...does not exist in Mexico!

After spending our last couple of days in Mexico City visiting the ancient archeological site of Teotihuacan (pics to come later) and the Frida Kahlo Museum, we hopped a bus to Oaxaca, a small city most famous for its markets and handicrafts.

From we first bought our bus tickets until we got off the bus in Oaxaca, my jaw continued to drop at the geniuos that is the Mexican first class bus system. I had no idea that a country famous for mañana mentality and whistle shots of tequila could possibly be so efficient and professional.

Let´s start with the terminal... Mexico City´s Terminal Oriente (TAPO) is reputed to be quite dodgy and a little unsafe, but seemed to me to be everything but! Every bus terminal I have been to, even in Norway but especially in the USA, seems disorganised, dirty and unprofessional compared to TAPO. It is a modern beauty of marble-like tiles, squeaky clean, easy to navigate, and with courteous staff.

Our luggage was checked in at a terminal counter, and the boarding process was like at an airport, with security screening and ID required. A hostess awaited us with a cold drink of our choice, and directed us onboard our luxury coach which departed on time (as has every bus we´ve taken since). Everything on the bus was brand new and sparkling, the seats were plush, the TV screens high-tech, there were separate toilets for men and women (and they were clean!), and in the back there was a machine serving coffee and teas as well as drinking water. The driver was super friendly and kept me entertained for 6 hours by trying to guess what he would eat next. A doughnut? Chips? Perhaps a lollipop? (Bizzarely, Mexico will remain in my mind as the country where grown-ups eat lollipops...)

All this for the price of a couple of beers in Norway or the US... Greyhound seems a big joke, now more than ever...