Intercity Bus journeys can evoke quite a myriad of reactions from many. From squeals of joy (Mostly from 10 year old’s or 25 year olds who still think they are 10 year old’s) to sighs at the thought of spending innumerable hours in more or less the same position. Ever since I relocated to Chennai, I’ve made numerous bus trips (thanks to the fact that train tickets get reserved almost 3 months in advance) and unfortunately these trips have not always been in the most comfortable fashion possible thanks to several factors which include a lazy travel agent, a lazy me and really busy peak seasons.
During yet another journey where I had to overcome the odds in reaching my destination of Coimbatore I pondered over the various trips I had made with the numerous little obstacles and small yet humorous incidents. Here is a short recap.
Sometime in February: I left the part of getting train tickets to one fellow who claimed to have an excellent travel agent who would get us the tickets that we wanted through tatkal. Yes one fellow called Vivek Santhosh. :P I’m typing this in earnest belief that he never bother’s to read my blog. :D. Anyway, we left it to his superhero travel agent who somehow could not make of his superhuman resources and instead got us bus tickets. I was cool with that, except that I didn’t know that it was for a godforsaken Kerala owned and maintained travels. Something named after the almighty. The journey was spent figuring out the office of the above travels and then waiting endlessly till 11pm for a 10.30 bus and finally being led on a trek into the wilderness (read unpaved bus parking) and voila, a non air conditioned mallu bus. Wonder how I knew it was a mallu bus? The number plate of course. Plus the incessant smell of coconut oil that tortured us throughout the journey. Add to that, a really horny couple seated in front of us making out throughout the night and you can guess how the rest of the journey turned out to be. Did I mention the journey took 12 hours? Yes add that too. One unforgettable trip.Sometime in March: Another time I was transported by an ever enthusiastic Formula one drop out who most probably gave up the high octane life for the thrills that Diesel and Indian highways only can offer. He of course dutifully parked the bus into a water tanker hardly within 30 minutes of departure thus brining my journey to a premature end. After a 45 minute argument, settlements, threats and an alternate bus, we set off again to complete the journey in record time. 7 hours for a normally 9 hour journey. Seriously, why is Karun Chandok in F1?
Sometime 2 days ago: I leave from home to Ashok pillar. Yes this part is about getting to koyambedu itself. :D At Ashok pillar I see a traffic jam stretching endlessly on (Oh yeah Beijing, a 100 miles? We’ll beat you soon at that game too! :P) I look around for a bus and I see a Volvo in the distance. I thank my stars and run for it only to stop 10 feet away from it. The bus was like a human sandwich. Well salted btw. There was no way even the doors could open! Hence I head on further to find another Volvo similarly packed. Now I start to curse my stars and just walk along. I find another 2 Volvos and regular buses as well, all packed to the brim. So in short I continued my US Marines physical aptitude test and walked 2 kilometers, found an empty share auto which subsequently got filled up completely such that I was immobilized for the rest of the journey. To end it all, I had another 1 kilometer walk through concrete terrain followed by rugged jungle paths. Oh yes I live in the heart of civilization!