I remember Heathrow Airport was chaotic, but it is not anymore, which is surprising to me. Well, it was right after the terrorist attempt when I used Heathrow Airport for the last time. There was no doubt that it was chaotic.
But, Central Bus Station at Heathrow Airport is still chaotic. I went to the bus station to get on a bus to Cardiff. It was easy to find the station and buy a ticket. Good. The problem was ... where is the bus stand?! The ticket lady simply told me, “Right out there.” It is the central bus station, CENTRAL, which means terminal, big, and lots of buses! I went OUT THERE anyway to wait for a while. I was wrong. OUT THERE where I was was the terminal of local buses. It was almost the departure time of my bus. Frantically, I rushed to another terminal to catch my long distance bus. Then, I remembered that I had caught a bus there when I first came to the U.K. five years ago. Anyway, there was no time to be nostalgic. I spoke to, again in panic, bus staff, “Where’s the bus to Cardiff? It’s supposed to leave at 6:05!” It was 6:05. Then, the guy said, “It’s late,” smiling. “Oh good. Which stand is the bus coming in and leaving from?” There are several (10?) stands at the terminal. The guy’s answer was, “Whichever,” smiling.
Yes, I clearly remember now that this is the British way. Public transportations never run on time, and many things are not strictly prescheduled. That’s just chaos to me (Remember, I’m Japanese). But, I learned by the end of my year-long stay in the U.K. that everything would be all right at the end. This is the British way. I’ve just started retrieving this sense of Britons.
