Take one large vehicle, add a sprinkling of people, sauté in an overcrowded city and hey presto! Public transport

Forget Manderlay, "Last night I dreamt of trains again..."

... and the pubescent stench of teenage boys, the sickly sweet smell of schoolgirl deodorants, the sweat stained armpits of an overweight middle-aged man, the high-pitched squeals of an excited twenty-something blonde on her mobile, the balding 'suit' unconsciously practising his new 'Zoolander' pose in the reflection of his friend's sunglasses....

... experiences I believe we may have all had while on peak-hour public transport (P.T.). Fond memories for us all, right? 

Now call me weird, call me eccentric, call me 'different' because I am going to say yes they are petty, insignificant encounters that I (for the lack of a better word) treasure, and I realise that by saying this I am probably putting myself in the minority here. 

There are millions of 'anti-public transport'  fan sites floating out there; all of the opinion that trains, buses and ferries are noisy, smelly, inefficiently run and mere toys of an incompetent regime who couldn't care less about the public - only interested in scoring new corporate deals with greedy government officials. (Sydney's Cityrail service seems to be a great target at the moment, as facebook demonstrates so well here).

I can not deny that many of these anti-P.T. spokespeople probably have valid points, but I'm not here to advocate or decry their arguments. 

Instead, I want to discuss the lost art of enjoying public transport. I used to catch the train to work every day; twenty odd minutes each way. Nowadays I'm an eco-friendly citizen and walk. But in all honesty, I miss that P.T. experience. I miss that opportunity to read a book, to stare listlessly out the window, to gossip with friends and to observe strangers make flamboyant fools of themselves. For every foul smell and unpleasant experience, there was always something - no matter how small - that put a smile on my face.

So next time you're ready to slag off P.T., just think of:

• that daily flirtatious smile you exchange with the pretty girl on the 573 bus, 
• that laugh you tried to supress after over-hearing a wonderfully inappropriate joke, 
• that day you were on the final pages of "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows" and prayed the journey was just that little bit longer so you could finish it, 
• that elderly couple you saw sharing quartered cheese sandwiches with their grandson, 
• that young man with Down's Syndrome who works his way through the carriage, hugging everyone he meets.    

Sure the trains might be late and the buses might be crowded, but if you think of those little moments; those sexy boys, cute kids, amusing situations, absurd sights, don't those little moments make the journey all worthwhile for you? They do for me.