Adventures with public transportation. Part 2.

Getting back from the coffee shop to the taxi park was pretty much the same as getting there. I just walked towards a bota driver and he waved me over. I was immediately given the right price so I hopped on and we took off. Since it was getting a little later in the day there were many traffic jams. My bota driver was able to navigate safely and quickly through the traffic. We drove on a side walk and in the median. We also swerved in and out of small holes in the traffic.

We drove down a small and very bumpy road. The sides of the road were filled with botas. I did not see any women anywhere. That is where I was dropped off. The guy just pointed into a narrow opening that was packed with taxis and told me that was the taxi park. I paid him and went into the taxi park.

This place was unlike anything I have ever seen. It was the size of a Wal-mart parking lot but it was dirty, not paved and there hundreds of people selling there goods throughout the lot. There were taxis parked in every direction and angle. Some of them were parked within an inch of another. The only semblance of organization were the signs that stuck up a couple feet above the taxis. They had names of places on them. I saw several towns that I knew such as Jinja and Entebbe. Coryn had told me a little about the taxi park and that if I found a sign for Gaba there would be a taxi there.

I started walking around aimlessly just hoping to stumble across the sign for Gaba. Finally some guy who was munching on sugar cane asked me "Mzungu, where are you trying to go?" I told him that I was going to Gaba and he pointed me in the right direction. I stopped two more times and I finally saw the sign for Gaba. I was so relieved to know that I was not going to be lost or stuck in Kampala. I found the taxi that was leaving and the conductor greeted me with "Mzungu we have been waiting for you, lets go!" I hopped in and again I was off.

Like I mentioned earlier there were many jams in town. As we left the taxi park I knew that I was in for an interesting ride. The driver went out of what I understood to be an entrance only part. He had the conductor get out and stand in front of the incoming traffic. We barely avoided getting hit and hitting others several times. We drove down what seems to be the main fashion area. Both sides of the street were 3 stories high with clothes. They were almost all western clothes. I saw some really cute stuff and wanted to get out but I knew that it would be getting late by the time I got home already. After about 35 minutes we made it out of the city and we were back onto Gaba road which I recognize. I was taken all the way to the bottom of the hill where I am staying for a thousand shillings or about fifty cents. then I caught a bota up the hill so I could get back before dark.

I have been moving around (Ugandan term for going places) a lot this week. I am beginning to feel quite confident in my ability to use taxis, botas and even private taxis. I am starting to recognize many places in town and I generally have a good idea of where I am going. Overall I love the convenience of traveling in Uganda and I love how inexpensive it is.