That’s right, the matatu ride from hell. Well, not exactly that bad, but I think I could die happy never doing that again—especially because more than once I thought I would maybe not make it back to Kampala alive. Pia, Mette, and I took a special hire taxi back into the town of Fort Portal after our lovely morning of money watching only to see the Kalita bus driving back to Kampala fully loaded. We could either wait for the next bus, which could take hours to load, or take a chance on a matatu. Our drive flagged one down, which was practically empty, so we decided to go for it. Big mistake! Just one short trip down the road and we were loading up to capacity—strike that: beyond capacity. Matatus are licensed to hold 14 passangers in its four rows, plus one up front with the driver. We had 24 (19 adults and 5 children). Just lovely! Pia, Mette, and I just gave each other weary looks as we crammed into the back row, sharing it with a rather large woman and her young son on her lap. We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but there was not other option at this point, so we readied ourselves for a hot, sticky (plastic covered seats do NOT make for an enjoyable ride) long drive back to Kampala.
The experience was made only more hilarious by what happened about a couple hours down the road. The driver and conductor of the matatu clearly go wind that there were traffic controllers up ahead. They stopped the taxi, made 5 people get out and take a boda past the traffic controllers. The conductor paid the boda drivers and those 5 people loaded back into the taxi. Ah, the sweet smell of corruption. “So why do those traffic controllers even stand there if people just find a way around it?” I asked to no one in particular. “So they can have a job,” the woman next to me responded. Yes, that makes sense I guess.
Then it was time for the halfway “meat skewer in the face” which was made even more special because we were in a lower vehicle where the vendors could actually reach into the van and place the food practically in your lap. Aside from these incidences, the trip was consumed by some iPod listening and Harry Potter reading, as we braced ourselves against seats and each other as the matatu drove like a bat out of hell. But the ride was quick and we arrived in Kampala just after 4. I went home, took one of the dogs, Chiara, out for a run in my neighborhood (a very active weekend for a change!) and then crashed.
After such an outback weekend, I was more than happy to join Mette for a first-world evening on Tuesday at Garden City, an open-air mall in Kampala central that is about as close to first-world as you can get here. It’s a very muzungu place, and that’s just what I needed for a change! We grabbed some Lebanese food at the food court that overlooks the golf course that is right in the center of the city. Then we did a little shopping at Banana Boat, a craft store, where I bought a woven basket shoulder bag, scarf, and earrings, and then went to see a movie, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Not necessarily a movie I would go see in the States, but here, it was just what I needed. A silly, stupid, funny Adam Sandler flick. Not much thinking required, cheap popcorn, and some gummy candy. Then we grabbed some ice cream (soft serve! Oh, Tasti D I, miss you!) and then visited a café called New York Kitchen where they sell bagels, potato pancakes, etc! Mette got a cinnabun to top off our gluttonous evening, and I settled on a bag of bagel chips, thereby complete undoing the healthy weekend, but sometimes you just need a break! But then it was back to reality with a matatu and boda ride home!
No comments:
Post a Comment