Don’t Miss the Bus

Two weeks ago I missed my flight from Bangalore to Ahmedabad. That set me back a few thousand rupees. Today I very nearly missed my train to Hyderabad.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 2.40 pm. I reached Bangalore at 7 am, travelling overnight in a sleeper bus. I usually don’t sleep well on buses and trains and that night I just didn’t sleep at all.?

I went to a friend’s place to shower and change, meet another friend and pick up a parcel that was waiting for me. The airport was far, so decided to leave by 11 am, three hours and 40 minutes before departure. That ought to be sufficient.

But things went slow, with plunging sugar levels and a sleepy head. I took a nap. Then repacked, and waited for my friend to come. He knew my flight timing and I expected him to come at 10, but he showed up at 11.45.?

Lunch was ready, so I had it, else the cook would feel bad.?

Thinking I was sure to get late, I thought of taking a taxi. My visitor said why spend so much money when he could get me an auto to connect with the airport bus at Jayanagar. I gave in, not wanting to be seen as a spendthrift.?

The auto driver took me to Jayanagar and put me in the airport bus. He expected a tip and got it. The bus left 30 minutes late.??

I still thought I would make it. However, the bus leisurely weaved in and out of crowded streets. At one place it took 15 minutes of maneuvering to take a diversion from where the road was blocked. The driver was in no hurry. He had no plane to catch.

Then something unexpected happened. My bladder began sending urgent signals. How come? I had been liberal with my water intake and the bus was air conditioned. I was sure I could wait till the airport, but the way the bus was going, with everything else on the road overtaking it, my hope dwindled.?

Soon, I was twisting and turning in my seat, painfully aware of the dammed up fluid. Very embarrassing. Before long, I was thinking of secretively doing it in the empty water bottle I had.

Finally, I summoned the courage to walk up front and tell the conductor of my emergency. He looked at the driver and showed him his little finger. Bless him; the driver swung the bus left and stopped along an isolated stretch. I could hardly wait for the doors to swish open.

Going a little distance behind the bus I let it flow, and feared it would never end. But it eventually did and so back into the bus without looking anybody in the eye. It was not an uncommon thing to do but it left me quite embarrassed.

At the airport, I was first off the bus, got a trolly and walked as fast as my shaky legs could take me.?

I would have made it, but it took me several minutes to figure out that they had done away with the separate baggage screening and to locate the airline counter, hidden away behind the pillars.

At the check-in counter, the lady was about to take my ticket, when her colleague cried out, “Counter closed.” It was two minutes past two. Come on, there’s almost 40 minutes before take off. But no matter what I said and how I pleaded, the man held his ground.?

His name tag said ‘Xavier,’ and I even tried calling him by name, but he was like a face carved in stone on Mount Rushmore. In fact, you could probably squeeze water from a stone, but not him. Totally “I couldn’t care less” attitude.?

So much for customer service. I had bought a ticket on GoatAir, my least favourite airline, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

Now what? If I went back to my friend’s place, it would cost me the taxi fare, then tomorrow again back. That’s double the amount. Plus another air ticket.

I was told there was a Micejet flight to Ahmedabad later that night. In the seven minutes I took to check for other options, the ticket had increased by 1000 rupees.?

They were spicing it up, dynamic pricing they called it. Clever of them, stupid of me. But I could not stay on at the airport, so shelled out the cash. Unlike Xavier, this counter guy was both polite and helpful.?

And then today, I have been carrying three tickets bought three weeks ago. The other day I was looking at my return ticket that mentioned train departure at 5.20 pm.

That was two days ago. Today I’m to leave in the evening at about 5, so I presumed. I said I’ll pick up my daughter at 12.30 from school. My wife left in the morning for an all-day workshop.

At 9.30 am, I felt prompted to check my reservation status since my ticket was RAC. That’s when I discovered that my train was not at ‘about 5 in the evening,’ but at noon, 12.15.?

That left me just about two hours, and I was hoping to do further preparation for the workshops I was going for. And what about my daughter? I called my wife on the phone. It was switched off.

So what do I learn?

1. Do not take anything for granted in communication. Clarify.
2. Do your homework. Exact departure time. Distance to the airport. How much time it will take. Buffer time.
3. Plan and prepare carefully without becoming paranoid.?
4. Carry out the plan, unless there is a life or death emergency. You’ll keep your peace this way.
5. Keep your focus, and your priorities.
6. Don’t try to please people, nor allow others to make your decisions.?
7. Just do what is right.