A Day at the Bus Terminal

Star Q

i.  Bridging the Continuity Gap

ii.  Conducting A Course

iii.  Mee Kari Rempah Wangi

The other day I sent my daughter to a bus terminal so that she could catch an express bus back to where she is studying.  We reached the ticket counter at about ten thirty in the morning.  We were early (and I always like to be early for almost anything) and so it didn't really matter when the guy selling the ticket told us that the bus would arrive half an hour later.

We waited for the bus patiently, or as patiently as we could muster, amidst the hundreds of public transport users, from equally as many races and nationalities, who thronged the bus terminal, shuffling back and forth, from one bus platform to another.  We endured the fumes that came from the exhausts of buses, cars, taxis and motorcycles and also fumes from incessant smokers!  We sat through all that because I felt that it was my duty to see my daughter get safely on her bus before I headed for home.

The fact that it was raining heavily which made the hot weather immediately turn humid did not help the wait.  On top of all that the bus was almost half an hour late.  I know it is not really late by most public transport users' standards, but being there for almost one and a half hour amidst those unfavourable conditions was late enough for me.

However, I felt a slight consolation when I noticed a few other girls towing huge luggage who I later found out were also waiting for the same bus and also heading to the same destination.  I looked at my daughter and wife, willing a half-hearted consoling smile on my face, signalling my relief.  And I was even more relieved when the bus finally arrived.

I was happy that my daughter and the other girls heading for the same destination were finally seated in the bus.  It did not really matter to me that someone was already seated in my daughter's seat.  I just told her to find another empty seat.  With a smile she complied.

Eventually the bus slowly left the terminal and I found myself silently reciting a small prayer so that my daughter would reach her destination safely.  It didn't matter to me that the bus was late, or that the terminal was dirty or noisy or crowded.  All I could think of was my daughter's safety.