Dont do it!
Megabus - Oh that's a killer.
Ouch and how long does that take?
These are few of the many comments I recieved after purchasing a mega bus ticket for my journey down to my home town Newquay. Being a mega bus "virgin" I was curious to why people reacted this way, I mean surely with the prices being so cheap what can you expect. The mega bus is purely for cheap travelling rather than providing customers with comfort. If mega bus is really this bad - then why is it so popular?
Surprisingly, the 7 hour journey from London to Newquay wasn't as gruelling as I anticipated. The coach left Victoria coach station at precisely 5 o clock, unfortunately I arrived 5 minutes before the coach was due to leave and they do ask to be there 15 minutes prior. Consquences were the coach only had limited seats left and I got landed sitting on the aisle side. My brothers finance warned me about this, after her journey from Newquay to Bradford - her only advice was make sure you sit in the window seat. Damn.
An hour in, and what felt like forever we hadn't even made it out of London. The traffic was a nightmare, well what could you expect 5 o clock on a Friday - not a wise choice. I think one of the many wonders of the mega bus is your fellow travellers. You make either one or two gestures - talk away happily to the person next to you, plug in your ipod/mp3 player or read a book/magazine. In my case, I took the first option and chatted away to the gentleman next to me. It's funny thinking about the amount of people on the coach and which destination they are going to or the reasons behind there journey. For example, the guy I sat next to, his reasons for travelling was to meet a girl who he'd been talking to online for 3 weeks. A pretty risky move I think. I thought to myself, what could be possibly running through his mind right now? Would she turn up? Would she be the same person I thought she was? Will she even like me? Well, thats what I assumed. I frequently asked him if he was nervous (probably making him more nervous) and he just answered yes but kept re assurring himself everything was going to be ok. Goodluck to him! After only 3 weeks of internet banter he has a lot of guts to meet this mystery person in the flesh and at quite a distance. His journey consisted of 5 long hours next to me questioning him about this internet love affair and if he really believes that a person could find love over the internet - something I'm skeptic about.
Four hours in, one bottle of sprite finished. The dreaded horror of using train or coach toliet facilities. My immediate thought was to wait til the coach stopped at Exeter for a 10 minute break. Finally, got to Exeter - by this point im literally bursting to go. Ran the fastest my short legs could possibly take me only to find the Ladies toliets were locked and bolted shut. There was no other choice, I had to use the coach toliet. Even the thought of it still makes me cringe. It appears a few people had experienced the same distraught as me as there was a queue. Everytime the toliet door opened a waft of what I could only describe as "pure evilness" travelled through the coach making me retch a few times. So after retching and holding on to my bladder for dear god it was my turn to go. No matter where you are, who you are, how much your busting to go - women know the rule always to hover. The smell was disgusting, the door wouldnt close properly and the toliet was dirty. What a site, trying to hold my nose, hold the door shut and hover at the same time was definitly not a highlight of my journey. On top of that - the lights went out. As a result I had to do all that multi tasking in pitch black.
After that experience, the next stop was a place which I was familiar with -Plymouth. This was also the last stop for my gentleman friend where he'd meet his mystery woman. I tried to keep my eyes peeled to see if I could catch a glimpse but as I was sitting in the passenger seat I could not see a thing.
Tip : Always get the window seat - more room, easier to sleep and a better view for spying.
A smile spread across my face, as I knew the next stop would be the end of the road for me. Crossing the Taymar Bridge and seeing the Welcome to Cornwall sign made me realise how much I missed home. I couldn't wait to see my mum as she had no idea that I was comming down. I made the journey for her - just to see her face when I walked through the door - I couldn't wait! Why is it what ever you do or wherever you go, the last bit of time always drags. My eyes were fixed on the clock watching every moment. I recapped my time on the mega bus; the journey itself wasn't as bad as what I had prepared myself for however, it doesnt compare to the speed of a plane or accessibilty of a train. Although, I was content with my journey and the price I had payed therefore had no reasons to complain.
Midnight - the exact time it was scheduled to be in Newquay. Finally here, finally home. Stepping off the coach I can already smell the sea air. To sum up my views on mega bus would be in three words: Slow, cheap and has to be slow again. It got me from A to B therefore I'm happy. Now all I have to look forward to is the coach trip home on Wednesday. But then, the issues lie with trailing all my luggage from London victoria coach station to London waterloo train station. Not an easy or fun job especially after the mind state I will be in due to the long trip.
In conclusion - I honestly don't see the mega fuss over the mega bus.
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