bus rides.

what's so fascinating about taking bus(es) on daily basis, something most of you are familiar with, i'm sure?

especially those of you, living in some sophisticated countries where the comfort of passengers is the highest priority prior to every stage of planning, prior to executing the routes, or even prior to thinking of creating certain routes, let alone a new kind of transportation system!

the bottomline is that once you have to face the reality of having to take buses on regular basis in this chaotic city to cut your expenses, you have to come to terms with putting your life on danger, on regular basis.
ask either these two friends of mine, rio and qnoy who claimed to experience (while imagining at the same time) what it was like waiting for keanu reeves to save them in speed.

well, of course none of the transjakarta bus crews draws similar resemblance to keanu, but it’s not easy to find anyone worth dreaming of among all of them, so let them stick with their imagination.

and come to think of it, that transjakarta buses (commonly known as busway) are the most advanced transportation system the city currently has. of course, the problem with the confusing voice-over is another issue we might deal with in the future, but being on the cleanest and most endearing buses certainly proves to be no match as compared to on any other non-transjakarta buses.

as you are reading these very words of mine, you might not think that the writer actually has to endure a trip of 30 minutes (normal traffic condition) which could last up to 90 minutes (rainy peak hours) from a suburban area already belongs to another province. the trip is taken by a self-acclaimed air-conditioned bus, which by the time you sit on the bus, you doubt if the air-con ever works.

but, having been away from this city for quite an ample of time without at once ever cease doubting if effectiveness ever applies here, i begin to notice that the ride itself works wonder for me.
need any proof?
here goes:

1.you never feel left out of the trend in music.

accusing those amateurish musicians (god forbids!) with their whatever-things-worked-as-instruments may distract you from your sleep, may prevent you from talking on the phone (like you dare to show it off?), but if you pay full attention to them, within three days you’ll memorize every single peterpan’s songs, entirely! and you don’t ever hesitate to strike up a conversation with any clothes sellers in mangga dua or preman in tanah abang or some low-class hustlers in hayam wuruk, you can sing along with them!

2.forget your breakfast.

why bother getting yourself cooked up in a kitchen while you need to brisk off to your office? by the time you hop on the bus, you’ll meet the greetings from people selling snacks, peanuts, dried tofu, and boiled eggs along with any kind of drinks you can ask for. hey, it’s a walking cafeteria, with only 1,000 rupiahs, you won’t feel hungry for the next 2 hours!
hygiene? i'm not sure if it matters here. after all, don’t we all need some supplement injection after chasing the bus from afar?

3.bus is a bank on the road.

where else you can get a change easily? the bus ride only costs 5,500 rupiahs, but you can always hand in a note of 50,000 rupiahs, give an innocent look to the one who collects the fee from you while you say, “sorry, no smaller notes”, then he will take a deep breath, and soon enough you’ll be given a tremendous amount of change.
you are safe for the next trip!

alright, the city will never be as impossibly smooth-ridden as my previous comfort zone, but then, a bus ride is a bus ride after all, where you get to meet different people who may bombard you with their boasts, or put their heads on your shoulder while they doze off, putting the chaotic traffic jams away behind.

and to me, getting picked up is never any easier than this ;)