Five months after my infamous 18-hour bus ride through Laos (http://gregandmara.blogspot.com.ar/2012/01/route-mara-posting.html),
I found myself on another long distance bus. This time, it was a 20 hour ride, and
I was on the top of the bus; in front, where I could see all of the scenery and
our near-accidents. It was a double
decker bus, with 3-in-a-row, 180 degree reclining seats instead of a wheel
well, wooden seats, and plastic stools up the aisle with people hanging their
heads, trying to sleep. Instead of a roadside stand for a dinner of fish noodle
soup, an attendant served me a tray of meats and cheeses (and a glass of
champagne). There was a bathroom on
board (so if anyone needed to vomit, they did not have to use a plastic bag and
through it out the window). A DVD played, followed by music videos. And there were no live chickens (or roosters)
on board.
Instead of leaving a herd of elephants in a small town, I
left a city seething with 15 million people: 18 lanes of traffic on a main
road, followed by pedestrian malls of shoulder to shoulder, gray and black
jacketed businessmen. I watched endless streams
of people pass by in both directions as I sat at the station. Every 5 minutes,
at least 3 buses departed. A line of computer screens indicated which of the
50-some gates my bus would leave from. It was slightly different from the
single ticket booth with 50 passengers waiting quietly outside in Laos!
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