Adventures in Paris

Yesterday was an awesome day, because we finally arrived in Paris, the City of Lights, a grandiose city and one that has a great culture. We had the chance to experience this amazing place on Thursday and Friday. It was an adventure that suits all people!

After arriving at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport, where the lines were extraordinarily long, we were picked up by a driver to go to our hotel, the 4-star Pullman La Defenśe. The traffic in outer Paris and non-touristy areas is not bad, definitely better than in suburban Sydney or Melbourne. France has some car brands that can’t be found in Australia, such as Citroën. There are lots of transport vans and small cars on the roads, which is a far cry from the road trucks and SUVs of Australia.

The Pullman was very nice, with warm, clean beds and a bath-cum-shower. It is located in the centre of all of the main attractions and shopping areas in Paris, although the view from my room was blocked by a high-rise building. I think it deserves its four stars, although it could improve.

On Thursday, we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, which was a 17 km walk return. On the way, we also passed the newer Grand Arc, which was taller than the Arc de Triomphe. It’s amazing to think that the massive, magnificent Arc de Triomphe was built in the early 1800s. It was built under the order of Napoleon Bonaparte to celebrate the glory of France. The imposing, iron Eiffel Tower was opened in 1889, just in time for the World’s Fair that Paris was hosting. Both structures are amazing and are always surrounded by hordes of keen tourists. Many people sell souvenirs on the streets; you can buy 5 Eiffel Tower keychains for just 1 Euro.

The Eiffel Tower
The Arc de Triomphe

The food in Paris is delicious, from French food to international brands. You can buy macaroons, quiches and baguettes for cheap prices and Maccas or Subway for slightly more. You really must try it!

A famous Paris quiche

By the end of the day, I was super tired! My feet were really sore from all the walking, so I went straight to sleep. I couldn’t wait for the next day!

On Friday, all of us didn’t want to walk, so we decided that we were going to catch the Hop-on Hop-off bus. We still had to walk to the Arc de Triomphe to catch it, which is about 10 km return. The prices to catch the bus are okay, €39 Euros for  adults (13+ years old) for a day pass. Luckily, I am 12, so I only had to pay €19. The bus took us around the centre of Paris and stopped at major attractions, including the Eiffel Tower and Champs Élysées. We also passed Nôtre Dame, which unfortunately was closed and severely damaged, having have lost its spire. The traffic was very severe because the area is full of tourists. We had to walk very quickly to get back to the hotel for our opening dinner for the Battlefield Tour. This gave me many painful blisters, which I still have.

The damaged Notre Dame

We had the opening dinner at 6:30 p.m. We were introduced to the staff at Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours, which includes a historian, Mr Mark Riddiford, and a Tour Manager, Ms Naomi Briggs. We also met the other people on the tour. The dinner’s entree was a bitter vegetable soup that was not very enjoyable, while the main course was roast chicken with ratatouille and rice. It was very tasty and I also got to eat ratatouille for the first time! The dessert was also delicious, a lemon meringue with seared cream and a crunchy, sweet base.

After the dinner, I sorted out my blisters and packed my luggage for the start of the tour the next day. I went to sleep excited for the next day. I truly hope that one day you will be able to visit the amazing city of Paris!

Peter Susanto

Flight Review: Singapore Airlines, Singapore to Paris

Singapore Airlines has beeen ranked as the World’s Best Airline 2018 by Skytrax and I had the opportunity to see why on my recent flight from Singapore to Paris! I was aboard flight SQ 336, which on that flight was operated with an Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial passenger plane. The flight was very long, 13 hours non-stop. The A380 itself is quite amazing, with quiet engines, very smooth flying even in turbulence and lots of space.

The amazing Singapore Airlines Airbus A380

The staff were also very friendly and helpful, always giving me a glass of water when I asked for it (my lips get really dry on long-haul flights). They had the precise amount of professionalism and personality, because when they advised passengers to put on their seatbelt or open the window shades, they were patient and kind. The cabin crew definitely made the flight better!

Friendly Singapore Airlines crew

The airline offers a very good Inflight Entertainment System, offering many movies, games and TV shows and also giving out flight information. However, I was a bit disappointed to see that the movies were all from over 2 months ago and there were limited music options. We were given one USB charging port, the airline’s SilverKris magazine and some nice recline. Overall, Singapore Airlines is a world-class airline that deserves the number 1 ranking, although some improvements can still be made to improve passengers’ experience.

Peter

On the way!

Hello from spectacular Singapore! We are currently in the amazing Ambassador Lounge at T3 of Singapore Changi Airport! I was so excited to go because it’s my first time to an airport lounge. Here’s a summary of my 2019 Anzac Spirit Study Tour journey so far.

This morning, I woke up feeling really excited for the big trip! I spent the morning finalising everything and getting prepared. Then, my whole family dropped me off at the airport. I was very sad to leave my family but I knew that I would be back very soon. After meeting up with the other people on the study tour, we all passed through immigration and boarded SilkAir flight MI802, bound for Singapore. The flight was very comfortable, without any major turbulence. SilkAir offers a decent selection of food and inflight entertainment and the staff are all very friendly. Four hours after we took off, we landed at the beautiful Changi Airport. We spent the first two hours at the airport visiting the many attractions that the airport offers, including a butterfly garden, movie theatres and an enchanted garden.

Next, we went to the T3 Ambassador Lounge, which offers free wifi, bathrooms with large showers and great food from all over the world. I showered, charged my devices and ate a delicious curry chicken.

At the Ambassador Lounge, T3 Changi Airport

We’re now waiting to go on the long flight to Paris on Singapore Airlines flight 336. I’m really enthusiastic about flying the massive Airbus A380, which Airbus has unfortunately said it will discontinue. I can’t wait to get to Paris, although I’m very sad that Notre Dame has burnt down. I look forward to writing more once I’m in France!

Peter Susanto

One Week Left!

It’s just one week until I go on my amazing 2019 Anzac Spirits study trip and you’re coming with me! Here’s a sneak peek of some of the experiences awaiting us:

Day 1 and 2: Darwin – Singapore – Paris, France

We will depart Darwin and arrive in Singapore about five hours later. Interestingly, we will be leaving Singapore early in the morning and arriving in Paris in the same morning; thanks to the six hours time difference. Just in case you don’t know, France is six hours behind Singapore.

Day 3: The Amazing Paris

We will meet with our Tour Manager and War Historian. We might be able to go up the majestic Eiffel Tower, visit the historic Arc de Triomphe and the artistic The Louvre. How exciting it will be!

Eiffel Tower

Day 4: Paris to Ypres, Belgium

In this exciting trip, we will travel through the Somme region and visit Villers-Bretonneux, the centre of Australian commemoration on the Western Front. Our first stop will be the Australian National Memorial, which features the names of nearly 11,000 Australians missing from fighting in France. Second stop will be Sir John Monash Centre, the brand new audio-visual museum that tells the story of Australian courage and sacrifice on the Western Front on hundreds of interactive screens. Third stop is village of Villers-Bretonneux and visit the Victoria School, with its wonderful small museum and a sign in the playground that entreats the students to ‘Never Forget Australia’. We will also visit Adelaide Cemetery, the place where Australia’s Unknown Soldier lay for 75 years before being returned to Australia in 1993.

Sir John Monash Centre

Day 5: Ypres

We will go on a walking tour around the town, visiting key sights from the war such as the magnificent Cloth Hall and the Menin Gate. We then will visit the outstanding In Flanders Fields Museum, a provocative collection of relics and displays that chronicles the fighting in Flanders and the personal stories of the people involved. In the evening we will return to the Menin Gate, where the names of 54,000 missing British and Commonwealth soldiers are recorded, for the moving Last Post ceremony. The Ypres fire brigade has performed this bugle ceremony every day and in all weather since the memorial opened in 1927. The only interruption was during the four years of German occupation during the Second World War – the ceremony recommenced on the day the town was liberated. I might be one of the lucky tour members who are invited to lay a wreath on behalf of the group. That would be AWESOME!

In Flanders Fields Museum

Day 6: Ypres

Today we will explore the Australian battlefields in the Salient, places where the Anzacs made history in 1917. This trip will include a visit to Passchendaele 1917 Museum which features a recreated British dugout.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917

Day 7: Beautiful Bruges

Today we will explore Bruges, a Unesco World Heritage City. We will wander the cobbled streets, take a cruise on one of the city’s enchanting canals, ride through the picturesque squares in a horse and cart or sample the lace boutiques, chocolate shops and cafes.

Bruges

Day 8: Ypress to Amiens

In this trip, we will visit 1916 battlefield of Fromelles, where Australia lost 5533 men during its first action on the Western Front and Bullecourt where Australia lost 10,000 men in two great battles in 1917. 

Day 8: Anzac Day

Today is the D-Day! We will have a very early start in the morning to go to the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux for the moving ANZAC Day Dawn Service where we get to pay our respects to our diggers. Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia describes “Anzac is not merely about loss. It is about courage, and endurance, and duty, and love of country, and mateship, and good humor and the survival of a sense of self-worth and decency in the face of dreadful odds.”

Anzac Day at Villers-Bretonneux

Day 8: Amiens to Paris

Our last day in the footsteps of the Anzacs will see us return to the 1916 Somme battlefields, where we will visit the maze of trenches at the Newfoundland Memorial Park. We will then drive past the Ulster Tower, the spectacular Thiepval Memorial, Mouquet Farm, Mont St Quentin and back to Paris.

Day 9 & 10: Paris – Singapore – Darwin

We will depart Paris for Singapore, then finally to Darwin. HOME SWEET HOME!

I hope you are as excited as me in this upcoming trip!

Peter Susanto

Chief Minister’s Anzac Spirit Study Tour 2019 – Peter

For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of visiting the battlefields in Gallipoli, France and Belgium. I remember reading a book about the WW 1 few years ago and have a newfound level of respect for the ANZACs after learning what they went through, inspiring me with their strong spirit. I told myself that one day, I would attend the ANZAC Day Commemoration at a place that was a major site for the foundation of the ANZAC Spirits to pay a personal tribute to all the brave and courageous ANZACS. I would also travel to the battlefields where so much occurred, tracing the footsteps of many servicemen and women and thanking them for the sacrifices they made to allow us to be living in the great country we live in now.

When my Mum told me about the Anzac Spirit Study Tour, I quickly did a research on what actually I need to do to enter it. I did a lot of research not only from the internet but also from books. One of the most inspiring primary sources that I encountered was “Heroic Australian Women in War” by Susanna De Vries. Ms De Vries outlined the stories of eleven outstanding Australian women who served in both WW 1 and 2. One of those heroes was Olive King, an adventurous and ingenious young woman from Sydney who selflessly evacuated patients at Guevgueli during the fieriest Bulgarian fire and also set up 18 Australian-Serbian canteens in various places in Serbia. She is such an inspirational lady and I wish I could be like her one day.

I would like to encourage you all to read Ms De Vries’ book. Below is the summary about the book by Ms De Vries (http://www.susannadevries.com/heroic_australia_women_in_war.html)

Heroic Australian Women in War
“Astonishing tales of bravery from Gallipoli to Kokoda.
Nancy Wake remarked: ‘The exploits of Australia’s women at war have been sadly neglected for years.’ Yet women have suffered, strengthened and defied fear in extraordinary acts of bravery.
In this inspiring book, Susanna de Vries profiles the love, dedication and selflessness, of eleven outstanding Australians over the course of two world wars ‑ from Olive King, who saved countless lives in the war-ravaged Balkans, although she lost her heart; to Gallipoli nurse Alice Kitchen, who also served in France; to Vivian Bullwinkel, who survived the Bangka Island Massacre only to face more than three years watching her colleagues die as a Japanese prisoner of war and her ‘Paradise Road’ colleagues, Sister Betty Jeffrey and Queenslanders Sylvia Muir and Joice Tweddell.
Focusing not only on the astounding courage they displayed amid death and chaos but also on the triumphs and pain of their personal lives, Susanna reveals how these women were as influential and heroic in civil life as they were in war”.

Upon finishing my research, I had to think of how I would present the information gathered that is unique and creative. It took me a while to come up with the idea of video diary entry. I had so many setbacks when putting everything together. I nearly gave up as I had to keep recording again and again and again, until I was satisfied with the final result. What kept me going was the thought of what Olive would do if she was me. She would not give up, she would keep trying until she achieved what she wanted. Olive became stronger because of all the struggles she experienced.

Please see my entry on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3oVla8pWyo&feature=youtu.be and I hope you will be able to give greater recognition of the role of women in both WWs and reflected upon.


Lest We Forget!