Don't worry, be happy

Don’t worry, be happy

The driver squashed and punched my brand-new suitcase until it reluctantly agreed to fit in the overfull minivan. Built for eight persons and carrying twelve, we set off at an alarming speed for Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. I was told the trip would take eight hours.
The roads were more pothole than surface, and the holes filled with rubble. Consequently we skidded over bricks and tyres and sticks, occasionally jumping off the road and returning with a mighty crash. Adults, children, ragged chickens and dogs with scars holding them together leapt out of our way as we hurtled through villages.
A flat tyre delayed the journey by an hour. I worried that the replacement tyre, with skin-thin tread, would rupture immediately. As we climbed a mountain, overtaking huge vehicles on a one-lane road which twisted violently and was edged by a sheer cliff, I was terrified. The driver sang along with the radio, smoked Malboro cigarettes and made calls on his mobile phone, all the time driving with one hand and talking to me in rapid fire Sumatran dialect, none of which I understood.
We stopped at small roadside hut, where the driver slept for two hours. The other passengers and I chatted in a mixture of Indonesian and English, accompanied by much gesturing. I told them that I was concerned about the time, the van, the tyre, the driver, the overtaking, and the roads. They smiled. This is Sumatra, they said. This is normal. Relax.
At another hut, a young man in rags fixed the blown tyre, first finding the puncture by immersing it, and himself, in a filthy open drain, where twisted metal and discarded cans threatened his bare feet. The driver scowled and attempted to bargain the already tiny price down further. As he raged, an incredibly thin, bent old man trawled the same drain, fishing with a net on a pole, dredging the foul mud for treasure. He looked up at me and smiled, a genuine, friendly smile, showing rotten gums and no teeth, then returned to his work. If he could smile, I had no reason to frown and complain. I was ashamed of my behaviour.
The driver picked up a few more people on the way and managed to cram them into the back seats. The trip took sixteen hours, but I stopped looking at my watch for the rest of the trip and told myself sternly to accept the unexpected as I continued my journey. And to remember to smile.