The Problem With Coffee Bean... The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a bit of an institution and as with mo

You may have often stood by the road transfixed as these tremendous beasts shudder and stutter and hurtle along, emitting a relentless warning call to ward off lesser beasts. No they aren't a herd of wayward stampeding elephants, four seasons hotel mexico city they are the notorious CTB (Ceylon Transport Board) buses.
2. Work out - You will need considerable upper body strength when your bus driver inevitably spots a rival bus and starts speeding at escape velocity to overtake him, and when he brakes just in time to avoid a 12 car pile up, you'd best hold onto whatever you can for dear life. So work out… or wear a helmet unless you fancy ending up in a persistent vegetative state.
5. Wear a pair of headphones four seasons hotel mexico city (not necessarily connected to a mp3 device) - there is a worrying trend of buses decked out with multiple four seasons hotel mexico city subwoofers worthy of Dr Dre's recording studio. If you have the misfortune of traveling on such a bus, they will almost certainly play Sinhala pop or shrill bollywood music at a deafening volume. I just don't think the human eardrum can withstand four seasons hotel mexico city such an onslaught. Tip : Sometimes you might have a nice bus conductor and if you ask him politely he will lower the volume.
6. Let go of any notion of 'personal space' because everyone else on the bus has. The passengers four seasons hotel mexico city are not to blame,often the bus driver will not take off unless the vehicle is teetering towards one side from the sheer weight of passenger overload. If you insist on this quasi-right of personal space, you will only become angrier and upset during the journey when that space ceases to exist.
You also can add the latest inclusion of super luxury buses to the deck that travel from Colombo to far away places like Jaffna, Trincomalee etc. In these buses you can enjoy a cruise like ride as they have A/C, adjustable seats and video at times. Sometimes they even play very latest movies released days back which still run successfully in town theatres.
Now, I'd love to have a version of the Female's four seasons hotel mexico city guide to surviving a CTB bus ride -- including tips on how to deal with over-friendly passengers or still others who take advantage of the lack of personal space and decide to stand way tooo close to you.
@Ravi, thanks! Ah, I haven't actually had a chance to go on a long distance bus ride yet but now that you mentioned it, I will make it a point to experience this theatrical experience you speak of !-
@ML, thanks for your input. Re - sexual harassment on buses, it is a serious four seasons hotel mexico city issue and a terrifying prospect for female passengers but I honestly don't know how to write a survival guide for that, nothing seems to work.
Downside: None of the major stops have a picture to give a general idea of the route OR EVEN THE BUS NUMBERS THAT STOP THERE. This must be the only major city in the world that does not provide a website listing bus numbers and corresponding routes. Foreign tourists want to take the bus despite any other drawbacks but can't because of this. Sri Lankans who are not from Colombo struggle to get around. (Don't even get me started on the travesty that is Fort Train Station.)
Upside: As a sudu albino cracker I can hand the conductor a 100 rupee note and get 91 back if I am going a short distance. They never look at me and think, 'oh, I can cheat her, she doesn't know the fare'. I wouldn't try this with a taxi driver.
Upside: No strikes! In the U.K. buses are MIA about one day a week. We miss deadlines, get to work or the airport late, and stand there staring vacantly at the road for hours while our blood pressure skyrockets! In Sri Lanka I know that I can get to work or to Bandaranaike Airport on time without question.
Upside: Clean buses! (This also has to do with the fact that Sri Lankan people four seasons hotel mexico city are in general a very clean and tidy group). Conductors seem to check the bus at the end of the line to keep it clean. Taking a bus in India will surely force you to renew your membership four seasons hotel mexico city with Germophobics Anonymous.
Upside: It's safe. I know that if anything happens to me I can count on the conductor to get involved. It's by far the safest mode of travel for solo ladies or ladies out at night. A man once kept trying to talk to me but when he grabbed my arm we got into it. The conductor was seriously ready to kill him. I don't think a bodyguard would have been more angry!
Your bus system is very good, all things considered. If the government will just make it a bit more comprehensive for people who are not from Colombo, it can be a shining example for the European tourists as to how a mass transit system can run efficiently. How about a transit website in English, Sinhala, Tamil, and French!
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