Chinatown Bus- All Aboard

My mom lives in San Jose, CA and the last two times she came to visit, she took a bus. Not the Greyhound though. She took the Chinatown bus. This budget transportation type even has its own wikipedia entry.

When she told me it costs $35.00 one way, I was in shock. And then she told me about the free snacks and drinks they provide, the two fifteen minute pit stops the bus takes, a clean restroom on board, AC and an arrival time in LA in less than 7 hours.

The picture above is from the site and it’s in Vietnamese but there are basically 3 pickup and drop off points in S. Cali and N. Cali. So basically if I were to catch the bus here in Chinatown at 10:45 a.m, I would arrive in SF at 6 p.m. Not too shabby considering Greyhound takes longer and costs more.

When I dropped off my mom, I stepped in to check it out and it’s like… being in Chinatown. Asians of all types and the chatter was kinda loud! I did get a few stares, but that was expected. It was like the “white girl” alarm went off when I entered. That said, I’d still be down to take this mass transit transpo, but not without my huge ass sunglasses on, an ipod and a book. Hit the thumbnail below to see the enlarged pic for time schedules and destinations.

www.xedohoang.com

Update- apparently there are buses similar to this in the following states: Virginia, New York, Philadelphia, Georgia and Tennessee to name a few. Go to Apex.com to get more info. I just noticed that the bus provides free Wi-Fi. Blogging while bussin’? Holla.

Posted by thuy