Gare de l'Est — Local services in Paris

Going back to Germany..... In Europe there are many efficient transportation options for traveling long destinations one country to another. You can opt ultra modern buses, cheap flights or high speed trains. The buses are cheaper in compare to train and flight. Flix Bus, Mega Bus, Eurolines Bus etc are very popular in Europe. I personally find bus services are more convenient, affordable and easy to use. Their comfortable seats, onboard entertainment, free Wi-Fi and power outlets gave me a safe and pleasant travel experience. As a compact continent with many countries located in close proximity to each other, Europe is highly connected by an abundance of relatively cheap flights between a variety of destinations. Hence flights are cheaper then train on some routes but the Airlines allow only 10 kg luggage, beyond that is to be paid. Journeying by discount airline continues to be a viable transportation option, especially since domestic flight connections usually involve a shorter transit time than choosing to travel via bus or train. Airlines like Ryan, KLM, Esay Jet, Transavia etc are good options among many. Europe has an excellent rail infrastructure and made train travel one of the most popular transportation modes throughout the continent. Train travel in Europe is very convenient not only for quick jaunts to nearby cities but also for longer-distance international journeys. Most major cities in Europe are connected by high-speed train routes. The high speed trains are bit expensive but exciting and amazing. Please note that prices of train tickets also fluctuate considerably, so one has to book tickets well in advance as possible. The major train operators in Europe are Eurostar, NTV, Renfe, SNCF, Thalys, and Trenitalia to name a few. I have taken SNCF high speed train for Paris to Germany today. SNCF (French National Railway Company)founded in the year 1948 is France's national state-owned railway company. It operates the country's national rail traffic along with Monaco, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network. In France it's called the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF). I had traveled by Bus and budget flight too in Europe. It is surprising to know that, there are some bus/train routes that beat flight. Taking bus or high speed train are sometimes quicker options than flying. I am sharing some photographs with captions for more...

TOURISTS BEWARE! Each person will need to buy one of the 'oyster' style cards and upload their ticket onto the card. We travelled to this station from our Eurocamp site where they informed us that we could have three tickets uploaded to one phone/device. When we got to the station there were a row of ticket officers scamming tourists and greedy for more. They told us that whilst we had paid for our fares, we had them all on one device and this meant that we each had to pay the FIFTY EURO maximum fine. We explained that this was a mistake and we would buy the cards immediately as we had paid the fare. They showed no compassion (we had a toddler with us who as growing increasingly upset), asked for our passports (which we did not have) and then took away out driving licence IDs without explaining why. They said as we were arguing they were going to call the police over to arrest us and then we would have to pay 100 euros each instead. They were aggressive, intimidating and unwilling to listen to us even though we had made an honest mistake as tourists. They kept forcing the card machine at us to pay and stating that they would not give our IDs back until we paid. One went off to find the 'police' to arrest us. They were doing this to give other groups of tourists at the same time. In the end, out of sheer terror, we paid the fine. I went to the police following this and they said that the ticket officers had no right to suggest they could arrest us. The police informed us that the ticket officers do this to scare tourists into paying and that they would never arrest us for such a minor issue. Unsure why the rail company holds such a hard line and allows/instructs their employees to intimate tourists in this way. Feels like a money making scheme. Apparently there is a website where you can plead your case for a refund but I can't imagine that will amount to anything....

!!! SCAMMER alert !!! Date: May 25, 2018 Time: Around 12noon Place: Gare de L’est Metro 4 entrance (one level down from long haul train)

Incident: My husband and I and our 1 year old baby were trying to buy train tickets to Palace of Versailles. One Indian woman (white top, pregnant, with a lanyard) approached us at the ticketing machine and offered help. She dressed herself as if she was a train official helping tourists, but apparently it is a BIG SCAM!!! She helped us bought 2x day ticket (Paris) and the screen quickly showed the costs of €50.50 for 2 adults. She said it was for both ways. As soon as we took out our credit card to pay at the machine, she stopped us and said only French cards are accepted and she would volunteer to pay using hers, while we pay her in cash. There you go, my 50€ goes down the drain right there and then.

Of course soon after we discovered that we have been scammed, and our tickets are only valid within Paris, limited to CHILDREN only (so even if we want to give away, no one would want them really).

Now still deeply anguished, I (as a mother who is still carrying my sleeping baby) despise what had happened, and more so that the Indian lady is still scamming during her pregnancy (if that is real). God bless her child.

In Paris, Do NOT trust anyone! Even though they may be of need (pregnant, homeless, disabled), they might just be the biggest scammer of all.

Please look up all various ways of scams in Paris, better be sceptical than to regret later.

Enjoy your...