Bus Archive | My Travel Journal-Blog

I learned why people burn money, bought a Lottery ticket and took a motorcycle tour which ended literally in hell. Furthermore, I visit the Russian holiday paradise Nha Trang and learned more about egg spas.

Da Lat is the capital of Lam Dong Province and carries the nickname “City of Thousand Flowers”. It is seven hours away from Saigon by bus, although it’s only around 300 km (186 miles) away. I took a sleeping bus overnight. These busses are actually quite comfortable (at least in my size) with padded leather seats which recline to around 80 degrees, on two floors. I was actually happy that I caught a seat on the bottom but there are actually safety belts on every seat as well. The feet go under the chair of the person in front of you which allows you to stretch out your body, just moving around seems a bit difficult. But back to the ride. The next morning at 4.45 we arrived in Da Lat and the driver woke us up by honking and shouting. Oh boy, I really wished I just could stay in my bed – but no chance.

In the beginning, I was actually quite disappointed by Da Lat. All the nice sightseeing spots I heard about were not in the city but in the hinterlands and the public transport is not sufficient. I know many people rent a scooter and drive around. But I never drove a scooter before and didn’t drove a car for a few years. Maybe not the best time to start with it again, Vietnamese traffic is crazy ;).
Funny thing, in the end, I kind of coincidently booked a motorcycle tour. Actually, a man asked me if I’m interested in doing a tour. But it was 30$ for places I didn’t want to see, so he started haggling. I know, here people can be really persistent if they wanna sell you something. But in the end, he actually offered me a really good deal, the places I wanted to see for less money. Perfect!

Just one last thing was difficult. According to him, he was part of a really famous motorcycle company in Vietnam. But his papers looked really unprofessional and to be honest I was really not sure if I should take the ride. But luckily the concierge of my hostel – Tabe – also did some tours for that company and recognised my tour guide. I was thrilled, and the tour could start.

Linh Phuoc Pagoda

Crazy House

What means heaven and hell in Buddhism?

In the next morning, my driver picked me up from my hostel. Unfortunately, I don’t know his name, cause when I asked him he just answered with ‘Yes’. I believe his English is as good as my Vietnamese. Our tour started at a tobacco shop on the street where he bought some cigarettes. He asked me a few times in a row if I also want a cigarette and in the end, we were smoking together – I also didn’t want to be rude.

Da Lat has a few nice spots to visit as the different waterfalls, which are definitely one highlight, but also architecture and temples. For me, an absolute must-see is the Linh Phuoc Pagoda. The buildings there are designed with help from little mosaics made of broken pieces of glass and porcelain which make it unique and really pretty. The temple was built in 1949 and finished around three years later. The temple is ornated with different kind of dragons which are everywhere. Some crawl up the pillars, some just sit on the little roofs or frame the temple. The longest dragon is 49m long and is made out of 12,000 bottles.

I took a lot of time to explore all the ways and hidden corners, followed the spiral stairs and walk around the roof, notice all the little details and ornaments, visit the main hall with the golden Buddhas and different monks made out of wax. Next to the Pagoda is a room with different wooden furniture, a souvenir shop and heaven as well as hell. In one room are more wax figures of monks in green light with nature around, in the centre are three statues of Buddha. To complete these idyllic picture music boxes played the sound of wood and the splashing of a stream. But downstairs waits the hell guarded by an ox and horse with red flammed eyes. I and another guy (his girlfriend was too afraid and wanted to wait outside) went the stairs down and followed a small labyrinth which gives an impression of the idea of the Buddhism hell. There were different scary scenarios behind bars which showed skeletons or human figures tortured by demons. The music boxes in the corners played a mixture of human screams and demonic laughter. Even if it was kind of surreal to me and remembered more to a ghost train in a theme park (and I really don’t like ghost trains), the thought that this scenario could mean the reality to believers made it in some ways even worse.

Burn your money

At my last day in Da Lat I found a 100 US Dollar banknote on the street. Of course, my first thought was that it will be fake money but just in case I had to take it with me. I showed the banknote to the concierge of my hotel. Tabe was in my age. He laughed and said “No one can be that lucky and find a real 100 US Dollar banknote on the street.” (Two weeks later in Cambodia I had a real 100 US Dollar banknote in my hand and had to admit the fake was really obvious). Finally, he explained what the matter about the fake money is. In Vietnam and also other East Asian countries people sell and buy fake money (Joss paper) and burn them after someone dies. It is a way to send money to their ancestors for their afterlife but also to show respect to the dead ones. – And of course, no one would ever burn real money.

Another thing I was really curious about were the little colourful papers which older women sell in the streets. When I asked Tabe about it he didn’t know what I was talking about. So there was no other way than to buy one of the papers. The woman laughed a lot when I bought the little ticket which made me even more curious. When I showed it to Tabe he explained to me that I bought a Vietnamese lottery ticket. The jackpot is 2 billion VND (ca. 86.000 USD) and Tabe meant I could buy two houses and one car from that money – but yeah, of course my ticket didn’t win ;).

Egg spa and Religion – Nha Trang

My stop in Nha Trang was more by accident than really planned. I wanted to go from Da Lat to Hoi An but the bus didn’t go straight. That’s why I decided to stay one night in Nha Trang. The city is full of tourists, especially from Russia. Nha Trang is directly at the seaside and offers large beaches. So, in my opinion, this city offers less cultural spots but more relaxing places, water parks and spa for Tourists. A little bit extraordinary seems the egg spa. But just because of its name it does not mean that one swims actually in eggs. The pools there are filled with all kind of mud and minerals to take a bath in, peelings, tubs full of herbs and essential oils, and jacuzzis.

Po Nagar Cham Towers

I arrived in the evening and enjoyed a relaxed night at the rooftop bar at my hostel with backpackers from all over the world and free beer. The next day, I started a sightseeing tour around the city with Dave from Canada. My day in Nha Trang was very hot but cloudy and grey – so not really the perfect beach day. But a little walk along the seaside was still one of our plans. We had a small list of spots we wanted to see, mostly religious buildings. The most famous spot is probably the Po Nagar Cham Towers, a Hinduism memorial site from around the 8th century made of sandstone. At the end of the day, I ended in an inspiring photo gallery with impressive black and white photos of Vietnamese people. And thanks to a translation app I could ask a seamstress on the street to repair my bag. In the evening, my bus was leaving for the next stop – Hoi An.

… or how complicated it can be to take the bus in Buenos Aires – and what you can do to avoid getting as lost as I did. I can’t recall the last time I felt so disoriented and lost, but I was certain I would laugh about this story later on.

First time in South America

In September 2015, I left Europe for the first time. A friend from Buenos Aires had invited me to visit him in his home country. We met about a year and a half earlier in Madrid, where we both happened to be on vacation. During our stay, we shared a dorm room in a hostel with six other strangers. Okay, for me, there were only five strangers because I was travelling with one of my oldest friends, exploring various places in Spain.

My Argentinian friend Fabian lived in Banfield at that time, a town in the province of Buenos Aires located around 14 km (8.7 miles) from the capital itself. Of course, Fabi picked me up from the airport and took me to his appartment. Unfortunately, he had to leave shortly afterward because he had to go back to work. So I was on my own. After freshening up, I planned to venture into the city centre of Buenos Aires. I thought it would be a straightforward task … but I soon discovered that navigating the bus system was quite challenging for Europeans (Or perhaps it was just me?).

By the way, Argentinians have a special word for buses, they call them Bondi.

No timetables and hidden bus stops

Maybe it’s because I’m German. You probably know the stereotypes about us Germans; we’re (always) very punctual. I wouldn’t necessairly claim that for everyone, but yes, our buses typically adhere to fixed timetables and routes (although not all of them are consistently on time). Before coming to South America, I couldn’t really imagine that some countries simply don’t have this. Buenos Aires, for instance, there are no timetables which was a bit of a culture shock for me.

In Buenos Aires, sometimes the same bus line comes twice in a row, while other times you might wait for a really long time, like when I waited two hours for the bus to the airport. The routes and bus stops were absolutely confusing for me. Most buses stop after every second block. – Argentinians measure everything in blocks. However, these stops aren’t always easy to spot because most of them don’t look like typically bus stops and often lack names. I believe they have a sign, but it is not always easy to find.

But those are not the only challenges you will face as a tourist – like me. When you withdraw money from an ATM for the first time, you will only receive bills. However, you can only pay with coins on the bus or with a bus card. I had this problem as well. At least, public transport is quite affordable in Buenos Aires. Still, I had to figure out how to pay for the bus ticket. Therefore, I asked some people for change, but in the end, they just paid for my ride and refused to accept any money in return. All the Argentinians I met were incredibly friendly and genuinely helpful. The bigger challenge was finding someone who understood English.

Bumpy bus rides and no 'inglés'

In Buenos Aires, you have to stop the buses by showing them the palm of your hand. They won’t stop automatically when they see passengers waiting and when the buses are too full, the driver won’t stop eighter.

Finally, I found a girl my age taking me with her – at least for the first few minutes. Because then a pure odyssey began. The girl only spoke Spanish and explained to me with the help of gestures that she would need to leave the bus before me. She then introduced me to the bus driver and asked him to tell me when to get off. But of course, the driver also only spoke Spanish. I was sitting in the first row, next to the bus driver and had fun observing all the people who entered and the places we passed. The bus was so fast, it gave me a really good shake. The bus driver already opened the doors before he stopped and was back on the road after the last passenger entered regardless of whether he had already paid.

I was sitting on that bus for more than one hour. I felt so lost because I really had no idea, where I was and also not sure how to get to the place, I wanted to meet with my friend Fabian. I just hoped the bus driver would drop me off the bus at a busy place. I saw everything, from really bad streets with deep potholes to narrow alleys and multi-lane roads with pompous buildings. Nonetheless, for one second I forgot all of my problems because for sure I saw one of the prettiest sundowns on the highway.

The dangerous city

After thousands of stops, the bus driver found a woman who spoke a little bit of English. She explained to me, that I had to change the bus two times. When I showed her my map of Buenos Aires and asked her, where I was, she said it wasn’t on the map. This is the moment when you believe you will never find the right way. The woman helped me to find the next bus, I had to catch. She called her mother to explain to me everything in English because she had some problems with the language. I was so thankful. After a few stops, we went to the next bus, and after a long time, we changed again. She paid for the bus for me and went out. So I was alone again and had no idea at which bus stop I had to leave the bus. Another woman appealed to me. She asked me in English if I were a tourist and where I’m from. I explained everything to her and asked her if she could tell me, where I have to leave. She said I should leave the bus at the last bus stop, but it won’t be so safe there. She said if I wouldn’t find my friend, I should take a taxi, it would be too dangerous for me to walk. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear. It reminded me of my sister who told me I should send her a message every second day so she will know I’m okay (later she said every fourth day would be also enough). The woman left the bus a few stops before me. Actually, the bus driver told me when I had to leave the bus.

Happy End and my résumé

DSCN4837 — Torre Monumental, Retiro in Buenos Aires

The main streets of Buenos Aires are really big with many traffic and thousands of people (it was a Friday evening). I was so confused with the thousands of streets, that I had no idea in which direction I should go. I was at Retiro station. There are many different stops and stations for buses and trains. I was looking for some trains if probably one would bring me back to Banfield. But in the end, I was lucky. I finally caught Fabi on his cell phone and we met at the big clock near Retiro. I was so happy to find him.

So my résumé: If you are for the first time in Buenos Aires it’s really difficult to find the right buses and to know where to get out. Friends of mine were also in Buenos Aires and told me, they tried to take the bus, but the left at the wrong stop, because they couldn’t count the stops so easily. I think I took only two bus lines until the end of my vacation because these lines were the only ones I knew where to get off. It’s so much easier to use trains and metros because they have names for every station and will stop at every station, so, it’s kind of the same as in every other big city. So my advice would be to take trains and metros. To take public transport you need a Sube-card. You can buy a card in most of the drugstores (kioskos) and load money on that card to pay.