In a couple of hours, I’m going up to New York to see my luv for the weekend, but instead of the usual Amtrak, I’m trying something cheaper — one of those “Chinatown buses.”

This trip will take me from DC to New York Penn Station, a 4.5 hour ride, for just $20 one way, (as compared to 3 hours for $75 by train). For schedule and convenience reasons, however, I’m taking a train back home on Sunday, but the savings are still considerable. If the bus ride and service is better than Greyhound’s (shudder), this may become my standard mode of transportation to hop north in the future.

I’ll try and post photos en route.