Yeah, Google Maps’ street view is one of the most awesome things ever, but it is currently too US-focused. I mean, they have a street level view of almost all of Fairbanks, Alaska, but not one image from Toronto. :rolleyes:
On the other hand, you can get satellite views of things as far out of the way as Longyearbyen.
About 15 years ago, my ex-gf and I took a Greyhound from Pittsburgh to Houston, Texas to visit a friend for a week, then back again on the Greyhound. The two trips were night and day.
The way down:
Pretty quiet, no incidents at all that I recall. I remember being very impressed that Greyhound stuck to a schedule with such accuracy: on a 36 hour trip, we hit every stop within 5-10 minutes of the scheduled time.
The way back:
Right before we got on the bus, my gf announces that she has PMS :eek: It was around midnight when we boarded in Houston. This drunken couple got on and proceeded to have a very very loud conversation with each other that lasted about 3 hours. Loud enough that no one on the bus could sleep. I know they were drunk because I could smell their booze whenever they opened the bottle. After several angry glares and elbows to the ribs from the gf, I walked up to the bus driver and said something to him (“these people behind us are talking at the tops of their lungs and we can’t sleep”). Driver made an announcement on the PA system “Please keep the noise down”. I heard one of the drunks say something along the lines of “I paid 80 dollars for my ticket, they’re not going to tell me to shut up”. My gf turned around in her seat and screamed “I paid two hundred dollars for MY ticket, and if you don’t SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT FUCKING NOW I am going to throw your ass out the fucking window!”. They were quiet for about 10 minutes, then the bottle came out a couple times and they started up again. The woman proceeded to kick the back of my seat for the next hour. They got off the next morning.
When the bus stopped for about 15 minutes, I got out of the bus to smoke and stretch my legs. Some vagabond at the bus station said he’d kill me if I didn’t give him a dollar. This led to an altercation between the vagabond and some Greyhound security guards. Guess who came out on top in that one?
I got back on the bus and didn’t get off again until the end. About 2 hours later, an enormous woman got on, and lit up a cigarette. Completely ignored that squawking voice over the PA system “This is a non smoking bus” “Please put your cigarette out”. Bus pulls over to the side of the road, driver walks up to her and forces her to extinguish her cigarette. She was quiet for about an hour or so, seemed to be sleeping. Then she started to make these weird noises. “Hwrggghaaaahhhh!” “Hweerrrrggggaaaaggg”. Driver pulls over to the side of the road and escorts her to the bathroom (not sure if they all have one, but the bus we were on had a small bathroom on it. It was about the size of a porta-potty, which is probably what it was). Bus starts up again, and everything is peaceful for a while. Except for my gf giving me the stink eye from another seat. Did I mention she had PMS? And that I was trapped on a bus with her for a day and a half? Suddenly there’s all kinds of screaming and banging noises coming from the bathroom. Bus pulls over to the side of the road again, and the tortured, brave soul that was our driver goes back to investigate. Apparently Enormous Woman had engaged the lock to the porta potty and now could not unlock it. In the throes of panic, she was beating on the walls and calling for Jesus to save her. It took her a full 15 minutes to comprehend the drivers instructions on how to unlock the door. She seemed to have trouble hearing or understanding him, which was strange because we could hear and understand her just fine. She’s escorted back to her seat and told “Ma’am, this is the third time I’ve had to stop this bus for you. If I have to pull over again, the police are going to be waiting for you.” Bus starts up again. “Oh, you’re going to call the PO-LICE on me, you M$#%)@^ F#$@#^”. So the bus made a fourth and final unscheduled stop. As they dragged her, kicking and screaming, off the bus, she kicked me in the head and punched some old lady. Gf is glaring at me as if to say “this is ALL your fault”.
We finally pull into Pittsburgh. It was seriously the longest day and a half of my entire life. Some homeless guy asks me for a quarter. I dig one out of my pocket, throw it at him, and run.
Never, ever, ever again. Not in a million years.
It ain’t you I’m complaining about – it’s Zebra.
Count me as one! I actually kind of love taking the bus. Nothing beats getting comfy with my headphones, some snacks, a good books, and watching the world go by knowing that for the next X hours absolutely nothing will be asked of me. It makes me feel like I’m getting stuff done and relaxing at the same time. Bus rides are an almost meditative thing for me, and I really enjoy them.
I just had a very nice ride on a sleeper bus between Jihong and Kunming on Chinese new years. Having a bed on a bus was a new experience for me, and it was very surreal to roll through town on my back seeing fireworks all around me. Anyway, I’ve had some great bus rides in different places and some fond memories, even of Greyhound. I’m looking forward to a quick four hour bus ride this weekend.
Most the buses I have taken in Turkey have been very nice. They include tea and snacks and make frequent stops. Even the 20 hours from Trabzon to Istanbul was nice. The bus from Tehran to Erzurum was very nice too except for the 12 hours spent at the border.
My step son always takes the bus when he comes to visit us from Minnesota - he gets a $25 fare, and he LOVES it! He loves the people he meets, the stuff he sees - it’s his adventure.
YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO DRIVE.
Take this from a guy who has made his share of Greyhound bus trips. At least 50 in my life. Longest was from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada to Phoenix, Arizona. Took four and a half days.
Then there were the two times I went from Phoenix to Buffalo, New York…and then back again.
And then there’s here (Phoenix) to New Orleans, here to San Francisco, here to Idaho, etc, etc…
You want to drive. Believe me. TRUST me on this. You will not have a good time being that long on a bus. You’ll be wanting to stretch your legs at the next stop more than you’ll be engaged in the passing scenery. You’ll be wondering when the next time they’ll stop to eat rather than immersed in the sights. Plus, as been said in here already, you don’t really SEE anything. When you drive, you can step out of the car any time you want, take detours, relax, stay awhile.
A bus just follows a freeway and does not make many stops other than the stations and times to eat. That’s it.
You don’t want to do it. You want to drive.