From Mumbai I had booked a bus to Goa. This bus was supposedly to leave at 5:30pm and arrive at 9:30am, according to my printed ticket. Being the sensible traveller, I arrive a good 30 minutes early to make sure that I can calmly find my bus without the panic, running and stress.

A random man then approaches me, looks at my ticket and write down a number plate on the top right corner on my printed paper. He then points me in the direction of a bus with the same operator name as mine and I waddle over to see whether it’s in fact mine or not.

The driver claims that it is mine, although it’s not due to depart till 7:30pm. 2 hours later? Surely this can’t be MY bus and it just happens to be another bus leaving at another time from the same company. This doesn’t seem unlikely as I’m sure the trip from Mumbai to Goa is quite a common route to take. He continues to fight that he is correct with 5 other men to surround me (most of who I believe were just randomers from the street). He points out the fact that the license plate to his (and apparently my) bus which was written on the corner as proof.

Of course being very stubborn and determined that I was right and that this WASN’T actually my bus, I also fight this case of mine.

The time gets closer and closer to 5:30pm and another bus is not visible from where I am. It’s at  this point that I decide to just take the seat which they are offering me and just leave 2 hours later than I had originally planned.

I check the obvious, ‘If I leave Mumbai at 7:30pm rather than 5:30pm then I should arrive in Goa at 11:30am rather than 9:30am?’

The driver replies with ‘No, you arrive at 7:30am.’

This is the most illogical thing I have heard so far as this bus seems to be able to make these 4 hours of travelling magically disappear.

So as to not extract this teeny tiny complication into such great detail, by the time it hits 7:20pm they inform me that it turns out that this isn’t actually my bus and that I missed it 2 hours ago. Hmmm, classic India.

They continue with stating that the bus I have been sat on and waiting since the beginning discussion is also full and so I must get off.

For anyone who knows me in the slightest knows that at this point there is no way at all that I will be changing buses and that I WILL be getting myself to Goa as planned no matter what the delay. And after these words were passed across in a forceful yet polite manner, I was on my way to my destination.

Moral of the story – Stick to your gut.

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