Versailles and the Paris Airshow

I tagged along with my old people to Paris for the air show. Paris is a brilliant place with lots of places to visit, however, beware the public transport system. Paris is rife with pick pockets (dippers), especially on the transport system. In the last few years, whenever I have been, someone has had their wallet taken. So - boys: be careful putting your valuables in you pockets, especially if they are loose or on a jacket as they can easily be taken out and the pick pockets are well practised. Girls - keep your bag in front of you, preferably take a bag that zips up so it is a bit harder. For those that worry about having the handle cut, keep a hold of the handle and keep the zip protected as well. The harder you make it to dip the better.

The Palace at Versailles

Anyway enough of the security warning. First off we went to Versailles. The ticket was 20 euros and gave us access to the audio guide for free. The queue outside looked really long, but moved pretty quickly.  It took us an hour to do the inside of the palace, which was absolutely beautiful and is a great place for budding photographers (just no flash photography). We then went out into the gardens. The gardens were huge and as it was hot we only went down to the pond and back. You could hire a golf buggy to tour the garden and there are other buildings you can go and see.

The view of the palace gardens

The main reason we went to Paris was actually to go to the 2017 international air show at Le Bourget airport. The preceding days had been for trade and press, so we went on the first day it was open to the public. It had lots of stands displaying in the hangers, but the men wanted to see the whole days flight list, so we spent the day sat by the runway watching the planes. Now I love planes too and photograph my favourites. The music played alongside the flight meant that I discovered just how graceful the Airbus A380 actually is, as it took off, flew and landed before us.

Airbus A380

There was also a display by the French equivalent of the red arrows (I am afraid I don't remember the name of the team), which is always a bonus and lots of fun to photograph, even if high speed does mean off centre, fuzzy photos. It was a great day, but if you want to see the stands and static displays as well as all the flying you will need to be there for opening at 08:30. There is a free shuttle bus to/from the RER train station and security is pretty thorough - don't take too many bottles of drink, you will have to drink out of each one. Apparently the air show alternates between Paris and Farnborough, so it will be back in Paris in 2019. The ticket was pretty cheap and you can get a return to Paris' Gare Du Nord for less than an airfare. It is also nice to see a mix of commercial planes (the A380 was launched here back when it was new) with display teams and (my favourite) the fighter jets.

Paris is also the home to the Eiffel tower and the Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa. I have been to both of these places before and if you are in Paris they are definitely places to go and see. There is no end to places to go out to eat and drink and the French take food seriously. There are also plenty of cheap hotels that charge by the room, rather than by the person (so no single room supplement). It is also a great place to shop and if you wish to go see the Arc De Triumph on the Champs Elysees then make sure you mind the traffic. There are pedestrian traffic lights, but even when it is green to cross, watch out for the cars turning right into you.

Comparisons: India, Sri Lanka & Dubai

I have compared a range of things that I noticed during my travel through these 3 very different countries. India was alive and fast paced, Sri Lanka green and beautiful, whilst Dubai boasts a whole range of things to do. I have no favourite and in truth, they cannot be truly compared with each other as they are each so different.

Dress

In India women still mostly dress traditionally, in either Kurta or Sari. These come in a vast array of beautiful colours and designs. I saw the occasional man in the male Kurta, but mostly the men have adopted a very Western style of dressing.

In Sri Lanka women dress in a much more western style. I did pass a school group where all the female teachers were in matching sari but this is less common. The men are split between wearing Western clothing and the traditional Sri Lankan outfit - a sarong tied around the waist with a t-shirt or shirt.

Dubai was incredibly international in way of dress. It ranged from girls in dresses to women in full Abaya and men in jeans to men in full Arabic dress.

Roads/Driving

In India the roads are an experience all to themselves. On numerous occasions I have been crossing the road and thought 'this is how I'm going to die' as the auto rickshaws and cars sped towards me. The concept of lanes seem to be long gone and no one really indicates. People beep to overtake, undertake, because the light has gone green, to turn the corner and sometimes when there is nothing in front of them. It was noisy, busy, polluted (your auto rickshaw with open sides being merely inches from the neighbouring car's exhaust pipe), but an education and an experience not to miss.

In Sri Lanka the roads seem to be much quieter and the beeping of a horn much more appropriate and restrained. Mostly it is used for going round blind bends. The busy roads are nothing compared to India and crossing feels a lot safer. In Colombo the traffic lights tell you how long you have to wait (in red) and how long you had to go (in green) for the cars and sometimes for people too. There were zebra crossings occasionally, but they didn't do much for crossing the road.

Dubai had nice big roads and didn't have so much traffic. There were traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that you could actually safely cross at.

Poverty

In India the poverty was clear, with street children and people begging apparent, especially outside one of the local cinemas. The begging was mostly done by lone or groups of children and it wasn't specifically localised to certain areas. There were slum houses by the side of the road and you could see slums whilst driving or from the trains. These slums could range from a few hand constructed shelters by the side of the road, to sprawling areas with  lots of shelters built close to each other, with high populations.

In Sri Lanka there hasn't really been any obvious begging. Poverty is more apparent in the state of people's homes which can be very basic and small. You often find whole families, with 6 or 7 people, living in very small homes that resemble garden sheds. They lack proper bathrooms and drainage and often sleep on the floor together in the same little area.

In Dubai there were no beggars out on the street, neither did you see homeless people in doorways. It all looks very clean and safe wherever you go.

Tuk Tuks

In India all Tuk Tuks have a meter in, but the drivers really don't like using them and much prefer a pre-arranged fare. You can also use Uber or Ola if you want to book a taxi and these are generally the better priced, nicer taxis.

In Sri Lanka there is a lot more focus on using the meter in the tuk tuk, in fact many of them advertise themselves as meter taxis. Just be careful that they don't go the long way, or have accepted your fare but don't actually know how to get there. It may be a good time to have google maps on your phone to make sure.

Dubai: You get a taxi with full AC. The airport taxis that take you out of the airport cost you twice as much as regular taxis. It cost me 87AED to get to my hotel and only 37AED to get back to the airport in a taxi. The taxis are metered though and pretty nice.

Metro:

In Delhi you buy a metro card and top it up either by 100 or 200 rupees depending on where you top up your ticket. The cost of travel was really quite cheap and the metro is a great way to get around Delhi. The first coach of every train in for women only, which is something I think is brilliant. As a female I mostly travelled in this coach and is was generally not as crowded as the rest of the train. To get into the metro you have to have your bags scanned before you are allowed to the ticket barrier - security is a big thing in India.

In Dubai you buy a ticket for 2AED and top it up with the number of journeys you wish to make. The cost varies if you cross zones, but is 4AED one way in one zone. There is also a coach for women and children and a gold class section for those who want to pay extra. The trains are driverless and very efficient. The metro is closed until 13:00 on Fridays.

Shopping:

In India you can choose between the markets and the malls. Malls require you to have your bags scanned on your way in, whereas markets are much more open. Malls have high end shops and the markets are the place to go to buy all you colourful clothing and souvenirs. You will have to barter though, but market products are often pretty cheap.

Sri Lanka had markets, malls and high end shops on the street. It has lots of places you can buy clothes and souvenirs, mostly at fixed prices, but there are opportunities to barter. Sri Lanka has lots of tea plantations, so there are lots of opportunities to buy all kinds of tea (chocolate tea anyone?).

In Dubai you can either shop in malls with high end shops and famous brands or in the Souks. Most places are fixed prices and gold is sold by weight, but I found there was some scope for negotiation in the Souks and gold shops. It was  a pretty good place to buy anything you wanted, from spice to clothes to gold.

Dubai

Dubai was my final stop on my way back home and what a city.

I was surprised by just how international Dubai was and it wasn't as much of a high rise city as I had expected (I thought it would be like New York). There is so much to do, but be prepared with the £££. There is about 4.5AED to £1.

The Burj Khalifa

This is the tallest free standing structure in the world and is accessible from the Dubai mall. Don't worry about going all the way to the 148th floor. The view is similar to floors 124/125 but the ticket is twice the price. It's 200AED to go to floor 125 and 500AED to go to floor 148. It's seriously not worth the extra money. The view is incredible though and you get a good view of Dubai. You can't see the palm island from the top and there is a dust haze, but it was definitely worth a visit. There is an outdoor viewing platform on 124th floor and a shop.

Dubai Mall

Wow. What a place. There is an aquarium tank that can be viewed from the ground floor. There are high end shops, so it is a brilliant place to go shopping. It has a waterfall that covers 3 floors with little sculptures in it. Outside is Dubai Fountains. There is a water show at 13:00, 13:30 and half hourly from 18:00. The show was much shorter than I expected, but I don't know if that is because I went during the day time. There is also an ice skating rink if you want something more active. You will need at least a whole day to dedicate to just the Dubai mall.

Aquarium @ Dubai Mall

I bought the 120AED ticket, which got me a ride around the top of the aquarium tank in a glass bottom boat and a go in the underwater submersible simulator, guided by a cartoon turtle. You walk in through the aquarium tunnel and then go up to the 2nd floor for the rest. There is also a night time animals area and lots of pretty fish. There are events during the day and the crocodiles are fed daily at 16:00. I did enjoy my trip to see the fish and sharks - the zebra shark and leopard stingray being my favourite. There are different tickets which give you access to different activities.

Gold Souk and Spice Market

I took a water ferry for 1AED across the creek to visit the gold souk. I don't think I have ever seen so many jewellery shops full of gold all in one place. It was so shiny and one shop has the world's heaviest ring (complete with its Guinness world record) on display in the window. The gold is sold by weight but there is still scope to negotiate on the price. The spice market nearby is full of bags of colour and scent. They are beautiful displays of herbs and spices and worth going to see even if you don't buy any spice.

Dubai Museum

This cost 3AED to visit, but is very popular with coaches and gets pretty busy. It is based in Al Fahidi fort, which is thought to be the oldest building there. It was interesting to see about the history of Dubai and the origins it had as a pearl diving community at the creek. You only need a couple of hours to visit it.

Bur Dubai

This is also known as Old Dubai and is located on the creek. There are Souks and malls, so it caters for whichever type of shopper you are. There are places to eat along the creek and it is quite nicely lit up at night.

But seriously, forget the Burj Khalifa and the shopping, what you have to in Dubai is to go on a Desert Safari. 

I had the most amazing experience on this half a day trip. There are 7 seater land cruisers which collect in convoy to drive across the sand dunes. With air let out of the tyres, you speed across the dunes, sliding down sideways and roaring back up again. It was thrilling. The desert is huge and you could see hundreds of other cars doing the same thing. We went to a camp for dinner and there were other activities to do there - quad bikes, camels, henna, shisha and dances between dinner courses. There were the classic belly dancer, whirling dhirvish and fire eater. I may have left my camera case behind in the dark, but what an experience it was. If you do nothing else in Dubai, do this.

I had always heard mixed reviews about how long I would need in Dubai. Some people told me 3 days was enough, whilst others told me it wasn't. For me 3 days was plenty, especially for my bank balance. However, I stayed up in the city and I would go back again for a few days to go and explore the area around the Palm and the beach. It is a city of variety and you certainly won't get bored there.

Negombo

Negombo is my last stop in Sri Lanka. It is a tourist strip of beach, lined with hotels and restaurants. People typically only come here for a few days, as honestly apart from the beach there is not a lot going on other than its close proximity to the airport.

Beach view

I have found an amazing restaurant though, called Lords. The food there is AMAZING and it is a really pretty restaurant with a lovely atmosphere. The food is reasonably priced, but it is exquisite. I cannot put into words how good the food was. Hats off to the chef for sure. I have eaten here 3 times in the week I have been here - it is that good.

My amazing curry at Lords

I paid a ridiculous amount of money to go on  a "boat" trip around the lagoon for 3 hours. When I say boat, I mean more of a poorly constructed raft, made of a canoe and some bits of tree. You will see 2 pictures at the top of this post which show these catermarans as they call them. The lagoon was beautiful and home to lots of birds and fish farms, where little fish grow into big fish. There wasn't really a huge amount to see out in the lagoon, but it made a nice change from the beach.


Birds of the Lagoon

I went on a tuk tuk tour with the pool attendant from the hotel I use the pool of who drives a tuk tuk in his spare time (I think I was supposed to tip him and I totally didn't register in time - I am a bad tourist. I better tip him double when I use the pool tomorrow). He took me first to St Mary's Catholic Church which was very pretty.

St Mary's

We then went to the 2 fish markets. One sells fresh fish, the other prepares and sells dry fish. Dry fish are prepared, salted and then sun dried for 2 days. It was quite an experience being in an open air fish market with fish laid out over the floor.


FISH

As a solo female I have found this to be the worst place in terms of men making passing comments. I wear trousers and t-shirt, so I am not exactly dressed provocatively, yet I cannot walk down to the supermarket without at least a dozen comments. Tuk tuks kerb crawl me, beach boys hang around in wait and they don't seem to be able to take no for an answer. I told one pool attendant that a whole group of boys where watching me and I didn't like it, but he didn't seem to understand why I found it a problem. It has actually made me really uncomfortable to be here and to have to go out. In the last 3 months of my travels, nowhere has made me feel like this. If you come here - bring a friend at least. I am actually quite grateful to be leaving Negombo soon. It's a shame because Sri Lanka is such a beautiful country.

Day Care and Sri Lankan Life

This week I have been in a Catholic day care centre, run by nuns. The morning is spent with 2 year olds, before the older pre-schoolers (age 5) arrive at 11:30am from class, in time for lunch and the afternoon. The room is pretty sparse, but the kids make good use of the toys that are there in the baskets. They particularly like using the paint app on my tablet and watching kids music videos. There are generally only 7-8 kids in the day care to start with and this rises to about 30 when the others arrive from their morning class.

When the slightly older children arrive, we help them change out of their uniform into their own clothes and prepare them for lunch. Lunch is always a hot, rice based dish and our job is to feed the 2 year olds and any of the older ones who seem to give up midway. Here is where my respect lies for a woman that works there who can feed 3 kids at a time - and at a decent speed too. We leave after lunch because it is nap time and the kids all go to sleep on mattresses on the floor and we come back to the house and have a nap too - 4 hours of playing with toddlers is hard work!

I feel like even the 2 year olds are much better trained than UK kids. They help us tidy up at the end of each activity, something which I still can't get 8 year old Brownies to join in with in the UK. I must be missing something...

I have also been out to visit some families in their homes. This has been very interesting. Some of them live in rather nice little bungalows, others are still building their homes around them and some have very basic places to live. They have a focus on natural products (goats milk in one case) and home cooked food. The people I have visited are all Buddhist and have shrines in their homes. You always take your shoes off at the door and they are all very hospitable. There are schools for children with special needs, but these are costly - the family I met who use one has a 20yr old child in attendance. Costs of living are high here, in the same way our cost of living in the UK is high - it is all relative to what you earn. Lots of families are made up of house wives, whilst the men work and drive tuk tuks on the side.

Some of these families live in very small 2-3 room homes that almost resemble garages that are still being built. In one home 6 people slept together in one very small front room. These small homes do have electricity and running water. Some had a water filter whilst others had to boil the water for it to be safe to drink. There are issues though with drainage, which is an open drain along the front of the houses, meaning there are also lots of mosquitos for them to worry about.

Education is free and the poorer families focus on their children's education in the hope that they can get a good job and support the family. Children in Sri Lanka only go to school for half a day, so are mostly finished by midday at the latest, but having started by 08:30. They still get homework though - that is most definitely universal. Some of the families are investing in extra (paid for) tuition for their children to help them do as well as possible.

Sri Lankan Highlights

Sri Lanka is a beautiful, green country, although most important things seem to be at the top of rocks, so lots of stairs/climbing is involved (some of it bare foot). Entry into these sites is expensive. In India most attractions cost 500 rupees (£7), with the Taj Mahal costing 1000 rupees (£14). Here the entry fees are US$25-30 (nearly 5000 rupees). Obviously in India £1 is 80 rupees, but in Sri Lanka £1 is 180 rupees, so do take that difference into account.

 

I took a pre organised 10 day tour of Sri Lanka, so these are my highlights.

Buddha at Mihintale

Anuradhapura: I visited Mihintale, which is were Buddhism started in Sri Lanka. It has 3 main parts - the statue of Buddha on one hill (above), a stupa (solid hemisphere containing relics) on another and a large rock that we climbed up. It was a really interesting place and we sat on a rock behind Buddha for the sunset which was lovely. Buddhist sites don't allow you to wear hats or shoes, so all this rock climbing/stairs was bare foot. It can get hot so don't forget to take (and drink) plenty of water.

Buddhist relic shrine

We also visited Dambulla Rock Temple - a complex of 5 temples built into caves at the top of yet another hill. These temples are decorated and filled with statues of Buddha and was incredibly pretty, especially as it came with a hill top view.

 



Sigiriya involved climbing up Lions Rock (entry $30 or nearly 5000 rupees). We did this at 7am before it got too busy and it involved a lot of stairs - some of which were attached to the side of the rock. The rock used to be home to a palace, so the archaeological ruins remain at the site. There is a lovely panoramic view from the top. It took us 1hr30mins to get to the top and back down, stopping to take photos and read the information boards along the way. If you look at the photo below you will see some of the stair attached to the side of the rock... It's not a time to look down as you climb up to the top.

Lions rock - staircase entrance

In Sigiriya we also did a village tour, which involved a bullock cart ride, a short boat ride on a reservoir (I use the term boat loosely), a cooking session and a tuk tuk ride back to the start. This cost 2000 rupees and was a lovely experience. The cooking session was interactive and we made coconut roti from fresh coconut and maize flour in a basic outdoor kitchen.

Orchid, Botanical Gardens

In Kandy we visited the Botanical Gardens - Peradeniya. This complex came with lots of bamboo collections and an Orchid House. It has a suspension bridge out over a river and large gardens. There is certainly a lot to see and it is very pretty. Entry was only 1500 rupees for a foreign ticket, but you could easily spend a whole/half day here.

We also visited the Temple of the tooth relic in Kandy. It was very pretty and as you can see in the shrine below, highly decorated. It is quite a popular place to go, although the tooth relic itself is in a closed room behind a pretty screen with its own pair of ivory tusks.

Shrine to Buddha at the Temple of the tooth relic

Next to the Temple is the Kandyan Culture Centre. At 5pm we watched an hour long show made up of 12 different dances and finishing with 2 men walking through fire. It was very interesting to see the different dances, to traditional music in full costume. It is definitely something that is worth going to see.

Cultural Dance

Nuwara Eliya: We stayed here in order to go to Horton Plains National Park, arriving at 6am when the park opened to walk the 9km circuit. We were finished by 9:30am, as it started to get hot. There are 2 view points - Mini World's End and World's End which are set on the top of the hill. It was pretty cloudy when we went but apparently the clouds get heavier as the day progresses. There is also a waterfall called Bakers Fall which is very impressive, even if we visited in the dry season.

World's End, Horton Plains

Yala: We had a half day safari around Yala National Park, but I would recommend going for a full day to get a better chance of seeing more animals. I was surprised by just how many peacocks there were. We didn't see any leopards, but we were lucky enough to see a couple of wild elephants, some crocodiles, deer, buffalo and even a rabbit. It was a lovely afternoon out, but 4x4's are a bit bouncy off road - you have been warned. You will also see quite a few lunchboxes full of humans (other tourists in 4x4's - leopards pre-packed lunch :) ).

Elephant

Galle: We first visited a turtle sanctuary. Here they care for turtles injured by fishing nets and give a home to the ones that are unable to be released back into the wild after receiving medical care. It is also egg season and they buy eggs from fishermen and keep them safe from the predators until they hatch. We were lucky enough to be able to release one each back into the sea. They head towards the sea and then get carried out with the tide once they reach the water. Week old turtles are tiny black little things. It was definitely worth a visit.

Turtle

From here we headed to Galle Fort to take photos of the Dutch clock tower and the English lighthouse. The fort itself was built by the Dutch and then taken over by the British when they colonised. We only came here as a photo stop, but it did seem quite a popular tourist attraction.

Galle Fort

Colombo: We have visited 2 temples in Colombo, one of which is a museum. It is crazy and filled with everything from old cameras to jewellery to Buddha statues - we even spotted Pikachu. It is definitely an experience in there. We also visited Colombo National Museum which, despite the lack of air conditioning, was a really good place to visit. It covers everything from early man up to more recent history with coins, fabrics and art to name a few of its many galleries. It wasn't too expensive to get in either, which is always a bonus. We have also been exploring our local area which has lots of higher end shops scattered about, so it is a great place for those who like to shop. There are also markets and beaches to hand if you don't mind a short ride in a tuk tuk.

 

I have enjoyed seeing the amazing scenery that Sri Lanka has had to offer over my 10 day tour and have taken so many photos (I think in 10 days I took more photos than I did over 6 weeks in India - woops). There is still more in store for my time in Sri Lanka, but that's another blog post in the making...



Top Tips for Travelling in India

Crossing the road
There is no rhyme or reason to Indian traffic, apparently there are rules but what they are eludes me. I have found that the best way to cross a road (especially if you are alone) is to find and follow a local person who is crossing. They are much braver and seem to know when and how to dodge the multitudes of oncoming vehicles.

Eating Out
Food in India is pretty cheap, however all prices exclude tax. Eating in a restaurant there can be up to 30% charges added to the bill, so it is something to be aware of if paying in cash. Make sure if they give you water it is filtered or bottles and the same with ice cubes. Where possible get takeaway and eat out, then you save on some of the tax.

Rickshaws
Rickshaw drivers seem to make up their own prices. What normally costs 50 rupees can suddenly become 100 rupees. Ask someone what the cost should be before you go out and then stick to that as your guide. Sometimes the drivers refuse and other times they agree after some debate. You can ask for metered fares but you have to be careful they don't take you the long way. If you have any trouble get out and ring the police.

Shopping
Markets are amazing places, full of clothing (by the way the colour runs like crazy from Indian clothes). Most of the prices vary on the vendor, so again you need to haggle to get the price down. Just going to walk away also helps in the frantic price reduction. Something that they asked 400 rupees for suddenly drops to 350 then to 300. Have an idea of what you are prepared to pay and only get into debate if you actually want something. If you want high end products then there are shopping malls that have all the high street brands.

Make sure you get your change
A lot of people don't like to give you change, even if they have the ability to do so. Twice I didn't get any change and once I didn't get all my change. Learn from this - make sure you know how much change you should get and make sure you get it all.

Trains
Trains are a pretty cheap way to travel (compared to in the UK), but train tickets either need to be purchased well in advance, online or from the foreign ticket office at New Delhi railway station. In the air conditioned chair class you get food. Think of this food as lower quality plane food and take snacks in case you don't want to eat it. I did get a free 1L water bottle each way though which was brilliant. There are still printed lists on the edge of each coach, so you can check you are in the right place. Sometimes they stop randomly and whereas you started out on time, you may still arrive rather late to your destination.

India is an amazing place and the people are so friendly and helpful. You certainly won't get bored, especially in the cities. Overall I have had an amazing experience in India and would recommend it as a place to visit to anyone.