Eurostar from Paris to London

Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel.

Routes

The London terminus is St Pancras International, with the other British calling points being at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International in Kent.

Calling points in France are Calais-Fréthun and Lille-Europe, with the main Paris terminus at Gare du Nord. Trains to Belgium terminate at Midi/Zuid station in Brussels. In addition, there are limited services from London to Disneyland Paris at Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy, and to seasonal destinations in southern France.

Fares and Ticketing

It takes about 2h20min for the total journey (gentle reminder : there is 1 hour time difference between France and England during the summer time).
The earliest train from Paris departs at 06.43 and the latest one departs at 21.13. The earliest train from London departs at 5.40 and the latest one departs at 20.31. Click here to download the timetable PDF (from 8 July 2012 to 26 July 2012 and 13 August 2012 to 8 December 2012).

The fare depends on the hour of departure and the type of ticket chosen. There are 5 types of tickets (from the cheapest one to the most expensive) :
- Standard Non Flexible
- Standard Semi Flexible
- Standard Premier Non Flexible
- Standard Premier Flexible
- Business Premier Flexible
Please click here for the seating arrangements per class of cars.

   

Non Flexible means you cannot exchange or reimburse your ticket. Semi Flexible means the ticket can be reimbursed and exchanged before departure, with additional fees. Flexible means it can be reimbursed and exchanged.

Senior ticket is for people aged more than 60 years old at the date of departure. It is non-exchangeable and non-reimbursable. Young ticket is for people aged less than 26 years old at the date of departure. It is non-exchangeable and non-reimbursable. Kid ticket is for people aged less than 12 years old at the date of departure. International card ticket is for people with the InterRail card. It is exchangeable once before departure, but non-reimbursable. Night ticket is for people travelling on Saturdays for a departure after 16.00 and a return before 12.00 the next day.
The fares below are those departing from Paris. For more information about departure from other cities, please visit the official website (at the end of the post).

	Fares	One Way Ticket	Return Tickets
Standard	Semi Flexible	From 172€	From 305€
	Non Flexible	From 50€	From 88€
	Senior	48€	84€
	Young	48€	84€
	Kid	From 35€	From 62€
	International card	89€	150€
	Night		66€
Standard Premier	Semi Flexible	From 197€	From 350€
	Non Flexible	From 124€	From 220€
	International card	159€	270€
	Kid	From 35€	From 62€
Business Premier	Flexible (Paris)	349€	620€
	Flexible (Lille)	321€	570€

The fares depend on seasonal demand and peak days (like Saturday and Sunday) and operate on the same mode as airplane fares, thus a difference in price depending on which day and what time you decide to take the Eurostar. Eurostar bookings open 120 days before departure.
You can book your ticket online on their website (click here) without booking fees or on other travel websites. Then simply print out the tickets, or collect them at the station you are departing from.

 

Records achieved

The Channel Tunnel used by Eurostar services holds the record for having the longest undersea section anywhere in the world, as well as being the second longest rail tunnel in the world.
On 16 May 2006 Eurostar set a new record for the longest non-stop high-speed journey, a distance of 1,421 kilometres (883 mi) from London to Cannes taking 7 hours 25 minutes.
On 4 September 2007 a record-breaking train left Paris Gare du Nord at 10:44 (09:44 BST) and reached London St Pancras in 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds; carrying journalists and railway workers. The train was the first passenger-carrying arrival at St Pancras International station. On 20 September 2007, Eurostar broke another record when it completed the journey from Brussels to London in 1 hour, 43 minutes. 

Controls and Security

Because the UK is not part of the Schengen Area, and because Belgium and France are not part of the Common Travel Area, all Eurostar passengers must go through border controls. Both the British Government and the Schengen governments concerned (Belgium and France) have legal obligations to check the travel documents of those entering their respective countries (as well as those leaving, in the case of Belgium and France).
There is also a full security check similar to those at airports, scanning both bags and people's pockets. Security checks at Eurostar are comparable to those at a small airport and generally very much quicker than at London Heathrow. The recommended check-in time is 30 minutes. The reason for having full security check is special UK legislation for the tunnel.

Controls and Security

Website : www.eurostar.com

France plug

French power sockets are of 2 kinds : one that have the distinctive sign that they are both male and female, meaning they have 2 holes and 1 protruding part too; and one that only have 2 round shaped hole.

Voltage : 230 Volt

Frequency : 50 Herz

European Euro

The euro (sign: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of the eurozone, which consists of 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. The currency is also used in a further five European countries and consequently used daily by some 332 million Europeans. Additionally, over 175 million people worldwide—including 150 million people in Africa—use currencies which are pegged to the euro.

History

The euro was established by the provisions in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. To participate in the currency, member states are meant to meet strict criteria, such as a budget deficit of less than three per cent of their GDP, a debt ratio of less than sixty per cent of GDP, low inflation, and interest rates close to the EU average.

The name "euro" was officially adopted on 16 December 1995. The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1. Euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002.

Coins

They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different designs in circulation at once.

Frequently used : €0.05, €0.1, €0.2, €0.5, €1, €2

Rarely used : €0.01, €0.02

 

Banknotes

There are seven different denominations of the euro banknotes, each having a distinctive color and size. The design for each of them has a common theme of European architecture in various artistic eras. The obverse of the banknote features windows or gateways while the reverse bears different types of bridges. The architectural examples are stylized illustrations, not representations of existing monuments.
 
Frequently used : €5, €10, €20, €50, €100

Rarely used : €200, €500

Cheung Chau 長洲島

This week end, because our initial boat trip plan has been cancelled, we decided to go to Cheung Chau instead, so that we could still enjoy sun, beach and seafood !
Cheung Chau (Chinese: 長洲, literally "Long Island") is a small island 10 km southwest of Hong Kong Island, is nicknamed as the 'dumbbell island' for its shape.

Going There
We took the First Ferry to go from Central pier to Cheung Chau. The ferries run approximately every 30 minutes. The trip is about 20 kilometers. There are two types of ferries : the fast ferry and the ordinary ferry. They both leave every half hour alternatively. The fast ferry takes about 30 minutes to arrive Cheung Chau and cost about 25HKD. The ordinary ferry takes about 45 minutes and cost about 12HKD. Besides the difference of time and price, the fast ferry's seats are better and the boats are air conditioned. The ordinary ferries have bench-like seats and have windows with no aircon. Even we went during summer time, the trip back by ordinary ferry was not that disagreeable.

You can visit the link below for more information about the timetable and fare applicable to Central pier to Cheung Chau trip.
http://www.nwff.com.hk/eng/fare_table/central-cheung_chau/

Cheung Chau Town
The island is not that big, the surface area is of 2.45 km². From the ferry terminal you can walk to the beach in 10 minutes, you have restaurants and shops along the bay, supermarkets and souvenir shops a little bit more inside the island.
Due to inaccessibility to cars and other vehicles, most residents use bicycles for personal transportation, and a number of bicycle rental shops near the ferry pier rent bicycles to tourists.

Cheung Chau Beach
The beach is located straight ahead from the ferry terminal, at the other side of the island. It is actually just going through one street for about 10 minutes and you are already there ! The street is nice, you have some restaurants, some supermarkets, some local shops and closer to the beach there are all these beach wear/beach balloons/beach umbrellas, etc.. to buy or rent. There are also common showers and changing rooms, as well as lockers if you do not want to leave your belonging unattended on the sand when you play on the water. The lockers are 50HKD until 7pm, the official end of the beach services time, like lifeguard, lockers, shops, etc... Of course you can still stay on the beach as long as you want and go to the water, but there won't be any lifeguard anymore.

The beach is quite long, so you won't feel too crowded or close to other groups of people. The swimming area is also quite big, although limited by some nets all around it, for safety reasons. There are 3 jumping areas at about 100 meters from the beach, depending on the tide. The water is not that clean, mostly because of seaweed, brown kind that stick to the body ... But i haven't seen any garbage in it, so that is good already !

Restaurants
There are a lot of restaurants on Cheung Chau, especially seafood restaurants. The most famous one is located right on the right side of the ferry terminal (when you go out from it). You can see many tables outside the restaurant and all the aquariums with your fishes waiting for you to choose them. The food is good quality, the price is a little bit more expensive than other seafood restaurants located elsewhere on the island, but still worth it. The seafood menu is changing according to the seasons.
Apart from seafood restaurants, there are a lot of other varieties, there is a Japanese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, an Indian restaurant, Irish pubs ... There are also desert shops, small tea time lovely places and of course all the small stands with lots and lots of snack ! Yummy !

Sleeping
You can book a room in Cheung Chau if you wish to stay overnight and admire the sunrise on the beach. On the left side of the ferry terminal (still when you go out from it), there are lots of "real estate agencies" renting their apartment, hotel rooms. I also saw a Bed & Breakfast on the main street leading to the beach. It seems very nice and even rented bikes to their tenants for a ride in the city.

Below is the website for the B&B in Cheung Chau.
http://www.bbcheungchau.com.hk/v2/Blank.html

Overall if you want to spend a nice quiet day away from the rush of Hong Kong, or if you want to spend a family day at the beach, or if you want to treat yourself with a nice seafood meal, you can find all this on Cheung Chau !

For more information about Cheung Chau, please visit the site below:
http://www.cheungchauhk.com/

Taipei Metro - 台北捷運公司

The Taipei Metro, more commonly known as the MRT or formally as the Taipei Rapid Transit System, is a rapid transit system serving metropolitan Taipei in Taiwan. The system is built and operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) and consists of 89 stations and 101.9 km of revenue track. The system carried an average of over 1.6 million passengers per day in December 2010. The Taipei Metro is Taiwan's first metro system. Since it first began operations in 1996, the system has been effective in relieving some of Taipei's traffic congestion problems.

Routes
Most rail lines running radially outward from central Taipei. The MRT system operates from 6 am to midnight daily, with extended services during special events (such as New Year festivities). Trains operate at intervals of 1.5 to 15 minutes depending on the line and time of day. Smoking is forbidden in the entire metro system, while eating, drinking, chewing gum, and betel nuts are forbidden within the yellow line of each station. Automated station announcements are recorded in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and English.

5 main lines :
1- brown = 12 stations from Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center to Zhongshan Junior High School and 12 stations from Zhongshan Junior High School to Taipei Zoo
2- red = 20 stations from Danshui to CKS Memorial Hall and 1 station from Beitou to Xinbeitou
3- orange = 4 stations from Nanshijiao to Guting and 12 stations from Zhongxiao Xinsheng to Luzhou
4- green = 12 station from Ximen to Xindian and 1 station from Qizhang to Xiaobitan
5- blue = 22 stations from Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center to Yongning

Fare and Ticketing
RFIDIC Tokens and EasyCard smart cards are used to collect fares for day-to-day use, with the exception of group tickets and bicycle access tickets (which use paper tickets).
Fares range from 20 to NT$65 with most locations accessible for around NT$20–30. Beginning April 1, 2011, senior citizens and physically challenged individuals will be entitled to a 50% discount on fares. The fare for the first 5 km on a one-way ticket is NT$20, and each additional 3 km costs an extra NT$5, up to NT$65. A 20% discount is taken with use of an EasyCard.

There are 5 types of tickets as described below :
1- IC Tokens: These single-use tokens can be bought from ticket vending machines in each station. They are valid only on the day of purchase and replaced the existing magnetic cards in 2007.
2- One-Day Pass: This card allows for unlimited Taipei Metro travel. They are valid from the first use until the end of service on the same day (not including the Maokong Gondola). Value cannot be added and it costs NT$200 (inclusive of a NT$50 deposit). The deposit can be collected if the card is returned within three days of the first use.
3- Group Ticket: These are available for groups of 10 or more (at a 20% discount) or groups of 40 or more (at a 30% discount). These cannot be refunded once issued and require passengers to enter through the "Group Ticket Entrance/Exit".
4- Single Journey Ticket for Cyclists: At a cost of NT$80, this allows for one person to bring a bicycle into the system (at select stations). It is only issued/valid at certain times, and no funds can be given once issued. In 2008, 102,279 bicycles were taken on the Taipei Metro.
5- EasyCard: Issued by the EasyCard Corporation, these cards are stored value cards for contactless electronic payment. They are available as Adult, Student, Concessionaire, and TaipeiPass varieties.

Art
Important stations such as transfer stations, terminal stations, and stations with heavy passenger flow were chosen for the installation of public art. The artworks included murals, children's mosaic collages, sculptures, hung forms, spatial art, interactive art, and window displays. The selection methods included open competitions, invitational competitions, direct assignments, and cooperation with children.

Practical Information
Opening hours : 6.00 ~ 24.00
Website : http://www.trtc.com.tw/MP_122031.html