The Dusty Road

My wife is a beautiful lady from a village 20km away. Bus was the main mode of transport during that time.

I remembered 20 years ago when the road to the village was covered with thick red dirt on normal days but muddy and wet every time when it rained heavily. Besides, the road was hilly, curvy, and covered with loose gravel.

Certain part of the road was quite steep, so most heavy vehicles had to move slowly. And the journey downhill could be dangerous as the bus might speed very fast on loose gravel.

Most buses were old, overused and not well maintained. Sometimes the bus broke down and we had to get down and pushed it. It could be fun when the passengers were pleasant and cooperative.

The road was very narrow for two way traffics. So the smaller vehicles usually slowed down when the lorries and buses sped through, covering them with thick dust, or worse, cracking or breaking the windscreen.

Using a bus together with 80-100 passengers was an experience beyond my expectation.

We squeezed together like a pack of smelly sardines. The journey was taxing and harsh with its many twists and turns and some people were throwing up. The air was dense with the exhaust of diesel engine and the horrible odor in the bus. But we had to bear it all the way with patience.

The journey was bumpy and very very dusty! We were all brownish when we came home. The hair was thickened with dust and stiffened like wire. So we had to soak and wash in the river. Sometimes we had to bear it until the next morning if we had a beautiful hairdo that day.

Now that the road is tarred all the way to the village, sometimes I do miss my terrible journey on the bus. LOL