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.
