CDG airport from Paris

"K2T Wisata"

If you take a flight to Paris and arrive in the International Airport Charles de Gaulle (Airport Code: CDG), it is quite easy to get to the city of Paris: you just follow the signs to public transportation or taxis and then choose what you like the most.

Often times, taking the regional trains (RER) from CDG Airport to Paris is also very simple: you follow the “RER” signs and arrive at the platform, where a train will either be stopped there, waiting for its departure time, or one will be about to arrive to take you a bit later. You can enter the train, put your luggage on the racks and relax.

Bear in mind you should get your ticket for the train at the airport, before you board the train. If you were in Paris before, you can also get these tickets in advance in the vending machines available in train and metro stations.

Now, the problem may arise when you have to do the other way around: after a few days in Paris, you will have to take a flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and you are trying to find which the best way to get there is.

From Paris to CDG by SNCF train

The airport is served by an SNCF railway station, in which national and international trains arrive to CDG Airport. Called “Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 – TGV”, this station is located between terminals 2C-2D and 2E-2F.

As for reaching your terminal from there, the CDG airport’s website explains you can use the moving walkways to reach terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, though it advises to take line 1 shuttle to terminals 2A and 2B, and the N2 bus shuttle from terminal 2C, entrance 4, if you need to go to terminal 2G. If your terminal is 1 or 3, they advise to take the CDGVAL shuttle train, which is free of charge. Please make sure to follow these recommendations, since CDG is a very large airport.

Allow lots of time for the shuttle train or bus, as they may take a bit to come and then stop in several terminals. Also, particularly with SNCF trains, but with all French public transportation, be aware of the fact that the unions of train and metro workers are strong, which often leads to “greves” or strikes that interrupt the regular flow of public transportation. You should always have a plan B, just in case.

From Paris to CDG by RER train

If you decide to go for the regional trains, the RER B line charges 8.40 euros for a one way trip from Paris-Châtelet les Halles to the CDG Airport. You can get on the train in the intermediate stops, or combine this ticket with the metro –to reach a RER B stop-, the fare will still be the same. Remember to keep your ticket with you at all times, since you will be required to use it not only to get on the metro and train stations, but also to exit the train station and get into the CDG Airport.

When taking the RER train, allow yourself some extra time. It is frequent for the RER B to be late, to have some “last minute” problems that prevent some of the trains from coming –as many as 2 or 3 consecutive trains may not show up- or to change the places it stops with no much prior notice. These things happen especially on rush hour and it is frequent that tourists miss their flights from Paris when not having the extra time and flexibility for these unexpected changes.

Another problem when trains are late or when many are cancelled is that, when a train finally comes, it will be very crowded and you might not be able to get on it. A good tip –given by a Moroccan girl that has worked in the Airport area for 2 years and takes the RER B every day- is to wait for the train right where you have a surveillance camera pointing at you, since that is a point where a door opens. Otherwise, if the train is crowded and you’re standing in between two doors, you probably won’t make it in the train on time. Don’t panic with the crowds, a lot of people get off in Gare du Nord and you will have a chance to sit down.

The RER B stops in the aforementioned “Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 – TGV” station, but also in the previous “Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1” station, serving terminals 1 and 3.

From Paris to CDG by bus

A more comfortable option, though it can take a bit longer, is to take a bus or shuttle bus. Although there are many buses listed in the CDG website, here are the most common ones to take from Paris:

The Roissy Bus takes you from Opera station, in the center of Paris, to CDG terminals 2A, 2C, 2E-2F, 2D, 2B, 3 and 1 for 9.40 euros. The journey takes from 45 minutes to an hour, but you should count some extra time for traffic, especially in rush hours.

Bus 350 leaves from Gare de L’est and bus 351 from Nation station, in Paris. Both stop in CDG in terminals 2A, 2C, 2E-2F, 2D, 2B and 1. As with the Roissy Bus, the journey takes 45 to 60 minutes, but you should count some extra time for traffic, especially in rush hours.

Also Air France has a shuttle service, Les Cars, which can be used by passengers of all airlines for a fee. Line 2 leaves from downtown Parisian stations Etoile and Porte Maillot; the cost is 15 euros. Line 3 departs from Paris Orly airport –terminals south and west- and costs 19 euros. Line 4 leaves from the center of Paris, Gare Montparnasse and Gare de Lyon station, taking passengers to CDG for 16.50 euros. All these services stop in the same terminals as the 350 buses. Journeys are estimated in 45, 60 and 50 minutes –respectively- but, as always, you should allow extra time.

The Noctilien Night Bus connects the Paris Gare de L’est with CDG for 6.40 euros. It is quoted to take 60 minutes for the complete journey.

Other buses arriving in CDG are the Val d’Europe Airports Shuttle (VEA) to Disneyland Paris Parks and hotels, and the Filéo Roissy to several towns in the departments of Val d’Oise, Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marn.

Whatever the transportation you take remember, if you are on your way to take a flight from Paris and you do not want to miss it, you should always allow extra time, just in case. ¡Have a safe trip!

Japanese Tourists

"K2T Wisata"

Japanese Tourists by Laura and Sara

Japanese people have mastered the camera pose. Crafted it into a fine art and bequeathed it unto their young in such a fashion that one might even begin to think it genetic, a biological imperative perhaps, an evolutionary tweak that has emerged along with the technology it is bonded to. Because in the mere instant one has to pose correctly for a photograph, the Japanese are already there, two fingers held aloft in a peace sign yelling, “cheezu!” Meanwhile, I’m blinking like a deer in headlights, stunned by the blast of camera flash.

One photographic incident in particular got me thinking. I was at Fuji Q Highland, an Amusement Park that resides at the base of; you’ve guessed it, Mt. Fuji. Inside are three particularly amazing rides: Eejyanaika (translated to, ‘isn’t it good?’ Ok, not everything translates in a cool way), FujiYama and the mind bogglingly fast Dodonpa.

Instinctively, during an experience otherwise dominated by the excitement and fear of the ride she had twisted, smiled and posed for the camera.

I was waiting to ride the incredibly fast Dodonpa with a friend whom, repeatedly terrified by announcements over the tannoy as to just how fast this machine is, responded with yelps of, ‘muri!’ or in English, ‘impossible, I can’t do it, argh!’ Once aboard the ride she continued to yell this phrase except for one brief moment that I realized had been the camera flash, only to continue on with her cries afterwards. Instinctively, during an experience otherwise dominated by the excitement and fear of the ride she had twisted, smiled and posed for the camera. I on the other hand was more concerned that my cheeks not tear from my face due to the g-force.
Photography is everywhere in Japan. From high quality camera phones to the ever-present purikura. Photography is incorporated into life here in a way that goes beyond any other nation. The stereotype of a Japanese travel group abroad, all wielding state of the art cameras, endlessly pointing and snapping photographs is a well earned and thoroughly deserved one. While the teenage love of purikura, essentially photo booths with a variety of special effects that can be applied to your group photos are so popular that they can be found with ease almost everywhere you go.

Crazy Japanese Photo booth! by Emma B

That photography is such a significant part of life here is at times hard to believe, particularly when one considers that the camera industry only began to emerge in Japan in the 1930’s. When of course it was beyond the reach of even the comparatively wealthy.

“In those days, the average starting salary of a graduate of an elite university in Japan who was hired by bank, the best-paying job, was around 70 yen per month. In contrast, the price of the Leica camera was 420 yen.” (Ref: Canon Camera Museum)

Yet, from those early days has sprung an enormous industry fuelled by a love of technology that is visible in all walks of life and among all ages in Japan. At arcades I have seen young people with staggering coordination in pursuit of the high score on a dance machine and a vast number of people with a mind numbing addiction to Pachinko (a low stakes gambling machine with a resemblance to pinball, without any of the skill). While undoubtedly gaming technologies such as these have had and will continue to have such an affect on us, I still believe that the camera and its simple yet beautiful power to capture a moment will continue to be of greater significance. At least until the day that Wii bowling is entered into the Olympics.

However, the truth is, I can’t help but feel that here in Japan is where technology and society meet first. Through computer games, mobile phones, 3D TVs the Japanese people engage with technology faster and with an aplomb that perhaps only South Korea can beat. You can’t help but feel that if technology and biology are going to crash into one another it’ll happen here long before reaching foreign shores.

While visiting home this summer I met a friend of a friend, a Japanese Doctor no less and I took the opportunity to pitch this very theory to him. Essentially I believe that the response to the camera has become so ingrained at a biological level, that just as one can tell the sex of a child from an ultrasound, that one could also tell the child’s ethnicity… well, in one particular case.

Photo courtesy of Max Joseph