Much more beautiful ways when sitting on left if going from Oslo to Bergen via train: particularly beautiful views between Finse and Myrdal.
Tuesday 1 March 2016
Èze: climb hills (towards the fort) rather than go to cactus garden
The title says it all: you will get beautiful views and a lovely, not much difficult hike as bonus if you climb the hills on the other side of the highway at the village of Èze near Nice. There won't be any further need to pay some astronomical price to get into a cactus garden.
That said, the village of St Paul de Vence is a much more charming village, even though also very touristy and rich: it's not a museum, unlike Èze.
That said, the village of St Paul de Vence is a much more charming village, even though also very touristy and rich: it's not a museum, unlike Èze.
Sunday 24 May 2015
Travelling to Orly airport in a cheaper way
Orly bus and shuttle are private affairs: so they cost a lot. Many people, including some Orly airport staff, are unaware that there also exists a public transport option to reach Orly: all at the cost of one or two t+ tickets (one t+ ticket can cost from 1.41 to 2.0 euros, depending on whether you bought it individually or in a carnet or from the driver)! You have to simply take the metro line 7 first till Villejuif Louis Aragon, and then step out of the metro station and take tram line 7 all the way to Orly airport (direction: Athis-Mons; Orly airport is the penultimate stop). You will use one t+ ticket on the metro and another on the tram.
Of course, if you have say a Navigo pass valid for zones 1-2, you will just need to use one t+ ticket, on the tram. Orly airport is in zone 4, so if you have Navigo valid for zones 1-4, then with this option, you don't need to buy any t+ tickets.
Your Navigo is not valid for Orly bus/shuttle services, as they are not managed by SNCF.
Update, Dec. 2015: Some Navigo passes are valid from September 2015 onwards for zones 1-5, so if you hold a Navigo pass, you won't need to buy any t+ ticket to reach Orly, as long as you take the tram.
Update, Feb. 2016: Note that I just realized that Bus 183 from Porte de Choisy (PdC) to the Orly airport is an even better option than the tram with the dezoning of Navigo pass. The bus ride takes an hour from PdC to Orly airport.
Of course, if you have say a Navigo pass valid for zones 1-2, you will just need to use one t+ ticket, on the tram. Orly airport is in zone 4, so if you have Navigo valid for zones 1-4, then with this option, you don't need to buy any t+ tickets.
Your Navigo is not valid for Orly bus/shuttle services, as they are not managed by SNCF.
Update, Dec. 2015: Some Navigo passes are valid from September 2015 onwards for zones 1-5, so if you hold a Navigo pass, you won't need to buy any t+ ticket to reach Orly, as long as you take the tram.
Update, Feb. 2016: Note that I just realized that Bus 183 from Porte de Choisy (PdC) to the Orly airport is an even better option than the tram with the dezoning of Navigo pass. The bus ride takes an hour from PdC to Orly airport.
Saturday 13 September 2014
Paris: Navigo, Paris Visite pass, or carnet of 10 t+ tickets?
To begin with, please note that the Paris region is divided into 5 zones: zones 1 and 2 are core Paris, and many attractions are found in it, but of course not all. The more the zones you cross, the more your ticket prices increase. And public transportation in Paris is expensive, designed to exploit the huge tourist flow into the city. Options in form of public transport include metro and RER trains (the latter are longer distance, dirtier, and start and end outside of core zones), tramways (mainly in southern Paris), and bus lines. Some of the common options include a single t+ ticket (point to point, usually 1.7 euros), a carnet of 10 t+ tickets (13.7 euros total, so each ticket turns out to be cheaper), and Navigo/Navigo Découverte* passes**. The latter has to be bought for 5 euros by tourists; the former is for Paris residents and is immediately available for free of charge on producing proof of residence as well as a government-issued identity proof (usually passport for non-EU tourists). Once you have the Navigo pass, then you need to of course recharge it for the zones you wish to and for the time duration you want (week, month, or year). The passes give you right of unlimited travel in your selected zones during the chosen duration if you have a monthly or yearly pass. There is a dezoning during weekends, public holidays and certain school vacation periods, so that even if you have a zone 1-2 Navigo, you can still go till zone 5 with your pass without paying extra during all such periods as long as this falls under your overall selected duration. However, the dezoning does not happen for the weekly recharge of Navigo.
(A week starts on Monday, and the recharge for a new week can be done from Friday of the previous week till Thursday of the relevant week. A month starts on the 1st, and monthly recharge can be done from 20th of the previous month till 19th of the month in question.)
Now, many people buy a Navigo even though they are not going to realize its full value. If you are on a tight budget, saving 4-5 euros (or 9-10, if you are buying a new Navigo Decouverte card as well) also helps. When you buy a carnet of 10 tickets, then you pay 13.7 euros, much less than what you pay for a weekly Navigo valid in only zones 1 and 2 (more than 20 euros). However, if you are going to travel a lot in the week, then Navigo will be useful. If your stay exceeds 3 weeks or even if your stay is say 2 weeks but with a lot of going to all kinds of zones over the weekends, then a monthly pass (for which the Navigo is dezoned) - or if you are during those school vacations when dezoning takes place or public holidays fall in the week you are in Paris - might certainly be useful. If you are living for a longer time in Paris, then a mix of using both Navigo and carnet is the best option: you need to plan in advance, especially if you are a student in Paris.
Many tourists also buy a Paris Visite pass: if you are coming from one of the CDG or Orly airports, and if you have a Paris Visite pass covering all the 5 zones, then these will also be covered, so if you plan to stay for 3-5 days and visit a lot of Paris, then this is a good choice, as you won't have to pay extra for CDG/Orly access. However, if you are planning to travel extensively without counting the airports, then maybe you can buy Paris Visite for different zones or buy a Navigo instead.
Note that t+ tickets can be bought (singly/in carnet) and Navigo passes can be recharged at any metro/tram stop or RATP vendor. Buy your Navigo passes at bigger metro stations. Also note that a t+ ticket is valid inside all Paris (essentially zone 1), but not outside it (however, if with the interchanges on the same t+ ticket, you reach outside of a zone, then that's no issue: many metro lines end in zone 2). Note that you can take a tram/tram, tram/bus, bus/bus, metro/metro, metro/RER, and RER/RER interchanges with the same t+ ticket within 90 minutes (of course, while being in Paris). You cannot take a tram/metro, bus/metro, bus/RER, or tram/RER connection with the same t+ ticket. You cannot break your journey on the same line and continue with the same t+ ticket later on. You cannot return on the same line with the same t+ ticket.
*If you are a student in Paris and your age is between 12 and 25 years, then you can go for an Imagine R card instead of a Navigo, if you do plan to stay for at least 1 year. The card will come to you by mail in around 3 weeks, and you will require a French bank account to apply. The card will require you to compulsorily pay for 12 months' subscription, though you can of course prefer that to be divided into equal instalments.
**If your Navigo pass is lost, it can be replaced and any remaining credit in it at the time will be transferred to the new pass. In case of Navigo Découverte, however, you will need to buy it again (and any credit in the pass will be permanently lost - for you).
Prices and policies may change in the future.
Update, Dec. 2015/Nov. 2016: Certain Navigo passes now cover zones 1-5, so the point of Paris Visite pass is even more obsolete. If you have a Navigo pass covering zones 1-5 and if your destination is Orly, then you may well take Orlybus itself from Denfert Rochereau (and also a couple of stops later in south Paris). The bus usually takes around 30 minutes to Orly, but some days may see traffic jams.
(A week starts on Monday, and the recharge for a new week can be done from Friday of the previous week till Thursday of the relevant week. A month starts on the 1st, and monthly recharge can be done from 20th of the previous month till 19th of the month in question.)
Now, many people buy a Navigo even though they are not going to realize its full value. If you are on a tight budget, saving 4-5 euros (or 9-10, if you are buying a new Navigo Decouverte card as well) also helps. When you buy a carnet of 10 tickets, then you pay 13.7 euros, much less than what you pay for a weekly Navigo valid in only zones 1 and 2 (more than 20 euros). However, if you are going to travel a lot in the week, then Navigo will be useful. If your stay exceeds 3 weeks or even if your stay is say 2 weeks but with a lot of going to all kinds of zones over the weekends, then a monthly pass (for which the Navigo is dezoned) - or if you are during those school vacations when dezoning takes place or public holidays fall in the week you are in Paris - might certainly be useful. If you are living for a longer time in Paris, then a mix of using both Navigo and carnet is the best option: you need to plan in advance, especially if you are a student in Paris.
Many tourists also buy a Paris Visite pass: if you are coming from one of the CDG or Orly airports, and if you have a Paris Visite pass covering all the 5 zones, then these will also be covered, so if you plan to stay for 3-5 days and visit a lot of Paris, then this is a good choice, as you won't have to pay extra for CDG/Orly access. However, if you are planning to travel extensively without counting the airports, then maybe you can buy Paris Visite for different zones or buy a Navigo instead.
Note that t+ tickets can be bought (singly/in carnet) and Navigo passes can be recharged at any metro/tram stop or RATP vendor. Buy your Navigo passes at bigger metro stations. Also note that a t+ ticket is valid inside all Paris (essentially zone 1), but not outside it (however, if with the interchanges on the same t+ ticket, you reach outside of a zone, then that's no issue: many metro lines end in zone 2). Note that you can take a tram/tram, tram/bus, bus/bus, metro/metro, metro/RER, and RER/RER interchanges with the same t+ ticket within 90 minutes (of course, while being in Paris). You cannot take a tram/metro, bus/metro, bus/RER, or tram/RER connection with the same t+ ticket. You cannot break your journey on the same line and continue with the same t+ ticket later on. You cannot return on the same line with the same t+ ticket.
*If you are a student in Paris and your age is between 12 and 25 years, then you can go for an Imagine R card instead of a Navigo, if you do plan to stay for at least 1 year. The card will come to you by mail in around 3 weeks, and you will require a French bank account to apply. The card will require you to compulsorily pay for 12 months' subscription, though you can of course prefer that to be divided into equal instalments.
**If your Navigo pass is lost, it can be replaced and any remaining credit in it at the time will be transferred to the new pass. In case of Navigo Découverte, however, you will need to buy it again (and any credit in the pass will be permanently lost - for you).
Prices and policies may change in the future.
Update, Dec. 2015/Nov. 2016: Certain Navigo passes now cover zones 1-5, so the point of Paris Visite pass is even more obsolete. If you have a Navigo pass covering zones 1-5 and if your destination is Orly, then you may well take Orlybus itself from Denfert Rochereau (and also a couple of stops later in south Paris). The bus usually takes around 30 minutes to Orly, but some days may see traffic jams.
Friday 18 April 2014
Taiping/Kamunting bus confusion, Taiping stay
If coming to Taiping from Ipoh side, your bus may stop at Taiping (before proceeding to Kamunting), so you have no need to go on till Kamunting. Just be alert and get down at Taiping. However, when leaving Taiping, it's best to take a taxi to Kamunting (15 min ride away), since many buses won't go to Taiping. Maybe the Taiping-Ipoh intercity bus will still go to Taiping, but direct buses to KL or Singapore or any other destinations will not.
Unless you are staying somewhere on the Bukit Laru, do not stay anywhere far from the Taiping lake, otherwise it's not worth staying in Taiping. If you are in Taiping, you need to experience its lake and wilderness at different times of the day.
Unless you are staying somewhere on the Bukit Laru, do not stay anywhere far from the Taiping lake, otherwise it's not worth staying in Taiping. If you are in Taiping, you need to experience its lake and wilderness at different times of the day.
Sunday 16 February 2014
Kalka-Shimla train ride
If taking the narrow-gauge train ride from Kalka to Shimla, sit on the right. However, when Shimla is around forty minutes away, from then on, left is better: you can get a view of Shimla, with its yellow cathedral conspicuous from afar. If your train is delayed so that you can get this view of Shimla after the sun has set and it's relatively dark, then all the better: the view is magnificent.
If the train is packed, overall, choose right over left (while going from Kalka to Shimla). For down journey, do vice versa.
If the train is packed, overall, choose right over left (while going from Kalka to Shimla). For down journey, do vice versa.
Thursday 13 February 2014
Iran currency confusion
It will take a day or two for you to get used to understand what rate is being quoted for anything: if you get your Persian counting right, that will be helpful, since Iranian rates are often quoted in tomans, an imaginary currency! So let's take a concrete example:
If something costs 50,000 (fifty thousand) rials, the shopkeeper will tell you "punj/panj tomaan" (5 tomans). Mostly, though they will skip the "tomans": they will simply say "punj" (or "panj"). It's your common sense that should dictate that that thing cannot cost 5 rials: it doesn't even cost 5 tomans in fact! The shopkeeper means 5 x 10 x 1000 rials (you have to do the multiplying part fast to understand, interact, and bargain). Why the ten and why the thousand? A toman consists of theoretically ten rials, and the thousand is simply removed for ease in talking.
The fun starts once you get used to the multiplying-by-thousand game. A shopkeeper tells you that the half-litre mineral water bottle costs "punj saad" (five hundred). Used to multiplying, you will get a shock ... surely, the little water bottle cannot cost 5,000,000 rials (that would mean more than 120 euros). Till you understand: the shopkeeper means 500 tomans, literally (that is, 5000 rials). Since there is no thousand multiplier within 500 (of course, he wouldn't say 0.5), hence he is now quoting the price in real tomans, not thousand-removed tomans.
When unsure, ask the person to tell the rate to you in rials. Please note that there are no actual tomans out there: you will be holding only rials in your hand. So when you are holding a 50,000 rial note, it means you are holding 5000 toman: or when someone says something costs five ("punj"), then you can pay him with this particular note.
Note: Things may change with time, governments and religions.
If something costs 50,000 (fifty thousand) rials, the shopkeeper will tell you "punj/panj tomaan" (5 tomans). Mostly, though they will skip the "tomans": they will simply say "punj" (or "panj"). It's your common sense that should dictate that that thing cannot cost 5 rials: it doesn't even cost 5 tomans in fact! The shopkeeper means 5 x 10 x 1000 rials (you have to do the multiplying part fast to understand, interact, and bargain). Why the ten and why the thousand? A toman consists of theoretically ten rials, and the thousand is simply removed for ease in talking.
The fun starts once you get used to the multiplying-by-thousand game. A shopkeeper tells you that the half-litre mineral water bottle costs "punj saad" (five hundred). Used to multiplying, you will get a shock ... surely, the little water bottle cannot cost 5,000,000 rials (that would mean more than 120 euros). Till you understand: the shopkeeper means 500 tomans, literally (that is, 5000 rials). Since there is no thousand multiplier within 500 (of course, he wouldn't say 0.5), hence he is now quoting the price in real tomans, not thousand-removed tomans.
When unsure, ask the person to tell the rate to you in rials. Please note that there are no actual tomans out there: you will be holding only rials in your hand. So when you are holding a 50,000 rial note, it means you are holding 5000 toman: or when someone says something costs five ("punj"), then you can pay him with this particular note.
Note: Things may change with time, governments and religions.
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