Greyhound Trips

I had been on numerous Greyhound trips since I first came to the US. Apart from the prolonged sitting, which is quite hazardous for one with back problem, I had really good experiences and learnt some life lessons on these trips too. Most people would think that travelling in a bus is quite similar to taking a road trip, as you cruise through various part of the country, enjoying the scenery and take it easy. It's true that you cruise through various part of the country, enjoying the scenery. There's where the similarities end.

When you are on a road trip, you usually have a destination in mind, then you plan the stops along the road. There's a set of cities and towns that you would stop. With Greyhound, you will end up stopping in the most unimaginable locations for transit or just a stopover. I traveled from Bozeman MT to Lubbock TX once and I stopped in Wichita KS, Oklahoma City OK, Dallas TX, Big Spring TX then Lubbock TX.

Back in the early 2000, before Greyhound changed their routes, Greyhound stopped in practically any podunk town if there was any passenger boarding or disembarking. If you think that living in Bozeman MT, Lubbock TX or Ames IA is boring, wait till you stop in one of those town without any stop sign and there is no sign board to indicate the town's name and population. If it weren't for the stop, I would not even realize that there are people living in those places. The people that I had seen in these numerous trips really convinced me that anything is possible under the sun. Being in school and hanging around those elitists, there's a whole other side of the world that I am definitely not familiar with.

On one transit, I was in Oklahoma City station over night. If you are a female traveling alone, the most rational thing to do in any stopover is to stay awake and alert. I decided to walk around the bus station to stay awake. I met a woman in her forties outside the bus station, rearranging a number of large suitcases. I went up to lend her a hand and I strike up a conversation with her. She was on her way to Flagstaff AZ. She was moving from Illinois, all her worldly possessions were in the suitcases. Her thrice ex-boyfriend asked her to move to Flagstaff AZ and restart their relationship. She did not have a job line up, she did not have a definite place to stay and she had uprooted her life in Illinois. I wished her luck. I do not know why, but I remember this encounter very well, and often wonder what had become of her.

It was late at night, during one of those stop without any indication of the town name or population. A young man came onboard, all dressed up, looking smart and no suitcase. The driver asked him where was he heading. He said that he was going for a job interview in the next big city that we were heading to, five hours away. I could see the nervousness in his eyes and his body language. He did not sleep at all, fidgeting around all night. When we finally arrived at the big city, the driver wished him luck before he got off.

I was in a transit and boarded a bus that was already quite full. I found a seat next to a young woman with her toddler on her lap. That was the longest trip I've ever had, at least that's how I felt. Of the two hours I sat next to her, she was on her cell phone ninety percent of the time, talking to a guy. I couldn't make a tail or a head out of whether this guy is her husband, boyfriend, her son's father or something else. I do not think that my writing and description could do any justice to her conversation. The gist of her 0.90 * 2 hours conversation is "Don't f*** around while I am out". I was exhilarated when we finally stopped and we went different way.

It was my very first trip on Greyhound, bright eyes, bushy tail. I was in transit and was about to board another bus. I saw a guy gesturing to the employee at the boarding door. It was the policy of Greyhound to allow passengers with disabilities to board first. Apparently, this guy was trying to get to the front of the line so that he can board first based on his disabilities. I went up there and explained to the employee that he probably has disabilities. The employee asked the guy to show his disability card and he did. All were fine. After the bus was on its way, this guy came up to me and showed me a piece of paper, "I'm poor and hungry. I am disable. I need money to eat. Can you help me?" I wasn't sure if I should call that panhandling or extortion.

I like to travel light. One backpack and one small wheeled suitcase, that's the most I would take on any domestic leisure trip. I learnt a whole new meaning of travel 'light' over time on Greyhound. I saw a family of three, mother and two boys, each with one pillowcase full of their personal belongings, no other suitcases. Another time, I saw a guy traveling with a medium black trash bag, half full. On the other extreme, I saw a young woman, traveling by herself, with three huge suitcases and two pillows; at every stop, she will go down the bus to check that her suitcases are still in the cargo area before the bus takes off again.

Men are funny creatures. When a woman dressed very provocative, they tend to leave them alone. At least that was the case based on several instances that I had seen. I was in a bus station out in the Mid-West. I saw a woman in black bra and black short shorts. At the same time, there was another woman in shorts and t-shirt. Guess what, I saw a number of men approached the one in t-shirt, be it giving her a hand or just talking. One would assume that dressing more provocative might attract more attention, but I was quite wrong in that particular case. This happened on several occasions in various bus stations. That's when I started to question my theory.

When traveling all day, the bus would stop at some restaurants or restaurant in a gas station during meal time for the passengers and also the driver to get their meal. These stops are usually longer, about an hour, and usually at fast food restaurant. It was quite disheartening when I found out that quite a number of passengers could not afford to get themselves a meal from the restaurant, surviving on crackers and pressurized Cheez Whiz. I talked to a number of them and I found out that a large number of the passengers actually paid full price for their bus fare. I usually bought mine at least 14 days in advance for a discounted fare, about thirty to forty percent off the full fare. They were not aware of the existence of advance purchase discount at all. I could not help thinking, how the lack of information could produce so much disadvantages.

A lot of people consider taking Greyhound a waste of time, I have to concur with them that when you have the resources but not much time on hand, Greyhound is time consuming. However, if you are not in a hurry to get somewhere, it is worth to take a trip on Greyhound. When you are on a Greyhound trip, open your eyes and observe people. You will see so many things that you would never imagine possible. Several things I learnt from traveling on Greyhound: No matter how large the size of your headphones, people will still approach you to talk to you; Eye contact is a good enough sign for most people to start a conversation; Travel light so that you can keep all your belongings with you at all time; If someone tries to preach, just say "May God Bless you and your trip."