No quick getaway for the Bukittinggi Express

It's a 3 hour drive from Padang to West Sumatra's second city, Bukittinggi, a congested 96 km away. You can do it in luxury by hiring a car and driver for $35, or you can take the public bus for about $2. If you take the bus you have to get to and from the respective bus stations though, and that adds time and expense. So Lonely Planet recommends the middle option: a seat in a public minibus ($5), which takes you right to your chosen destination address. Should be quicker too, I thought.

And there it was: a nice clean and comfortable 7-passenger vehicle, waiting patiently for  me. I was given the prized front seat, and happily sat down to await our departure. Of course, it doesn't work like that in Indonesia, as in many other less-prosperous countries. The thing won't go until it's full.

So I got out to stretch my legs, while other potential passengers came by. Most gave us a wide berth, knowing that the game is all about finding one that's nearly full and thus almost ready to depart. Two young men finally came and joined us, followed by a young woman and then an older man. Then someone else. Then another long wait. We just needed a seventh passenger. Please somebody, anybody, come and join our express minibus to Bukittinggi!

After a total of an hour and a half, along came a rather large grandmother with her small grandchild. They'll do! But she's hesitating. She's assigned the right side seat in the back row. "Di belakang?" ("In the back?") she asks, disapprovingly. There's a stand-off. No solution is being offered and she's not getting in. So I offer her my prestigious Seat 1A (I've heard it referred to as the 'Prime Minister's seat' on aeroplanes), expecting her to jump at it and get us underway. No, she doesn't want that one either. She wants a middle row seat.

So she and the kid get the left middle row seat. The young lady gets my Prime Ministerial spot, and I get the back corner (and a very sore backside by the end of the trip.)