St.John Cooper wheels out accounts of some of
his favourite bus journeys to Katy Christie.
St.John Cooper, 40, business development director of the Big Bus Company, is the man 'behind the wheel' of those burgundy double-decker buses you see touring the streets of Dubai.
St.John began as a tour guide on the Big Bus in London and after a break in South Africa came to work in Dubai five years ago. He takes us on another tour: his five most memorable bus journeys.
The Great Wall of China
In 1998, I was in Beijing and wanted to see the Great Wall. An organised excursion would have cost me about Dhs370, but I found a local bus for Dhs15!
However, there was no English spoken because the bus was only meant for Chinese people. Everyone was smoking and I couldn't see a thing, but the people were friendly and tried to talk using hand signals.
When we arrived, the driver pointed to the hands on his watch to indicate the time I had to return. The Great Wall of China is a memorable sight. It has an aura about it... surrounded by rolling hills... the size of it, the landscape, the history, how it was built and what for. It is incredible.
I also remember this journey for the friendliness of the Chinese people who made sure that I didn't miss the
bus ride back.
Seattle to Chicago
While a student in the early 90s, I was touring America with friends, but I ran out of time and money and had to take my own quicker, cheaper route back. 54 hours on a Greyhound bus is a long time.
We drove through (what felt like) every small town in America, only stopping to change drivers or pick up and let off passengers.
The only real respite was an hour's stop, three times a day, for food and a proper toilet. At one point some guy, who'd just been released from jail, sat next to me. I didn't ask what he'd been released from!
We stopped in some very strange places. You know those people you see on the Jerry Springer show, or like Norman Bates in Psycho? They really do exist! I've never been so relieved to get off a bus. I have never felt so dirty, exhausted and miserable.
UEFA cup
I went to Germany in 1993 to watch my local football team play Bayern Munich at the Olympic stadium. We were 50 Norwich City fans in a convoy of 20 coaches, around 2000 fans, all travelling into Munich.
It was an amazing journey there as everyone had the same hopes and aspirations - and coming back after the 2-1 win was great.
Barcelona
In July 2005 I went to Barcelona for my stags weekend. On the Sunday, we decided to see the city by bus. Unfortunately, we were all feeling a little worse for wear, but we had so much fun jumping on and off that bus.
I was with my closest friends, at a time in my life when I was leaving something behind and starting something new and that was a memorable experience.
Big Bus in three cities
I started with the Big Bus Company while I was an actor in London, which worked well with the flexible timings of a tour guide. I remember those days fondly. I must have made hundreds of journeys and probably described the sights 500 times a year!
Hopefully my presentation was memorable for those people who'd saved up for years to come to London.
The Big Bus journey in Philadelphia is also a great one, while in Dubai it's a unique experience, particularly for people seeing the city for the first time.
