A moving sidewalk? |
What other kinds of local transportation can you expect? How about flying
into the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta, then easing into a hollowed-out
log canoe to glide along waterways, smiled at by crocodiles? Or perching on
a sack of grain in a cart pulled by two giant water buffaloes on the way to a
tiger sanctuary in southern Nepal?
How about leaning back in a two-wheeled surrey called a bendi in
Sulawesi, soothed by the cloppity-clop of hooves on cobblestones? Or hiring
an outrigger canoe to sail across Manado Bay for a candlelight dinner. These
are what I mean by local transport.
I confess that transport in underdeveloped countries is sometimes more
picturesque than comfortable. I'm thinking about agonizing overnighters on
hard-seat Indian trains and dawn-to-dusk trips on densely packed buses.
There's a local joke that goes,"What's the maximum capacity of a
Guatemalan bus?" The answer, with a smile, is uno mas, "one more." In those
cases where there is simply too much character and too little comfort, paying
more will sometimes, but not always, solve the problem.
In North America, buses come mostly in vanilla, but in the rest of the
world you'll enjoy a wide range of flavors. Some are the height of luxury.
Others are rolling wrecks; rust-holed and threadbare, seats torn, metal
surfaces shiny from being gripped by a million hands. Either the windows
won't open or they won't close, long-broken fans stand idle in afternoon
heat, and overhead light fixtures are nothing but shadowy holes. Shock
absorbers and springs . . . don't.
One thing that always works is the horn, shrill and penetrating, every
few seconds. The only other piece of equipment that always works is the boom
box, usually the size of a suitcase. If you're lucky, you hear local music.
If not, you discover what happened to the very worst U.S. disco tapes.
If you're on a budget, buses are an excellent way to save money. For
example, you can ride every mile of every bus route in the Himalayan kingdom
of Sikkim for around $20.
On the other hand, in even the least developed countries there's always
some upscale transport in which you can be sheltered from the hurly-burly
around you. In fact the comfort, service, and amenities of some of these
buses surpass anything available at home.
Local bus in Chichicastenango, Guatemala |
The air-conditioned super-bus that cruises 1,200 miles north from
Santiago to Chile's border with Peru has three movie screens, a bathroom, a
bar, and a smiling hostess. As the sleek bus hums across the moonscape of the
Atacama Desert, heat waves shimmering outside the window, the hostess sets
another ice-cold beer at your elbow. At night, your seat reclines, a leg rest
pops up, and you're in bed. All that for about $40.
On the double-decker luxury bus from Windhoek, Namibia, to Capetown,
South Africa, the attendant serves near-gourmet meals and fine South African
wines. As dusk falls, she appears at your side with a tea or liqueur and warm
blanket.
Years ago I made up a saying: The elite fly, tourists take the train, and
the people ride the bus. Taking local transport means talking with people,
seeing the countryside close at hand, and encountering unexpected adventures.
Despite an occasional inconvenience, things always work out if you keep in
mind that"the trip is the trip."
Well, that's it from your Traveler's Tool Kit. Remember: The world is
waiting. See it for yourself!
