Tea & croissant: Bonjour

The train stopped at King's Cross St. Pancras which is quite busy even though it was close to 9pm as there are many lines that stop here. If you are taking the Eurostar train to Paris, you can easily walk to the entrance which is at the same station. The train would take about 2hours plus at about €100 or so. Bus would be half of that but it's a 7hour journey. So yea, you got the time or money?

I opted for the bus because there was no point reaching there early as my date wasn't going to be there until the next day and our accommodation wasn't till the next day too. A bus ride would save me the hassle of looking for a place to stay in the wee hours of the night. From St. Pancras to the Victoria Coach Station, it isn't too far of a walk but maybe a little challenging if you are lugging a large suitcase.Not much of any pictures here because the station was quite dark with dodgy characters. Or maybe all the poor people look suspicious to me. Probably like I am to them.

I took the 11.30pm bus, expecting a direct ride to Paris. I was hoping to be able to get some shut eye and wake up all cheery in Paris. Alas, that was not to be.

For starters, we had to stop at the UK border for immigration. After passing through the UK custom, we hopped back onto the bus. Then again exit to go through French custom. Waited for what seemed an eternity before we had to get off the bus again because we were sailing. Yes, the bus went onto a ship. I wouldn't call it a cruise ship but there were shops, restaurants and limited seating area that people converted into sleeping area. Somehow, I managed to catch some shuteye before we had to get back onto the bus because we reached land. The order here could have been wrong because it was dead in the middle of the night and it is surprising that I didn't end up lost in between all that shuttling back and forth.

So the bus ride turned out to be more miserable than I'd imagine.
Anyway, the ride itself (when it did finally start) was OK. Nothing too bumpy or speedy. Just good to sleep. In case if you want to avoid, this is the bus I took.

I reached Paris at 9.30am local time. Took the subway to the meetup point.

The first people I encountered had to be Chinese. The woman was most definitely first generation Chinese immigrant because her phone had enlarged Chinese font. It would be interesting to see how her son grows up to be.

One of the many monuments that litter the city.

Our AirBnB. I wonder if this place is typical of the living style in Paris. It was very compact but came with the basic necessities. Like the bare minimum to make your stay comfortable. My 850sft apartment is almost a bungalow compared to the apartment. However, it did make me appreciate the smaller space and minimalist approach.

To hell with consumerism. Get rid of all materials.
So, please buy my stuff?

 There aren't many tall buildings in Paris. Actually, there's only one which is visible when you're at the Eiffel tower. This was part of the plan when they designed the city which goes in a circular motion. It took them over hundred of years before they get to where they are today, demolishing old properties to make way for the new. All of them are blocks of 4storey buildings. Each uniform in its own way. The roads are also narrow, making the buildings closer. I swear I could see what the folks in the opposite building is doing by using my camera zoom function.

Would Malaysia be able to accept such a city planning? No, because we are all hoarders.