Public Transport - Central Asian style: Travelling by public transport is certainly not a passive activity. Most people do not have private cars. Rather than parking in the parent and child section at the supermarket and then driving home with the weekly shop in the boot, a lot of people have to struggle home with their groceries on the bus, sometimes with a couple of children in tow.

I’m amazed by the compassion people show one another in these circumstances. Someone will always stand up to give their seat to a woman with a baby or toddler; people who are elderly, or who have lots of heavy bags, will also be preferentially given a seat. In fact because the buses are usually so squashed (it’s a quick way to learn to love people – and their armpits) and there’s hardly any room to hold on, seated passengers will often offer to hold the bags of a standing passenger on their lap. I have been really touched by people’s instinct to help one another and by the easy trust which seems to exist between people. At home, I doubt many people would feel happy giving their shopping to a perfect stranger, yet I’ve been helped in this way a number of times.

People will also allow their children to share seats with strangers, even sit on their laps, in order that they can travel more safely on the bus (which is definitely a good idea given that the bus drivers are prone to braking suddenly, careering round corners at break neck speeds and packing people in like cattle). Ticket collectors lift children down onto the pavement and help the elderly up the steps. If you don’t receive your change as you get on the bus, it’s likely that one of the other passengers will be given it to pass on to you. On a hot day I even saw a thirsty ticket collector asking a man standing near him if he could have a swig from his bottle of juice – no problem!

None of these things are earth shattering acts of altruism, but coming as I do from a society where people pretty much like to keep themselves to themselves, it is refreshing to be somewhere where helping other people and seeing their troubles and discomforts as your responsibility is the norm.

Yes folks, I’ve entered a perfect world where man loves his neighbour and everyone lives in harmony…..