Met up with Andrew, by prior agreement, + set off in the early morning darkness. We had to walk – there was a cart outside, but for some reason he didn’t want to take us. At the bus stn we had a long wait while buses were sorted out. Andrew is heading for Turfan, but he too was put on our bus. Presumably, he will get off early to get on a connecting bus. And eventually, well beyond the projected departure-time, off we rattled. But not for long. The bus was pretty empty, so that most people could have a bench seat to themselves, but the driver – Gilbert, we decided, his partner being Sullivan – took advantage of this to indulge in some closet capitalism. On the outskirts of town, there was a hefty crowd of 20 or so waiting by the roadside. They hailed the bus energetically, + it duly stopped. Sullivan then proceeded to let them on one by one, exacting a fee at the doorway. No tickets, however – one man who foolishly asked for one was promptly given his money back + ejected. It was by no means an orderly procession onto the bus. In fact, it was a contender for as violent a scene as I’ve witnessed. No blows, but close to it, + wrestling holds + strangulation the norm.
Eventually, the entire crowd was squeezed aboard. It meant a good bit less room all round, of course, tho’ Val + I were able to hold on to our 3-seater berth for ourselves. Do I have a guilty conscience about it? Not the merest trace. More inconveniently, however, it also meant a substantial detour thro’ the back streets of a small town, which wasn’t even on our proper route. The streets were not designed for buses, + it took some careful manoeuvring to see us thro’.
Otherwise, little of note. It was devilishly hot, with the full force of the sun on the roof of the bus. But the rest stops were adequate, + we were more pleased than otherwise that we didn’t have the hour-long pauses in the desert that we’d had to put up with on the way out. At one stop, quite late in the day, tho’ I felt pretty hungry, I didn’t feel like tackling the rigours of the ticket system. But for once I was lucky. Wandering thro’ the café, I happened upon a smaller room where there was a young man eating a dish of rice with egg + vegetables. When I asked the attendant for some too, he was at first inclined to send me to buy a ticket, but the man already eating persuaded him to wave that particular piece of red tape. I was brought a plate stacked high, so much so that it was difficult to eat without bringing the whole lot tumbling down. And when I had reduced it to a manageable level, he took the bowl away + filled it up again. I managed to finish it just in time to waddle back onto the bus.
It was as well that I ate then, for we didn’t stop till very late, + I didn’t have to chase around looking for a late-night snack. Andrew + I were assigned to a 4-bed room that already had 3 people in it. One of those was Chinese however, + when the situation ws pointed out to him by officials on the bus, he withdrew with far better grace than I’d have managed under the reverse circumstances. Our remaining room-mates were a quiet Englishman who seemed quite nice, + a fat American who didn’t. He talked too much, + too much of that was devoted to the places he’d been, + the things he’d done. For myself, I prefer a touch of quiet English reserve.
A travelling day, which took up most of it, though it was interesting to see capitalism seeping through the cracks of a regulated system; in the end, people will look for ways to make money.
