It was Labor Day here in the States and that meant that it was time for my annual 30 Plus Teams Tour of one of my favorite cities , Baltimore , Maryland .
Normally , I take Greyhound at Port Authority Bus Terminal to and from the city on the Chesapeake Bay .
Not this time .
As Megabus unfortunately doesn’t go into Downtown Baltimore , this was not an option .
Megabus goes into an area known as White Marsh.
I would have taken that bus, but instead I went on the internet and checked for an inexpensive bus ride.
No, let me keep it real.
I was looking for a really cheap last minute ride to Baltimore .
I noticed one of the “Chinese” buses , which are very popular here on the East Coast .
They cater mostly to Asian passengers and they pick you up in the Chinatown neighborhoods of most cities .
Some of them had a bad reputation , so I never thought of taking one of them.
I had heard all sorts of horror stories about them .
It was my first time taking one and I really wasn’t that impressed , especially since I had to show my online ticket and identification at the office on 31st Street and Fifth Avenue , but then walk to 32nd Street and Broadway to get the bus.
It’s not that long a walk, really , but my backpack was heavy.
Once I got on the bus, my opinion changed.
It’s not that the buses are cleaner than Greyhound , they really aren’t .
However , I felt safer riding one of these buses as compared to the sometimes roller coaster ride that is riding on the Greyhound buses.
The seats were just as comfortable as the seats on Greyhound .
They even showed movies.
Ok, they were in Chinese with English subtitles , but Greyhound doesn’t show movies of any kind on their buses.
Seeing that this is a 30 Plus Teams Tour that I’m on, they had a movie about traveling to Korea and Japan and the baseball scene there, which is quite huge.
The ride to Baltimore wasn’t an express bus though, as we stopped in Wilmington , Delaware .
When we arrived in Baltimore , it wasn’t at a terminal in Downtown Baltimore , it was the O’Donnell Street Transit Park in the Canton neighborhood of the city .
From there , it was easy to get a city bus into Downtown Baltimore where my hotel was.
You can’t beat across the street from the transit center and for the fare of $1.80.
Six days later, I decided to take Greyhound , even though it was more expensive than the $20 that I paid for the Chinese bus.
The terminal on Haines Street , in the shadow of Downtown Baltimore , has been remodeled since I was last in town , which was a year ago .
Compared to the way it used to look, it looks very modern and spacious now.
I would love to show you pictures of the new and improved Baltimore Greyhound Terminal , but they don’t allow pictures for some reason , which I found odd.
The Greyhound bus from Baltimore to the Big Apple was an express bus.
It didn’t even stop for a rest stop.
Greyhound buses even got a new makeover.
But having said that , it’s not just about the look , but more about the price and service that will make me decide what bus I’ll take.
Lots of times, I don’t get that from riding Greyhound .
If any of these buses go to the city where my next 30 Plus Teams Tour is, and once again , Megabus isn’t an option , guess who else won’t be an option ?
That’s right, Greyhound .
