During the last six years, ever since high school, I have tried all kinds of means of transportation: walking, bicycle, motorbike and bus. Finally, I ended up travelling consistently by bus. Undoubtedly, it's the most economical and eco-friendly method of travelling, but another factor that I really like about buses is that there will always be a lot of good stories taking place in a bus.

I have seen people from all walks of life in buses: beggars, labor workers, students, white-collar workers, the young and the elder, the poor and the rich... There is not much to tell about one single individual, as people don't often get in a personal conversation with strangers you meet in a bus, but the more I know about them, surprisingly how much you can know about them. It is quite surprising that you can know a lot about someone only by watching them from distance.

For example:

Beggars aren't necessarily poor and impudent people. I have met one who makes a fortune simply out of selling handmade craft to foreigners around Hoan Kiem lake. Sometimes, I can even see people who must be homeless, but they pay the fare in a truly respectful manner. Meanwhile, some are actually brats and act as if they have no dignities.

However, the most thought-provoking realization I've got in buses is: no matter how much I know about someone, I would never be able to experience to understand their stories.

For example: I could never understand the struggles of those from rural areas. I mean, look at them, they are living an eco-friendly life, everything is clean and they must be the last to concern about health problems - I look at them, wondering if they know how lucky they are. On the other hand, theoretically, I know they have to suffer poverty and unsound customs and all those cons of being a minor.

But in the end, to know and to understand are 2 different matters, and even if I try my best to put myself in their position physically, there will be no way can I change the fact that my mind is fixed, determined by my upbringing and education.

This difference has had me desparated: I have much less control over who I am, what I can do, and where I can be than I thought.