“You are the universe, expressing itself as a human for a little while.” Eckhart Tolle
Today, Ingeborg and I hopped a bus from Colombo to Trincomalee. A town on the opposite side of the island known for whale watching, snorkeling, diving, and pretty much all things water related.
We arrived at the bus station a little before 7 am. We were told by the guy at the hostel that you can’t buy bus tickets in advance and there is no real schedule to find online so you just show up, ask around, and pay for the tickets on the bus. Surprisingly, this went very smoothly. We asked one gentleman who pointed us in the right direction and we found the bus driver for our destination fairly easily. He said we would be leaving in 10 minutes. He took our bags, threw them in the back of the bus, showed us where the bathrooms were, and a little place to grab some prepackaged food/drinks. Ingeborg went to the bathroom and I went to grab us some snacks.
Only one minor mishap. I went back to what I thought was our bus but it wasn’t! Luckily, Ingeborg called my phone and said to hurry because they were leaving, with or without me. I realized I was one lane to the left so I ran over and jumped on the bus. Whew! They closed the doors and we were off. Thank goodness for her, otherwise, yours truly would have still been standing at the bus stop and my bag would have been long gone.
We were told to take the air conditioned bus but for some reason, that wasn’t going to happen. Thankfully, it was a cooler in the morning, and somewhat of an overcast day. Otherwise, these buses can be sweltering in the heat. Since we boarded at the beginning of the route, we had seats in the front of the bus…more airflow.
The best part of this ride was watching the driver and, I’ll call him the manager of the bus in action. The manager collected the money, called out the destination to potential riders, and made sure everyone got where they were going. And the driver, well he kept us on the road.
When you get a front-row seat to observe someone doing their job for seven hours, you can gather quite a bit of intel.
I’ve said it before, I LOVE watching people who are really good at their job. It tells me they care and I like when people have purpose and meaning. Selfishly, it makes me feel better about the world.
These guys excel at their jobs. They have incredible skill sets. They are efficient, effective, and move at lightening speed. They make quick decisions, speak multiple languages, and can multitask like not many people can do. Heck, they have a larger skillset than most CEOs and VPs I’ve worked for who earn hundreds of thousands, if not, millions of dollars. But these guys are part of the skeleton of society. They literally keep the wheels of their community going round and round. These guys don’t miss a beat, they see and hear everything.
I’m rudely going to call them “driver” & the manager Runi. They were so busy making life easy for everyone that I didn’t want to interrupt their flow, so unfortunately, I never got the driver’s name but I was able to get Runi’s as he handed me my backpack at our final destination.
Runi, the manager of the bus taking the payment knows exactly who has paid, who hasn’t, and how much change he still owes someone even though it may take six stops until he has the correct bills. He will get it right. He’s making sure people get off at their stop and even knows what luggage goes with who. He’s on the phone constantly and answering everyone’s questions. Plus, he is not only managing the patrons on the bus, but every so often someone would pull up on a scooter or we would stop for a brief minute to pass a message or he’d run up to a house and hand them something, like their mail, a cell phone, or an electrical outlet, etc. It appeared that he was also working as some sort of courier service for the locals – and always did it with a smile. He would also stand in the doorway of the bus and consistently count his cash to make sure his accounting was correct. Incredible.
The driver on the other hand noticed every person needing a ride in addition to all the cars, trucks, Tuk Tuks, motorbikes, and animals running around on the road.
Together, they are a well-oiled machine. We would pull up to a stop behind another bus and these guys would get the people on and off, and we would be driving around the other stopped bus before the other driver could switch his foot to the gas pedal. They were that good…and they were laughing and smiling the entire time. They were like professional athletes in the zone. It was fun to watch.
I’ve only seen one other exceptional duo like this in my life and it was on a six hour bus ride in the Philippines. That ride was crazy. It was so packed that at one point I was holding someone’s baby and I had a live rooster in a basket next to my feet on the floor. Absolutely bananas. But you know what, it works and people get where they are going to keep living their lives. And the wheels continue to go round and round.
Sri Lanka recognizes several religions, Muslim, Christianity, Buddhism, Hindu…and probably a few more. Based on the offering on the dashboard of the bus that included flowers and a statue of Ganesh, I’m assuming they are Hindu. Runi even watered the flowers at one point along the way with a spray bottle.
Our driver was extremely cautious and was very concerned about everyone’s safety. I even noticed him pray a few times when we had close calls with other vehicles. He’d lift his prayer hands to his third eye area and say a little something under his breath. I mean sure, he drove super fast and was weaving in and out of traffic, which would scare the daylights out of most people who are not used to this system, but every move was calculated…correctly.
We only had one near miss that caused the girl sitting next to me to go flying out of the seat (she is okay), but that was because an oncoming and somewhat reckless scooter driver crossed our path at the last second and almost wrecked with someone else so our amazing driver had to slam (and I mean slam – tires were smelling of burnt rubber) on the breaks. Conclusion: he avoided a massive collision. I think Ganesh, the remover of obstacles helped us out in that moment.
There is sooooo much horn honking….constantly and from everyone. Our driver used two different horns. One was the regular horn on the steering wheel and another one was like an airhorn. I couldn’t figure out the rhyme or reason for when he was using each other them…there wasn’t an obvious pattern but I’m sure it meant something. I did ask but I don’t think they understood my question.
Just like yesterday’s salesman, the guys in the Philippines, and these two gents, these people fly under the radar and are undervalued. Seriously, when was the last time you thought of the people of Sri Lanka? But these are the guys that literally keep their local communities moving forward and functioning. Now, if the rest of the world would only recognize that you don’t need a university degree, tons of money, or a pedigree to have meaning or value in this life. We would all be a little better off.
I think Runi and our driver took a liking to me and Ingeborg. They weren’t stressed about our payment, they continued to check on us and make sure we were okay, they would point out interesting things to us along the drive, and they even introduced us to their families.
At one point the driver’s wife and daughter got on board so he introduced us before dropping them off in their hometown. ❤️ I also got to talk to Runi’s girlfriend on his phone, ha!
I was looking out my window when the driver got my attention to show me the WILD ELEPHANT walking down the side of the road. Yes, there was a freaking WILD ELEPHANT walking down the road!!! My day was made. 🐘 You must watch the video at the end of the blog to see a one-second clip of it. It happened fast but it was joyous!
About midday, we made a stop and the entire bus filled up. Standing room only. It went from a regular ole bus to a party bus. People laughing, babies crying, the body heat rising.
I gave up my seat for a pregnant woman and ended up in the stairwell with the Runi. A serious front-row view. The locals were worried I was going I fall off the bus but I was having the time of my life. The driver made a joke and asked if I wanted to drive for a while. Ummmm, yes, please.
At one point, we stopped in front of a shrine or alter (not sure what they call them) and Runi jumped off the bus, took his shoes off, and prayed for all of us. 🙏❤️ Just a quick second or two but it’s meaningful.
I love this about the Hindu culture. I witnessed their daily rituals and offerings while I was in Bali. It made me start a more devoted daily private prayer practice myself. Even though we aren’t all part of the same belief system, doesn’t mean we can’t learn a little something from or be inspired by each other.
After seven hours of watching these guys make magic and meeting some interesting Sri Lankan folks, we reached our final stop. Runi helped us with our bags, took our payment and we said goodbye to everyone. The driver even gave us a few honks on the horn for our sendoff. What a fun trip!
Our hotel is lovely and the best part is they have a pool. We immediately changed into our suits and jumped in. Perfect ending to another fun adventure. ❤️
Here is the recap video of our wild ride!
Goodnight and much love & gratitude from Sri Lanka! 🇱🇰
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We saw a bright orange Lamborghini on our ride to the bus station. It seemed so out of place and bizarre.
Closed circuit TV selfie with Ingeborg.
