i think i pretty much deserve to get a bloody medal for having survived a year and a half as a regular commuter. and since i discovered that the monthly travel card for the bus and trolley was only 20 euros as opposed to 45 euros (!!!!!!) for everything, i should also get a commendation for having battled through the sweatiest, dodgy bits of town, every weekday, on the worst forms of public transport. i could have called this post “i hate people” but that would be unfair to the vast majority, who are very nice, normal people, that i encounter on my journeys. but. there are ten “types” who make travelling quite unbearable (actually, not just travelling. they make life unbearable):
people who feel the need to share their intimate mobile phone calls about their mother-in-laws embarrassing gas problems with their fellow passengers
people who cannot seem to work out that those people who are on the bus, need to get off before they can get on
people who ask you where the bus is going and then, after you’ve told them, proceed to ask every other person on the bus, as if everyone is either stupid, lying or has got nothing better to do than pass twenty-five minutes taking about bus routes.
people who sit next to you and read your book
people who see you reading a book in english and give you filthy looks
people who sit on you, stand on your foot or smack you in the eye and don’t even realise they’ve done it
people who complain loudly about foreigners destroying the country
people who mutter in agreement with the assholes above
drivers who seem to think they are doing you a favour by even stopping at the bus stop, let alone waiting for you to get on or off
driver who talk on their mobiles (loudly), drink coffee and feel it necessary to share their horrible pop skiladiko with everyone. these are often the same ones as the ones above
now i’ve got to ten, i could probably go on but i’ll throw open the floor to you, dear reader… any quibbles, quarrels or quims (sorry, private joke with vishy) you’d like to share.
go on.
share it in the comments.
you’ll feel better.
you know you want to…
And what about those passengers who multitask while standing directly above you, holding a cup of HOT coffee, talking on the cell phone and searching their bags/pockets for something? They are an accident waiting to happen. 🙂
I also hate seat lurkers.
in Japan:
– garlic and beer stinky business men on the last train home who decide to fall asleep on you.
– actually, any commuters who fall asleep on you generally
– rush hour packed commuters with wandering hands and other wandering body parts
– women who use their bags, umbrellas and high heels to full advantage to dig out a little space on said rush hour packed trains (though i plead guilty to that one)
– men reading porn and “sports newspapers” in full view of everyone else
– high school boys who decided to climb up into the bag racks and think they’re ever so funny
– fit, healthy young men who pretend to be asleep to not give up their seats to elderly, pregnant or otherwise in need of a seat commuters
– older women who use their incredibly sharp elbows to push themselves through lines, rush forward and claim a seat, all with sour lemon pursed up lips tutting disapproval at everyone else
– those who see you reading a book in english and decide they want to be your new bff and won’t leave you alone
…. and the list could continue for a bit, but for everyone’s sake, won’t!
@ shooshoobeleza
one of those (i hope!) is probably unique to japan. publicly reading porn? not acceptable under any circumstances. the image of schoolboys climbing into baggage racks did make me laugh though. of course, most of the teenagers here couldn’t climb over a discarded coke can. they wear their trousers far too low for that.
teenagers fashion. there’s another post lurking in there…
@ athena
love the phrase “seat lurkers”. and your article made me giggle. ah, the joys of commuting…
i bet i know who you hate even more than all of the above put together …
… people who only have to travel as far as their sofa to work. ➡
@ tamzinaki
no no no. not hate. envy