Bus Travel in India, It’s Not Bad
As usual, people have made us think negatively about something in India and they have been completely wrong. We had some problems booking the train to Mumbai from Hampi, so we decided to go on the bus.
Whenever we mentioned to someone that we were taking the bus, we would always get the same reply…”you are brave” or “wow, that is crazy” or “Oh, poor you” We got ourselves so worked up before leaving that I actually had a few butterflies in my stomach in the rickshaw on the way to the station.
I don’t know why I was worried. We have ridden some of the worst buses in the world during our past travels. In Cambodia the roads were so bad that we broke something every time we got on a bus and had to pull over for repairs on a regular basis on all buses. In Laos we drove on a decrepit bus filled with lobsters and produce. In Vietnam we saw traffic fatalities often and in Peru, Dave had a journey with the broken seat in front of him practically sitting on his lap. I don’t think that buses could ever get much worse than some of the stuff we have been on.
But for some reason, the hype has gotten to us here in India. We seem to listen to everyone too much and let their stories and negativity get under our skin.
Before getting on the bus I worried about everything. I thought to myself, are the drivers crazy? is the bus filthy? are the roads in such bad condition that I am taking my life in my hands? It was absolutely ridiculous.
And then our bus arrived.
It was a good looking Volvo semi sleeper looking all shiny and new. A sweet little guy took our bags and asked us what stop we wanted to get off at in Mumbai. We had no idea, we thought that it only stopped at the main bus terminal. Nope, it didn’t go there, but it stopped at many other places.
That is when a helpful man stepped in and asked us where we wanted to stay. He told us the stop that we wanted and how much we should pay for a cab.
It was so easy.
The Volvo buses are in great shape and there are two drivers for long trips. One relaxed and slept that journey while the other drove. I am assuming that the other driver will be driving back. They are dressed in crisp white uniforms, they are polite and they have an assistant to help out as well. Very professionally run I must say!
When we got on the bus, we had a great seat right at the very front. Lots of leg room, a cozy blanket and a clean seat that reclined. We were very comfortable. Our only worry now was the loud movies playing all night long.
Not to worry!
The alternate driver kept the volume at a very respectable level and the movie even had English subtitles. We both enjoyed the movie very much. I only wish that in knew the name to recommend it to people at home. I must say, Bollywood is alive and well and they have great production value and scripts. What a great flick. I laughed and I cried and I am not joking!
We stopped for some snacks and everyone was quick to serve Dave and I. They offered to help with whatever we needed and even showed us to the toilet so that we didn’t have to pee on the sidewalk. Anyone could have gone to the loo, but most chose to go against a wall. Not sure why, the toilet was fine.
Back on the bus we actually had a pretty decent sleep. It was more comfortable that an airplane that is for sure.
We arrived in Mumbai in the morning and couldn’t understand why people put the buses down so much. Why does everyone speak so poorly of India when they travel?
I wrote a post before leaving for India talking about my fears. I mentioned that everyone I have ever talked to doesn’t really have anything good to say about their time in the country, but they conclude with “but I am so glad that I went there”
For us, we haven’t had many problems. It is cleaner than we expected, friendly, safe and pleasant to travel through. We have had far more difficult travels and so far, we are finding India easy. Now that we have figured out how to book trains online, I think it is going to be amazing here.
14 Responses to Bus Travel in India, It’s Not Bad
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wildness the whole way from hampi to mumbai that is crazy how many hours was that like16? took us 16 to get to goa your clearly didnt go through goa. not to be negative but you think that india is cleaner than you expected? jesus what did you expect
,
thats great that your loving it though, i tried to click a link to udaipur post but nothing came up maybe you havent written it yet, hope you enjoy it there it was our favourite place we stayed in a hotel called the lalghat in lonely planet but its called lake view now has the highest roof top in udaipur perfect for the view of the palaces you should see for yourself even if you dont stay there and the manager is mad sound
Haha Kevin. Right after I wrote that post, I have eaten my words. North India has been pretty filthy. We were spoiled in Goa, Hampi, Karnataka and Mumbai. (we stayed in the nice part of Mumbai) Rajasthan has been pretty grimey. Filled with garbage and cow dung. This is closer to what I expected.
I think bus travel is really the only way to go. Those who don’t travel much are often surprised at the level of bus service offered even in less developed countries. The only downside is that you never know if you’re going to be on one of the unlucky buses that plunges off a cliff or burns up in a head-on collision. It’s a small risk but real. When riding buses in some countries I like to sit in the front…so that if we crash I die instantly and don’t have to suffer a slow painful death;)
Haha, Craig. I love it. So true, sometimes it is better to not look at the road to see what is going on. I will try the front seat, you have a good point:)
the bus looks nice…
i’ve never tried riding a bus in India, I just rode trains…
have a safe trip!
.-= flip´s last blog ..Ten Travel Facts about Flip =-.
Volvo AC Buses(sleeper and semi sleeper) are mostly good in India.
For people looking to book Bus Tickets in India – http://www.redbus.in or http://www.makemytrip.co.in are good websites.
@Rahul you are right. The Volvos are nice. Since that ride, we have taken another bus and it wasn’t nearly as good. The post about that ride will be coming out in a couple of days. Sometimes the buses are good, sometimes bad in India. We are sticking with the Volvos from now on.
So great to hear! India is on our open ended family world travel list, but 1 does always here horrid things about travel there, so nice to be reassured! That bus reminds me of the overnight buses we took in Turkey…but no subtitles on the movies.
.-= soultravelers3´s last blog ..Travel Photo 2009 Review! =-.
Hey @soultravelers India is definitely an adventure and not as bad as we were expecting either. We had heard a lot of horror stories ourselves, although I will admit that as we make our way north it is getting more dirty. South is much nicer, the north is filled with garbage and filth. But it is still good.
Wow sounds lovely. It is always nice when you are expecting the worst and your expectations are far exceeded.
.-= Andy Hayes | Sharing Travel Experiences´s last blog ..London: Love It or Hate It =-.
I have to say that bus does look nice! As you read on our Mumbai to Udaipur post, we weren’t as fortunate when we took our first overnight bus in India.
We were just recommending to some friends the other day who want to go to India, but are intimidated by it, to spend time in the south before heading to the more populated and poorer north. We found that spending time first in Kerala and Tamil Nadu was a good way to ease into India – it’s more laid back, less population density, more educated/people speaking English, spicy food. The north is more intense, but also fascinating. Enjoy Rajasthan!
.-= Audrey´s last blog ..The Trip That Was a Bitch: Scratching the Curiosity Itch in Paraguay =-.
Wow…these were SO not the buses we got in India. I don’t know why…. we always saw big Volvo buses pulling in, but like all of the stories Mike and I told you guys…they were never ours! Ours was always the last crappy one. We never had anyone in anything anything close to crisp, or white…..and never had movies. We just got the sleeper berth up top, laid our sleepsack over the crusty, disgusting mattress and opened the window for some “fresh” air.
We just loved it because we could close the curtain and lay down instead of sitting, but it seems we were still missing out on the good stuff!!!
I don’t know what we did wrong… I think you guys should have gone first to let us know how to get the good stuff!
I can’t wait to hear more. Email me when you have time Deb, and fill me in on your thoughts of Jaisalmer, and everything else!
I can’t wait to hear from you.
Love to you both,
Angie
Glad that you liked bus trip to Mumbai. Volvo buses are the best to travel in India. But be careful… as you approach north India (Delhi onwards), the buses are not so comfortable. They don’t even have a Volvo most of the time. You’ll have a different experience.
Volvo buses are popular in south and western India.
Travelyaari is an online bus tickets service provider. It is the only fully online bus ticket reservation system in India. It has the largest bus ticket inventory for more than 1000 routes in India. View bus seating arrangement before you book.