The Bus Through Sichuan

I took plenty of bus rides during my time in China. Fortunately, most were uneventful. I don't have the horror stories of overcrowded overnight bus trips, or getting stuck in the mud like Johnny Vagabond (whose post reminded me that I hadn't written this story yet). But, my first long-distance bus trip from Chengdu to Songpan was still an experience that I recall with a bit of humor, though it wasn't quite as amusing during the trip.

Jia decided that our best route to Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou was to take a morning bus to Songpan, stay overnight, and head to Huanglong the following morning. During the May holiday, the buses were crowded and tickets were difficult to come by, but Jia managed to get us two tickets on what she claimed was a "second-class" bus.

It was rather hot for an early May morning--I was tempted to wear shorts, but I knew we'd be heading north into the mountains--and I was sweating by the time I got on the bus to find that it had no air conditioning. A breeze would've been nice through the open windows, but we sat in the parking lot for more than a half hour.

For the first few hours, I tried to sleep, but the old bus shook too much for me to get more than a few minutes of rest. I enjoyed the scenery through Sichuan and saw terraced fields along the river for the first time during my stay in China (but not the last time).

As we rolled down the road out of Chengdu with a fresh breeze, half the bus lit cigarettes to help them enjoy the ride. It wouldn't have been so bad had the passengers smoked a few cigarettes on the way, but they didn't. They decided to chain smoke during the entire 11-hour ride. This included the driver who sat below the "No Smoking" sign. At least the windows were open.

The open windows became a mixed blessing as we drove into the mountains. Snow was still on the ground, and a few flakes fell along the ride. The windows would not close--they were stuck. I packed my jacket in my backpack, so I had some warmth, though I had to share it with Jia because she didn't have one.

On this trip I discovered the secret to making money as a bus driver or ticket-taker in China--pick up hitchhikers. During the first three hours, we stopped to pick up another 10 passengers along the road. The driver and ticket-taker split the cash and most of the new passengers had to sit in the aisle. As we came to a checkpoint, the passengers in aisle were told to lie down so the police wouldn't see them. We passed through the checkpoint without incident and the passengers resumed sitting on their bags.

As this was a second-class bus, there was no toilet on board (I was spoiled by the nice buses with toilets and movies on the short trips to Guangzhou) and we had to stop a few times in villages--usually when someone requested that the driver stop. I avoided using the public toilets as long as I could. On the first two stops I browsed through the local shops that sold snacks and cheap souvenirs--Jia and I bought some dried fruit for the ride. By the third stop, I gave in. I paid my 5 jiao to use the toilet housed in a wooden shack. It was dirty and dark, and the floorboards creaked. The toilet was little more than a slat removed from the floor. I looked down at the hole and peered clear down the mountainside. I laughed as I thought I paid for what I could've done outside off the edge of the cliff.

We arrived in Songpan in the early evening. We bought our tickets for the earliest bus the next day and inquired about hotels--we were pointed to one right across the street. We wandered the town and hiked up part of a mountain before dark. We slept early in our hotel that had no heat and boarded a much nicer bus in the morning that took us to Huanglong.

Strangers on a Bus

A post over at the Art of Backpacking got me thinking about encounters with strangers. Unfortunately, in a city like Shenzhen it was difficult to find kindness in strangers--it was usually overshadowed by the behavior of China's least friendly city. However, one encounter still stands out (there was also another encounter much earlier in my adventure in Shenzhen).

I was on my way home and had to switch buses. As I was used to having a metro card, I didn't check to ensure I had enough cash on me to take the 2 Yuan buses. Of course, I didn't have my metro card that day. As I got on the second bus I searched for my change and came up with only 1 Yuan. I was sure that I must have a coin stashed in a pocket of my backpack, but only came up with two quarters left over from my trip to the US. The only other money I could find was a 50 Yuan note, which was no good on an exact change bus. I also knew asking for change for a 50 from the passengers would be futile (a 5 or 10 would be easier). (On a slightly related note, I once had to pay a ticket girl with a 100 Yuan note for a 2 Yuan bus ticket and was amazed that she had enough change.)

One passenger saw my plight and offered me 1 Yuan. She was very kind and spoke decent English. She was also surprised when I thanked her in Chinese and began a small conversation for the twenty-minute ride home. I gave her the two quarters that were in my backpack. She told me I should get a metro card, and I explained that I have one but my wife had taken it that day.

I thanked her again as I stepped off the bus and felt better about Shenzhen for the rest of the day.

Spontaneous Combustion

China Digital Times reports that a bus in Shenzhen spontaneously combusted. Fortunately, no one was injured, which is much better than what happened in Chengdu.

The bus that caught fire was number 320--a route that I don't recall ever taking. However, bus routes (that I am aware of) that are 3xx run from Bao'an district to other parts of the city that are in the Special Economic Zone. Such buses usually get beat up pretty quickly because of the long routes. One's I've been on are 331, 305, 355, 301, 311, 319, and 361.

From the photos of the charred remains of the bus, it appears that it is one of the more recent models (though not the newest buses).

While I was fortunate enough to have never encountered such disasters on a bus in Shenzhen, I did have some close calls. On more than one occasion passengers were worried about the amount of smoke coming from the bus, even though the driver assured everyone that it was OK. I've also been on a few that broke down, forcing everyone to cram on another bus.

Things I'll Miss About Shenzhen (4)

Public transportation in New Jersey is awful. Supposedly, it's not so bad in the more densely populated areas, but it's awful around my hometown.

There are no bus stops nearby to go anywhere--I would have to drive at least 10 minutes to find a bus stop (which is not well marked) and then figure out what buses stop there (there are no lists at the bus stop). And to top it off, the buses don't run frequently.

In Shenzhen, I had a major bus stop right outside my apartment (at all the apartments I stayed in over the years). I could take buses to go just about anywhere. It was great to be able to find the lines that were rarely crowded, which happened often because I avoided the rush hour at all costs. The subway was severely limited, but that'll change in a few years.

Two of my favorite bus lines in Shenzhen were 113 and 19. The 113 seemed to have the friendliest riders--I heard "excuse me" in Chinese and English often. I also once had to pay the 2 Yuan fare with a 100 Yuan bill...and the ticket girl actually had enough change. The 19 was the quickest and most comfortable bus I got to ride--mostly because it was near campus and stopped by my apartment. For the extra 5 jiao it was worth riding the nearly empty bus.

Now the only time I get to use public transportation is when I see my brother in Jersey City. I have to drive about 30 miles to his house, walk 15 minutes to the PATH station that goes into New York City, and then I can get on the subway. I wouldn't mind the walking and the PATH if it wasn't for the fact that I have to drive. I really hate driving. New Jersey needs more public transportation.

Thanks to the remnants of Typhoon Fengshen, I didn't have work today...sort of. I walked out to the bus stop at 7:55 as usual, and got soaked because an umbrella doesn't do much when it's raining sideways (I also found that my umbrella leaks under heavy rain). At 8:15 a car pulled up and the driver motioned for me to get in. I didn't recognize the driver or passenger and couldn't get them to identify themselves so waved them off. Even if they were just being polite, I didn't want to take any chances.

At about 8:25 I was soaked up to my knees and slightly wet everywhere else, and I decided to go home. I called my office and was told that the school bus was only then at the second stop in Shekou (I think I'm the fifth stop on the route). Problem as I saw it was that there was no possible way to get a taxi in a tropical storm and it was also impossible to arrive at school in time for my class at 8:40 (the bus takes about 30 minutes to get to campus). We decided to cancel class and reschedule for Friday morning. I just hope the weather clears up a bit tomorrow.

Transit Breakdown

As if transportation in this city weren't bad enough--it's already the most expensive in China.

Jia bought a metro card for me just before the national holiday last week. It was easier to buy it at 7-11, which meant that the 40 kuai deposit is non-refundable (as opposed to the refundable 40 kuai card you can only buy at some office). Anyway, the card had 50 kuai on it for use on the buses and subway. I have managed to use it five times up until today (total journey price: 12.5 kuai). I got on the bus this afternoon and the card didn't work. I kept getting no response.

The bus driver was saying something to me that I didn't understand because it was way to fast to comprehend. So, I decided I had better pay in cash. Of course, my smallest bill was a twenty. I turned around and asked the first person sitting if he had any change (in Chinese, of course). He looked through his wallet and shook he head. To my surprise, four others around him began looking at their funds. Finally, a high school girl came up to me with change and I thanked her. Of course, it still meant that I had to pay double the fair and try to get the other half from a boarding passenger (that's difficult when I don't know how to say, "I already paid, please give your money to me"). Fortunately, it all ended well.

Sometimes when things go wrong I find the best people around here.