boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

I have a migraine.
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So I took the Dragon Coach USA http://www.ivymedia.com/dragoncoachusa/
, just one of the Chinatown buses, to Washington, DC, to visit my friend Michelle Ertischek and to see the cherry blossoms. Michelle E. is great, loving DC and the cherry blossoms are beautiful. If you ever get a chance to be in DC in time for the blossoms, go see it!

Well, I know that a lot of people (ok, my sister-in-law Jen) want to know what the Chinatown bus is like (I should explain: there are buses that only travel between Chinatowns in different cities. On the East Coast, there are buses that go between Chinatowns in Boston, New York and DC). I have now traveled on two to Boston and one roundtrip to DC. My first experiences were a little treacherous. It was on the Fung Wah
http://www.fungwahbus.com/ or
http://www.ivymedia.com/fungwah/
bus.
$20 one way. The bus picks up and drops off in NYC at the really big Buddhist Temple off of the Manhattan Bridge entrance/exit. I went early on a week day morning; so traffic was busy, but the corner was pretty empty. The first "bus" I rode on was actually one of those short buses that you see for the rental car agencies at the airport. Usually a couple of minutes on one of those are fine. But a 4.5 hour ride to Boston is another story ENTIRELY. Those buses have no shocks. So we experienced every pot hole between here and Boston. And let me tell you, there are a lot of potholes between these two cities.

The second time I rode the Chinatown bus was on the Sunshine Travel
http://www.sunshineboston.com/bustours/ct2bosnyc/
or http://www.ivymedia.com/sunshine/ buses. This bus picked up in a very busy part of town. However, there was no sign telling me which bus was where. Very non-descript. I finally figured out what was going on and waited with all of the other people for the bus. When the time came, the person taking the tickets started pushing us to another corner around the block. We all were a little freaked out by this. We had no idea where we were going. And it was dark! However, at the other corner, the bus was waiting for us.

Now, I knew that this bus was a full size Greyhound like bus. I saw it on the road when I was on the Fung Wah bus. However, what I didn't realize at the time was that this bus, although it does go to Boston, stops mid-way at Mohegan Sun. Now, Mohegan Sun isn't really on the way. However, what did I care? $20 one way! There were a lot of Chinese people on the bus (There weren't any Chinese people on the Fung Wah bus, but I think that they knew that the short bus wasn't worth the ride). I would say that there were 70% Chinese and 30% Other on the bus. Sunshine definitely was geared toward their major clientele as they had Chinese soap operas with no English subtitles televised over the tiny, little tv screens. What was funny was when we got to Mohegan Sun (oh, I should explain. For those who don't know, Mohegan Sun is a casino run by the Mohegan Tribe, also known as the Wolf People. Well, the Wolf People have made a very nice resort and a great museum on Native American culture and, did you know, a radio station called The Wolf), almost all of the Chinese people got off the bus. It was amusing to see the bus empty out so quickly. I am not sure whether they were there to work or gamble, but either way, they all were in a hurry.

Since the first two times were just okay, I thought, why not take it to DC.

So I took the Dragon Coach (how cliché). This time, I didn't know what size bus I was going to get, but luck would have it, I got the big bus. However, when I got to the pickup/dropoff location, there were three buses - for three different bus vendors going to DC, Philly and somewhere in PA.

So, it took a little bit of sleuthing, but I got on the right bus to DC. It was actually an enjoyable trip. The bus didn't stop at a casino (it did stop for a rest stop and in Baltimore - I think the actual bus station in Baltimore) and there were Chinese movies with English subtitles. I got to see "Hero," a Zhang Yi Mou Film. I am not sure if it is even playing in the US now. It was really good. Short on dialogue, Big on action. And the sets and costumes were amazing. Basically a Hong Kong action film, but classy. It was a good trip. So worth the roundtrip cost of $35!!!!!!!!! On the return, there was no movie, but that was okay - I was passed out
anyway.

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This week's horoscopes go out to:

> Mark, get well soon!
> Michelle E., thanks for the great weekend!
> Russell and Bob, welcome back!
> Pluto, sorry I didn't call!