The Diary
of
Anne Ku

3 October 2000 Tuesday

BY TRAIN, TO PARIS

The seminar ended at 3:45 pm. I made my way by Piccadilly Line to Waterloo, only three stops. Thinking I was catching the 1648 train, I thought I had time on my hands. It was 4 pm by the time I went down the escalators. I took out my ticket. It was the 1623 Eurostar to Paris. There was no 1648 train.

Whew! I made it because there was no Immigration Control or Check-in. The train on the left went to Paris - the one on the right went to Brussels. Thankfully I got on the right train.

As I settled into my second class seat, I glanced again at my STG 270 ticket. The cheapest flights to Paris started from STG 65. How could Eurostar be so much more? I called my travel agent to make sure. First class was one hundred pounds more. Travelling by Eurostar was not cheaper than flying.

But look at the convenience of travelling by train! Despite taking 3 hours (compared to a 45 minute flight), the journey allowed me to maximise my sit down at ease time. No waiting. No immigration. No hassle.

Twenty-minutes under the sea in pitch darkness. By the time the train arrived at Gare du Nord, it was dark. It felt as if I had never crossed international borders.

Yesterday

Tomorrow