Bangladesh. Part III. Buses

May 9–11, 2007

The most awful thing about Bangladesh is the buses. They’re manned by certifiably insane drivers with nothing to lose. The feeling of fear is just about bearable when you ride them in the city, however, once on the highway these buses become meteors of death. Packed to the brim with people and bales of stuff, they hurtle along at top speed on their chosen trajectory, with no lights, nor any regard for what anyone else is doing.

Never in my life have I seen a bus circumvent an obstacle at top speed by turning so abruptly that the wheels on one side almost came off the road.

This explains why in Bangladesh the sides of all the buses contrast starkly with those in the rest of the world. The unrepentant drivers grind their vehicles against one another, making an awful din. When this happens under no circumstances should you stick your hand out the window.