A Bus Adventure

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Feb 26, 2001

I had to get on the next bus or I wouldn’t have time to prepare for my lesson plan. I waited for 5..10..15.. minutes, but no bus arrived. The number of people waiting was increasing by the second and all I could do was wish they weren’t getting on my bus. Then from the distance, I could barely make out the red decaying red bus, leaning to the left. In a few short minutes as the bus came nearer, almost half of the people run towards the coming bus. I looked confusingly at everybody and wondered what was happening. Nothing was, but I learned my first bus lesson: Once you see the bus coming, don’t just stand there, Brace yourself and be ready to bolt.

As I stand on the hideously packed bus looking shamelessly at the bar above me which I could hardly reach, I furtively looked for someone who was getting ready to get off at the next bus stop. Then my heart raced. About a meter away from me was an obviously soon to be vacated seat. However, there were two other passengers who were much nearer. I looked at them gauging their reactions, to see if they were thinking of the same thing as me; they seemed unaware of it. Hoping that they hadn’t seen it, I stealthily walked towards the seat as the bus made a sudden halt swerving dangerously to the side of the road. When they saw me, they smiled politely and seemed unaffected by my devious act. I felt quite guilty, but as all my future bus rides would show, many Thais are so polite that even when it’s a matter of life and death, they wouldn’t squirm (Well, for me standing on the bus stuck in traffic in the Bangkok heat is life and death--- how pathetic).

Finally, I got a seat. I smiled to myself and started to think nice thoughts to blur my vision of the traffic. Suddenly, the bus makes a quick unsettling motion almost throwing me out of my seat. I cast a look at the driver and I could see him shaking his head as if he was trying to stimulate the amphetamines that had lost its potency. I looked at the other passengers hoping for a violent reaction, but they didn’t seem to notice anything and neither did they look as scared as I was. Before I could get my composure back, the driver started to race against time. I clutched firmly to the chair in front of me as he sped up passing others cars on the road at maximum speed.

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