The famous Chinatown Bus

        On my second trip to Washington D.C. in the 20 weeks I've been here, I decided to follow through on my plan. I purchased a round-trip ticket to D.C. (only $18 each way!) on the infamous Chinatown Bus.

Luckily, David (pictured, third photo scratching his eye) and I arrived early. That is good, because it took us a little bit to realize that there was no bus station; rather, we all had to stand against the curb. Then the bus swooped in, we piled on, and it took back off. Who needs a bus station anyway?

Unfortunately for the last two women to arrive, the bus was full. They were on their way to a wedding, and needed to catch this bus to make it. At my prompting, a few people offered their seats for the price it would be worth to them to give them up. Although I didn't say this, mine was worth something like $400 or $500 to me because I was on my way to the Toastmasters International Convention. But one guy did offer his for $100, and a woman offered hers for $40. The two women didn't respond. About then, the bus swooped off. Oh well, $18 doesn't buy you much service. It's fend-for-yourself at that price!

Then the guy next to me watched a movie on his laptop. In chinese. At full volume. He got yelled at by the $40 woman, and turned it down a bit, but I was thankful when his battery ran out; regardless of the fact that I found the chinese popular culture to be fascinating to watch from a cinematography and body language perspective. That, and my first exposure to the "Chinese language" version of Windows. Most of it was in English.

The bus driver's driving habits were also amusing. I never thought I'd see a bus driver fly down the exit ramp, then at the last second cut back into main traffic. Makes sense, really; he has enough weight to get away with it. I guess a New York driver is a New York driver, car or bus!

Overall, I would do it again. I mean, at least my bus didn't catch on fire.