We grew up and the mode of travelling changed from 'school vans' to public buses. Karachi's 'Busain' as known are a jungle of alpha numeric codes. w-18, g-25, 2k and what not? =D They are more colorful then a bride to be married, rickety like an old metal junk and window less like a glass house in busy common street. They hover over a car and shrink away from trailers.
My commute from home to university and university to home is ride on one of these spectacular pieces of art. I usually have to change two buses. Its your lucky day if you get a place to sit which is mostly one to million of chances, not so much if you have to stand and maybe its just a bad day if you are standing in vicinity of 'knocking-you-out-conscious-odor' ... if you know what I mean =D
Standing and commuting is all around completely an interesting experience. It requires that you know how to balance/cancel out your weight with your feet, the art of holding your bags and keeping your hands free since you have to hold those long steel rods above your heads and mostly you should know some physics; law of momentum and concept of inertia are pre-requisite. Either you ignore the 'blank expressions' of the passengers sitting all around you and stick to your music player or you can participate in the 'innocent-eavesdropping' of whose 'bahu said what to whose saas'... it always make a good entertainment for your ride home and the list of 'things-i-never-wanted-to-know' increases exponentially. The bumpy rides are like no other. You hang on to your dear life being swung from one side to the other. If you were lucky enough to get your foot in and stand by the 'gate' of the bus in an over crowded bus you surely will enjoy the wind in your face because if at that time you are sitting inside only two things are possible either you have high tolerance level for body odors (considering this sweltering heat in karachi) or either you are dead by then =D.
Its a good practice for your vocal chords too since they get exercised. You mostly have to shout by default twice until the driver hears that you 'meant' to get down on the 'last' stop. The conductors ask for money before you have even dare to breathe in the confines of the bus.
But no matter what one says. Karachi buses are different. I traveled in buses in Wah Kent those blue grey big things it bordered on boring yeah maybe spacey and airy but not that fun. I traveled in Metro in USA again zing the metro card and you are done no yelling and fighting of the conductor for ever increasing the rates.. no fun again.
So in all Karachi buses are claustrophobic, achingly colorful and painful fun to travel on =D you are missing a lot if just because of your prissiness you ignore travelling on them.
