So I took a bus to Pondicherry. It was my first Government of India bus. Let me start with that. Gently set aside the images you might have of people holding onto the bus with two fingers, or sitting on top of the bus piled with luggage. It wasn't quite that bad.
It was a unique experience. The man who sat next to me was obviously drunk. He was "sleeping" but literally fell out of the seat with no outward reaction. Twice. The first time, people tried to wake him up as I was having flashbacks of the Spaniard. The second time, they just let him lie in the aisle. Three minutes later, someone else took his seat next to me.
The bus also had a DVD player with speakers. Don't let that fool you. The VIP bus in Thailand had a DVD player as well, showing a movie set in LA featuring strippers and guns. But that bus had the shocks that enabled a player to run without issue. So the first 20 minutes of the ride were spent alternatively listening to a blaring Hindi movie, and watching the conductor run to the front of the bus to fix the player. It seemed as if the bumps in the road were sufficient to knock the DVD out of alignment, and stop the player.
Yes, I used earplugs on this journey.
As an aside to those who track my every movement to the extent that they secretly wish that I had a GPS chip implant, it turns out that we drove right through Mamallapuram. So I will investigate the logistics of a short stop there on Monday. I am in Pondy tomorrow, and Mon night I have an overnight train to Mysore out of Chennai, departing at 9:45 PM. So I have most of the day to do as I please. I just need to figure out what it is I please...
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