My Adventures on KMC’s Public Transportation

I wrote this my first day after using Kathmandu’s public transportation 3 months ago. I’m a little delayed putting it on my blog, but I still want you to join in on my chaos. And good news, this is no longer my experience when using public transportation! So here you go:

Directions: Basundhara to Ratna Park via micro; Ratna Park to Thapathali via tempo

Sounds easy, right? Let me tell you how it really went down.

I start by standing on the side of the street because the idea of bus stops doesn’t really exist. I watch for the “door boy”, this guy that stands in the sliding doorway of the bus/van with ¾ of his body out the window yelling out the districts the they will be driving through… but he yells this so incredibly fast. The first one approaches. I catch his eye and raise my eyebrows so he knows I’m looking for a bus. He yells out, “lkjadfoijaefijajfoijawefijaoidjf”… or so it sounds to me! His voice is first so faint because he starts yelling from far away, blending in with all the honking of the other zipping vehicles. But then his words just sounds like a jumbled mess because he says it so quickly. There’s no hope in trying to decipher his Nepali district names. So I yell out above all the other noise (usually a few times because I also have an American accent) “Ratna Park?” The doorboy gives me some look that I can’t tell is a yes or no, but the bus/van hardly slows. Okay, I guess not. The next bus comes buy and the same thing happens. I hear “Aoiwaeriogoihafoi,” receive the look, and watch the keep-on-driving. Again and again. Is where I am even on a route to Ratna Park? Oh wait, KMC doesn’t really have specific bus routes. Each bus/van is to his own. The next micro-van approaches and I yell out, “Ratna Park?” The door boy gives me the same look and does a hand gesture that American would interpret as “Shoo away!” But this time the van slows down (notice I didn’t say stop) and waits for me to jump on. Okay, mental note: The shoo-away gesture means “Hop on!” I get on and stumble over a few legs and feet as the moving van (similar to our mini-vans) constantly hits potholes. I scrunch standing between 2 people because all the seats are taken by now. Of course out of all those standing, I’m the only one that has to hunch over because I’m a “Big American.” I grab desperately on to a rail and brace my feet for all the quick stopping, potholes, going, potholes, bouncing, bouncing, bouncing. This ride may be more jagged than an old wooden roller coaster at Cedar Point! I just am hoping I don’t fall into anyone’s lap! More and more people pile in throughout the route. Soon there are legs all around and heads hovering layers upon layers. How do all these 35-some people fit into this microvan?! The door boy reaches out to each person to pay. He determines how much they owe depending on where they get on and off… and if he thinks they’ll realize he’s cheating them or not… That’d be me since I don’t really look like a native to Nepal. I give him 20 rupees, He looks at me to see if I expect change, then puts it with his wad. He feels me still staring at him then he eventually gives me 10 rupees back. I may not be a native, but I have friends that are! I know how little the bus should cost. I try to hunch further down to look between all the heads and through the windows to see where we are. I see some green. It must be Ratna Park! After 30 minutes, I squeeze through the many bodies and jump off the micro. Yay, 1st ride complete!

Now it’s time to find ride #2, a tempo/tuktuk (large electric rickshaw) to Thapathali. I wander to where a huge mass of tempos are. Again, the door boys yell out all their stops and it still sounds like, “ljasdfoijawefiojaodifj” so I walk up to them and say, “Thapathali?” He gives me that same indifferent look and points me to a different van. So I go up to that van, “Thapathali?” He gives me that SAME look and points me to another van. I go up to that van… same thing… over and over. I get frustrated and think maybe the Thapathali tempos don’t come to this area of Ratna Park. So I walk to another area of the park (mind you, this is one huge park area). Same thing over and over. Again I walk to another area of the park. Same thing. Finally, an HOUR later, I finally find a tempo that gives me that SAME look but ALSO that shoo away gesture! Oh, how I’m starting to love the shoo away gesture! So I scrunch on. I pay 10 rupees and get off 15 minutes later. Finally, 2 ½ hours later I arrive to Thapatali and walk the rest of the way to class.

I can only hope that one day I’ll speak “oijasdfoijasfd” fast, nod that SAME way, and do that shoo-away-but-actually-hop-on gesture just like the Nepalese. But until then….

I have a bicycle now! Ah, it is SO wonderful! I blend right in with the crazy Nepali traffic and have mastered driving on the left side of the rode!

Time to travel from home to language lessons by:
Bus (not yet mastered): 2 ½ hours
Bus (mastered): 1 hour
Bicycle: 30 minutes!