Europe, Paris Olympics, & Asia 2024

Friday, August 16, 2024

Thinh and I slept in a bit today because we had no activities planned for the day. We had originally booked a full-day tour outside of Colombo, but we had decided to cancel it instead. It was good that we did because the weather today continued to be stormy.

I wanted to do some reading and relax at a coffee shop I had found nearby, so I left to head over there while Thinh stayed back at the hotel to relax a little bit more. The coffee stop was located in a nearby mall, though the entrance was a bit strange to locate: I had to go up a random staircase that eventually led to a side entrance of the mall. The café itself was quite nice and I ordered an iced coffee along with a pastry. The place was nearly empty, so I had my choice of seating. I soon settled in to delve into my book for a little while. Thinh joined me a little while later and we hung out at the café for a little while before returning to the hotel.

For a late lunch / early dinner today, Thinh had found a few restaurants that looked appealing. Thankfully they were all located along the same street, so we set off to walk over and check them out. We ended up going to our first choice, an Indian restaurant. When we arrived, the place was packed and the staff were busy running around to help the customers. There was a large group of men from India there and one of them was creating quite a fuss over his bill, which took nearly 20 minutes to get sorted. Apparently, he wanted a discount on his meal, which the staff were refusing to give him, and he was getting rather aggressive about the situation. It got resolved somehow and the large group left.

Meanwhile, Thinh and I had been sitting at our table the entire time, waiting to place our order. Eventually a waiter came over and took our order. We then moved to a table on the outside patio now that the large group was gone. When the food arrived, it was good, but my dish was too spicy for my taste. Overall it was a good meal though.

On our way back to the hotel, we both decided to stop and get some ice cream for dessert. There was an ice cream parlor en route, so we quickly ducked inside. The place was small, but nice. I ordered a milkshake and Thinh ordered two scoops of ice cream: mint and bubble gum. My milkshake was delicious, and Thinh enjoyed his ice cream (this was his first time getting bubble gum flavor).

We spent the remainder of the night back at the hotel. Shortly after we got back, a huge storm him with incredibly strong winds and heavy rain. It was fun to watch the storm from our hotel room, where we could see the entire city light up with each flash of lightning. We didn’t stay up too late tonight because we had to be up early the next morning.

 
Saturday, August 17, 2024

Today Thinh and I had a city tour of Colombo booked for the morning. The tour operator had messaged us throughout the previous day to try and push the tour back to the afternoon, but we wanted the morning tour since this was going to be our last day in Sri Lanka (plus we had to leave for the airport later this evening). Thankfully we managed to get the morning tour finalized and we met our tour guide outside the hotel and set off for our tour. The guide spoke good English, but he spoke with such speed that it was difficult to understand him at times. The tour guide would be driving us around in a tuktuk today, which would be a fun way to see the city.

We first stopped along the train tracks that run the length of the waterfront just outside of the hotel. There was no beach to speak of as the tracks we located close to the water. We were just in time to see a train coming by, which was packed with passengers, many of whom were hanging out of the doors. I was reminded of the trains in India. As we set off into the city, it began to rain quite heavily

The first proper sight that we stopped at was the Gangaramaya Temple, which is one of the most important Buddhist temples in the city. Our guide took us through the ‘museum’ area of the temple first, which consisted of a large room packed with different items that had been gifted to the temple over the years. It resembled an old antique shop or curiosity shop more than anything, with items just piled up across the room.

The central altar of the temple was protected by a glass enclosure since it contained Buddha statues made of gold, along with a verity of previous jewels. Photography was not permitted of this section of the temple. Behind it was a huge, terraced wall with dozens of Buddha statues along each level. We then walked around the rest of the temple complex, which was somewhat interesting. The best room there had massive, colorful statues of Buddha on every wall. The colors were very vibrant and was, by far, the prettiest part of the temple.

The rain had let up by the time we left for our next stop. Up next was the Gangarama Sima Malaka, another temple nearby situated on a small island in Beira Lake. We had free time to walk around the temple on our own. Thinh and I were unhappy at having to remove our shoes and walk barefoot throughout the temple – the area didn’t appear very clean, so it was a bit gross to walk through it barefooted. We fully understand showing respect at temples, but I think we could have happily skipped going around this one. It was a small temple with Buddha statues lining the walls. Across the street was a “I Love Colombo” sign that we walked over to take photos with as well.

Thinh was thoroughly enjoying the ride through town in the tukuk. He was using his GoPro-style camera to take videos throughout the ride, not to mention at each of the place we stopped. He had bought the camera shortly before the trip and he was eager to use it as much as possible. I hate being on video, so I tried to avoid being on camera as much as possible.

Our next brief stop was at the Galbokka Lighthouse, which was a small tower built on a stone platform. Our stop there was brief, just long enough to take photos, before we drove further into the city. We drove by several interesting, colonial-era buildings during the ride. We made another short photo-stop at the Lotus Tower, which was painted green with reddish glass at the top.

The third temple of the day was the Sri Kaileswaram Temple, which was my favorite. The huge buildings were covered with statues, all painted in bright colors. They were so intricate and detailed, the craftsmanship was truly impressive. Nearby was the Colombo Town Hall, which strongly resembled the US Capitol Building in Washington DC. Both of these locations were brief stops so we could stop for photos. The final stop of the day was at Independence Square, where we spent a few minutes walking around. There was a large open-air building standing to one end of the square.

When the tour ended, we returned to the hotel to rest for a little bit. We were both tired after the long morning of sightseeing. Overall, the tour of Colombo had been nice, though the sights were not as spectacular as I had hoped.

We still had several hours before we needed to leave for the airport, so I suggested we head over to a nearby café for a late lunch. While we were walking there, a tuktuk driver stopped and tried to get us to hire him to drive us. He was relentless and kept harassing us for several minutes, no matter how much we declined. It was very annoying.

The café I had found was themed to the TV sitcom “Friends” and I knew Thinh would enjoy it because he loves the TV show. The entrance door to the café was decorated to look like the door to Rachael and Monica’s apartment. Inside there was a large couch like the one from the Central Perk Coffee. Unfortunately, there was already a group sitting at the couch, so we took seats at a different table. Along the walls were different catchphrases from the show and other Friends-related material.

For lunch, I ordered a chicken wrap and Thinh ordered a Sri Lankan dish. My wrap was decent, but Thinh’s food turned out to be far too spicy. I tried a bite and my mouth felt like it was on fire! He was able to eat about half of the meal before the spice level defeated him. It was disappointing that the experience at the café wasn’t better; I wanted it to be special for Thinh.

After returning to the hotel, we got our things packed up and then took an Uber to the airport later in the evening. Our departure was scheduled for 22:55 tonight and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. We got dinner at Pizza Hut so we could get something to eat before our flight. I ordered the meat lovers personal sized pizza and was shocked to discover that it too was spicy as hell! It seemed like all food in Sri Lanka, with little exception, had the spicy level cracked all the way up.

We boarded our flight to Kuala Lumpur and we both did our best to sleep during the flight. While our time in Sri Lanka had been brief, we had enjoyed it.

 
Sunday, August 18, 2024

We landed in Kuala Lumpur at 05:00 this morning and we had a seven-hour layover until we flew to Hanoi. Thinh and I were exhausted and I knew it would be a struggle to stay awake. We were in a different terminal that the one I had flown through back in early July, and sadly we couldn’t transfer over to the other terminal building. It was a shame because the other one had better restaurants and food options. We settled in at a coffee shop where we each got a drink and sat down in some large, comfortable chairs for the long wait. I told Thinh to nap while I stayed awake to watch out belongings. He was soon fast asleep and I spent the time watching Netflix.

A few hours later, we went up to the food court area to get some breakfast. Nothing was appealing to me, so I settled on getting a breakfast wrap from McDonald’s while Thinh ordered something from a Malaysian restaurant. To my surprise, my wrap was rather delicious! Thinh’s breakfast was just so-so, but it was good to get something to eat nevertheless. With a couple hours still to wait, we returned to the same coffee shop. This time it was my turn to nap while Thinh stayed awake. The chairs were so comfortable that it was easy to quickly drift off to sleep.

Finally, at 12:40, our flight to Hanoi departed. Thinh and I both slept during the short flight. It was with relief that we landed back in Hanoi mid-afternoon. Passport control was a breeze and soon we ordered our Grabs to take us home. We were both so tired that we wanted to get home and rest.

The last week with Thinh had been a wonderful way to end my month-long travels. Even though the Maldives hadn’t lived up to expectations, the time with Thinh had still been magical. I am so lucky to have him in my life and I am glad that he enjoys joining me on my travels – it makes everything all the more special.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

I landed in Dubai early this morning, where I had a five-hour layover. During my flight, I had been unable to nap much (sleeping for only an hour or so). I watched the Godfather Part III (recut edition), which did somewhat improve upon the plotting and pacing of the film. Once in the airport terminal, I grabbed a coffee and watched Netflix in an effort to stay awake until my next flight. I had breakfast and then proceeded to walk around the terminal for a bit so I didn’t fall asleep.

My final flight to the Maldives departed at 10:10 and I fell asleep almost as soon as I sat down. I was woken up during the meal service, but I told the flight attendant that I wanted to skip the meal so I could get more sleep. I managed to sleep for several hours during the flight, which I desperately needed.

The plane touched down in Male in the Maldives at 15:45 and we had to take a shuttle bus from the plane to the terminal. When we arrived, I made a mad dash to reach passport control and security before the majority of the passengers from my flight. Thinh had arrived earlier in the morning and had told me about the process before I left Dubai. We had a short window of time between when my flight landed and our transfer to the resort departed, so I didn’t want to waste time in long lines. I was luckily one of the first to reach the passport control desks and breezed on through. After reclaiming my checked bag, it was time to find Thinh.

Thinh had arrived in Male around 09:30 that morning and had to spend the time waiting around the airport. I was supposed to originally land at 13:00, but the change in flight delayed my arrival and thus extended the time Thinh would have to wait for me. I felt so bad that he’d been forced to waste so much time sitting around, especially since the airport wasn’t particularly inviting. Much of it was open-air, with a few fast-food restaurants, and everywhere was packed with travelers.

Thinh was waiting for me as I left baggage claim and I was so happy to see him again! We’d been apart for a month while I was traveling in Europe, and it was wonderful to be back together again. We refrained from showing any public displays of affection since homosexuality is criminalized in the Maldives (though it’s rarely enforced and resort islands welcome LGBT tourists).

Thinh already knew where to meet the representative from the resort who would help us get our transfer flight arranged, so we walked over to an area with dozens of small desks where the man was waiting. He was very nice and friendly. He took us over to the domestic check-in area and took care of getting us all checked in for our transfer flight. The resort had included our transfer from Male in the price of our stay as an incentive to attract guests, whereas many other resorts charged $400+ per person for transfers!

We had about an hour until we needed to go through security, so he then took us to the transfer lounge in a neighboring building. The lounge itself was so-so, but it did include one free meal and a drink per person. We both ordered pineapple juice and fried rice. I was glad of the food since I’d not eaten since early that morning, and I devoured my food. As we ate, Thinh told me about passing the time at the airport. There was limited free Wi-Fi, and not many places where he could sit and relax.

At 17:30, we went over to the domestic security area, which was a quick process. The waiting area was small and thankfully we only had a few minutes before it was time to board our flight. The plane was small and we were given some water with a light snack during the 40-minute flight. After landing, we transferred to a shuttle bus which drove us five minutes to the nearby dock, where we boarded a small ferry boat for the final transfer to the resort itself. It was dark and raining by this time, so the ferry ride was unremarkable.

Our resort, the Hotel Riu Atoll, was located on a tiny island and was the only thing located on the island. The ferry ride took about 30 minutes to reach the atoll. When we docked at the resort, the staff were waiting for us with umbrellas. Thinh and I waited in the reception area with the other guests while the staff processed everyone for check-in. After paying for our stay, we were driven over to our room in an electric golf cart (usually guests aren’t driven to their rooms, but this was provided tonight due to the rain).

I had booked an over-water room for our stay in the Maldives – the quintessential room for holidaying in the island paradise. The room was quite large, with a king-sized bed, a separate sitting area with a TV and a sofa, and a very nice bathroom. Oddly, the bathtub was fully exposed to the rest of the room, which I had known about when booking the room, but it just looked out of place. Outside, we had a patio with stairs leading down to the water and a lounge-bed (though we couldn’t see much since it was dark out). We were both very happy with our first impressions of the room.

We had arrived in plenty of time to eat dinner at the buffet restaurant, so we grabbed the umbrella and walked over to the restaurant after getting settled into the room. The restaurant was large and the staff were very welcoming. We each ordered a glass of red wine for dinner and then went to check out the buffet. We were both impressed with the variety of food available at the buffet and we ate quite well for dinner. We both thought that this would bode well for the next few days of relaxation at the resort.

After dinner, we returned to our room where we relaxed for the remainder of the night. We finally went to bed around midnight. The resort has, so far, lived up to our expectations. It had excellent reviews on several websites, and, for the price of our stay, it should be a luxurious resort. How wrong our first impression was…

 
Monday, August 12, 2024

This morning, Thinh and I woke up at 08:30 and were a bit disappointed to discover that it was still raining outside. Perhaps we had picked the wrong time of the year to come to the Maldives? We got ready and walked over to the buffet restaurant to have breakfast. This is when the first cracks started to appear in the resort’s façade.

The food on offer this morning was quite poor and limited, with much of it dried out from sitting under the heat lamps. We arrived shortly after they opened for breakfast, so I was shocked to find so much food dried out. It became evident that the staff only put out a small portion of each dish, rather than filling up the trays, which in turn led to the little that was put out getting dried out very quickly. Most disappointing of all was how the resort served their eggs. Rather than having an “egg station” with a chef preparing eggs fresh for diners, everything was pre-made and put under the damned heat lamps. Eggs are not a food that does well in such settings and they looked quite rubbery and unappetizing.

We found some food that looked alright and settled in to try and enjoy breakfast. I was quite disappointed, especially since the dinner options had been so much better – I had expected the same quality from breakfast. Thinh was not as upset as me, though he agreed that the food wasn’t very good. I had some pancakes, which were dry and bland. Thinh attempted to eat some of the eggs, but they were awful.

After finishing the disappointing breakfast, we walked over to the nearby bar that was open 24/7 to check it out. The resort was all-inclusive, so we considered hanging out at the bar during the day since it was raining. The bar boasted drinks plus all-day snacks, which I hoped would be better than the breakfast. Once inside the bar, I was hit with a four odor that was quite off putting. The ‘snacks’ available were laughable: just some picked over tiny sandwiches and nuts located in a shabby refrigerator. Neither of us felt like spending any time inside the bar, so we quickly left.

Before heading back to our room, we stopped in the nearby store to see what they had to offer (I was hoping the store would have some decent snacks). We had both expected the store to be overpriced, but what we saw was absolutely shocking. A pair of cheap flipflops were selling for $55 USD – they were more expensive than t-shirts or swimsuits!

Leaving the store behind, we were happy to find that the rain had stopped, so we went for a stroll along the beach. The view over the pristine water was beyond stunning: this was a small slice of paradise. Many guests were taking advantage of the break in the rain to get out and swim. However, the rain soon returned, which drove everyone back indoors.

Thinh and I spent the remainder of the morning in our room, napping, or watching TV. It wasn’t quite the idyllic getaway that either of us had envisioned when we booked the trip. However, we would try and make the most of the situation. We took the opportunity to make dinner reservations at the two formal restaurants at the resort over the next two nights. One was an Italian restaurant, the other a steakhouse.

When we left to have lunch at the buffet, the rain had cleared up, which was very nice. We were able to really admire and enjoy the beauty of the Maldives! Lunch was another disappointment, with a poor food selection and much of it dried out (again, we arrived right when they opened for lunch, so one wouldn’t expect the food to already be dried out). I was disgusted and upset with the resort. For the price we were paying per night, I rightly expected better quality from their food. Motels in the States put on a better breakfast buffet than this resort, and the lunch was no better. I was also upset because I had wanted this to be a magical, luxurious vacation for Thinh and it was not living up to my expectations whatsoever. I was quite salty about the situation.

After lunch we went to the nearby pool bar, where we ordered some cocktails and relaxed while enjoying the view over the water. The staff came around with bingo cards for the guests to use during the upcoming bingo game being held at the bar. Thinh and I shared one of the cards. During the game, if a number was called that people didn’t have or want, we were encouraged to shout “Oooooooo!” which Thinh enjoyed very much. We didn’t end up winning anything during the bingo game, but the prizes were lame (ie. a hat, a shirt).

The afternoon was spent back at our room, where I did some work while Thinh napped. Dinner was back at the buffet in the evening. The food was better than breakfast or lunch, which made me happy, though there were still several options that were unappetizing. I was glad that our next two dinners would be at the real restaurants, where we’d hopefully get better quality food.

The rest of the evening was spent in our room. Since the sun had set, there was nothing else to do in the evening. When we went to bed later, we both hoped the next day would improve upon today.

 
Tuesday, August 13, 2024

The rain had returned with vengeance today when we woke up, this time with very strong winds blowing across the water. When we walked to the buffet restaurant for breakfast, we got quite wet and our umbrella was damaged by the high winds. The food this morning was the same disappointing fare as yesterday, which put me in a foul mood.

With nothing else to do after breakfast, we hurried back to our room to escape the storm. Thinh and I spent the morning relaxing in the room, watching TV. I did some reading before taking a short nap. We were both – though me more than Thinh – starting to see the negatives in our over-water suite after being cooped up inside for so long. The bed was far from luxurious or comfortable, while the pillows were incredibly thin; the sofa was impossible to relax on for long period of time. This was not turning into an idyllic holiday that either of us had envisioned.

Lunch today was a dismal affair: the food was even more unappealing that the day before (how could that be possible?!). Thinh wasn’t nearly as upset about the food as I was, but he did agree that it wasn’t very good. The only good part was the dessert, which has a variety of small cakes and the ice cream was quite good. I think the poor quality of the food was getting to me because it had been our only distraction from sitting around in the room ever since we arrived. I took some photos of the awful food and posted reviews of the buffet restaurant online.

The rain had spoiled any hope of enjoying the beach or doing anything outdoors, so our options were to hang out in our room in-between meals. When meals become the highlight of the day, the quality of the food takes on added importance. I was letting it get to me far too much and I knew my negativity wasn’t enjoyable for Thinh; I felt bad and apologized to him for my crappy attitude.

The storm had cleared by the time we finished eating, allowing us some time to enjoy the beach during the afternoon. We took a short walk over to the area around the dock and reception building so we could get another Wi-Fi code. The code we were given was no longer working and it was with some difficulty that we convinced the staff to give us another one. Again, with such an expensive resort, one would expect things like Wi-Fi to not be so difficult.

We hung out by the pool bar again, but we skipped the day’s bingo game. The dark clouds on the horizon were beautiful to see, set against the turquoise water. The calm didn’t last for long as the clouds rolled in very quickly, bringing with them another downpour of rain. We grabbed our belongings and quickly dashed back to our room.

For dinner this evening, we had made a reservation at the Italian restaurant. Both Thinh and I were looking forward to having a normal dinner after several sub-par meals at the buffet. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was nearly empty, and it was a bit strange to be one of the only diners at the time. Thinh and I both ordered steak with gnocchi and a gorgonzola cheese sauce. Despite advertising itself as being Italian, there was nothing Italian on the menu! They had chicken, a seafood casserole, and the steak – no pasta dishes whatsoever. Our dinner included the mini-buffet at the restaurant, where they served the same food as at the main buffet. We grabbed some pizza to nibble on while we waited for our steaks.

With our dinner, we each ordered a glass of red wine to enjoy. Tonight’s dinner felt like the first romantic thing that we’d been able to do in the Maldives. It was wonderful to have a proper date night together. The steak and gnocchi turned out to be very tasty! It wasn’t fine-dining quality, but it was a vast improvement upon the buffet! Thinh did not like the gorgonzola cheese sauce, which was understandable. All in all, we were both very pleased with our meal. For dessert, there was a small buffet with several options.

After dinner, Thinh and I went back to our room, where I had to do some work this evening. Thinh went to bed early and I soon followed when my work day/night finished.

 
Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Our last full day in the Maldives turned out to be the best of our vacation! The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining when we awoke. There were some rainclouds on the horizon, but they quickly passed by, leaving us with a stunning day to enjoy on the island. During our walk over to the buffet for breakfast, we saw quite a few stingrays swimming in the shallow water. The water was crystal clear, so we could see all of the sea creatures so well as they swam about. Breakfast was garbage, yet again, but we didn’t expect anything different.

Taking advantage of the good weather, Thinh and I went for a long walk along the beach, walking through the gently lapping waves. Other guests were getting out to do some watersports, which had not been possible the past several days. I tried to take several selfies of Thinh and me together as we walked, but he had so many issues taking photos while facing the sun – it was hysterical! Rather than just smiling like normal, he would squint and bunch up his face, which made us both just burst into laughter. Even when I tried taking photos of just him, Thinh struggled. It was adorable.

We then walked back to our room so we could lounge out on our patio – finally! The lounge bed was covered, which provided us with some shade, but did not detract from the amazing views. We could both finally, truly, appreciate the beauty of the Maldives today! While I did some reading on the lounge bed, Thinh went into the water with his GoPro-style camera. The water was shallow enough for him to walk about, with the water only coming up to his chest. He was so cute playing out in the water this morning. Thinh was loving every minute of the day, which made me so happy. This is what I wanted for us from this trip, and we had finally got it (albeit on our last day).

We took another walk along the beach when it was time for lunch. Predictably, the food was unappealing, but we needed to eat something and this was our only option until dinner. When we finished eating, we took a walk back to the area are reception to admire the views from that part of the island. We were able to see many more fish swimming around in the water below the walkways. Thinh and I then took a walk back to our room, again strolling along the beach. I wanted to relax on the lounge bed on the patio some more. This was exactly what I had wanted from our Maldives getaway – chilling outdoors in the beautiful weather, doing some reading and fully relaxing.

Our final dinner in the Maldives was at the steakhouse and, when we arrived, we found the same waitstaff working there as at the Italian restaurant from the previous night. We quickly deduced that only one restaurant is open each day, with the staff changing from one to the other. The meal was a set menu, with no buffet option (thankfully). The appetizers were crab cakes and buffalo chicken wings, which were both very good! For our main course, we had each selected the New York steam, which was served with vegetables and rice. The steak was delicious! For dessert, we were served a chocolate brownie that was the best dessert of the entire trip. It was clear that the resort had the ability to serve good quality food, but they simple skimped as much as possible on the buffet in order to save money. Tonight’s dinner was another romantic night together and one that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

Before heading back to our room after dinner, we went over to the sports bar and sat outside while we enjoyed a cocktail. The drinks were alright, though they could have been slightly stronger. It was nice to have time to just hang out together somewhere besides our room this evening.

The rest of the night was spent back at our room, where I had to do some work. Thinh relaxed in bed and watched videos on his phone before falling asleep. I finally went to bed around midnight. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and our only regret was that the preceding days had not been as nice (weather-wise) as today had been.

 
Thursday, August 15, 2024

Departure day from the resort started slow and lazy. Our ferry transfer to the airport was due to depart at 14:30, so we had plenty of time to pack and get ready. We went to breakfast and ate more of the sub-par food before enjoying a final stroll along the beach. Back in our hotel room, we showered and got our things packed up. We stayed in the room until the last possible minute before it was time to check out (at noon).

With a couple of hours to kill before taking the ferry, we went to the poolside bar, where we hung out for a little while and had some cocktails. Thinh had found a tasty non-alcoholic drink that we both really enjoyed. When the lunch buffet opened at 13:00, we went there to get something to eat for lunch. Neither of us were enthused by the idea of eating at the buffet again, but we would be flying this evening and wouldn’t have an opportunity to get dinner, so we needed to eat something.

Lunch was shockingly good! This was the first time that the food being served appeared appetizing, and there was an improvement in the selection as well. We were both quite surprised by this change and wished that they had served food similar to this over the past several days – it would definitely have improved our opinion of the buffet!

We then went to the reception area to await our ferry. As we waited, two guests boarded a seaplane for their transfer to Male (we had this option as well, but it would have cost hundreds of dollars more per person). Thinh loves airplanes and he enthusiastically watched the plane take off from the water. Hopefully someday I can find somewhere to take him on a seaplane ride because I think he will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

The ferry ride back to the airport was quick and unremarkable. The short flight to Male was similar to the one we had taken in the reserve direction: small aircraft and we received a light snack for the flight. Once in Male, we navigated the chaos of the airport to find the check-in location. It was a very hectic process, but we eventually made it through check-in and passport control. At the security screening, they pulled Thinh’s bag aside and confiscated a small pair of nail trimmers he had with him. This surprised us both because he’d been able to travel on all the previous flights with them without any issue, but now the Maldivian security was saying they were not permitted.

Our flight departed Male at 19:35 for the 90-minute flight north to Sri Lanka. Thinh napped during the flight and I watched some Netflix. When we landed in Colombo at 21:35, we passed through passport control with ease and then ordered an Uber to take us to the hotel. When we arrived, we discovered the reception area of the hotel was under construction, which made the check-in process difficult.

Our room for our stay in Sri Lanka turned out to be far nicer than either of us expected. It was beautifully furnished, with a very comfortable bed, and a view overlooking the entire city. The hotel was located along the waterfront, and it was a pity that our room did have an ocean view. After getting settled, we went up to check out the rooftop bar. The bar was crowded with customers and a DJ was blasting music, making any conversation next to impossible. We walked around for a minute before returning to our room for the night.

Saturday, August 10, 2024

Today was departure day from Paris. My parents woke up at 02:00 so they could shower and get ready, while I got up at 03:00 to say goodbye to them. They had a prearranged shuttle transfer to the airport, which alleviated any stress about that process. At 03:30 we went out front of the hotel to await the arrival of the shuttle, which arrived promptly on time. We said goodbye to each other and I hoped their flights home would be better than their flights to Paris. Once they had left, I went back to the room to get some more sleep. I had considered joining them for the airport transfer, but my flight wasn’t until around 11:00, so I would have had far too much time waiting around.

I woke back up at 06:00 so I could get ready to leave. I finished packing my things, including the two dozen Olympic cups I had acquired throughout the Olympics, and then left to take the train about the Charles de Gaulle Airport. When I arrived at the airport, the check-in process went fine and my bags were checked all the way to my final destination. I then grabbed a coffee and some snacks for the flights.

Today I was flying to the Maldives, where I would be meeting Thinh. He was departing Hanoi around the same time that I would be leaving Paris. He had an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, so we had booked him a room in one of the transit hotels at the airport. My journey to the Maldives would involve three flights:

- Paris to Istanbul
- Istanbul to Mumbai
- Mumbai to Maldives

The flight to Istanbul departed on time and was uneventful; I spent the flight napping and watching Netflix.

Upon landing in Istanbul, I went to find out what gate my next flight would be departing from and discovered that the flight to Mumbai was cancelled! It was the only flight listed on the information board that was cancelled as well. I quickly checked my phone to see if the airline had messaged or emailed me… nothing! The airline, IndiGo, hadn’t sent me any notification about the cancellation or about a rebooked flight.

I went into a bit of a panic because I had no idea what to do at this point. I called Thinh, who was in Kuala Lumpur by this point, and he started to help me find ways of contacting the airline. I tried to manage my flight on the IndiGo website, but their website was garbage and nothing could be done to either rebook my flight or to cancel it entirely. Thinh found a customer service number to call and another for their WhatsApp number. I messaged them via WhatsApp and tried to call that number, but it wasn’t accepting calls. The airline never read or responded to my WhatsApp message. IndiGo Airlines is a terrible airline with even worse customer service.

I then used my roaming minutes to call the customer service number. After sitting on hold for nearly ten minutes, someone finally answered. I explained the situation to her and she said that I needed to go to the check-in counter to get everything sorted. I explained to her – multiple times – that I was in the transit area of the airport and that I couldn’t get through to the check-in counter because that would require clearing customer and passport control. She finally understood my situation, but she was unable to do anything to rebook me on a different flight. She then placed me on hold while she tried to connect with a different department.

During this entire time, I was frantically running around the Istanbul airport in search of a customer service desk or anyone who could help me. The airport is massive, with several wings and I ran between all of them, from one end to the other, but I could not find a customer service desk anyone. There was nowhere that indicated where someone who needed assistance should go for help.

When the IndiGo customer service person came back on the phone, she transferred me to someone else who proved to be equally unhelpful. He said the could not make any changes to my booking and that I would have to speak to someone at the airport. After explaining that I could not find a help desk at the airport, he put me on yet another hold. Finally, he came back on the line and told me where I could find a help desk – which was located at the opposite end of the airport from where I was currently standing. Indeed, I had gone by the supposed location of this help desk twice already in my running around today.

I was keeping Thinh up to date with my situation as I ran back across the airport. He had meanwhile emailed IndiGo Airline customer service for assistance, but they failed to respond to him. IndiGo was proving to be among the worst airlines that I have ever dealt with.

I finally found the Turkish Airlines customer service desk – it was tucked away in a corner and was not easy to find. The queue was quite long, but I had no choice but to wait for someone to assist me. My flight booking had been a combo: I flew Turkish Airlines from Paris to Istanbul, and would be taking IndiGo Airlines for the second two flights. IndiGo insisted that I needed to speak with the Turkish Airlines people at the airport for assistance… again, because IndiGo is beyond useless in every single way.

While I was standing in the queue, which was moving at a glacial pace, a representative from Turkish Airlines arrived and told those of us at the end of the line that there is another desk that is virtually empty and encouraged us to follow him there. I asked him where it was located and, of course, it was on the opposite end of the airport. Once again, I ran across the main terminal area so I could get to the new help desk. By the time I arrived, I was hot, sweaty and out of break from all the back and forth.

The new help desk had a ticket machine, so I got a number and waited for mine to be called. While I waited, I called Thinh again to update him on the situation. I had been looking up alternative options for flying to the Maldives, and most of them wouldn’t get me there until a day after my original arrival time! I told Thinh that if that were the case we should probably just cancel the Maldives altogether since we’d have lost out on one full day at our resort, wasting a ton of money in the process. If we had to go that route, I told him that I would meet him in Kuala Lumpur, and we could spend time there instead (he is able to visit Malaysia visa-free).

When my number was finally called, the woman at the customer service desk was dismissive and unhelpful. She simply stated that there was nothing she could do to rebook my flight. I asked her who I could speak with about it and she said I had to go to the transfer desk. Where was the transfer desk located, you may ask? Yep – back on the other side of the airport, apparently close to the first help desk where I had waited earlier!

Once again, I was running across the terminal so I could find this elusive to the transfer desk. When I arrived where the woman had indicated, I could not find any transfer desk whatsoever. I went everywhere, down every little hallway, upstairs, etc and could find nothing. I managed to find a security guard and I asked him for directions. Mercifully he spoke very good English and was able to point me in the right direction.

The transfer desk was located through a set of doors that led to passport control and the airport exit. No signage indicated that the transfer desk was in that area; everything stated that it was the airport exit, which is why I hadn’t gone to that area in my frantic search. After going through the double doors, I had to run down a lengthy hallway, past the passport control lines, until I finally arrived at the small transfer desk area.

The transfer desk was pure chaos. The area was packed with passengers, all clearly from the same IndiGo flight that I was supposed to be on, and they were trying to get any help to get themselves rebooked. There was no queue to speak of whatsoever, so I pushed by way to the front and grabbed one of the people working behind the desk. He took my boarding pass and told me to wait. I overheard another agent at the desk telling someone that they would be rebooked on a flight the next day, and I knew that option would never work for me.

I had found a flight on Emirates that departed Istanbul near midnight that would get me to the Maldives only two hours later than originally planned (with a layover in Dubai). I asked the man behind the desk if I could be rebooked on the Emirates flight, but he said it was impossible since they didn’t have an agreement with Emirates. Frustrated at this news, I asked if I could just cancel my entire booking with IndiGo so I could rebook with Emirates on my own. The agent seemed relieved by this suggestion and said that would be very easy to get done. I would get a refund of the unused portion of my ticket, plus an additional €600 in compensation from the airline! This would just cover the cost of my new flight on Emirates (which would cost $900). While the agent was processing the cancellation, I used my phone to book the Emirates flight.

I texted an update to Thinh so he knew that we were still on for our trip to the Maldives, which was a relief. It was late at night for him, and I encouraged him to get some sleep before his early morning departure from Kuala Lumpur.

Up next was clearing passport control. Thankfully I didn’t need a visa to enter Turkey, and the queue moved at a decent pace. I then had to reclaim my checked bag, which required the staff to locate it, pull it from wherever they were storing the bags, and deliver it to me. I found the luggage help desk in the baggage claim area quite easily (finally!). After giving the agent my claim ticket, he said it would take about an hour and that I should have a seat while I waited. They had free water available and I eagerly helped myself. I checked the fitness app on my phone and discovered that I had covered just over 10km during my running around the airport!

I proceeded to sit and wait for my bags, watching Netflix to help pass the time. It was 17:30 by now and I had five hours until my Emirates flight departed. The first hour went by and my bag didn’t show up, so I kept waiting. Several other passengers were also waiting for their bags and they were relentlessly bothering the agent for updates. I had been watching him as I waited and I could tell he was working diligently to locate all of the necessary bags. Two Spanish women kept coming to the desk every ten minutes to ask for updates, despite him repeatedly stating that it would take an hour or so to get the bags (I thought it was quite rude of them to pester him time and time again). After waiting for two hours, I approached him to ask for an update. He asked for a picture or description of my bag, while I was luckily able to provide both to him. I then settled in to wait some more. I was getting stressed by this point because I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough time to make my new flight.

Finally, at 21:30, I was told that they had my bag (along with the bags of several others in the waiting area). A different agent escorted us all to a nearby room where we were able to claim our bags. It was a huge relief when I found mine. The agent then escorted us to the customs area, where our bags were scanned and he gave the customs officer some paperwork regarding our bags. Once this was done, we were free of the agent and I could leave to check-in for the Emirates flight.

I made a frantic dash upstairs to the check-in area and thankfully the counter for my flight had no queue, so I could get checked in with ease. Going back through passport control and security took forever though. Despite having several passport control desks open, the line moved at a snail’s pace and it took me nearly an hour to get through the entire process. The entire time I was stressing and desperate to get through so I could make my flight.

I had about an hour before the departure time for my flight by the time I cleared security, which left me no time to get a proper dinner at the airport. I had been running around all day and hadn’t eaten a meal the entire time. I was able to get a drink for the flight before it was time to board the plane. I was massively relieved when I finally sat down in my seat – despite the hellish nightmare that IndiGo Airlines had put me through during the afternoon, the trip was still on schedule.

The flight departed around midnight and I did my best to nap during the short flight to Dubai.

Friday, August 9, 2024

The final day in Paris and attending the Olympics dawned just as early as all previous mornings. Dad was, once again, not feeling well and stated that he would stay behind today. He had now missed out on the entire second half of the trip, from Berlin through the final three days of the Olympics, which was unfortunate. Mom and I set off for Gare de Lyon, where we grabbed coffee and a quick bite to eat. The train took us up to the aquatic center, which required us to make the long walk through the neighborhood to reach the venue.

Once through the security screening, we stopped to get something to drink and noticed that there was a small tent setup nearby with a small queue in front. Inside was one of the Olympic torches that visitors could hold and take photos with (just as I had done previously during our rowing event). Since the line wasn’t very long, we popped in to have our photo taken together holding the torch. So much of the Olympics is focused on the events themselves, but there is a lot going on around each of the venues for spectators to enjoy as well.

Upon entering the arena, we were both very pleased to discover that we had outstanding seats for today’s diving event – we were sat close to the diving platform in the lower section of the stands. While waiting for the diving to begin, many of the now familiar activities took place to entertain spectators: music, video playing to describe the event, etc. One of the recurring bits was to have women dressed up as someone named Alice Milliat and then wander around the venues. When spotted, fans were encouraged to take selfies with her and post them to social media. Alice Milliat was a pioneer in getting women accepting into major sporting events, including the Olympics. In the early 1920s, she organized the Women’s Olympic Games, later rebranded as the Women’s World Games, which became highly successful. Through her continued efforts, she was able to bring attention to women in sports.

For the first time at the Olympics, ‘Alice’ appeared in our section of the stands and slowly made her way around, stopping for photos. Mom and I took the opportunity to snap a quick photo with her as well, which was rather fun. Shortly after ‘Alice’ left, I spotted a man walking through the stands wearing a jacked with the DPRK (North Korean) flag on it! I knew that North Korea had sent athletes to the Olympics, but this was the first time in Paris that I had seen anyone from their group. I got on my phone and discovered that a North Korean would be competing during this morning’s event!

Event 17: Diving (men’s 10m platform)

Today’s diving event was the men’s solo 10m platform. Several divers we had seen during the 10m synchronized diving the previous week were also competing in today’s event, but Tom Daley was sadly not among the athletes (his diving partner, Noah Williams, was diving today). Before the event began, we got to watch the divers warming up for quite a while. This included male and female divers practicing for future events, as well as those competing this morning.

The diving got underway at 10:00, which began by announcing each diver in turn as they made their way out from backstage. In total, there were 26 divers competing today, representing such countries as Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, South Korea, the USA, Mexico, Ukraine, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Egypt, Japan – and North Korea. I was surprised by how many divers we would be seeing today. Each diver were perform six dives throughout the morning, and the 18 with the highest cumulative scores would advanced to the semifinal round.

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The Mexican diver, Ranal Willars Valdez, had a large number of supporters in the crowd who enthusiastically cheered for him each time he was up to dive. The Ukrainian, Oleksii Sereda, also received loud applause as well, both for his performances and as a way for the crowds to show support for Ukraine in their war with Russia. My favorite diver of the morning was the Timo Barthel from Germany.

The two Chinese divers were the standouts of the day, with each successive dive being near perfect. They dominated the top spots for much of the competition. However, midway through, one of the divers slipped up (just a little) and dropped down in the standings, making way for other divers to move up in the rankings. The North Korean diver came out very strong as well, executing excellent dives for the first few rounds. It was nice to see him doing so well, but this unfortunately changed during his fifth dive. The dive went horribly wrong, and he ended up doing a back-flop when he entered the water, which doused any hopes he had for advancing to the semifinals. It was disappointing because he had started the day so strong.

Others in the top spots from the morning were the divers from Japan, Ukraine, Great Britain, and Australia. The Canadian Rylan Wiens, who we had seen win bronze during the synchronized diving, placed third in today’s preliminary round. Tom Daley’s diving partner, Noah Williams, also advanced (and would later win the bronze in the finals). Only one American did well enough to compete in the semifinals.

By the end of the event, the Chinese divers claimed first and fourth places, Japan was second, and Canada third. The Ukrainian diver finished in fifth, while the German Timo Barthel came in twelfth. The top two divers of the day, from China and Japan respectively, would later go on to claim the gold and silver medals. Mom and I both enjoyed the event quite a bit – a great way to start our final day in Paris!

Mom and I had a busy afternoon planned out, so we had to rush back to the metro station when the diving came to an end. We rode the metro over to the Louvre station, where we made a quick stop at a nearby Pret a Manger for lunch. A few days previously we had bought tickets to visit the Louve for this afternoon (we had one for dad as well, but he obviously wasn’t joining us). Since we had only a few hours before our next – and final – event in the evening, we ate quickly and then walked over to the museum.

The Louvre entrance thankfully wasn’t very busy, which was most likely due to the requirement for visitors to have tickets with times entry. We breezed through security, got a map of the museum and set off to explore the art treasures. I guided mom through the various galleries until we reached the room housing the Mona Lisa. We had both seen it before, but we figured we might as well see it again while we were at the Louvre. The crowd around the masterpiece was large, but we managed to wind our way up to the front relatively quickly so we could spend a few moments admiring it.

Up next were my favorite paintings in the Louvre, all centered on Emperor Napoleon I. I wanted to show mom the impressive coronation painting, as well as some portraits of the emperor that hung in one of the larger galleries. She was very impressed by them, especially the one of his coronation in Notre Dame It’s a gigantic piece of art and shows Napoleon as he is about to crown himself emperor while the Pope looks on from behind.

As we strolled through the Louvre, we marveled not only at the artwork on display, but also at the stunning architecture of each room. One can easily get lost among the art and forget that the Louvre was formerly a royal palace of the Bourbon kings of France. The palace is massive and we walked around the entire length of the building, from one wing to another. We found a large gilded room that contained the crown jewels of the French royal family. Mom loved being able to see the various crowns of the kings and queens, as well as diamonds worn by the last empress, Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III). I couldn’t locate Napoleon I’s crown, though it was apparently on display somewhere in the Louvre.

We then began to walk around the museum in search of the Napoleon III state rooms. Along the way, we stumbled upon the state rooms of both Louis IV and Louis XVI. This section of the Louvre was new to me, and I wasn’t even aware that they existed prior to this, but it was a very pleasant surprise for us both. The state rooms showcased what the palace had once looked like during the time when it had been used as a royal residence. Rich, sumptuous furniture and wall coverings filled each successive room, displaying the wealth and power that the royal family had during its heyday in the 1700s.

I finally found the route to the Napoleon III state rooms, the entrance to which is located down a nondescript hallway near the restrooms. To our great dismay, that section of the Louvre was closed to visitors due to the heat! This was very disappointing because I knew mom would love to visit the state rooms. I saw them back in 2014 and found them to be amazing. This did not detract from our overall enjoyment of the museum though as we still had other art to see.

Mom is a big fan of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, who is widely considered of the greatest painters from the Dutch Golden Age. His paintings are noted for their remarkable life-like depiction of people, utilizing light in each work to enhance their realistic appearances. He used expensive pigments in his art, especially ultramarine, to capture the colors and hues of his subjects. Vermeer’s incredible attention to detail shines through in all of his works, though the painting techniques he used have been long debated. Mom and I had last seen some Vermeer paintings in November 2022, when were in New York for Thanksgiving.

The Louve has a small collection of Vermeer paintings. On display today were ‘The Lacemaker’ and ‘The Astronomer’ which mom thoroughly enjoyed getting to admire. ‘The Lacemaker’ depicts a young woman carefully making lace in such realistic details, especially in the items on the woman’s table. In ‘The Astronomer’, an older man looks at a globe as he studies. The room and objects around the man are do detailed, with the light shining in from the window creating life-like shadows. Vermeer’s ability to paint clothing and fabric is second-to-none – the cloth flows and drapes so naturally in each painting.

We then began to make our way back through the winding halls and galleries so we could head to the exit. Along the way, we noticed signs pointing to the Venus de Milo, so we took the small detour to view the statue. It is located in a small, dark room, which allows visitors to focus solely on the sculpture itself. This was our last stop in Louvre as we made our way to the exit. The museum was packed with tourists and we were eager to escape the crowds.

We left the Louvre around 16:00 and went to a nearby Starbucks to get some coffee. We tried to go several local cafes first, but they were all packed with customers. We enjoyed getting to sit down for a short rest after spending hours exploring the Louvre. It had been a rather last-minute, unplanned addition to our time in Paris, and we were both glad that we’d gone to the museum.

We talked about everything that we had managed to do during the past two weeks, not only at the Olympics themselves, but also sightseeing throughout Paris, not to mention Berlin. This was the second international trip that mom and I had taken together (and the first one I’d taken with dad). I was thoroughly enjoying the time we had together, especially seeing how excited and happy mom would get at each new site we visited. While planning the trip, I had tried to pick out things that I knew she would enjoy seeing and it had been a resounding success. Dad’s illness had forced him to miss out on so much, and we both agreed that traveling would be easier for him after his hip replacement surgery – the long walks were not easy for him due to the pain. Nevertheless, the trip was outstanding and I was very glad to have this time with my parents.

Mom kept mentioning that “international travel just wasn’t for [her]” and I tried several times to push back on that idea because I wanted to go on more trips together. There are so many places around the world that I would like to visit together, from the countries of the former Yugoslavia to Japan to Vietnam and, hopefully one day, Russia.

We had one final event at the Olympics later this evening, but mom opted to skip it so she could head back to the hotel and pack. My parents were leaving for the airport in the early hours the next morning, so they needed to get everything packed before bed tonight. We walked over to the metro station and I explained to her how to get back to the hotel – though I did ask that she message me later so I knew she got there okay.

The final event was located close to the Eiffel Tower, and I soon reached the venue after taking a short metro ride. The area outside of the arena was small, with only a few concessions stands selling food. I grabbed something to eat for dinner. I then made my way to my assigned entrance to the venue and went up to our seats. Since my parents weren’t with me tonight, I had two empty seats to either side of me, which was nice since the stands were cramped. The section had a so-so view of the competition stage and the arena was packed with spectators.

Event 18: Wrestling

Tonight’s wrestling was a medal round, so the excitement in the crowd was palpable. Looking around though, I noticed that the majority of the attendees were men, with a sprinkling of women here and there. I wasn’t as enthused about attending wrestling as I was for the other events at the Olympics, but it would be something new for me to watch.

At 18:15 the first of 15 matches got underway with the USA facing off against Japan. I never fully understood the scoring system throughout the wrestling, but it was definitely clear that the Japanese wrestler was the better of the two, and he ended up winning the match. Up next were wrestlers from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, two countries that I had visited last summer. The Uzbek wrestler won to advance to the final matches of the night.

The third match was when the atmosphere at the even took a turn for the worse (for me). Wrestlers from Iran and Turkey faced off against one another, and they were both very evenly matched. The three spectators next to me were cheering for the Iranian; they appeared to be two adult brothers along with their much younger brother. When the Iranian won the match, they erupted in animated, enthusiastic cheering, which quickly went over the top to the point that I felt very uncomfortable. One of them was jumping around, shouting wildly and he bumped into me several times. This was not unique to just them – spectators got overly excited for the various wrestlers throughout the event. I was glad when the three left their seats for what I hoped would be the remainder of the event (I was proved wrong when they returned a short time later).

The wrestler from Georgia defeated his competitor for Azerbaijan in the fourth match, while Ukraine triumphed over Kyrgyzstan. I was shocked by the number of wrestlers present from the central Asian countries and former Soviet republics. As the event progressed, the men in the stands got more and more energetic with their cheering, with many of them shouting things at the wrestlers, which also elicited responses from other in the crowd. All of this served to increase my feeling of unease – I messaged my mom to tell her it was a good thing that she had skipped the event.

The event finally moved into the medal rounds. For reasons I still don’t fully understand, wrestling is one of very few events that award two bronze medals. The two bronze medal matches for the men’s 57kg were up first. India defeated Puerto Rico, and Uzbekistan defeated Kyrgyzstan, with both countries winning bronze. The gold medal match was between Japan and the USA. The Japanese wrestler won the match to claim gold, while the American got silver. Up next were the two bronze medal matches for the 86kg category. In the first one, the American defeated the Uzbek wrestler. In the second, Greece faced off against San Marino, which the Greek wrestler won.

It was at this point that I decided to leave the event early. The toxicity of the crowd was becoming a bit too much for me and I knew that it would only get worse once the gold medal matches began (one of which included the wrestler from Iran, so the men next to me would be going wild). I had watched 11 of the 15 matches and, while it was somewhat entertaining, wrestling had proven to be the least interesting of the events I’d attended.

Since the venue was located so close to the Eiffel Tower, I decided to take a walk up to see the tower illuminated at night. The sun was still setting when I arrived, but the gigantic Olympic rings suspended from the Eiffel Tower were already light up. Soon the rings changed colors and became all white, just as the Eiffel Tower itself began to sparkle at the top of the hour. The hundreds of lights covering the tower from the turn of the millennium still sparkle across the tower for several minutes each night at the top of every hour. It was by pure luck that I arrived in time to watch it this evening, and it was quite beautiful to see.

I planned to walk over to the Tuileries Gardens to hopefully watch the Olympic cauldron flying in the sky, so I began to leisurely walk in that direction. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse, with the wind picking up and clouds rolling in – I could see lightning in the distance as well. Fearing another storm like the one mom and I had experienced the last time we tried to see the cauldron at night, I decided to head back to the hotel instead. I hurriedly walked over to a nearby metro station and went back to Gare de Lyon. When I arrived back the hotel, my parents were already asleep, so I quietly got ready for bed before going to sleep myself.

Our Olympic adventure had now come to an end. I was sad that it was over, but also glad that we’d had this experience together. It had been a non-stop, exciting two weeks with my parents; I was glad to know that they had enjoyed it just as much as me. For years we had planned to attend an Olympic Games together, first in Tokyo in 2020, but those plans were ruined by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics had been a phenomenal event and it far exceeded my already high expectations. Paris itself had put on an excellent Games, and my parents had been able to fully experience the various aspects of the Olympics. This is the fourth Olympics that I had attended (Vancouver 2010, Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018), but this was the most memorable and special since I had been able to experience it with my parents. We made some great memories during these two weeks and I look forward to future travel with them.

Now it was back to the States for them, while I was heading off to the Maldives.

Thursday, August 8, 2024

This morning dad said he was still not feeling well and that he would stay behind at the hotel once again. Mom and I were disappointed by this news because today’s events at the Olympics were some that he had been looking forward to attending. I tried to convince him to just get out and join us, but he was steadfast about skipping today’s events.

Mom and I went to Gare de Lyon to get some breakfast, but we were disappointed in the options at the bakeries there. Nevertheless, we found something to eat for a light breakfast before catching our train. We had tried to find a local bakery near the hotel, but most of them were still closed so early in the morning.

We took the metro north to reach the Stade de France, located next to the aquatic center where we had attending diving last week. Before heading inside to find out seats, we grabbed some drinks at the concession stands. Upon enter the stadium, we were pleased to discover that our seats were located in the lower section, giving us amazing views over the field where the various events this morning would be taking place.

Event 15: Athletics

The athletics event consisted of several different events occurring simultaneously, similar to gymnastics. Closest to our seats was the shotput, at the far end of the field was the high-jump, and the purple -colored track ran around the entire field. We would be seeing several races throughout the morning, all while the shot put was taking place.

Today, several events for the women’s heptathlon would be taking place as well: 100m hurdles and high jump. At 10:00, the three heats of the women’s 100m hurdles got underway as part of the heptathlon. During the warmup prior to the start of competition, a German woman was practicing with the hurdles and suddenly fell over. It wasn’t clear what exactly had happened to her, but it appeared that she may have landed wrong on her ankle and injured herself. She remained on the ground while medical assistance was brought over to help her. She was eventually escorted off the field by the medical personnel and she did not take part in the day’s events. The 100m hurdles was great fun to watch – it is incredible how quickly they can run down the track, while also jumping over the hurdles!

In between heats of the 100m hurdles, mom and I watched the women’s shot put qualification. The sheer strength of the athletes was amazing, especially seeing how far they were able to throw the heavy metal ball – the shot. Watching this on television doesn’t really convey how far they are able to throw the ball.

Soon, the women competing in the heptathlon moved on from the hurdles and began their rounds on the high jump. Even though we were seated at the opposite side of the stadium, we were still able to see everything quite well. Each athlete would jump over the bar and once all of them had cleared a certain height the bar was raised to the next level. The athletes would then have to clear this height in turn, and the bar would be continually raised higher and higher as the competition went on. Those athletes who failed to clear the bar would be finished, and the competition continued until the final athlete was eliminated. The high bar eventually reached 1.92m high, which only two women were able to successfully clear. When the bar’s height was increased, neither of the two remaining competitors were able to clear it and the high jump event came to an end.

Throughout the high jump, which took quite a long time, several other races were taking place. The women’s 100m hurdles (regular round, not part of the heptathlon) took place. This was the repechages round, where the athletes who had been eliminated in earlier rounds were able to complete one final time for a spot in the semifinals. Only the final two in each of the three heats would be able to advance further in the competition.

Shortly after 11:00 the first of the day’s relays rook place: the women’s 4x100m relay. The relay consisted of two heats, with the top three teams in eat heat moving on to the final rounds. Each of the heats was very exciting to watch as the runners sprinted around the track, handing off the batons to their teammates throughout the race. The crowd in the stadium was cheering energetically for the runners, especially during the second heat when Team France was competing. In the end, the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Jamaica, and Switzerland all moved on to the finals.

The relay races were taking place simultaneously with the high jump, with the two areas crossing over one another. The jumpers began on the opposite side of the track, dashed across it and then jumped over the high bar. When the races were taking place, the high jumpers had to pause their competition so as to not interfere with the runners.

The next round was the men’s 4x100m relay, again made up of two heats. Team France was again competing, which elicited raucous cheering from the crowd. Mom’s favorite, Team Japan, was also taking part in the first heat. As with the women’s relay, the fastest three in each heat, plus the next two fastest across both heats, would move on to the finals. Mom and I enthusiastically cheered on the runners in both heats – the speed with which they were able to circle the track was just unbelievable. After both heats concluded, the USA, South Africa, Great Britain, China, France, and Canada all advanced, with Japan and Italy joining them as the next two fastest teams in the heats.

The final event of the day was the men’s 800s repechage round, made up of four different heats. Each of the men racing in this event were insanely fast, completing the 800m race in well under two minutes! The fastest two in each heat moved on to the semi-final rounds. We got to see an American runner compete, winning his heat (and overall the fastest time in the event). When the race was over, we had only a few more women to watch do the high jump before the competition came to an end.

Athletics had proved to be a very exciting event – both mom and I had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was a shame that dad had not been able to attend because he would have loved it as well.

For lunch today, mom and I wanted to go to a Georgian restaurant. I had mentioned trying Georgian food to her when we first arrived in Paris, but we had not had the opportunity to eat at one of the restaurants in the city until now. The restaurant we chose was south of the River Seine, quite close to Notre Dame; it was a tiny, hole-in-the-wall place and it was not very crowded when we arrived. The waitress was a bit… strange and not overly welcoming or friendly. I ordered khachapuri and mom ordered the ravioli. My food was brought out first and it was exactly like the ones that I had enjoyed when I visited Georgia. Mom tried it as well and really liked it too. When her ‘ravioli’ arrived, it turned out to be perogies that was served with a shot of vodka. We were both a bit surprised by her food, and it turned out to not be very tasty. I was disappointed that her lunch was more enjoyable, especially since this was her first time trying Georgian food.

After lunch, we decided to walk back to the hotel, walking by Notre Dame along the way. The walk, while not short, was quite nice. When we reached the hotel, dad was lying in bed watching television and said he was still feeling unwell. Mom and I both started to get our things together and packed away in our suitcases. Since we would be out at the Olympics the entirety of the next day, we needed to get started on packing now.

We still had quite a bit of time before this evening’s event, so I suggested to mom that we visit Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. We hopped on the metro and rode it over the Montmartre, where we found the area packed with tourists! The metro station was located at the bottom of the famous staircase the leads up to Sacre Coeur, so we soon began the trek up to the top. Despite the intimidating look of the stairs, it didn’t take us very long to reach the top of the hill where the church was located.

The view over the city of Paris from the top of the hill was breathtaking – the only thing we couldn’t see was the Eiffel Tower, which was hidden behind the many trees planted around the church. Mom and I got in the queue to go inside the church, which neither of us had ever visited before. It was pretty inside, but nothing overly remarkable. We then made out way back down the stairs to return to the metro so we could head off to this evening’s event.

Tonight’ venue was located in the south of the city, in another building of the complex where we had attended indoor volleyball. Both mom and I were a bit worried about the stands at the venue since the ones at volleyball had swayed quite a bit due to the crowd’s cheering and movement. Thankfully, the stands for this evening felt sturdier. We grabbed a bite to eat and a drink before heading to our seats.

Event 16: Weightlifting (men’s 73kg)

The weightlifting event tonight was the final, medal round of competition, which added quite a bit of excitement to the event. I had been on the fence about attending weightlifting when we bought the tickets, but it proved to be a surprisingly fascinating and captivating event to watch! The weightlifters had to complete in two separate rounds, showcasing two different lifting styles: the snatch, and the clean & jerk. Neither mom or I could really tell much of a difference between these two styles, but that didn’t detract from our enjoyment of the event. The lifter with the most points between the two events would win the gold medal.

Snatch was up first and began with the French athlete lifting 138kg. After each athlete competed, the remaining athletes and their coaches would submit their desired weights and the athlete with the lowest submission would then go out to do their lifting; each time they had to lift more than the previous competitor. This was confusing to us at first because we could not understand how the athletes were selected, but we quickly figured it out. The 12 athletes each had three attempts to lift as much weight as possible throughout the round. The Chinese weightlifter ended up lifting 168kg, which was more than the other competitors in the snatch round, and made him the leader going into the clean & jerk round.

When the clean & jerk round began, the French weightlifter again started things off and lifted 145kg, which was not a bad start to the round. The weights quickly increased from there though. The Chinese athlete consistently submitted a desired weight far higher than that of his fellow competitors, so he remained in the warmup area while the others came out to lift. This came across as pure arrogance on his part because his desired weights were around 20kg+ more than the others were submitting. When he finally came out to lift, his desired weight was 191kg – and he failed to complete the lift in each of his three attempts. This removed him from the competition since he failed to complete a clean & jerk lift! It was a surprise to many Chinese fans in the crowd, who soon left the competition before it had ended.

The final three weightlifters were from Bulgaria, Thailand, and Indonesia. With China eliminated, there was a lot of tension and excitement in the area as we all waited to see who would win gold. The Bulgarian completed his round with a successful lift of 190kg, which cinched the bronze medal. Thailand and Indonesia continued lifting more and more weight though. The Thai weightlifted maxed out at 198kg, setting a new junior world record in the process. The Indonesian managed to surpass that during his second attempt, lifting 199kg to win the gold medal – and also setting a new Olympic record for the clean & jerk. He attempted to lift over 200kg for his third try to possibly increase his Olympic record, but he ended up passing on it instead.

It was a very exciting finish to the event – not only seeing the three medal winners, but also the two different records being set! When the competition ended, there was a short break while the medal ceremony podium was setup on stage and the flags were brought out. The medal ceremony soon followed, with the crowd enthusiastically cheering on all three winners. Once the anthem of Indonesia had played, mom and I began to make our way to the exit. We were both amazed by how much we had enjoyed weightlifting – definitely the surprise hit of the Olympics!

We took the metro directly back to the hotel, where we did some more packing before heading to bed. It had been a long and eventful day, and we were both exhausted. Dad was not feeling any better by the time we got back, though he wasn’t feeling worse, which was at least a good sign. Our time at the Olympics was rapidly coming to a close, with the next day being our final day in Paris.