We took the Haque night bus from Dhaka to the LAMB hospital front gate: riveting. James Bond in his most daring and hair-raising chase scene can have nothing on the run-of-the-mill Bangladeshi bus-driver; overtaking slower traffic by passing in the oncoming lane has been refined to a high-speed science. In the first fifteen minutes, after 17 impossibly close brushes with another hurtling 12 tons of steel I began to realize that nobody else was even slightly perturbed, and the driver seemed to be in a groove (he put on some music). This was an exhibition of prowess the like of which I've not seen before.
After 4 hours I realized I should stop trying to guess how many inches we'd missed the oncoming truck by and try to doze. Then we had a couple of misses where the driver began to get excitable; I thought if he was praying out loud, perhaps I ought to as well. But it's interesting - even after so short a time, you begin to habituate to the danger. I thought, "Well, if I'm getting used to this, how much more dangerous can it get?".
Six hours in we began to hit fog.
No photos yet - some technical difficulties.
GAH! glad you're all there safe... finally.
ReplyDeleteYay! You made it!!! Can't wait to hear more- I'm clinging to every word wishing we were there! Faithfully praying!
ReplyDeleteWe empathise hugely on this! Two weeks, 4-5 hours a day in a city of 20 million and never (Praise God) saw a real wreck. Lots of screeeeeeeeach marks down the sides. One deceased bovine with a crowd of mourners but never a motor vehicle. May the Lord do the same for all of you!
ReplyDeleteWhen you posted on Facebook that you were waiting for a bus Farzanah and I gasped. I mean livin' like the locals is one thing but....we don't even do this and we speak the language. People, don't do that again. We love you too much.
ReplyDeleteOne of our American colleagues in India said that the only way he could cope with the driving experiences that you describe (which are common to that whole subcontinent) was to imagine he was on a ride at Disneyworld! May all your rides in rickshaws, buses and those cute little carts be safe! Love Aunt Mopsy
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