I’d like to talk about a rather chaotic journey I had about a year ago, when I had to catch a local bus across the city during a torrential downpour. I was heading over to the main library to hand in some coursework before a strict five o’clock deadline, so staying at home simply wasn’t an option.
When I stepped out of my flat, the heavens had well and truly opened. By the time I reached the bus stop, my umbrella had practically turned inside out due to the fierce gusts of wind, and my shoes were completely soaked through. After waiting for nearly half an hour because of traffic snarl-ups, a single-decker bus finally pulled up. It was already rammed with commuters, all shaking off wet coats and umbrellas, which made the windows steam up almost instantly.
The journey itself was painfully slow. The roads were partially flooded in low-lying areas, so the driver had to crawl along at a snail’s pace. To make matters worse, water kept dripping from the emergency hatch above onto a couple of unlucky passengers. Everyone was visibly exasperated, though there was also a strange sense of camaraderie among us as we all endured the dismal conditions together.
In the end, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief when I finally got off near the library with about ten minutes to spare. Looking back, while it was stressful and thoroughly uncomfortable at the time, it taught me never to underestimate how quickly bad weather can bring a city's transport network to a standstill.