The sleeper bus

There's a new beast on the road, it's the sleeper bus. I tried it out for my journey back from Hyderabad and it was fantastic.
But first, let me bring up the APSRTC bus. Now I don't just want to pile on the State-run bus just because the fashionable thing to do is beat up on all things government run. On my trip to Hyderabad, it was the second time I got on an APSRTC bus, and unless I'm strapped for cash, it would be the last. The bus picks you up a bit far away from the ticketing office. The last time, the bus company provided transport by means of an auto. This time the guy just pointed in the direction. I was pissed, but also I was concerned since I was pretty sick and I knew I couldn't walk all that way. I asked him to provide an auto and he said, "The auto will charge Rs. 10, just pay him." That did it mostly. And the bus journey itself was quite uncomfortable with all the rattling, clearly a sign of the bus being old. The walls of the bus were creaking too, which caused me to have nightmares where the top of the bus collapsed and as I lay there dying, being a structural engineer, I was explaining the mechanics of the bus failure with my last breaths. The final nail in the coffin was the movie they showed on the bus - Raja Hindustani. You're finished APSRTC, bye bye.
The journey back was much better. Last time I had a burst tire and got to work at 2pm. This time I made it with time to spare. The bus is laid out like a train compartment with two levels of berths. You can't really sit in them, only sleep. But if your journey is an overnight one, like mine was, this is perfect. You get a pillow and a blanket, and a bedsheet on the berth. You get your own TV screen like on an airplane and as far as I could tell, they were playing movies for a long time, on two different channels! I watched "Cheeni Kum" (more on that later). With your personal headset, you don't get a lot of interference from others. Of course, the rest was similar - they stopped for dinner, they gave out a water bottle to each person. After the dinner stop (I didn't eat) I got under my blanket and passed out till Pune!
The ticket price is a little high, but if you're an infrequent traveller and want to travel comfortably, this is the way to go. Much cheaper than a flight and much more clearn and hygenic than a train. Aah, I'm falling asleep just thinking of the bus again!!