if you ever traveled 1K miles by bus, would you recommend it?

I can either book a direct 3 hour flight or take a 36 hour bus trip across 1K miles changing buses 2 times in 2 different non English speaking countries but in big cities, so I assume young people and public facing employees at the bus exchanges to speak some of it...

I'd have to wait between 3 and 5 hours to board the next bus. Optimist me says great! I could go sightseeing, but with a large and heavy backpack this might not be a good idea...

Then there's food, which at bus stations or in tourists areas is neither good nor cheap no matter where you are, personal hygiene, pickpocketing... I'd be traveling solo.

And more noob questions: are travelers allowed to eat in the bus? Am I allowed to bring my own food?

I've read the post again and this looks like a really stupid idea... but did you ever do something like this? Any regrets?