Here's a fun game for all you gamblers out there! It's called "Buying a Finnish Bus Ticket" and it goes a little something like this:
Objective: Get one American and one bicycle from Jyvaskyla to Oulu Finland in the cheapest manner possible!
Rules: You have three ways in which to purchase a bus ticket: 1) On the bus, for a price of 79Euros*, 2) At the station, for a price of 79Euros*, or 3) Online for an internet special of only 40Euros*
(*None of these prices includes the cost of bringing the bike, which, apparently is an extra fee left up to the driver's discretion)
Seems simple enough, yea? Buy online and get a whopping half price discount... Done! Hold on though, there's more....
Apparently, there's no way to know until the bus arrives if it's going to be large enough or have enough storage space to take the bike in the first place. There's no way to book in advance for that. Furthermore, any ticket bought as part of the internet special is only good for that one particular bus on that one particular day, so if they can't take your bike you're out 40Euro!
So there you have it. Do you buy the half priced ticket in advance and risk losing your 40Euro investment plus having to pay the 79Euro base fare anyway if they don't have room for the bike? Or do you wait it out and buy on the day?
I chose the second option, and was highly rewarded! Not only was I greeted on the day with a massive luxury coach complete with air conditioning and outlets to charge my phone...I was the only one on board!
On top of this, the driver must have been having one hell of a great day because he only charged me a grand total of 46Euros for myself AND the bike! Only 6Euros more than the internet special! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
And so my bike and I arrived in Oulu, a city utterly devoid of taxis but absolutely teeming with drunken old men, all of whom, it seemed, wanted to chat me up. Spending a couple of nights with a lovely Couchsurfing host, her roommate, and their adorable children (1 1/2 and 4 years old) who have been busy teaching me all kinds of new Finnish words (ok, mostly just the words for "car" and "dinosaur"). There's also a dog, so that's nice, too!
Tomorrow I set off on the bike once more for a three-day slog along the Baltic Sea. Destination: Sweden! Well, actually I'll be camping on the Finnish side of the border in Tornio, but my next bus journey will begin from the neighboring city of Haparanda, Sweden. Wonder what all is involved in buying a Swedish bus ticket...
Objective: Get one American and one bicycle from Jyvaskyla to Oulu Finland in the cheapest manner possible!
Rules: You have three ways in which to purchase a bus ticket: 1) On the bus, for a price of 79Euros*, 2) At the station, for a price of 79Euros*, or 3) Online for an internet special of only 40Euros*
(*None of these prices includes the cost of bringing the bike, which, apparently is an extra fee left up to the driver's discretion)
Seems simple enough, yea? Buy online and get a whopping half price discount... Done! Hold on though, there's more....
Apparently, there's no way to know until the bus arrives if it's going to be large enough or have enough storage space to take the bike in the first place. There's no way to book in advance for that. Furthermore, any ticket bought as part of the internet special is only good for that one particular bus on that one particular day, so if they can't take your bike you're out 40Euro!
So there you have it. Do you buy the half priced ticket in advance and risk losing your 40Euro investment plus having to pay the 79Euro base fare anyway if they don't have room for the bike? Or do you wait it out and buy on the day?
I chose the second option, and was highly rewarded! Not only was I greeted on the day with a massive luxury coach complete with air conditioning and outlets to charge my phone...I was the only one on board!
On top of this, the driver must have been having one hell of a great day because he only charged me a grand total of 46Euros for myself AND the bike! Only 6Euros more than the internet special! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
And so my bike and I arrived in Oulu, a city utterly devoid of taxis but absolutely teeming with drunken old men, all of whom, it seemed, wanted to chat me up. Spending a couple of nights with a lovely Couchsurfing host, her roommate, and their adorable children (1 1/2 and 4 years old) who have been busy teaching me all kinds of new Finnish words (ok, mostly just the words for "car" and "dinosaur"). There's also a dog, so that's nice, too!
Tomorrow I set off on the bike once more for a three-day slog along the Baltic Sea. Destination: Sweden! Well, actually I'll be camping on the Finnish side of the border in Tornio, but my next bus journey will begin from the neighboring city of Haparanda, Sweden. Wonder what all is involved in buying a Swedish bus ticket...
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