Travel in Uganda is everything you never wanted it to be;
crammed, dirty, unreliable, and most of all dangerous. Traveling to
Kampala (the capital) from my site can take as little as 5 hours or as long as
10. It all starts with a 5km walk. This takes me to the road to town and
my closest trading center. It normally takes me 40 minutes. The
first few times I made this walk it was interesting. Now it’s kind of
annoying. The whole way people stop, stare, wave, and greet.
Children freak out. Grabbing their hair, flailing their limbs, screaming
“Mzungu” they come running in herds. Imagine teenage girls at a pop
concert. Most of the village children have never been more than a few
kilometers from their homes. For many I am the only white person they have
ever gotten a good look at. Their English is little. “Mzungu
by-eeee” with a very long “ee” Is frequently yelled. “All righty” oddly
enough finds its way into the mix. However, “Mzungu how are you” is by
far the most common. This is repeated in quick succession to a
fantastically tiresome extent. Often I imagine a Hip Hop beat and try to
remix this slanted chorus into the next YouTube sensation. Maybe not.
Then there is the road itself.
Most roads in Uganda are not paved and line free. Extensive
potholes are the norm. You must always keep an eye on your next step.
More than once I have met the ground sans grace or dignity, only to write
myself and discover gravel in my mouth and hair. Think back to your most
embarrassing dream in High School. Be it finding yourself naked in the
cafeteria or something more original but just as poignant. This pales compared
to the pointing laughter supplied by village children when they see whitey bust
ass.
If one eye is on the ground the other is looking for speeding cars and Bodas. In Uganda a motorcycle is called a Boda Boda. Fairly certain that's an onamanapia. They are everywhere, by far the preferred mode of transportation. They can wind around the rain carved roads and weave through jams. Statistically speaking getting on a Boda is the most dangerous thing you can do in this country. Transportation is the greatest cause of death and injury in Uganda, Bodas being the greatest cause of incident. Helmets are plentiful but unused. Mostly they sit on the headlight. They get real creative with them. Almost everything is transported on a Boda. Here is a list of some of the more impressive things I have seen on just one. A king size matters frame complete with bed posts, five people and two chickens, ten foam mattresses, a full size couch, twelve foot rolls of corrugated steel, two large pigs, a coffin, and more jerry cans than I could count.
If one eye is on the ground the other is looking for speeding cars and Bodas. In Uganda a motorcycle is called a Boda Boda. Fairly certain that's an onamanapia. They are everywhere, by far the preferred mode of transportation. They can wind around the rain carved roads and weave through jams. Statistically speaking getting on a Boda is the most dangerous thing you can do in this country. Transportation is the greatest cause of death and injury in Uganda, Bodas being the greatest cause of incident. Helmets are plentiful but unused. Mostly they sit on the headlight. They get real creative with them. Almost everything is transported on a Boda. Here is a list of some of the more impressive things I have seen on just one. A king size matters frame complete with bed posts, five people and two chickens, ten foam mattresses, a full size couch, twelve foot rolls of corrugated steel, two large pigs, a coffin, and more jerry cans than I could count.
Peace Corps volunteers are not allowed to ride Bodas under threat of administrative separation. I understand this and am frankly a little scared of them. However it does kind of suck sometimes. Regular transportation other than Bodas does not go to most of our sites. This means lots of walking. All of my supplies are carried to my house on my back. This is where I thank ULA for sending me a free replacement frame for my internal frame backpack. Without that bag I would go hungry, if you are in the market for a light weight durable hiking pack. Check them out.
When I hit the main road it's time to catch a Matatu.
