotype, having baguette… it was memorable indeed.
“Why didn’t you wait for a man to take you there?”
Because I love me so I bring me to see what me wish to see. ;P
Back in June 2018, I took a train to Paris from Turin. It was 6 hours and it costed me 78 Euro round trip.
Pro-tip traveling in Europe: It tends to be cheaper if you book your train tickets months earlier. The price fluctuates a lot, just like flight ticket.
I stayed with a friend of mine, Gigi, whom I befriended with when I was on my exchange in Las Vegas. We both went to Palo Verde High School and attended high school prom together. She came from Brazil and she was studying in France. It was very nice to meet her two years after I left the states!
She lived with an old couple, Anne and Ugo in the outskirt of Paris. It took me an hour by train to get to her place from the city centre. She apologized a few times about how she was not staying in the centre and it was inconvenient for me to do the touristy stuff in the city centre.
“Gal, I couldn’t even thank you enough for having me at your place! There is absolutely nothing I could complain about!” I can’t emphasize hard enough about how thankful I was.
In fact, I was rather glad to stay with her in the suburban area. It was very greenish, serene and quiet. I couldn’t even picture it being a part of Paris as Paris was very crowded and jampacked with tourists. It might have been too hectic for me to stay in the city centre.
I spent four days in total in Paris. I had heard many negative things about the Parisians – that they were rude and snobbish. A friend of mine described Paris as a shit-hole place. “Paris is just a tourist trap,” many said. I guess I was lucky, as I did not have any tough situation there. Truth to be told, the people I had met were very patient with me.
On my first day, I walked to 5th avenue, looking for a cheap place to eat. I strolled far down the quiet streets, avoiding the expensive touristic restaurants. I ended up in a small bakery behind a big blue mosque. I thought Italian and French were kind of similar but I was so wrong. Even though I could read Italian menus, I couldn’t understand a French menu at all. The lady was very patient with me and explained everything in English to me. I was rather surprised. From what I heard, “French people hate to speak English, they know the language, but they just pretend like they don’t understand you if you speak English to them.” Hah, great slam on the stereotype. I paid only 5,50 Euros for two pastries and one drink. The pastries tasted very good and I was very much pleased.
I strolled around the city for a little. Here’s a collection of pictures!
On my second day, I walked to a small tiny restaurant around Notre Dame. It was called La Réserve de Quasimodo. I had a set lunch that costed me 17,90 Euro, with a main course, a dessert and a drink. That was the first time I had a glass of ‘pink wine’, a.k.a. rosé. (You have to pronounce it with grace and elegance, like, rooseé.) I loved it! The owner of the place was very hospitable. Before I left the place, she explained the history of the building to me. She taught me a few words in French too. “The French people really appreciate it when you try to speak their language!” She said. “Merci!”, I waved goodbye.
That evening, as I was strolling around the park, an old man stopped me and asked me if I knew which direction he should head to the metro station. He then started to ask me where I came from, and we sat down on a park bench to talk.
“Wow, you are 19 and you are here traveling alone for three months? That is absolutely amazing. If I was your mentor, I would have made you to turn this trip into something – like a project.”
I smiled and said, “well, age is just a number. It was not all amazing though, there were some challenges along the road but yeah I am glad that I am doing this.”
“You know what? I just thought of a perfect title for your project.” He said.
“What?”
“You just said it yourself – It Is Not All Amazing.” He smiled.
“Yeah, maybe I should try doing it.”
And I am, like, right now, writing this.
He got my email but I didn’t hear from him after. I don’t know, but it was rather a nice conversation. However, when I recalled it though, it felt rather weird in some way. He told me that he came from New York and he had been living in Paris for a few years. Logically speaking, he should have known the city fairly well, yet he still stopped me and asked for direction… It did not make any sense to me.
And his name was Chris. I don’t know why I wrote this line, I just felt like I had to.
The next morning, I visited the salad bar Gigi was working at and she introduced me to her colleagues. When her manager knew that I came from Malaysia, she said to me, “apa khabar?” I was very surprised! Turns out, she used to work and live in Kuala Lumpur for 2 years! I couldn’t express how ecstatic I was because nobody had ever spoken Malay to me in more than 2 months!
As I was walking around the cities, I was approached by a few different French men, which sort of backed me off. One of the men approached me and asked me where I came from. “Malaysia,” I said. “Oh wow, Malaysian girls are very beautiful!” He said, and he offered to show me around the area, even though he told me that he was on his way to work. Wait, what? So, he was just going to go off from work and show me around? Wow. Just wow. I politely rejected and walked away.
Another man talked to me when I was taking picture of the Siene river. “Nice view, huh?” He said. And we made short conversations. “I like what you did to your nails,” he said, referring to my manicure. My first instinct was to hold my hand up and look at my nails, as I sort of forgot I had a manicure, and the man literally tried to grab my hand. I put my hand back down quickly and shrugged it off. We did talk for a few minutes as I was trying to be nice. After he realized that I was 19, he backed off. He said goodbye to me and murmured a long sentence in French in my face. “What does that mean?” I asked. “You are very cute but you are too young for me.” He explained. Wow, I was rather offended. Did he really think that he stood a chance? And he had to say it in French at the very beginning when he knew I couldn’t understand French? Dude, I hadn’t even commented on his bald hair. Che cazzo?
Despite these creepy encounters I had, my experience in Paris was not ruined. On my last night there, I went to a park in the 19th avenue hoping to participate in a social dance event I discovered on Couchsurfing. I couldn’t find the exact location, and I decided to sit on the grass and simply enjoy my left-over from lunch.
A group of African girls approached me and smiled at me, “you are very beautiful.” I guess they were being nice and trying to make me feel less lonely in a park full of people.
I walked around the park after having my dinner. I saw this group of African men, gathering together and dancing. I watched them for a long while, deciding if I should join them. I approached them and asked, “are you guys dancers?” They didn’t speak much English and I have zero knowledge in French, so we were having a hard time trying to understand each other. Nevertheless, I joined them to dance, jamming to African music and America Hip Hop music, doing all kinds of street dance moves. One of the guys went to the local dance school and he was very good. It was a wonderful evening!
I got to be honest, I hesitated for a while before I decided to join, partly because I was not sure if it was safe for me to do so. I had only met one or two African friends in the past, (by African, I really meant people born in Africa, not the ethic), and I did feel the fear to approach them. I was glad that I did. It felt like I broke a barrier I had inside my heart.
I took a selfie with them before I left. Honestly, I think that photo is still going to give my grandma a heart attack.
I stayed in the city centre quite late that night, just to witness the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. The view was stunningly breathtaking.
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Q&A:
Is it dangerous to travel alone in Paris?
Yes. Consider the creepy encounter I’ve faced within 4 days in Paris, and how those street vendors were really aggressive, it is not safe to travel alone. You should not use your phone by the door in the metro because it is too convenient for the thieves to ‘grab and go’.
Is it expensive to travel there?
Yes, the touristic places are very expensive. Expect 15 Euros and above for a meal. Hostel bed usually costs at least 35 Euros per night (spring/summer).
Do I recommend it?
YES! Even though it is not too safe and can be pricey, it is still a lovely beautiful place to visit.
The Dancing Wildfire 