I recently did something that some people consider more dangerous and crazy that my 1 month trip to Egypt, I rode the bus/metro rail to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from my home in Pasadena. I figured that since I was going to spend most of the month backpacking, there was no reason not to start from my front door.

The ride was actually excellent! Unfortunately, I do not look too happy in the picture but that is mainly because I was up all night and had nothing to do with the ride. In fact, most of the way, I was one of the only ones on the bus! One of the major benefits to this method of getting to the airport is that I had an extra hour to pack my luggage. I know that sounds funny, but I was in such a rush that I was just throwing things into my bag and did not pack them in very well. So, during the first leg of my trip to the airport, about 1 hour on the 266 Metro bus, I was able to open up my bags, take everything out, and repack my bag the way it should have been packed in the first place.

The bus was a little late so I missed my connection to the Green Line, however, it was not a big deal because another train arrived within a few minutes. I actually had a lot of fun on the green line talking with other people, passing out my cards to promote my trip to Egypt, and also because we had some drama. It was the first time I had actually seen the metro police ask people for their tickets and there was a guy on the train who did not have one. The police officer who discovered him was in the proces of writing him a ticket when she asked for his ID and I heard him say "F this" (substituting F for the actual word) as he pushed her aside and started running. About five officers all got off the train and started chasing after the guy. Sorry, I have no idea whether they caught him or not as all I saw was the chase as the train was pulling away. Now I do not endorse this kind of behavior but I did find it fun to watch. It was like my own personal dramatization of COPS. I don't know what it is about hearing an officer say the words "We have a runner," that I find funny, but I do.

The Green Line ride was about 20 minutes and dropped me off at the Aviation Street Exit, the same one you would take if you wanted to park your car and ride. I was greeted by what appeared to be a husband and wife running a hot dog cart so I again figured that since I will surely be eating food from street vendors on my trip, why not start now. Needless to say, I am glad I did because I had an excellent spicy hot dog (caution: the name does not lie) for $3.00. Almost immediately after finishing my hot dog, the Airport Shuttle G arrived.

This airport shuttle is free as long as you show proof of having paid for any public transit to get there. Within about 10 minutes I was at Terminal 2 standing at the ticketing counter for my airline. The whole trip took about 2 hours, about twice as long as it would have taken if I had driven myself, but not much longer than it would have taken in a Shuttle bus which I what I probably would have chosen if not for this alternative.

Speaking of the Shuttle service, I thought I would compare the two. I already mentioned time, so what is left there is price and comfort. The total trip to the airport would have cost me $2.50 ($1.25 for the Metro bus 266 and $1.25 for the Green Line), however, the bus's dollar bill receiver was broken so really, I only paid $1.25 for my trip, compared to $25 I paid the last time I took the shuttle.

Now comfort may be a relative term and obviously what is comfortable for some is not for others. I do not consider a 9-person shuttle packed with 9-people with luggage a comfortable ride. I do not know what kind of people they used to determine how many people should fit in those shuttles, but 9 average Americans do not fit comfortably. On both the bus and the metro, I had more than enough room to stretch out and relax. Now another thing to consider is the type of person you are, if you are introvert, you may have a hard time on the metro as you see a lot of people. I personally am an extrovert so I have a great time meeting and interacting with as many people as possible. The final point about comfort is the luggage situation. Obviously, the more you have, the more difficult taking the metro will be. The Shuttle service on the other hand, will pick up your luggage from your front door, load it into the shuttle, and unload it for you at the curb of the terminal. On the metro, I had to personally carry everything from my house to the plane. A bit uncomfortable.

Overall, I must say that I was very impressed by the service and will most likely take the metro again to the airport on my next trip, barring having too much luggage of course.