A grammar book I am reading says in some cases 'no' = 'not a' or 'not any', and gives the following two examples:
(1) We had to walk home because there was no bus. (= there wasn't a bus)
(2) There were no shops open. (= there weren't any shops open)
Can I say 'We had to walk home because there were not any buses.' without changing the meaning of the first sentence? Similarly, can I say 'There wasn't a shop open.' instead of its plural version?