Bus Ride from Hell and Back

After making it back to our hostel, we all took showers and hung out on the porch reading our kindles. While out there we made friends with a girl named Sophya who worked at an international school in Mombasa. We also ran into a teacher from Botswana. Both of them were having the same kinds of issues that our school has. (Supply issues, management, and so on) We decided it was an African school thing. We ended up grabbing dinner with Sophya and then passing out.

We decided for the way back to take the whole journey from Kigali to Nairobi in one go. That’s roughly a 28 hour bus ride. Sounds crazy, but we did it. At first it wasn’t that bad but by the time we reached Kampala the bus was sweltering hot. We stopped to pee a few times along along the way and at one of those stops was the worst bathroom I have ever had to pee in. I’m used to tiny crampt bathrooms where it smells like shit and worse. I’m used to the bathrooms where it’s just the hole in the ground that you squat over, no problem. I  sometimes kinda prefer those because then at least you aren’t touching anything. On this trip at one place we stopped, the men’s bathroom was regular with toilets but the ladies bathroom was just a slab of concrete slightly angled towards a drain in the center. Around three sides of it, presumably for privacy, was propped up pieces of plywood. The slab was wet all over from where other ladies had done their business and I cringe to think what goes down if someone has to do more than just pee.

In the many hours that we were trapped in the enclosed, smelly, bouncing bus, I had lots of time to think.

This is how I imagine the interview process for Kampala Coach bus drivers go:

Interviewer: Do you drive recklessly fast?

Potential Driver: Always!

Interviewer: Even over potholes the size of kiddie pools?

Potential Driver: Most definitely.

Interviewer: Do you ever slow down for speed humps, bumps, or rumble strips?

Potential Driver: Certainly not!

Interviewer: How much space do you think is appropriate between two vehicles?

Potential Driver: Space? What does that even mean?

Interviewer: Perfect! You’re hired!

Enroute to Kampala from Kigali we went over a speed bump so fast that all three of us flew up and whacked our heads on the ceiling. We all put on our seatbelts after that….

Border crossings were arduous, especially after I was jostled out of dozing for the 80 millionth time. The last leg of the trip from late, late night until the morning was the worst. We had already been on the bus for something like 20 hours. I had little to no sleep and was grumpy/crazy tired. At one point in this leg, right after a border, an immigration official got on the bus and walked around looking at everyone’s passport. He got to me and I handed him my passport and was so tired that I fell back asleep before he handed it back to me. Maureen had to nudge me awake.

We finally made it to Nairobi and hopped on the shuttle to Arusha. It was just our luck that every bus on the way back was completely full. The shuttle ride wasn’t too bad (we met a girl named Jessica who was moving to Arusha) but by the end of it I just wanted to have a shower and be in my own bed.

When I got back Tisa was super happy to see me!