Getting From Here to There and Everywhere

Things I've learned about transportation:


1. The number of seats in a vehicle is just meant to suggest a number of passengers it can hold;

2. A Toyota Corolla can fit about 8 adults, plus a couple of children;

3. A matatu (minibus taxi), which has 14 passenger seats, can fit about 24 adults, plus a couple of children;

4. A boda boda (motorcycle taxi) can fit about 3 adult passengers, plus a couple of children;

5. Riding sidesaddle on a boda boda while holding a purse and grocery bag over a potholey road isn't as difficult as one may initially imagine it to be (although I don't know how women holding swaddled babies do it);

6. Lane markers and centre lines are mere tarmac decor - on the roads that actually have them (i.e. Highways), the lines are ignored;

7. Vehicles have 3 speeds: fast, stop, and stuck in the mud;

8. A vehicle only requires a minimal amount of fuel; thus, passengers should be prepared to pass time should the bus run out of fuel partway to a destination;

9. A trip has the potential to take twice as long as it should to allow time to stop at numerous roadside produce markets to do a bit of random grocery shopping;

10. The road hierarchy is, from top of the chain to bottom: giant trucks, cars/SUVs, boda bodas, & bicycles. The lack of 'pedestrians' on the list is not an oversight; pedestrians don't register on the list. Period.