I am a stingy traveler but I know the difference between a good deal and something that is going to be a big friggin hassle. This is most evident when it comes to transport and no so much with accommodation. If your accommodation sucks you can always check out and find another place but once your transport starts moving, you are stuck in it for the duration.
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While I have experienced this phenomenon in many places in the world it was most evident on Central America and especially South East Asia. In Central America it is because I think they just don't give a damn and in South East Asia it is very uncomfortable because of reasons that could be unintentional. Westerners are just generally a lot larger than their Asian counterparts and the seats, ceilings, and everything about the design is intended for someone a lot smaller than a western adult male. I have been on some trips where I had to do breathing exercises in order to keep the claustrophobia at bay. Combine this with poorly functioning air conditioning and you could be in a for a long and horrible ride.
I have been on these buses where without permission the drive would just put something on my lap because there is no more cargo space anywhere else in the bus. I've regularly had my knees being crushed by the seat in front of me. We've put 5 people on a row of seats meant to 3 people and nobody seems to give a damn if you are uncomfortable. I guess this is because you are paying damn near nothing for the ticket.
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This is taken to an even crazier level in places like India and Nepal where the buses don't seem to have an upper limit on how many passengers they will allow on board. I have never seen anyone ever turned away and on one trip there was livestock on the bus as well as cargo and people. On this trip a man, again without permission because I would have said "no" decided to sit on my lap. I got up and gave him the seat. This was a truly miserable experience and why did I find myself in it? It was because my friend who had been there before was trying to save a tiny bit of money on the transport. This was a mistake that I would never make in that country again as it was one of the worst 11 hour experiences of my life.
I think there is a very real difference from getting the "local experience" and having a good time. Considering the fact that I am significantly larger than your average Nepali, Indian, or almost all South East Asians, they didn't design this transport with people like me in mind.
You DO have the option of getting larger vehicles with larger seats that they only sell 1 ticket per seat in these countries, but they aren't going to be the cheapest ones. So I think you need to be very careful when purchasing tickets. I would say to always ask for pictures of the van and if they don't have pictures or wont show them to you, do NOT book this ticket because there is a reason why they wont show the pics to you. Once you have taken off already there is nothing you can do except for many just get off the bus. They've already got your money and you are not going to get it back because a great many of these ticketing agents are fly by night operations that expect to go out of business after a year or so. It doesn't matter to them because they will just open down the street with a new name the following year.
These days, since I am older now, I tend to be willing to spend more to get a bit more comfort in my life and if you are looking at bus tickets in a foreign country and are intentionally buying the cheapest ones, well you better be a little person with a lot of patience because I can basically assure you that you are going to be as crowded as the driver can possibly make you. Also, the driver isn't all that concerned about getting you to where it says on your ticket in a timely manner. No. He is going to be interested in picking up as many people and goods as he possibly can on the way to the eventual destination.
There such a thing as a good deal, and then there is "hell in a box." I know that for me at least I would much rather pay a few more dollars and be comfortable. Backpacking is supposed to be fun and these experiences of mine, that I could have avoided by just spending a little bit more money, were far from fun.