Looking out the window and taking it all in
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
1
24
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Kabale,
Kabale,
Uganda
Thursday, May 15, 2008
It was again quite the trek to get to Kabale. We first had to take a boda boda to Ibanda. The drivers tried to scam us (again). Our contact at the community camp said he arranged a price of 2000 USH each. As soon as our contact left, the boda boda drivers told us it was going to be 4000 USH. They explained that they had to come from Ibanda to pick us up so we had to pay for the fuel both ways. I bargained him down to 3000 and off we went. Thats when I realized we got scammed again. The ride was downhill the WHOLE way so the drivers had their motorbikes off 95% of the time. They hardly used any fuel going down. You couldn't help but laugh. The word "scam" probably isn't the best word to use as 1000 USH is less than 1 US dollar so it was all good.
We then had to find a matatu to get us to Kasese. We flagged one down. When we asked how much to get to Kasese, the driver's aide said 2000 USH and the driver said 3000 USH. We all laughed. Of course we had to pay the higher price. 2000 USH is what the locals pay. I really don't mind paying a bit more than the locals as I can afford to and they can use the little extra money. As long as it isn't too much more.
When we got to Kasese, we had to find another bus to Mbarara. Again, the conductor tried to rip us off but using our methods we got it down to a reasonable price. The bus drivers, matatu drivers and boda boda drivers are all the same here. They all try to squeeze as much money as possible from the foreigners. Our bus driver tried to explain his high price due to the rising price of oil. The funny thing is that he kept his bus running the whole time he was waiting for passengers to fill up the bus.
Lynsey decided to grab a spot in the back while I wanted to stick to the middle. I had a Ugandan woman sit right next to me. Nothing unusual about that. She did, however, whip out her breast every now and then so she could breast feed her child. It was all good.
While riding the buses in Africa, I noticed that the radio stations play an interesting mix of music. You'll hear Cyndi Lauper followed by some rap music followed by some Swahili songs. I never heard a mix like that before.
I try to pay attention while I am on these bus journeys. So much is going on outside the bus that it is easy to miss out if you don't pay attention. An example is how I spotted an elephant a few days earlier while getting myself to the Mountains. During this current bus ride, I noticed a lot of elderly people walking with field instruments. All of them were on their way to work. It is a common sight here. It seems like if you are able to move, then there should be no reason not to work. It bothers me to see old people work. More so then the young kids. I remember when I was in Jinja, there was an elderly man who must have been about 80 yrs old working in the bathroom of my hostel. His job was to make sure the toilets were always working and were always clean. It seemed very unfair that a man his age still had to work, and on top of that do the job he was given. He should be enjoying his retirement years but of course this is not Canada. Its different when you live in a poor country.
During this ride, the bus stopped frequently so I look at what was going on in the towns rather than read my book. One common thing I observed is how everyone in each of the towns is wearing ripped clothes. Some have ripped t-shirts, others have rips down the side or back of their pants. Poverty is the common theme in all of these towns. Can you imagine waking up in the morning and not having another option other than a pair of pants that has a huge split down the side or back of your pants? But these people don't seem to complain. They just keep moving forward. They have no other choice.
At another stop, I notice a banana market. Branches of bananas everywhere. Dozens of vendors selling the exact same thing. When a prospective buyer approaches, they all swarm to him. I guess price is the only thing that matters when everyone is selling the exact same thing. I later found out that a branch costs a little over 1 US dollar. I did a quick count and I estimated that each branch had about 100 bananas. That's a pretty good deal for the buyer. The buyer I noticed ended up buying 4 branches. Of course those were also loaded on our bus. When the bus left, I turned back to look at the vendors. I noticed that they covered their bananas with these huge leaves. I guess it is to protect them from the sun.
The next stop had a pineapple market. Mountains of pineapples everywhere. I would buy one for 500 USH which is about 35 cents. And that was the foreigner price!
The next stop, someone loaded a baby goat in the luggage compartment. The goat's legs weren't even tied up. They just threw the goat in there. I couldn't stop laughing.
The best decision I made so far is deciding not to see Africa using an organized tour. I am glad I am using the local buses. I definitely think I would have missed out on a lot if didn't.
Anyhow, when we get to Mbarara, we had to find a matatu to Kabale. We struck a deal for 8000 USH. When
the ride was over, the driver took 10000 USH from both of us and refused to give us change. Asshole! He even
strapped by backpack on the back of the mini bus. I checked every 5 minutes to make sure it didn't fall off the bus. I was grateful for that at least.
Kabale is a shit town. Nothing to see but the surrounding area is beautiful. Beautiful green hills everywhere you look. They call this area the Swiss part of Uganda.
We arrived at our hostel just as the sun went down. I again ran into Claire who was also staying there. She is the girl who I met on my bus ride from Nairobi to Jinja and later ran into Kampala. Funny how we have run into each other 3 times. I met 2 other Aussie girls she was now traveling with and a solo Irish male traveller. We spent the night just yapping in our dorm room trading travel stories. Now that I was on the road for a while, I also had stories to share. I was glad about that part.
Tomorrow I am off to see Lake Bunyoni.
