Another bus route.
A different city outside.
Miss the Number 6.
I took the bus to work the other day. So far (since returning to work after my vacation), I had been taking the train. It's faster. But I do like to take the bus now and then, especially if I have the time to spare. You look out the windows, enjoy the scenery going past, and don't feel that you're commuting to work. The journey and not the destination, that sort of thing.
While on vacation, I took the No 6 bus almost everyday, partly because the bus stop was just 2 minutes down the street while the Tube station was a good 10-15 minute walk. Coming back home on the No 6 bus was a no-brainer, simply because it was a 24-hour service. And above all, the No 6 went past Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square -- essential London, and you could walk from the Oxford Circus stop to the other essential bits like Leicester Square and Covent Garden.
On the second last day, my travelling companion mused that the bus ride into town everyday would be one of the things we don't think we'll miss, but will miss once we get home. And she's right. After a few days, you develop a routine of looking out for a greengrocer's display; a window that doesn't have curtains so you could see what the homeowner was doing in his spacious kitchen; a man reading by a book light while TV light flickers from the next room.
And now, I'm back on the 163 to work, sorely missing the little details of the No 6. But slowly, the joys of the 163 are filtering back. There's a house that always has a dog napping in the driveway. There's a lovely road with old mossy trees on the divider. A mini-getaway. Too bad I get off the bus and into the office.
While on vacation, I took the No 6 bus almost everyday, partly because the bus stop was just 2 minutes down the street while the Tube station was a good 10-15 minute walk. Coming back home on the No 6 bus was a no-brainer, simply because it was a 24-hour service. And above all, the No 6 went past Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square -- essential London, and you could walk from the Oxford Circus stop to the other essential bits like Leicester Square and Covent Garden.
On the second last day, my travelling companion mused that the bus ride into town everyday would be one of the things we don't think we'll miss, but will miss once we get home. And she's right. After a few days, you develop a routine of looking out for a greengrocer's display; a window that doesn't have curtains so you could see what the homeowner was doing in his spacious kitchen; a man reading by a book light while TV light flickers from the next room.
And now, I'm back on the 163 to work, sorely missing the little details of the No 6. But slowly, the joys of the 163 are filtering back. There's a house that always has a dog napping in the driveway. There's a lovely road with old mossy trees on the divider. A mini-getaway. Too bad I get off the bus and into the office.
