"Tunxi! Tunxi! Get on my bus!" Conductor drums up business - no leaving until full!
Some of the most terrifying experiences I have had in China have been on the local buses in Anhui province. Like most bus experiences in China, the trips I have had in Anhui have been ‘interesting’ – but add the windy mountain roads into the mix and it’s a little scary.
No room for the conductor to sit down
Local buses in China generally don’t leave until they are full. If you’re the first person to arrive, you get your pick of the seats (great for me who is fussy about bus seats) but you may have to wait a while until it fills up. Arrive late and you have to fold up your legs and possibly balance your backpack on your head. Finally, the bus is ‘full’ and departs, taking you on a wild ride to your destination. It is now that the bus conductor (normally female) comes around to take your fare. However, many stops are made along the way, where the conductor leans out the window hollering out the destination. Just as you think that not a single person extra can squeeze on, children’s plastic stools appear from nowhere and a few more people can cram on. On my first visit to Anhui, the bus drove up and down the main street of Tangkou until the bus was jam packed before finally heading onwards to Tunxi.
Anhui bus driver (note the slack seat belt just thrown across his body - we were just approaching the police when he slung it across himself!)
During my first bus experience in Yangshuo, I found this all very interesting (and slightly terrifying as anxiety set in at the thought of being stuck at the back of the bus) but now, I just take it all as I come. Generally, I get myself settled with my ipod and fall asleep. However, this is impossible on Anhui buses as the buses travel through small villages and up windy mountain roads. Add the total disregard for the rules, small children playing on the road, hair pin turns, adults strolling across the road and scooters putting their way up the mountain and it becomes like a ride at a theme park.
Everyone is crammed in but they are all still able to have a nap!
But, I’m still here today (albeit with a slightly raised blood pressure!) and I will definitely be on a local bus again I’m sure!
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