Paris, 9-15 Apr 2000.
The Paris trip was sponsored by company's vendor, Sun Microsystems,
to attend a conference. As it was a fully paid trip, which include meal,
accommodation, transport, overseas allowance and etc., I did not use a single
cent from my reserve.
It was a three day conference at Hotel Concorde de Lafayette. I only attended
the first day, and the morning session of the second day. I spent the rest
of my time on city tour, visiting the Louve and Versailles.
Paris is indeed a beautiful place, or as many others have claimed, a romantic
place to spend your honeymoon. Things are expensive, living standard is high
and not many tourists can afford to buy a lot of things.
Designer boutiques are everywhere, ladies will find it hard to not patronizing
them. There are five LV outlets there. Each customer is allowed to buy 1 or
2 items in their outlets. And each customer must present their passport upon
payment and if they find out that you have purchased something from them
in the last six months, they will lead you to the exit. Their sales assistants
look at Asian in a different way (unless you speak Japanese). They don't
think Asian can afford to buy their products (in fact, to most Asian, this
is true). One other reason is, there are many syndicates in Paris (mostly
Asians), who persuaded Asian tourists to help them purchase goods from LV.
They give good commission and many tourists are willing to do them favor.
Because of this, their sales strategy is to choose people to entertain, with
priority to non-Asian. You won't be able to buy anything, if no one is entertaining
you. And if they like you, they will serve you Champaign. My advice, wear
proper attire before going in.
The organizer of the conference gave us a marvelous dinner plan, a dinner
cruise over Seine River. The city of Paris at night is truly captivating (Paris
is dubbed City of Lights). Buildings are all lighted up and the whole cruise
is undeniably the most memorable of all.
The Louve museum is not just a common museum with thousands of exhibited
items. The complex itself is a piece of art. The portrait of Mona Lisa is
the main focus. Many tourists go to Louve to see this portrait. To reflect
how valuable this portrait is, only this painting is covered with glass. All
other paintings are exposed.
We took a site excursion to Versailles, the palace owned by the King Louis.
The trip was not a pleasant one. Overcast, with light rains and very windy.
Nightlife, we had great Indian and Thai food, all in very impressive environment.
Of course, we won't miss the famous show at Lido, which showcase topless dancers,
magician and acrobatic performance.
It was my second flight on business class. The first was from KL to Los
Angeles in 1995.
Visited places include:-
Notre Dame Cathedral,
Louve, L'Arche de Triomphe , Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Lido, River Seine,
Lafayette, Champs-Elysées.
Charles de Gaulle, Place
De La Concorde, Place du Trocadero.
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