Geneva, Switzerland & Mont-Blanc, France

Arriving in Geneva from Paris via TGV lyria train was easy peazy! 

Since we didn't get to get on the train on day1...itinerary changed! we got on the 1st train on day2 instead...

the train ticket to Geneva from Paris

Wani with her luggage! Deuter backpack inside (",)

 My lugagge is smaller but i'm carrying my backpack too...

 MakTeh & Uncle Jean decides to take us to Mont-Blanc straight away, since we missed day1 itinerary already.. We couldn't wait any longer to see the famous white mountain!

Behold....

Tadaaaaaa!!!!

Super awesome rite!?!?!?! Going up by the cable car, the view is just amazing.....Subhanallah!!

Being vain...is a must!

i wasn't feeling that good....altitute sickness i guess.....tapi  sebab nak bergambar,tahan je la...

 Darril & his macho pose...

We went to the other side of the mountain, to see a different view of Mont-Blanc. We also can see the whole Geneva from there....

Overall....Geneva & Mont Blanc was simply amazing......

How to deal with jet lag?

Assalamualaikum...

Yes, its a question and I dont know the answer (its 4am in Malaysia and I just couldnt sleep!). Jadi, sy pn baca la sket2 here and there ;)

Why Jet Lag?
as we travel, we across time zones..so our body havent adjust to the new time zone and it causes jet lag.

Symptoms?
fatigue, insomnia, diarrhea, constipation and for some people, it may cause minor depression

How to overcome jet lag?

• try our best to adapt to new time zone
• stay in shape
• avoid caffeine
• drink a lot of water
• tgk la gambar2 dari tmpt yg kte travel tu ;p

Travel from west to east lg akan terase lebih byk symptoms sbb kte hilang beberapa jam, in which our body kene push beberapa jam ahead, cam time makan, tidur and so on. So ble time makan dh bertukar, tu yg sebabkan diarrhea/constipation.

Travel from east to west kurang terasa symptoms jet lag sbb kita 'dapat' beberapa jam, so kte just kene deal dgn daily routine. (Thats explain kenapa ktorg x terasa jet lag sgt time br sampai Paris dulu ;p)

This is simple plan with jet lag....hahaha, even lyrics die xde kaitan la sgt kn....cume part (i say good morning, u say good night~) cam situation ktorg in Malaysia n Europe la cewahhh, gitu! ;p

ps: we miss Europe already..cmne? kene g lg la cmni ;)

Crazy Paris experience!

So we arrived in Paris on 13th May 2012 @ 6.40am

Our Plan

• from CDG airport, go to Paris Gare Nord train station
• activate Eurail Pass
• leave our luggage at the station
• meet Noelle (CS friend) at Chatellet station
• go to Eiffel tower
• hang out at Eiffel area
• catch the evening train to Geneva

Seine River behind us and Eiffel Tower :)

What Really Happened!

• from CDG airport, went to Paris Gare Nord train station with other two girls (sarah and aznita: met them in the plane ^^)
• Paris Gare Nord sgt besar, so ktorg sesat here and there time nk cari counter to activate our Eurail Pass.
• Managed to find the counter, but found out that train to Geneva for that evening was fully booked!
• We are stranded in Paris with no place to stay for the night!! how?! at this point, berdoa je la yg mampu..few thing in our mind; cari hotel for the night tp last min booking, sure mahal gle la kn!
• We booked train to Geneva at 9am the next day with few other night trains.
• Since ktorg lame sgt kt Nord station, Noelle decided to come to Nord and meet us there instead. She came with her friend Cheng (a very sweet Vietnamese girl studying in Paris)
• We say goodbye to Sarah and Aznita and told Noelle everything that just happened.
• Cheng offered us to stay at her place for the night. Fuhhh...thank u very much Cheng!
• Went to Cheng`s at Alforville, Ile-de-France to keep our luggage. (Noelle bought day pass for public transport for us. cost 9 €)
• Had kebab for lunch at St. Micchelle. (price range for kebab:4-12€ depending on size and type-ktorg beli 1 kebab and share je sbb portion diorg besar!)
• Walked to Notre Dame and went in there (free admission on that day!-last sunday every month)
• Cycle to the mosque. (we used velib, its free for 30 min)
• Went to Eiffel tour, but since the que was very long,we decided to climb the stairs instead;) cost;3.5 €
• Hang out, walked around and had cous-cous for dinner.
• Total cost (without food; 12.5 €)

Moon, Noelle and Cheng at bus stop near Cheng`s apartment.

Inside Notre Dame

Inside the mosque...cantik kan?

View of Paris from Eiffel.

Safety Issues

Today, Im writing this post from Olen, Belgium ;)

Travelling is fun, but theres alsoone important aspect we need to pay attention to...its about our safety!

• Money

You dont wanna bring too many cash while you are travelling, so for as for me, I bring certain amount of cash with me..(its important to have cash with you cause you need to pay for the toilet, food or buying small little important things)...so apart from cash I have with me, I allocate certain amount of money in my bank account that I will spend while I´m travelling and later just tell the bank that I will use my ATM card abroad. Theres of course certain charge everytime when you use the card. You can also change the credit limit at the ATM machine in malaysia (purchase limit and withdraw limit).

Next option would be the credit card. Dont forget to inform the bank before you travel.

Travellers cheque: I´m not really sure how this work, but what I know, you cheque certain amount of money that only you can cash it abroad. So if the cheque goes missing, no one else can cash it cause your detail written on it.

Thomas Cook Cash Passport: again, I´m not so sure how it works cause I just find out about this a day before I start travelling...so you transfer your money to travellers cheque, and when you arrive to that country, you can transfer to cash passport this would save you from fluctuation currency abroad ;)

you might wanna check this out : http://www.cashpassport.com/1/en/thomascook/

• Safety pocket money

Dont just keep all you cash and passport in your handbag, keep it in the pocket money that you wear to your body and its not even bulky, I promise!

• Important Documents

I think its wise to photocopy your passport, ID, and maybe credit cards and put it at some other place so if your original documents goes missing, you have a back up. I also give a few copy to my parents so in case of anything happen to me, they have another back up.

• Embassy

So make sure you do reseach before you travel. Get the address of your country´s at each country you visit. It might coming handy if some case of emergency occur. And if you wanna inform the embassy about your visit also would be a good idea. But I was lazy to email them all ;p

• Luggage

We travel with our back pack, so we lock our backpack together in the train so if someone wanna steal it, it would be hard to carry 2 big backpacks together kan.

till next post, we dont wanna waste our precious time in front of a computer,,,cao!

for MALAY female travellers

 malay female always need water & tissue when we go to the loo right? so, when I go travel to other country, empty water bottle is must to be carry along in the bag.
But if i wanted to carry a small handbag,this could be a problem...so i found a solution for it..

Tadaa...
botol air plastik ni skng byk dah jual,senang nak bawak,jimat space & xde weight pun...

isikan air dlm botol

bersedia utk digunakan

bila dah abis guna, bley gulung2 & simpan...sgt practical

convenient kan??

mostly, europe toilets provide tissue & plastic to wrapped tissue waste before throwing.

Eventho travel for a month & x everyday dapat mandi, kebersihan hygienic mesti tetap dijaga ok...

 Happy travelling

how i pack my stuff ~ moon's

 How i pack my stuffs for 50+10L deuter backpack.

 this is all to fit in 60L backpack

 toiletries bag with shower hanger

 sumbat dalam middle zip, go to on the bottom part,easy access

 towels & wet wipes in the front zip.

sleeping bag: middle part.not using it yet. tshirts,pants,pyjamas,socks,undies...sumbat2....

Must take along: telekung,small sejadah & kiblat compass

Tips: pack each item separately in a zipper bag. senang nk capai dlm backpack. Plus,can vacuum to save up space.

 Souvenir for Couchsurfers...we brought alot, but most of it is with Wani. Keychains,Fridge magnets,Flag patch,Sambal tumis,Tudungs,Pashmina. etc etc.

 Tadaaa....da abis sumbat...ready to go!

p/s:     Actually, ade trick ni....i have another wheelbag. haha....tapi tak boleh tunjuk gambar...ngeeeee(",)

ITINERARY!!!

Dengan lafaz   بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ....
Kami mulakan langkah Euro Trip 2012 ~ ::~::~::

Semoga kami selamat pergi dan selamat kembali~~~~~~~~~

Counting by hours

Scratch counting days..as for now the clock is ticking nearer to 12th May 2012...11.35pm. off we go to begin our journey!

Terasa dewasa sungguh! Matang! Independent! Backpacking around europe for 28 days! 2 girls! 25 years old!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim~

Backpack vs Wheel Suitcase

One of the most important thing for travelers of course their traveling bag. Some says what type of bag you bring may define you as person. You know, if you can adapt to new different things easily or you too just attached to your comfort zone and you wanna bring everything on the road.

So for few months, we tried to decide what type of bag we going bring along with us, for 28 days! And it all come down to backpack or wheel suitcase. We`ve listed pros and cons for both of them based on practicality, safety issues and of course style ^^  and finally we decided to bring them both!...hahahah...yeah why not just bring them both kan? So each of us going to bring one backpack and wheel suitcase for this trip and this is our final d.e.c.i.s.i.o.n.  and we are both happy about it. *wink*.

And now, how to pack light???

Here are some videos we can relate most:

• For a back pack

• For a wheel suitcase

So maybe some people might think this is a crazy idea to travel with both bags, but we have our secret tricks  ;p.

Glampacking : The Fashionable Girls' Guide to Backpacking to Europe !

When people say BACKPACKING! What is the very first thing that comes to your mind ?

 Adakah ini????? -->

Atau ini...??? --> 


Tapi, dah kata nk travel Europe, mestilah nk stylo sikit kan?!

At least, macam ni la..style sikit, xdelah mcm tak mandi 10 hari je kan...though we might not able to take a shower for 10 days! hah!


So..ini ialah NOTE TO SELF--> on how to pack my backpack for Euro trip!


(adapted from : http://www.bakpakguide.com/europe/traveltips/bakpakgirl/glampacking-the-fashionable-girls-guide-to-backpac.shtml)


If you consider yourself to be a fashionable person, packing clothes for a vacation or even a round-the-world backpacking trip can be stressful, but it doesn’t need to be.
When packing for a trip it’s important to remember that when it comes to packing clothes, the general rule of thumb is to pack quality over quantity.

If you are backpacking then your best bet would be to pick clothes that are comfortable and loose, particularly around the shoulder area. For guys this can be easy as many loose fitting t-shirts, jeans, and shorts are ideal for backpacking, but girls need to take extra care and consideration into the types of clothes they choose for a backpacking trip. (Some experienced travellers swear against packing jeans for a backpacking trip because they are heavy to carry around especially when wet, but this depends on your own personal style).
Of course what you pack truly depends on your destination, however your best bet is to pack clothes that you can layer on top of each other, and it’s always a good idea to pack a coat with a hood or even a hoodie to prepare for rainy weather.

It’s also important to put careful consideration into each and every article of clothing you pack. Will that shirt get wrinkled it’s bunched up in your backpack or suitcase for days at a time? Will it show a stain if you spill something on it? These are important questions you must ask yourself while packing for a trip.

And last, but certainly not least, another key in packing properly for a trip, whether it be for a few weeks or a few months, is that you pack more underwear and socks than necessary. This may mean having to cut down on the number of shirts or pants you pack, but believe me when I say that it is well worth it in the end. Doing laundry while travelling can be a pain and also expensive, so make sure you have enough socks and underwear to last you at least two weeks so you don’t have to do laundry every seven days.


That's all for now...nanti kita cari tips2 lagi ok?!
Here's yuna video : Terukir di bintang~ 

p/s: Nak bwt video mcm ni boleh?? Fashion pun style jugak~ +the Boyfie jugak...(",)

We Love Our Parents To Bits!

This is a response entry from Panic Attack entry...hahahah..I did mention to Moon that at some point during the panic attack, I started to think that our parents are crazy coz they allow us to travel Europe on our own....seriously?? xde point pn in this europe trip planning process parents ktorg hesitate utk bg ktorg pegi..no such thing as "u really sure u want this?" "have u given a thought about what u have to go through?" XDE lansung ok...kalo ade, xde la ktorg dgn slumber nye buat sume ni kn....like my mom, siap ade list brg yg nk dibeli...as for my dad, kalo boleh die nk suh bawak the whole Khairul clan g skali, meaning bwk all my siblings g Europe trip..abah?!apekah?! gle serabut nk bwk bdk2 moody tu skali..memang xnak la kn

So my point is, our parents really trust us in this..looking back our life, they always support us in any decision we made..they trust our choice...provided we know the  boundary and it didnt against religion or the value they taught us...

And as for us, in order to keep their precious trust, we always tell them about us...so maksudnye our parents selalu tau our where-about,when-about...kalo nk keluar tu jgn lupe bgtau nk pergi mane,dgn siape and estimated time to be home...senang kan? Yes, maybe tak semua parents boleh let go anak2 diorg like our parents do..that`s why it is really important for us to keep their trust. Lagipun kalau nk rahsiakan ape2, kalau ape2 jadi time kt luar tu kn naya x psl..kalo mati ke, mati dlm dosa menipu mak bapak...nauzubillah..

To Our Parents, we love u to bits!!!! Thank you so much for being u....

ps: i`m not writing this to show off that we have flawless relationship with our parents, coz we dont! Sedangkan lidah lagi tergigit, inikan pula ngn parents kn ;)

 
With our parents during graduation....our dad have something in common, at their age, diorg rase diorg hensem..hahaha..ape2 la bapa2 sekalian ;p

Important tips: How to?? CDG airport --> Gare du Nord

CDG Airport Terminal 1 to Paris

July 27, 2008 in Airport, Charles de Gaulle (CDG), RER, RER B | 8 comments

Here are photo instructions on taking a train from Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 to central Paris. Click on photos to see larger versions.

CDG Terminal 1 to Paris

If you’re arriving at CDG Terminal 1, you’ll first need to take the CDGVAL shuttle train to Terminal 3/Roissypole (center of map) to catch the RER B train to Paris.

Follow CDGVAL signs posted throughout Terminal 1 that will look like the following:

The CDGVAL shuttle train travels from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3/Roissypole then to Terminal 2 as shown on this line map:

While on the CDGVAL shuttle, keep in mind that:

1. Terminal 3/Roissypole is the second stop which is before Terminal 2.
2. The shuttle will stop at parking garage Pr before arriving at Terminal 3/Roissypole.

Upon arrival at Terminal 3/Roissypole, you will enter a large concrete atrium show here:

When exiting the CDGVAL stop at Terminal 3/Roissypole, turn to your right and walk towards a series of blue ticket vending machines and several ticket windows behind an overhead sign for RER B “Paris par train / Paris by train”:

From here you can purchase single train tickets for Paris from the blue vending machines (Billetterie Ile-de-France) for €8,40 one way. These tickets are known as “Billets Ile-de-France“.

Keep in mind that these vending machines do not sell pass cards Pass Navigo Decouverte / Paris Visite and only take coins or smart-chip enabled credit cards. If your credit card is from North America, most likely it will not have a smart-chip and will not work with these machines.

To purchase a Pass Navigo Decouverte or Paris Visit Card (public transportation passes) you must visit the ticket window immediately in front of these machines (off to the right side of the photo, not visible). If you already have a Pass Navigo / Pass Navigo Decouverte, you can recharge your card with Navigo Semaine from the blue Billetterie machines by inserting your pass into the purple Navigo slot and following the prompts.  Beware of the purchase restriction schedule on the Pass Navigo.

After purchasing your tickets or passes, you can verify when the next RER B train is scheduled to depart CDG by checking the overhead display screens. The display screen on the right shows RER B trains “To Paris” (”Vers Paris”).

RER B trains on this screen stop at all the Paris stations regardless of the name under the Destination column. The Destination names are the terminus stations for the several RER B train line branches and are used to specify the direction each train is traveling. A complete list of departure times from Terminal 1 RER B station towards Paris is available at the bottom of this article.

Insert (and then retrieve) your ticket or scan your pass at the turnstiles and descend onto the RER B train platform. Signs will note that “Tous les trains vont à Paris” (”All trains go to Paris”).

Once the train arrives, the train doors may not open automatically. Press the small metallic or rubberized button on the door to open the train doors.

Remember to keep your ticket or passes handy as “controllers” (”ticket checkers”) frequent these trains.

Travel time to the first major Paris station: Gare du Nord, is roughly 25 minutes. Stations served after that will be Chatelet Les Halles, St. Michel-Notre Dame, Luxembourg, Port Royal, Denfert Rochereau and Cité Universitaire.

If you need to transfer to a Paris Metro train or a different RER train to arrive at your final destination, you may use your ticket for making the transfer; You do not have to purchase another ticket for the Paris Metro or RER within Paris Zone 1. If you need to transfer to a bus or tram, you will need to purchase a new Ticket t+ as transfers from Metro/RER to buses/trams are not allowed.