Get on the Bus
My Pembantu, Mami, who has worked for me for eight years mentioned after my asking how her weekend was of which she had taken the bus by Sanur to Kuta to go shopping at Discovery Mall along with revealed the idea was cool inside along with for at This kind of point, free. at This kind of point… as you all know, a Brit like myself can never turn down a bargain, furthermore a Scot; not taking advantage of anything “free” will be frowned upon let-alone sacrilege. However, being the sceptic of which I am along with especially having lived in Jakarta for 10 years along with Bali For just two, hearing the word “FREE” in Indonesia didn’t sit well, the sceptic along with dour Scotsman arrived on the scene.
Anyways, leaving my sour heritage along with genealogical cynicism aside, I decided to take the free bus for a late morning coffee at Mall Galleria starting by my domicile Jl Danau Poso, Sanur. I arrived at the bus stop along with as luck would certainly develop the idea a fellow bus traveller was sat listening to his iPod waiting for the bus, Isa Wahyudi of Jawa Tengah, at This kind of point residing in Sidakarya. Through numerous “Apa?”, along with, “I no speak English”, we surprisingly managed to make conversation.
Isa told me of which sometimes you may wait up to an hour or two for a bus, as you can imagine – This kind of was not the greatest start to my journey. Isa explained of which This kind of was the third time of which he has taken the bus along with of which he enjoys the idea along with of which he was at This kind of point on his way to Nusa Dua to meet a client – Isa will be a travelling salesperson, his product, china massage oil. When asked on his views of the recent transport system he exclaimed, “the idea’s free along with AC!”
After an enjoyable 10 minutes of meeting a brand new friend, the bus arrived, the driver in full dress uniform, tie, hat along with sunglasses; immaculate, think Navy Officer – I was in safe hands.
I asked indirectly to the back of the bus (where the majority of passengers were) in my broken Bahasa what they liked about the bus. Roars of “DINGIN!!”, by children along with teenagers erupted along with after speaking to Ulan along with her daughter, also Ulan, 11 years, I’d found of which they were all one party, mothers along with children by Batubulan heading to Nusa Dua Beach for the day while the children were on school holidays.
My return journey began off a lot quieter to begin with. I spoke with Putu the bus conductor (This kind of was her first week) along with she told me of which the majority of passengers were locals, however she had seen some “Bules” on board. Komang, marketing for an adventure tour company, was on his way to the office in Denpasar by a meeting in Kuta along with regularly journeys on the bus. Mid-journey we stopped at Lotte Mart, a group of well-to-do locals climbed on board along with spoke very coherent English. Reni, a Housewife by Denpasar said of which the party had taken the journey for the bus journey alone, the children had never been on a bus before along with in true family-trip spirit they had brought snacks along with fizzy drinks for the children gazing out the windows whilst they gossiped along with took photos.
Aside by the crossing of the roundabout to get to Discovery Mall, which honed in on my “Neo by The Matrix manoeuvring skills”, the idea was a great way to spend the morning. If you fancy a day trip out or a change of scenery I would certainly definitely recommend what could be Indonesia’s first International Standard Public Transport System. Bus journeys are entirely free for locals, tourists along with expats alike until August 31st, 2012.
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Get on the Bus
Get on the Bus