Go round and round . . . we've been singing that for homeschool for the last few days. And just a few days ago, our family decided to take our first trip from our home into the big city on the bus. We usually take a private car and driver since we've got 3 small kids (and usually lots of luggage) and we're not psycho. So what happened? We went psycho.
Actually, we had always wanted to be people who took public transportation when possible. We always talked about trying to live as simply as possible. So, 'Why haven't we tried it before?' would be a better question. Well, we moved here when I was 4 months pregnant and our 2 boys were 3 and 1 1/2. We also usually have more luggage. So, we kept having good reasons to go ahead and pay a driver 'just for the kids' sake'. But this time, we were bold. We were daring. We were . . . psycho.
We were only going for a short stay, so we decided we didn't need Lucy's pack-and-play crib or much to keep the boys busy. We were staying with friends for some of the time, so we felt like we were in good shape. Also, there is a 'non-stop' bus from near our house to near our friend's house that takes about 3 hours. They only slow down to pick up and drop off people. They only stop once for tea and snacks along the way. We thought we could probably get a seat for all of us and then we could say we did it. Get that under our belts so we would know how it went. Finally, we picked the very best time of year. There are about 2 months out of the year when it's not too bad to ride in a non-heated, non-airconditioned bus for 3 hours. This was one of them.
So, we packed up 2 small suitcases and 2 backpacks and walked out of our apartment building, ready for adventure. Now, adventure is a term we use in our family loosely. It many times is used as a disguise for a grueling reality or trial. This could have been one of those days. We flagged a rickshaw. The poor little driver was a boy probably not old enough to drive a car. We piled all the stuff and all of us onto the seat and he took off. Bless his heart, he pedaled us all the way to the bus stand. As we approached the bus, we noticed that no one was in the driver's seat . . . or any of the passengers' seats . . . uh oh. We pulled up and a guy informed us that that bus was cancelled. In fact, all the buses like this one were cancelled for the next 2 days. How convenient, India!
So, now what? That poor kid started pedaling again and we made our way to the public bus stand (where the buses stop often and take about 5 hours for the same journey). Chris started looking a bit frustrated, but soon got himself back on the 'adventure' track. Now, before you get too worried about the rickshaw driver, when he dropped us off, we paid him probably a day's wages for that one trip. We were so thankful for him and told him so.
Then, we went looking for the bus we needed. After getting pointed to 3 wrong buses, we finally found the Delhi bus and got on. There were open seats -- a miracle from God in India! So, we sat together and settled in. Chris and I smiled at each other. We at least would soon be moving in the right direction.
Now, here's where I get to praise the kids. They did the whole trip without a single melt-down or hardly even a complaint! Each of them took at least one nap on the way and they spent most of their time looking out the windows and commenting on the scenery. Bless them! If I wasn't afraid it might come back to bite me later, I might think they were actually starting to get the hang of this India thing.
A bus in India kind of works like this:
There's a driver. His only job is to drive . . . and get out and hit the tires with a rod when we make a long stop. . . because that's the proper way to make sure we don't blow a tire in the potholes. Then, there's a 'bouncer', I'll call him. He's the guy who takes the money and checks to make sure everyone pays. People come to him to pay, but if they think they're too important to get out of their seat, he comes to find them. People pay after the bus is already rolling. Then, there are the passengers. Mostly just people like us, wanting to get to the city without too much hassle. Occasionally, though, there are guys like one guy on our trip. He decided to usher his whole extended family on the bus and then hide one of his older cousins behind someone else so he wouldn't have to pay for him. The 'bouncer', though, found him out, so the guy had to make a big show of pretending that he thought he'd already paid for him.
A bus in India kind of drives like this:
If there's a pothole, go around it -- even into oncoming traffic -- even if the oncoming traffic has to swerve off the road.
If you want to pass someone, do it -- even into oncoming traffic -- even if the oncoming traffic has to swerve off the road.
If you are the biggest vehicle on the road, you get the right of way. Every time.
Other bus tips:
You needn't pack snacks. In any small town, vendors will walk on and off the bus calling out what they have for sale. Sometimes bottled water, sometimes snacks, sometimes fruit, sometimes street food.
You needn't pack books. The swerving and bumping will most assuredly cause even the strongest of stomachs to become motion-sick, so don't bother.
You might want to layer up. The temp in the bus can change from sweltering in the sun while moving slowly, to chilly in the shade while driving quickly. I'm pretty sure, though, that if it's June, you can just pray that you don't sweat out all the water in your whole body before you arrive.
Well, we arrived into the city and got dropped at the bus terminal. From there, we had to take an auto-rickshaw to our friends' house (which, incidentally cost more than the bus). All told, our trip cost about 1/8 of what we pay for a private vehicle and only too about 1 more hour. So, we may do this again sometime. If we are on a short visit. And don't have a lot of luggage. And the weather isn't atrocious. So, basically, we may never do this again. But it was an adventure worth having. Here's to the next one!
Camel cart . . . hmmmm, maybe next time :)
Actually, we had always wanted to be people who took public transportation when possible. We always talked about trying to live as simply as possible. So, 'Why haven't we tried it before?' would be a better question. Well, we moved here when I was 4 months pregnant and our 2 boys were 3 and 1 1/2. We also usually have more luggage. So, we kept having good reasons to go ahead and pay a driver 'just for the kids' sake'. But this time, we were bold. We were daring. We were . . . psycho.
We were only going for a short stay, so we decided we didn't need Lucy's pack-and-play crib or much to keep the boys busy. We were staying with friends for some of the time, so we felt like we were in good shape. Also, there is a 'non-stop' bus from near our house to near our friend's house that takes about 3 hours. They only slow down to pick up and drop off people. They only stop once for tea and snacks along the way. We thought we could probably get a seat for all of us and then we could say we did it. Get that under our belts so we would know how it went. Finally, we picked the very best time of year. There are about 2 months out of the year when it's not too bad to ride in a non-heated, non-airconditioned bus for 3 hours. This was one of them.
So, we packed up 2 small suitcases and 2 backpacks and walked out of our apartment building, ready for adventure. Now, adventure is a term we use in our family loosely. It many times is used as a disguise for a grueling reality or trial. This could have been one of those days. We flagged a rickshaw. The poor little driver was a boy probably not old enough to drive a car. We piled all the stuff and all of us onto the seat and he took off. Bless his heart, he pedaled us all the way to the bus stand. As we approached the bus, we noticed that no one was in the driver's seat . . . or any of the passengers' seats . . . uh oh. We pulled up and a guy informed us that that bus was cancelled. In fact, all the buses like this one were cancelled for the next 2 days. How convenient, India!
So, now what? That poor kid started pedaling again and we made our way to the public bus stand (where the buses stop often and take about 5 hours for the same journey). Chris started looking a bit frustrated, but soon got himself back on the 'adventure' track. Now, before you get too worried about the rickshaw driver, when he dropped us off, we paid him probably a day's wages for that one trip. We were so thankful for him and told him so.
Then, we went looking for the bus we needed. After getting pointed to 3 wrong buses, we finally found the Delhi bus and got on. There were open seats -- a miracle from God in India! So, we sat together and settled in. Chris and I smiled at each other. We at least would soon be moving in the right direction.
Now, here's where I get to praise the kids. They did the whole trip without a single melt-down or hardly even a complaint! Each of them took at least one nap on the way and they spent most of their time looking out the windows and commenting on the scenery. Bless them! If I wasn't afraid it might come back to bite me later, I might think they were actually starting to get the hang of this India thing.
A bus in India kind of works like this:
There's a driver. His only job is to drive . . . and get out and hit the tires with a rod when we make a long stop. . . because that's the proper way to make sure we don't blow a tire in the potholes. Then, there's a 'bouncer', I'll call him. He's the guy who takes the money and checks to make sure everyone pays. People come to him to pay, but if they think they're too important to get out of their seat, he comes to find them. People pay after the bus is already rolling. Then, there are the passengers. Mostly just people like us, wanting to get to the city without too much hassle. Occasionally, though, there are guys like one guy on our trip. He decided to usher his whole extended family on the bus and then hide one of his older cousins behind someone else so he wouldn't have to pay for him. The 'bouncer', though, found him out, so the guy had to make a big show of pretending that he thought he'd already paid for him.
A bus in India kind of drives like this:
If there's a pothole, go around it -- even into oncoming traffic -- even if the oncoming traffic has to swerve off the road.
If you want to pass someone, do it -- even into oncoming traffic -- even if the oncoming traffic has to swerve off the road.
If you are the biggest vehicle on the road, you get the right of way. Every time.
Other bus tips:
You needn't pack snacks. In any small town, vendors will walk on and off the bus calling out what they have for sale. Sometimes bottled water, sometimes snacks, sometimes fruit, sometimes street food.
You needn't pack books. The swerving and bumping will most assuredly cause even the strongest of stomachs to become motion-sick, so don't bother.
You might want to layer up. The temp in the bus can change from sweltering in the sun while moving slowly, to chilly in the shade while driving quickly. I'm pretty sure, though, that if it's June, you can just pray that you don't sweat out all the water in your whole body before you arrive.
Well, we arrived into the city and got dropped at the bus terminal. From there, we had to take an auto-rickshaw to our friends' house (which, incidentally cost more than the bus). All told, our trip cost about 1/8 of what we pay for a private vehicle and only too about 1 more hour. So, we may do this again sometime. If we are on a short visit. And don't have a lot of luggage. And the weather isn't atrocious. So, basically, we may never do this again. But it was an adventure worth having. Here's to the next one!
Camel cart . . . hmmmm, maybe next time :)
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