My Trip to the Big City

B and I went to NYC this weekend to visit some friends. It was pretty much awesome.


We took the Chinatown bus from Baltimore to New York. I hadn't realized it before, but the subject of the Chinatown bus is extremely polarizing. You either love it or hate it. I've never met anyone whose indifferent on the subject. I know people who are scared of buses (I tried to find out if there was a specific phobia for buses, but all I could come up with was Hodophobia- Fear of road travel). I know people who are "too good" for the bus. Or who have a whole lot of money to burn (I wish that was my problem... but that's a rant for another day).

So they drive. Now, I don't mind driving. In fact, I love the act of driving. But to drive from Baltimore to New York City, it's just a pain. There's the gas- the ridiculously expensive gas. And when your trapped on the New Jersey Turnpike, they can just about charge you whatever they want. But wait- why are you trapped on the Jersey Turnpike? Because of tolls. You don't want to have to pay to get off and onto a turnpike. Then there are the tunnel/ bridge tolls to get into the city. If you're driving directly into Brooklyn, your especially effed, because of the Staten Island toll. $10?! That's just obscene.

Those who decide not to drive can take the train. Oh, Amtrak, why are you so expensive? A one way ticket from Penn Station Baltimore to Penn Station New York City can run anywhere between $120 to $130. And yes- I said one way. So two round trip tickets run over $300. I'd personally rather spend my money in New York, not getting there.

So we took the Chinatown bus. It's $15 each way. Granted, it's not the most comfortable way to travel, but if I wanted comfort, I'd take the train. It's fast, easy, cheap- and that's all I'm looking for.

I think that the idea of bus vs. train can be summed up in a pretty fun little story. A friend of mine has two sisters. One lives in New York, the other lives here in Baltimore. My friend was going to visit her sister in NY, and found out that her other sister was planning on going up at the same time, for the same reasons. She told her sister that they can take the bus together, and it would be great for the two of them, since no one would have to travel alone. The response she got was, "I don't take the bus." So her sister took the train, and my friend took the bus. They left at the same exact time. They got there at the same exact time. Yet one spent $15, and the other $120.

Just as a little side note, I was messing around on www.phobialist.com and found some pretty fun phobias (not fun to have... just the words are fun):
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words.
- Hellenologophobia- Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology.
- Homophobia- Fear of sameness, monotony or of homosexuality or of becoming homosexual. (I didn't know that this also meant fear of sameness... I suppose I could be considered homophobic in that sense?)
And those are just the H's!