Journal of a bus ride of comedy.
Monday 5th May, 12.05am.
Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. Lining up to purchase a ticket to Eilat. Thought about going first thing tomorrow after a sleep, but why wait. Go now and sleep on the bus. The trip should take about 5 hours. A Mini-cab driver is hustling me from the sides with an offer of a seat on his bus. It will be faster and only have 10 people on board. I say no thanks. These minicab’s are hellish, they drive too fast and scare me even for a shorter trip.
12.30am. Get on one of two buses going to Eilat. They are both near full. Variety of travelers. Young teens, some army, some families. An old drunk and me. The guy sitting next to me is a nice guy, similar age, originally from Russia, now working at a dive shop in Eilat. The noisy kids sit at the back. Don’t they always.
1.30am. Heading south towards Be’er Sheva. The hum of the bus turns into a bang and a rolling clanking noise. A hasty grinding gear shift follows. 3 seconds after that a cry from the back seat. It’s in Hebrew but I understand the panic. Pulling quickly into a service station the bus driver opens the doors as everyone rushes to get off as the bus starts to fill with smoke. The engine at the back of the bus is on fire and there is a fear the bus will explode. Several people tumble to the ground as they trip over themselves rushing off. My half dozy panic meets adrenalin and excitement. As I’m a tourist I find these sorts of things very amusing. I start to laugh. Probably a defensive reaction. Some women and kids are crying. I laugh even more.
2am. A service station shop, somewhere after Tel Aviv but before Be’er Sheva. We wait for a new bus to arrive. Luckily the shop is open and the toilets are clean. The coffee isn’t bad either. I get to know some of the other passengers.
Strangers wait for a new bus after the first one caught on fire.
The middle of nowhere. Bus in centre of photo. See larger.
Waiting in the cafe. Only 40% of the people are carrying automatic weapons.
My coffee cup. Don’t ask. Seriously. Don’t ask. My bus just blew up dude. I’m not asking!
3am. Our replacement bus arrives. We all get on and get on our way towards Be’er Sheva. The chatter soon dies down as most try to sleep.
5am. An hour or so out of Eilat. We are at another service station for a toilet break. After a quick pee we get back on the bus. The driver takes his seat and starts the engine….tries to start the engine….still trying to start the engine….waiting….try again…..wait again…..try again. The engine wont start.
The look I gave when the second bus fooked up!
After 5 minutes of tinkering over the angry mob’s mutterings, the bus started and I laughed some more. This was fun. In Australia this would be on the news. Here there are more important things to stress about. Another 2 hours down the road we entered Eilat. From the central bus station I found a hostel recommended to me by a friend and got myself a room. Crashing to the bed I slept till early afternoon.
ya wanna see my slides of my bus journey to Elsternwick ?
seeing that nobody has commented yet,I didn’t want you to think that no one is reading this gripping adventure.
Uncle Louis.
Uncle Louis went on a bus??? He left Caulfield!! Oh my goodness now that is news worthy!
xx
Oooh. Nice dramatic acting in the last shot! Oscar or Emmy worthy! Or at least a Logie!
Brilliant…. excellent reading. Makes us realise how boring our lives are doesn’t it Alicia?
I LOVE that coffee cup… HAHAHA… fantastic.