*There were a number of possibiliities for the title of this blog: Spooning stragers in SL, The Moving Saunas of Sri Lanka, and many more, but i went with ‘Getting Intimate with Sam’s Armpit becasue i felt it really summed up the expereince. Read On!
WE had been waiting at the bus stop for a while on the look our for a number 112, and were beginning to wonder if we were even waiting in the right place. Bus Stop is a little inacurate actually, as it is less of a stop than slowing down to a roll while waiting passangers run along and jump aboard the moving vehicle, with a haphazard line of buses qued up behind, tooting and yelling.
Eventually a number 112 arrived but we saw in dismay that it was already full. The bus proceeded to collect about 10 more passanger, however, and a few more clambered on the outside holding on for dear life to the doors and window frames. as it chugged up the road it was on a decidedly wrong looking lean- my guess would have been at about 20 degrees or so. we watched it drive off and laughed before waiting for the next one to arrive.
we didn’t wait long before we saw our beast. I yelled over my shoulder to the others that we were going to get on one and though Sam was a little skeptical, we all made a run for it and climbed on board.
As it turned out, we weren’t the only ones determined to be passangers rather than waiters. one… two…five…. ten people got on behind us. I thought i had seen it all in Vietnam and i would never have dreamt it possible if i hadn’t seen it (and felt it) with my own eyes. As more people climbed in we onboard were pushed and shoved futher into the heart of the bus. we were like a packet of lolly snakes on a hot day, sweating and moulded into eachother’s shape with crooked postures and bent torsos. I felt a body spooning me from behind just as I was pushing into someone infront. the contest for hand space on the rail was fierce, as was the scramble for foot space.
As the bus lurched into motion we swayed like jelly in unison with eachother. I yelled over to Sam that at least we would be safe if we had an accident; no one was going anywhere. Futher up the road we slowed again at another bus stop and i hoped at least that some people would get off and give us a little extra room. Not so. MORE PEOPLE GOT ON! i was pushed even futher into the sea of sweaty bodies and right into Sam’s day-old armpit.
AS we kept moving along the road i hoped at least for a swift passage home. When the bus stopped in traffic not to far from where we had just stopped, the growing discomfort and frustration was palpable in the sticky air. no one could even move to wipe the sweat from their brow.
When the aisle cleared i managed to get my camera out and snap a photo (which i will post on this blog later on- i forgot my camera today) but it will never do the scene justice.
We made it home to Aunty’s house on the other side of Colombo and felt the relief of ground beneath our feet and a cool wind on our faces.
When asked later if i enjoyed riding the buses in Sri Lanka i answered an emphatic: YES!
