March of 2008. That’s our bus to the left waiting for us to get our passports stamped so we could continue on into Bangladesh. Wish all immigrations crossing were this lush and welcoming!!!

Travel Moments: Patience Pays Off
Sometimes we get stuck and have to make adjustments to our plans. Obstacles can seem impossible to overcome, situations difficult to navigate. When we are faced with moments like these, it is important to remember to take a few breaths, smile and know that nothing is permanent. This moment shall pass. And indeed, it did.
I was a passenger on this bus. We had just crossed the border from India into Bangladesh. It was the first of many moments on that trip that required a lot of patience and taught me that sometimes the best place to be is exactly where you are, looking upon the situation with a bit of lighthearted laughter and a lot of compassion. I am not sure I would have noticed the amazing rice fields,  or connected with the other passengers as I did had we not been forced to get off that bus that day. And those are the moments I remember now.

One of the people I met while waiting for the bus to be able to get back onto the road. He was tending to the rice fields and stopped to try to talk with us. Everyone was really curious where we were going, and why?

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos ever, and was taken shortly after our bus got going once again. We were stoped (again) on a bridge for some reason and I took this photo through the tinted window of the bus directly into the afternoon sun. The expression of this girl and her posture of such ease was something I knew I had to capture. Where was she going? How long had she been waiting? It was all very intoxicating to think about, and those murky river waters in the background made me want to go with her, wherever she was heading.

I am longing for the days when I can be on a bus to just about anywhere again. Where do you want to travel when it is safe to adventure again? Have you been to India or Bagladesh? Tell me of your favorite bus ride!!

The bus journey started in Agartala, India (State of Tripura) and we crossed immigration into Bangladesh. It was a small office and as usual, my friend  and I were the only foreigners. They had to go wake up the man who had as his duty, the stamping of the passports. The other passengers never seem to mind when things take a long time, and smiled at us happily as we climbed once again onto the bus to continue the journey. I think it was supposed to be a 5 hour journey to Dhaka, but if memory serves, it was a lot longer! Each obstacle somehow made all of us more united.