Get ready~~~ race start!

The time to go finally came... too fast! I had plenty of time and at some point I didn't have time anymore.
I have made the hard decision to leave behind me some stuff I will probably regret (like my computer t-t) and some other things I just forgot at home... But the essential is that I have my phone, my credit card, some clothes and the rest isn't that important right? Let's hope so ^-^

I won't lie, it was very scary and stressful for me during the last days. A big part of the stress I had was because of my luggage.
Thanks to my trip to Dubai with Air France I knew that they really pay attention to the weight and the size of your cabin luggage. So be careful if you travel with this company!
Few hours before I left, I thought about paying 100€ to bring an extra bag but that would probably be a bad idea as I knew there were a lot of stuff I didn't really NEED.

In fact, I booked my tickets with Korean air but the flights were operated by Air France from Paris to Incheon and then China airlines from Incheon to Taipei.
11 hours of flight in a plane full of Koreans, 4 hours of waiting in Incheon airport and then 3 last hours of flight to reach Tao Yuan airport.

Really, the only thing I like about travelling with Air France is the piece of camembert cheese they give for lunch or diner! ahah! Air Canada's plane wasn't so great, Korean air wasn't so bad and China airlines was great, but I would more recommend Lufthansa where you can buy a wifi pass to use during the flight!

On my arrival in Tao Yuan airport, even before passing the immigration, I bought a sim card for my phone with unlimited 4G data for 10 days. The longest one was for 30 days. I read somewhere that they only sell those packages at the airport, don't know if it is true or not... Oh and they only accept NTD cash! I didn't have any, hoping they would accept visa card, so I had to change my euros and wait the line again to be able to get my sim card and prepare myself to line up again in the sea of people waiting to pass the immigration. But that was okay, even though it was really crowded it went really faster than I expected.

After I got my big luggage back, actually waiting for me as my plane had landed almost 2 hours before I got there, I headed to the information desk to ask about how I could go to Taipei main station.

Before I write anything else, I just want to say everything you have heard about Taiwanese people being kind and friendly seems really TRUE! Don't be afraid even if they don't speak english they will make signs with their hands to show you the way and smile to you! REALLY!

And I say this because of course I got lost a bit. x) After taking the bus for 1 hour I found myself into a really HUGE station where there seemed to be different train and subway lines, shops and restaurants, and at that time TONS of people heading home after work I guess. If you don't panick and take your time, everything is indicated in English and like I said you can get help from anyone even without asking as they will spontaneously come to you.^^

I finally found my way to the place I had booked through airbnb and the first thing I did was taking a shower! I was exhausted and it is like 25°C here, in November! I met the guy and two girls living there, they are really nice taiwanese young people, but I didn't fight sleep very long and when I met my bed I just slept right away... to wake up with the horrible news from Paris few hours later but that's another topic.

I hope everyone is fine, not only the ones in Paris, please everyone take care and be safe!
#PrayForParis

Thank you for reading my blog!

Floppy

Floppy in Dubai

It's quite amazing that I got the chance to visit Canada, Japan and Dubai these last 2 months. 3 environments all really different from France and so full of interesting things to discover!
I planned the trip to Canada months ago to visit a friend but Dubai and Japan trips were decided one week to one single day before leaving! That kind of surprise I like~ ahah

If I had to sum up my week in Dubai I would say WOW! Before getting there I had absolutely no idea of what I was about to live: one week of shopping and resourcing while eating loads of food.
One of my friend told me the day I left "What are you going to do in the desert? Buy a cactus?"

So yes, I found myself in the desert... but in a city where things have to be bigger and better than anywhere else! Did you know that the world's tallest tower and the world's biggest shopping mall are located in Dubai? And did you know that you can find a ski resort in the middle of a shopping mall there?

Hotels are also really luxurious. I stayed in a suite at the Intercontinental Festival City, which gave me free unlimited access to the lounge bar on the 26th floor. This hotel is a really nice place to stay with the pool with view on Burj Khalifa, the spa, the sauna and the steam room, the gym, the food, the service... everything!!! And it is located 10 minutes away from the airport by car, that's really convenient.

Taxi rides are cheap, you can go everywhere easily: there will be a taxi spot in every shopping mall you'll find yourself into. But did you know that there is a subway in Dubai?? Isn't that amazing? I didn't take it though, only took taxis... and a cute little boat from Al Qasr hotel to the thai restaurant my dad booked because he knows that I'm always craving for thai food~

Over the 6 full days I spent in Dubai, I spent 4 days shopping, in 3 different shopping malls, one day farniente at the hotel and one day at the Wild Wadi waterpark. I hesitated between Aquaventure and Wild Wadi since they looked quite similar and finally chose Wild Wadi because it was close to the thai restaurant we had a reservation for on the evening. It was my first time going to a water park and I enjoyed it! The first ride I tried was a slide which opens under your feet and let you slide for a few seconds at the speed of 80km/h... yes quite impressive like that and considering the fact that the place where you get in reminded me of a Egyptian sarcophage. But it was really fun as well as the other rides which allow you to move across the park on a tube. I wanted to try also the pool where there are quite big waves every 15 minutes. I put on a safety jacket and swam until my feet couldn't touch the ground anymore and waited for the waves to begin... About to get sea sick tossed by the waves I didn't stay long there! xD

And like this it was already the time to go back to Paris. In this conditions I could have stayed longer! Ahah! But I still need to ask for the Taiwanese student visa and empty my room before leaving, right? We're almost one week before the next big adventure... I can't wait!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Floppy