So, back onto the plane - no time to even grab a Turkish delight nougat and off to Paris - 5.5 more hours in the air. We landed at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris around 11 am their time and the plan was: I was to find the train station and take the high speed train for 2 hours to the small town of St Pierre de Corps - about 250 km south of Paris. There, my friend Clem would be waiting on the platform to take my tired carcass home for a rest.
I met Clem and part of her family last year in Vietnam. We shared a night bus from Na Trang to Hoi An. Everybody else fell asleep instantly except for Clem and I who were positioned side by side on the top bunk. We had the giggles that night and tried to have a full conversation - her English much better than my French. We tried a bit of Franglish and shared our lives as the bus travelled through the night. She was home to visit relatives in Vietnam: Her father, a Vietnamese, worked for the French government during the French war - the one just before the war with America - known in Asia as the 'American War", not the 'Vietnam War' as we know it. She moved from Vietnam to France when she was a little girl and has five children. As it turned out, one of her sons - the one with her in Vietnam was on his way to Alberta to work on a dairy farm - in Grande Prairie! As different as our lives have been (we are nearly the same age), her growing up first in Vietnam and then in France - we were instantly kindred spirits and have kept in touch since then.
She brought her husband and two youngest boys to Canada last summer and I was able to show them a little part of Alberta. She offered to reciprocate and show me her world in France.
I dragged my tired body through CDG airport, found the train station, handed the ticket guy the name of the station I wanted to go to - only to be told the train was sold out and the next one was in 4.5 hours!!!!! Ahhhh - I think it was now hour 55 from the last time I had really slept, Already this day I had been through two countries in Asia, the Middle East and now into Europe - Clem was going to waiting for me on the platform and I still had a SIM card in my phone that worked only in China.......not a happy camper!!! And the guy had a - hate to say it - typical arrogant French attitude......and it was absolutely freezing!!! I had, just 55 hours before, packed the last of my warm clothes and mailed them home, bringing only a few summer things from Hong Kong. Clem had reported it had been in the low thirties a few days prior.
Back to the airport to try and find a telephone. Nope. Then it dawned on me to Skype her - no free Wifi here......not in Asia anymore. The first obvious part of that was what an old dump the airport is. After shiny new Asia this place looked like it had stalled in 1975. And had not been cleaned since.
I ran around trying to find a signal with my laptop only to find that you had to buy a card. Thank God I can read French as there were no signs in the airport and I only stumbled on that info while trying to connect. Went to the kiosk to buy some minutes.....nope - attitude again and the cards were sold out. Where to buy??? Not his problem. Found a place to buy after about an hour - bought super expensive minutes - $5 for 15 minutes....outrageous...again, not in Asia anymore... Logged in and tried to use those minutes - nope......have to get lucky like those cell phone commercials in the olden days where the guy runs around the city trying to find a hotspot.......now very cranky and very very tired.
As the time ticked down to when Clem would be at the station I started to panic. I wasn't sure how far her town was from St Pierre. Eventually I found a crazy looking academic guy and borrowed his phone to call her and ask for a later pick up.
I then went around trying to find basic Airport services - maybe a lounge, a place to shower??? After all , it is a major major airport hub.....nope - no services - try the ladies toilets in the basement if you want to change......
The later train left on time, was full of tired cranky folks who work in Paris but commute the 2 hours each way on the train......then the train stopped. The following day was to be their monthly strike action day and it looked like they were starting their work to rule action early. At two stations we stayed for an extra 15 minutes....ahhhh...getting very tired now.
As I tried to figure out where the station might be and when I should get off, I met 4 delightful Mexican students who were getting off at my stop. They were studying French in Tours and had studied English in Vancouver. They were returning from a weekend away in Istanbul and were sporting all new clothes. Their happy energy was welcome.
Five hours late, I arrived at St Pierre de Corps. So happy to see Clem's smiling face and even happier to see my nice new bed in the next town: St. Avertin , a suburb of Tours. I think the entire journey was around 45 hours and after a full 10 hour Hong Kong day it was one of those 'glad it is over' types of cheap flights that often look better on paper than in real life.
Welcome to France.