I don't consider myself pretty but I do like it when people look at me. I don’t know any female who doesn’t! Deep down I wish I was an actress on the stage and have all eyes heavily focusing on me…Yes that is what I would secretly love and that is what I get when getting on public transport in Belgrade. Well when you say public transport you will probably think of the tube or metro but in Belgrade public transport has aggressive OAPs, beggars, Roma musicians, dirt-encrusted windows and ordinary citizens. There are trams and some electric buses but the same adjectives could be used for any of them.
My travelling starts from the bus stop in front of the Palace of Serbia in New Belgrade where I take the number 16 to Old Belgrade just across the Danube River. I may take the bus at different times of the day or week as I am working from home and am not bounded by regular office hours. What I have realised is that:
- Instructions on how to use BusPlus tickets are written in Cyrillic letters which is the official alphabet of Serbia. There is no explanation in English or any other language so if you decide to use public transport in Belgrade start learning the Serbian alphabet and good luck!
- Buses are frequent and always full.
- I never saw disabled person in a wheelchair on public transport in Belgrade.
- There is never ever an empty seat.
- If there is empty seat, an OAP will grab it, even though they are on two different sides of the bus.
- Ticket validation is 21st century while service is in the middle ages. Drivers are underpaid, (sounds familiar?) overworked and some vehicles should be sold for scrap metal, not on the road.
- People stare at you, intensely, when you enter the bus.
This last remark used to puzzle me and I was always under the impression that the staring was due to my fresh faced looks, my hair style, my coat, bag… I never had so many glances on entering a bus in any part of the world.
Last night I went out with a friend, a local lad, one of few who decided to stay in Belgrade and try to make something of this interesting city.
His first comment on entering the bus was “Don’t validate your ticket. People don’t. The price is too high for the service you get! ”
“What if an inspector comes to check tickets?”
“Just tell them that you will get off at the next stop”
“But…”
“Don’t but – look around you. Most people don’t validate tickets. They all stare at people getting on the bus in case they are the inspector.”
My dream of the stage and me as a famous actress disappeared at the next bus stop.
No comments:
Post a Comment