THE DRAGON BUS SERIES: An Interview with Pibian and Wamie
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Pibian: Ok, so we were down in Maryland last year for Preakness. Before leaving for New York, we decide to get really high, and then Balls (that’s the name of their friend) drops us off in the outskirts of Baltimore Chinatown.
(editor’s note – ew)
Anyway, we get out of the car all dazed and we see this fried chicken place. I'd eyed it before when we arrived but didn't go in.
Wamie: Chester Fried Chicken.
Pibian: So we go in there and there's a big woman and this little man behind the counter.
Wamie: You know she gives it to him back there.
Pibian: So Wamie and I decide pick out two big drumsticks and potato wedges and wait outside for the Chinatown bus.
But instead a dirty little minivan pulls up to the curb and the driver starts waving and honking. We get in and nobody says anything.
So it’s just me and Wamie and the driver in the van. We’re eating the chicken and stinking up the car and driving along on the highway and don’t really know what’s going on.
All of the sudden, he pulls off the highway, opens up the door and tells us to get out.
Wamie: In a Bob Evan’s parking lot.
Pibian: But then the big Chinatown Bus pulls up.
Wamie: We were really stoned.
Pibian: And dirty.
- POP by J
UPDATE: From New York Magazine,
Penny-Pinching Peril - Chinatown's Cheap Bus Travel: A Troubled History
THE DRAGON BUS SERIES: Fung Wah Bus Loses Wheels
Friday, April 27, 2007
During my research on the history of the Chinatown bus, I came across this news video from Massachusetts. What happened exactly? Click on the video to watch and read the whole story here!
"The bus driver told police he felt something in the rear and then pulled over."
"Nothing, this is nothing," the driver said in halting English.
THE DRAGON BUS SERIES: Loryn Speaks
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
DISCLAIMER: The story you are about to hear is true. To protect the identity of the racist and owner of the bed, names have been changed.
GUEST POP by Loryn: My favorite memory of the Chinatown bus occurred a few years ago when BLANK and I were taking the bus up together to visit John in New York for New Year's. We were seated on the bus, adjusted our belongings and sat back for the trip. BLANK then said to me, "I'm scared, I've never taken the Chinatown bus before. I heard they get into lots of accidents because Asians got bad peripheal vision!" [said: LOUDLY]. I look up to see all of the Asians with their bad "peripheal" vision looking back at us and had to chuckle.
Another great story from that weekend was that BLANK saved me from getting a load blown on my face while I was passed out on OTHER BLANK's bed. Some fat girl was giving head to some random guy in the room I had passed out in about a foot from my face. Luckily, BLANK saw the outlines of this movement through the curtains on the door's window and ran in there, forcing them up and out! Thank you BLANK!
THE DRAGON BUS SERIES
Many college students, city folk, Asians, visiting tourists and cheap people know about the method of transportation known as The Chinatown Bus, which transports riders from Chinatown to Chinatown around the US.
Here on the East Coast, I have traveled on the mythical Chinatown bus from Philadelphia to Washington, DC and New York. You can get round-trip tickets as low as $20 -- this is the real deal my friends -- and the trip is often more convenient than driving, flying, Amtrak, regional rail, and Greyhound. All you have to do is go to the Chinatown of your choice, find the buses which are lined up on random street corners throughout the neighborhood, purchase a ticket from someone screaming at you about the next bus and the best deal (usually an old woman), hop on and then check with everyone already on the bus to make sure you are in fact on the right one because sometimes things get tricky, and off you go to the next Chinatown of your choice.
Yes. No. Maybe.
We here at The Pop Box have asked a group of like-minded friends (read: awesome) to recount their most memorable Chinatown bus experiences. Be on the look out for "Dragon Bus" guest blogs in the weeks to come. And while you're waiting, head on over to Wiki to read more about the buses in the news. With articles titled "Flames engulf Fung Wah bus in CT" and "Passengers Tell of Wild Bus Trip," we're sure you'll have a grand time. - The Pop Box
