Oh boy! Let me start by saying that this is the most intense experience Ive ever had. And everyone in the group agrees, so its not cause i’m a home-bodied pansy.
The buses here are the same size as a minivan vehicle. Yeah, you know.. the cars that hold like 7 middle school girls in dirty soccer uniforms. 7 girls TOPS! Here in Nepal, these minivans pack in a LOT of people. Men, women, boys, girls, old hobbling seniors, chickens, 50 lb bags of rice.. pretty much anything. One time we counted over 30 people on this bus. No joke.
There’s two people who work each bus; the driver and a pubescent 13 year old boy who collects the money. This young boy rules the bus, forcing people to sit on other peoples laps, banging on the side of the bus to indicate a stop or a go and is a rip off artist for foreigners. Like me. Theres always a different price for the same bus ride and somehow it continues to get more expensive every time. Theres also no way to argue with the kid. No matter what, he’s always seemingly really tough and not to be messed with. Okay but backing up to just straight up logistics.. How the Nepal Bus system works....
These minivans each have their own destination city/town and you find out which one goes where by developing a special kind of hearing. The minivan sliding door remains open as the car cruises by and the money boy literally hangs out the side yelling the city name over and over. So when we’re in Kathmandu we listen for the boy yelling “satubattu”... however it sounds something more like “saubausaubausaubau.” And then there really no guarantee that the bus will fully stop, so you kind of just clammer on and sit where your told. Taking this bus alone as a white female is less than satisfactory as far as Nepali experiences go. I don't recommend it. I have a semi racy story of being covered in smelly men reeking of the local moonshine. The drunkest guy, who was conveniently placed in my lap, wanted to practice his english, though he only seemed to know one phrase. “I am drinking.” To which I replied “ramro” which means good/great/cool/nice/etc etc. Speaking in Nepali was a mistake however, because that gained even more attention from my new ‘drinking’ bus buddies. They then harassed me the entire 40 minute bus ride back to town.
Anyway! It all worked out in the end and the moral is to not ride the bus alone.
(This isn't half the amount of people who can fit the same space)
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