Post-exchange travel rarely happens smoothly, especially if it’s also your first time travelling alone, like it was for me. All sorts of problems can materialise: delayed flights, missing an interstate bus, leaving something behind, overweight luggage… the list is endless. For me, my constant worry was about luggage weight or missing an interstate bus or flight.

While travelling in the United States after my exchange at the University of Missouri-Columbia, I mainly rode the interstate bus, Megabus, from state to state. Besides the lower cost, it’s better than flying as you get to admire the scenery zooming past. Like planes though, interstate buses in the US have weight limits on luggage, set at 50lbs (about 23kg). Because I had just spent a semester on exchange in Missouri and accumulated a pile of school notes, university merchandise and band T-shirts from metal concerts that I attended, I constantly worried about being denied entry when boarding the bus.

My dorm room the night before I left the University of Missouri-Columbia. Notice the remaining items that still need to be packed into the almost-full suitcase.

Travel tip #1: Don’t pack the wardrobe

I was denied entry twice. The first time was for a Megabus from Missouri to Chicago. I managed to get onto the bus after opening up my luggage, removing some school notes and enlisting the help of a local friend to mail them to me in Singapore. The second time was for a Megabus from Chicago to Toledo, Ohio. On that occasion, I had to open my luggage again, remove a pile of T-shirts and squeeze them into one of my carry-on bags.

So here’s a tip for exchange students: pack light. Necessities like toiletries and bed linen can be bought when you get there. Additionally, don’t bring too many clothes because you will likely buy university-related clothes during your stay.

Travel tip #2: Go slow on Greyhound (or take a plane)

From Toledo, Ohio to New York City, I was supposed to ride a Megabus, too. But this was where the “missing an interstate bus” part happened.

I arrived at the departure point for the bus, which was a deserted parking lot at the University of Toledo, at about 2am. This was half an hour earlier than my Megabus’s scheduled arrival time because I read that Megabuses could arrive early. So when I saw a Megabus waiting at the parking lot, I thought my ride arrived half an hour early. I walked over to the bus conductor to ask if it was the bus to New York City, and he said no, it was the next one. I then noticed the bus’s destination sign: Chicago > Toledo (Ohio) > Cleveland. I stepped back and waited.

Vrooom – there goes the first Megabus.

About 25 minutes later, a second Megabus arrived. Its destination sign displayed: Chicago > Toledo > Cleveland – exactly the same as the previous one. So I thought it was also not heading to New York City and did not board. But little did I know that it was my Megabus to New York City. I found out (much later) from two passengers who alighted the bus that the conductor had announced – while they were still on board – that they were headed for New York City. Yet the bus conductor didn’t announce it to new passengers at Toledo when he alighted to load luggage bags into the bus’s storage compartment.

When I realised I missed my bus, it was around 3am. And mind you, this was at a deserted parking lot of a mostly-empty university in the American Midwest. Fortunately, I could utilise the university’s free Wi-fi to reserve a Greyhound bus ride (Greyhound is another interstate bus provider in the United States) to New York City, though that bus would only depart at 8:30am. By some miracle, I managed to get a taxi and told the driver to take me to the local Greyhound bus terminal.

A spooky place – the Greyhound bus terminal at 4am in Toledo, Ohio.

The night’s trouble did not end there. When I arrived at the terminal at around 4am, an entrance sign informed me that the terminal only opened at 6am. So I did what anybody would do in that situation: pace around nervously for two hours, swearing never to take Megabus again. So the not-so-fantastic highlight of my post-exchange getaway was spending two hours on the empty streets of Toledo, Ohio.

The deserted streets of Toledo whilst waiting for my Greyhound bus to arrive.

I called Megabus’s customer service hotline when it opened at 6am to enquire about a refund, but I was met with a curt refusal and directed to email their customer service. As of 22 July, I haven’t heard from them, so here’s another tip for exchange students (to the US): travel by Megabus at your own risk.

Though Greyhound buses take a longer time than Megabuses to travel to the same destination, they have air-conditioned bus terminals and better customer service. Also, Greyhound bus conductors will announce the various destinations that they are driving to, so you don’t have to worry about missing your bus or stop.

You know the flight (from New York City to Seattle) that I missed? It’s funny how missing it was not as harrowing as missing that Megabus in Toledo, Ohio. The Delta airlines employee at the check-in counter simply put me on the next available flight to Seattle, and I only had to pay an additional US$50. That was it.

The Greyhound bus I took to New York City.

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