From Boredom To Bliss: How to Make Long Bus Rides Interesting

Travelling is not just about finding great deals and clicking Instagram-worthy pictures. Its true essence lies in the journey. You get to see your true self all the more clearly – When you are away from your routine, confined in a moving box, waiting to reach your destination.

And when you are travelling in a bus, the journey even tho a tad bit slower becomes all the more interesting.

Constantly joining and dropping off strangers, changing landscapes and you observing it all – like watching a movie. (Sounds poetic, right)

If you have a long bus journey coming in the future, don’t worry about getting bored. Here are a few things to do on a bus ride that’ll keep you entertained through it –

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How to Make Long Bus Rides Interesting

1. Enjoy the best of the entertainment:

Weekdays are all about work and weekends are all about friends and family. In all this, there is hardly any time to consume movies, OTT series, or books.

And bus rides are a time when you are away from all the buzzing notifications, engagements, or deadlines and can enjoy the best of the entertainment.

So get on that bus, make sure you have a good quality internet connection (or better download the series/movie for an uninterrupted experience), and immerse yourself in masterpieces like The Crown, Stranger Things, Narcos, or Paatal Lok, Farzi, Mirzapur.

If you’re more of a podcast person – listen to “Zero to Travel” by Jason Moore. It’s a travel podcast that talks about different styles of travelling, budget travel, solo travel, digital nomadism, and more.

2. Have not-so-random conversations with random strangers:

Travelling with friends is fun, but a bus ride with complete strangers can be fascinating.

You can get to know and be a part of their life stories and this is exactly how you grow your perspective.

Worried about how to start (or carry on) the conversation? Here are a few questions to get you started –

• What’s a weird talent you have?
• What would you do with 10 crores?
• What’s a random fact about you
• If you had to live in a different country, which one would it be?

And while you practice your small talk skills, if a person seems uninterested in the conversation, don’t force them through it. Take the cue and respect their choice.

3. Value the breaks:

Experiencing the ever-changing scenery during a bus ride is meditative but what’s even better is getting off the bus (when it stops) and taking a short walk around that will let you stretch your legs, taste some local cuisine, or even visit a local attraction (depending on the stoppage time).

You can also buy the local newspaper/magazine to know the place better. This will prevent your bus ride from getting monotonous and add more experiences to your list.

4. Sharpen your creativity:

There is no better way to record your bus rides than in the form of writing, a doodle, pictures, or vlogs.

You can write about the scenery, sketch your fellow passengers, indulge in colouring/creating abstract patterns, or take pictures and add them to your travel journal.

This will help you tap into your creativity and also relieve you of the travel stress (if any).

5. Clean up:

Your gadgets are a reflection of your mind space. And there is no better time than a bus ride to organize your digital life.

Clean up your inbox, arrange your playlists, and sort through your YouTube subscriptions (you get the idea).

By the time you reach your destination – Your mind and gadgets will thank you for the cleanup.

6. Plan your next vacation:

I know, I know, life is all about being in the moment, so why not use your present to plan your future?

Use all the time you have on your bus trip to plan your next vacation – where, and when will you like to go, what are some of the must-have experiences you can have there, who you would like to go with, etc.

7. Meditate:

Bus trips are anyway meditative. So why not tap into the vibe all the more deeply – Put on your headphones, play some relaxing tunes, and focus on your breath. If you do it correctly – you’ll see your stress melting away and new insights bombarding your mind.

8. Record those “impulsive” thoughts:

Do you know what’s common between Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, and Mark Cuban – They all recorded and acted on big ideas they got during their bus rides and these ideas made them even bigger.

So, once the insights start bombarding your mind – Record those seemingly “impulsive thoughts” and come back to them to see which of them has the potential to make you bigger.

We truly hope that after reading these things to do on a bus ride, you won’t let your bus rides go to waste. Because if used right – It has the potential to change your entire life.