Journey More Important Than Destination ?

[kankaroo]

Just reading a couple of articles on tourists being killed on coaches going from A to B in LOS. The last two were put down to bad weather, namely wet roads. OK, it is raining which makes the roads more treacherous and therefore makes accidents more likely.

However here in the UK it rains quite a lot and these type of 'accidents' are almost unheard of. I mean we have blizzard weather with icy roads and millions of people traveling all over the country with virtually no accidents.

In my opinion it all comes down to the 'mai pen rai' attitude of the Thais. That combined with the low value placed on life. But in a way isn't that the appeal ?

Then I got thinking about my last bus journey in LOS about 1 year ago (BKK - Buri Ram). The windows were down and the warm winds whipped about your face and the Issan music was blaring. The driver was laughing and joking with one of the passengers as they smoked cigarettes. Hawkers jumped on the bus and sold some snacks and ice cold drinks. I remember just sitting there staring out the window, watching life go by while munching my snack and enjoying my cold beer, and thinking 'this is great!'.

Now to my most recent bus journey in the UK (Edinburgh - Inverness). I sat down on the bus and listened to an emergency exit routine (just like before you take of on a plane) and was told that wearing seat belts was now the law. Just to enforce this another member of staff walked along the isle checking that everybody had their seatbelt fastened. I wasn't wearing mine and told the staff that I was OK as I was. This didn't go down too well & I was told that I had to wear it as it was law. So I buckled up, feeling like a schoolboy. Next we were told that smoking, consumption of alcoholic beverages and eating of hot food, was against company policy, with the first two also being against the law. Violators would be ejected off the bus. At this stage I remembered I had bought a pie at the shop As the bus starts moving I slide down my chair a bit and proceed to nibble at my pie hoping the driver wouldn't notice and confiscate it (no exaggeration it happened to me twice before!). As I was looking up I noticed something for the first time, the roof had 6 (count em) CCTV cameras with one sitting right over my head.

I suddenly felt depressed with this journey and couldn't wait to get off. Then I remembered traveling on the Thai buses and that made me smile

Although you are safe as can possibly be on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life' to the journey, but you are sure to get there in one piece. However on the Thai journey there is often a few butt clenching /hair raising moments and although nowhere near as safe, I know what side I'd like to be on

So what do you think? Is the journey more important than the destination to you?

[KireB]

So what do you think? Is the journey more important than the destination to you?

Nice comparison, but when it comes to bus rides, I prefer safety.

Life itself is a different story of course, as there is no destination!

[njpski]

Being forced to wear the seatbelt is ludicrous. The bus should offer the seatbelt, but whether you choose to wear it should be your responsibility.

The bus company is no doubt frightened of litigation in case of a crash so that is why they enforce the seatbelt rule

If you choose not to wear the seatbelt - remember if you die, make sure your family doesn't sue the bus company.

Smoking is so invasive - if I wanted to inhale tobacco fumes, I would smoke. If smokers could keep the smoke to themselves then no problem. So banning smoking in buses is fine.

The journey is the thing, the destination changes, my goals today are different from what they were six months ago! The general direction is set but it is the pathways that open out in front of me that make life interesting

Edited February 27, 2008 by njpski

[JetsetBkk]

on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life'

Fortunately, there's not much feeling of 'death' either.

[cobra]

... Then I remembered traveling on the Thai buses and that made me smile

Although you are safe as can possibly be on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life' to the journey, but you are sure to get there in one piece. However on the Thai journey there is often a few butt clenching /hair raising moments and although nowhere near as safe, I know what side I'd like to be on

Yes indeed,

The sometimes dreary and mind-numbing routine of daily life makes those LOS adventure journeys a refreshing breath of air, something to let you know your still alive and the sheer thrill of it.

Whether hanging on a severely over-loaded speed boat for a full moon party, no life-preserver, no running lights, ... or on a crazed tuk-tuk ride screaming thru the curves from Lamai, or my favorite, being left behind, in the water while the boat goes on around to the other side of an island to pick some others up but neglects to tell you they'll be right back, and your thinking Tom Hanks in Castaway, ah yes, adventure travel, love it .

Edited February 27, 2008 by cobra

[JetsetBkk]

... Then I remembered traveling on the Thai buses and that made me smile

Although you are safe as can possibly be on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life' to the journey, but you are sure to get there in one piece. However on the Thai journey there is often a few butt clenching /hair raising moments and although nowhere near as safe, I know what side I'd like to be on

Yes indeed,

The sometimes dreary and mind-numbing routine of daily life makes those LOS adventure journeys a refreshing breath of air, something to let you know your still alive and the sheer thrill of it.

Whether hanging on a severely over-loaded speed boat for a full moon party, no life-preserver, no running lights, ... or on a crazed tuk-tuk ride screaming thru the curves from Lamai, or my favorite, being left behind, in the water while the boat goes on around to the other side of an island to pick some others up but neglects to tell you they'll be right back, and your thinking Tom Hanks in Castaway, ah yes, adventure travel, love it .

Yes, what fun. I often read news stories about these people dying because of poor or non-existent safety standards. It doesn't seem quite so exciting then.

As for the film, "Open Water" is the one you should be thinking about.

[robsweet]

"Fortunately, there's not much feeling of 'death' either."

yep, apart from the National Express double decker that flipped over decapitating most of the passengers

[Khun Jean]

I like the journey a few times, then i want to get it over with as the sights are already seen and not special anymore.

For me the journey with the train is the most comfortable. Good seats, large windows, nice scenery. Unfortunately not to many destinations.

The bus i don't like. Very bumpy ride, several emergency situations per trip (sharp steering, hard breaking).

Mini vans i hate. Statistics will catch up with you when you use them often. Death is certain.

The car is a like/don't like depending on the location and roads. For sightseeing and finding places of route it is great.

Motorcy is for local shopping on very quiet roads, but still dangerous when encountering other traffic.

[zaza]

on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life'

Fortunately, there's not much feeling of 'death' either.

wow! I do understand Kankaroo's point of view and I pretty much feel the same .

There is no suspense or Russian-roulette blood-rushing sense of gambling on your life like the ones you would feel if u would step on a road side bomb, or get hugged by explosive-belted fanatic, or stopped in police checkpoint nearby bombed car, or being the only lucky survivor among your friends when being shot at your car by tanks for driving 102m close to their vehicles, or being kidnapped on your way to work which is not more than an hour! living through out all this or watching it happen to others every day like "Ground Hog Day" movie by Bill Murray is a way of an interesting Rambo action-stunning living.

That's the enjoyment-excitement (HAIR-RAISING) & (heart-stopping) life am sure that kankaroo's would love and wish to have which is far more better than his old boring safe & easy living in UK!

[JetsetBkk]

"Fortunately, there's not much feeling of 'death' either."

yep, apart from the National Express double decker that flipped over decapitating most of the passengers

Ah well, nowhere's perfect. Anybody got any "public transport related death" statistics for Thailand and UK?

If you want some real "fun", try taking the bus from Delhi to Agra.

[kankaroo]

on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life'

Fortunately, there's not much feeling of 'death' either.

wow! I do understand Kankaroo's point of view and I pretty much feel the same .

There is no suspense or Russian-roulette blood-rushing sense of gambling on your life like the ones you would feel if u would step on a road side bomb, or get hugged by explosive-belted fanatic, or stopped in police checkpoint nearby bombed car, or being the only lucky survivor among your friends when being shot at your car by tanks for driving 102m close to their vehicles, or being kidnapped on your way to work which is not more than an hour! living through out all this or watching it happen to others every day like "Ground Hog Day" movie by Bill Murray is a way of an interesting Rambo action-stunning living.

That's the enjoyment-excitement (HAIR-RAISING) & (heart-stopping) life am sure that kankaroo's would love and wish to have which is far more better than his old boring safe & easy living in UK!

Yes but you signed up for that and were not conscripted. Although I appreciate it because my friend is just back from Helmand province last week.

Anyway what I was trying to say was (I'll never make it as a writer) that there is a trade off as far as safety & quality of life living in either Thailand or the west. I don't have a death wish as such but I am willing to take the risks and live a happier life.

I mean getting told to wear your seatbelt on public transport like a child. Having a sandwich confiscated by the driver when boarding a bus to be told 'you'll get it back after we arrive', in 4 hours time. Cameras hovering in your face as you sit..... I'm sure there are good reasons for all these things and many people enjoy living in such a society, I just don't.

[bingobongo]

Just reading a couple of articles on tourists being killed on coaches going from A to B in LOS. The last two were put down to bad weather, namely wet roads. OK, it is raining which makes the roads more treacherous and therefore makes accidents more likely.

However here in the UK it rains quite a lot and these type of 'accidents' are almost unheard of. I mean we have blizzard weather with icy roads and millions of people traveling all over the country with virtually no accidents.

In my opinion it all comes down to the 'mai pen rai' attitude of the Thais. That combined with the low value placed on life. But in a way isn't that the appeal ?

Then I got thinking about my last bus journey in LOS about 1 year ago (BKK - Buri Ram). The windows were down and the warm winds whipped about your face and the Issan music was blaring. The driver was laughing and joking with one of the passengers as they smoked cigarettes. Hawkers jumped on the bus and sold some snacks and ice cold drinks. I remember just sitting there staring out the window, watching life go by while munching my snack and enjoying my cold beer, and thinking 'this is great!'.

Now to my most recent bus journey in the UK (Edinburgh - Inverness). I sat down on the bus and listened to an emergency exit routine (just like before you take of on a plane) and was told that wearing seat belts was now the law. Just to enforce this another member of staff walked along the isle checking that everybody had their seatbelt fastened. I wasn't wearing mine and told the staff that I was OK as I was. This didn't go down too well & I was told that I had to wear it as it was law. So I buckled up, feeling like a schoolboy. Next we were told that smoking, consumption of alcoholic beverages and eating of hot food, was against company policy, with the first two also being against the law. Violators would be ejected off the bus. At this stage I remembered I had bought a pie at the shop As the bus starts moving I slide down my chair a bit and proceed to nibble at my pie hoping the driver wouldn't notice and confiscate it (no exaggeration it happened to me twice before!). As I was looking up I noticed something for the first time, the roof had 6 (count em) CCTV cameras with one sitting right over my head.

I suddenly felt depressed with this journey and couldn't wait to get off. Then I remembered traveling on the Thai buses and that made me smile

Although you are safe as can possibly be on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life' to the journey, but you are sure to get there in one piece. However on the Thai journey there is often a few butt clenching /hair raising moments and although nowhere near as safe, I know what side I'd like to be on

So what do you think? Is the journey more important than the destination to you?

dude, you have way too much free time if you are sitting there comparing bus rides, try getting a hobby to occupy yourself

i have come to realize that boring people are bored

Edited February 28, 2008 by bingobongo

[njpski]

Kankaroo's musings are not boring, they are thought provoking, otherwise why would people respond.

The nanny state where we are treated as children is becoming more widespread. Bureaucrats are running our lives from the cradle to the grave (and beyond). Grey, soulless creatures with no spark of life telling the world to be boringly safe. Not my cup of tea, thanks!!

[Nignoy]

... Then I remembered traveling on the Thai buses and that made me smile

Although you are safe as can possibly be on a British coach there is no excitement, enjoyment or feeling of 'life' to the journey, but you are sure to get there in one piece. However on the Thai journey there is often a few butt clenching /hair raising moments and although nowhere near as safe, I know what side I'd like to be on

Yes indeed,

The sometimes dreary and mind-numbing routine of daily life makes those LOS adventure journeys a refreshing breath of air, something to let you know your still alive and the sheer thrill of it.

Whether hanging on a severely over-loaded speed boat for a full moon party, no life-preserver, no running lights, ... or on a crazed tuk-tuk ride screaming thru the curves from Lamai, or my favorite, being left behind, in the water while the boat goes on around to the other side of an island to pick some others up but neglects to tell you they'll be right back, and your thinking Tom Hanks in Castaway, ah yes, adventure travel, love it .

Swap the Tuk Tuk for Holden Ute it sounds like a Queensland Beach Holiday to me as all the afor mentioned things apart from being left behind are normal experiences on or near our beaches It does not inspire confidence aboard queensland dive charter boats to see notices plastered everywhere to remind the staff to count the passengers a minimum of 3 times before leaving a diving site, because here in Queensland it used to be common practise to forget divers some were never seen again it was only a couple of weeks ago that a local fishing guide ,3 days in a row was caught accidently chumming a favourite diving site,for adventure travel try Queensland, then if you survive travel to the land of smiles for some real R&R Nignoy

[bingobongo]

Kankaroo's musings are not boring, they are thought provoking, otherwise why would people respond.

The nanny state where we are treated as children is becoming more widespread. Bureaucrats are running our lives from the cradle to the grave (and beyond). Grey, soulless creatures with no spark of life telling the world to be boringly safe. Not my cup of tea, thanks!!

not really, most people have better things to do than compare bus rides, like read a book, listen to music, or sleep

[Patsycat]

I want a pie right now!!! With beans...

[zaza]

Yes but you signed up for that and were not conscripted. Although I appreciate it because my friend is just back from Helmand province last week.

you just have had made my day by your comment

NO ,honey !you are away tooooooooooooooooooo far wrong on this point

[micksterbs]

I know what you're getting-at, Kankaroo. We were up in Loei province a few months ago and spent the best part of a day at one of those floating restaurants. You probably know what I mean; little bamboo and thatch affairs where you order your grub and beer before being towed out onto the lake and then you chuck the anchor overboard. If you want to jump in for a swim, feel free. If you need more food and drink, raise the flag. We were all having a great time and my mate (an English teacher at Loei Uni) and I started talking about how this would never happen back in Blighty. For a start, the floating huts would have to be made out of something totally fireproof. There would be no smoking allowed, not even out in the middle of the lake. Everyone would have to wear a lifejacket at all times. The lake would be no more than 2" deep as, we all know, you can drown in a damp flannel. You'd have to read and sign an enormous disclaimer before eventually being towed out onto the lake. Oh, and of course, all the little floats would be vandalised the first day. Have I missed anything?

[njpski]

I know what you're getting-at, Kankaroo. We were up in Loei province a few months ago and spent the best part of a day at one of those floating restaurants. You probably know what I mean; little bamboo and thatch affairs where you order your grub and beer before being towed out onto the lake and then you chuck the anchor overboard. If you want to jump in for a swim, feel free. If you need more food and drink, raise the flag. We were all having a great time and my mate (an English teacher at Loei Uni) and I started talking about how this would never happen back in Blighty. For a start, the floating huts would have to be made out of something totally fireproof. There would be no smoking allowed, not even out in the middle of the lake. Everyone would have to wear a lifejacket at all times. The lake would be no more than 2" deep as, we all know, you can drown in a damp flannel. You'd have to read and sign an enormous disclaimer before eventually being towed out onto the lake. Oh, and of course, all the little floats would be vandalised the first day. Have I missed anything?

Don't pick on just Blighty, the regulations in the Great Southern Land of Oz would also prevent such an idyllic outing happening.

Instead, we have to put up with:-

The supercilious service (?), you know, where the waiter considers it beneath his dignity to actually be of service.

The freshness of food - in Oz, it would be straight out of the refrigerator where the ingredients have picked other foods' aromas.

Formality, at tables and chairs.

[0Mix1up]

Its called legislation for idiots

The west=to much

The los=to little

[Cuban]

I mean getting told to wear your seatbelt on public transport like a child.

Well to consider the other point of view, when the <deleted> driver high on Redbull finally looses control and crashes the coach, your loose body is flung around inside, an adult human head weights about 10kg and as a dead weight make quite a good blunt instrument to hit other people with. Ideally all loose luggage should also be secured. Fortunately coach crashes are not a daily occurance, for if they were seat belts, coach-passenger airbags and luggage netting would be the accepted normal practice.

I respect your choice not to wear a seat belt in your car etc. But do you have the right to kill someone with a head butt during an accident on a coach? Such a seat belt law could be for the protection of others rather than yourself.

I compare this argument to running lights on motorbikes. Many people drive at night, dusk & dawn without lights some using the excuse it increases running costs or "they" don't need them because they have good eyesight or know the way blindfolded etc. However that is little comfort to the truck driver that can't see the invisable bike on a fast road. Yes, the debate can be countered with slower moving traffic or the truck driving with main beam headlights on, but the bottom line is you are not the only road user whether in a coach, car or on a bike. There are other people to consider as well as yourself.

[Cuban]

Dear OP,

I have just re read your post about the CCTV etc.

I am very pleased I drive everywhere.

There is an advantage to running your own car, you can safely wrap your meat pie in tin foil and place it against the engine for twenty minutes to warm up, comes out lovely.

Although this is probably against the English Coach Company policy because of food hygiene or tax reasons.

[Thai at Heart]

"Fortunately, there's not much feeling of 'death' either."

yep, apart from the National Express double decker that flipped over decapitating most of the passengers

Ah well, nowhere's perfect. Anybody got any "public transport related death" statistics for Thailand and UK?

If you want some real "fun", try taking the bus from Delhi to Agra.

Thailand Half as many cars, 4 times as many 'officially reported fatalities". Easy maths!

[kankaroo]

Kankaroo's musings are not boring, they are thought provoking, otherwise why would people respond.

The nanny state where we are treated as children is becoming more widespread. Bureaucrats are running our lives from the cradle to the grave (and beyond). Grey, soulless creatures with no spark of life telling the world to be boringly safe. Not my cup of tea, thanks!!

not really, most people have better things to do than compare bus rides, like read a book, listen to music, or sleep

Yeah, or spend there spare time making negative comments on "boring" posts. I think it is you that needs to get a life......

[pampal]

litigation happy west vs. lawless east

[njpski]

litigation happy west vs. lawless east

As Shakespeare said, (in Henry IV) The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers

that would stop the litigation - lawyers with time on their hands invent ways to give themselves work