Transportation in Kenya
Sherri and I tried different kinds of transportation in Kenya, such as, matatus, buses, coaches, taxis and flights. I enjoyed taking the some of the transportation in Kenya, for example, the flights; however, I was quite scared of some of them in a sense, such as the matatus and coaches.
What’s matatus? Matatus are minibuses driving along main routes to pick-up and drop-off passengers. You can know where do the matatus go by the directions and determinations written by the side of the matatus. Normally, it could take about 9 passengers in a matatu, however, some drivers would just break the law to take more passengers. Before you hopping on the matatu, you need to ask the driver assistants (in charge of collecting fares from the passengers) about the fare to get to your destinations. You must bargain if you think the price is too high. When you are on the matatu, you just have to hold the bars as tight as possible for the fast drivers and bumpy roads.
Sherri and I took buses only when we were in Nairobi and I quite liked to take buses around the city. You have to hop on the bus as soon as possible because once the buses are approaching, all the passengers would squeeze to get into the bus (Passengers are not allowed to stand on the buses in Nairobi). At first, both of us were quite afraid of people pushing us or cutting the queue, however, we could even hop on the bus when it was still moving afterwards.
As I mentioned in previous blog that the experience of taking coaches in Kenya was just like taking the rollercoaster, so exciting and a bit dangerous. The main road from Nairobi to Mambasa was very bumpy and full of dust. It took us about 10 hours to complete a single journey. What amazed me was that there were very few traffic lights and street lights and signs along the whole journey—I wondered how the drivers know where to drive to.
I took an internal flight from Maasai Mara to Nairobi which I had seen the most beautiful mountain views of Kenya from the sky. I met a very nice and kind French family taken the same flight with me and they even showed me to see giraffes and lions from the sky. The whole journey from Maasai to Nairobi was less than an hour, however, the flight stopped by another two airstrips to pick up more passengers. I noticed there was even a duty free shop by one of the airstrips. I was quite curious what would be in that duty free shop if it was open that day.
It couldn’t be a good idea to take the coaches in Kenya if you have car-sick. However, I have no doubt at all that you must be a very good and very experienced driver in order to drive in Kenya.
What’s matatus? Matatus are minibuses driving along main routes to pick-up and drop-off passengers. You can know where do the matatus go by the directions and determinations written by the side of the matatus. Normally, it could take about 9 passengers in a matatu, however, some drivers would just break the law to take more passengers. Before you hopping on the matatu, you need to ask the driver assistants (in charge of collecting fares from the passengers) about the fare to get to your destinations. You must bargain if you think the price is too high. When you are on the matatu, you just have to hold the bars as tight as possible for the fast drivers and bumpy roads.
Sherri and I took buses only when we were in Nairobi and I quite liked to take buses around the city. You have to hop on the bus as soon as possible because once the buses are approaching, all the passengers would squeeze to get into the bus (Passengers are not allowed to stand on the buses in Nairobi). At first, both of us were quite afraid of people pushing us or cutting the queue, however, we could even hop on the bus when it was still moving afterwards.
As I mentioned in previous blog that the experience of taking coaches in Kenya was just like taking the rollercoaster, so exciting and a bit dangerous. The main road from Nairobi to Mambasa was very bumpy and full of dust. It took us about 10 hours to complete a single journey. What amazed me was that there were very few traffic lights and street lights and signs along the whole journey—I wondered how the drivers know where to drive to.
I took an internal flight from Maasai Mara to Nairobi which I had seen the most beautiful mountain views of Kenya from the sky. I met a very nice and kind French family taken the same flight with me and they even showed me to see giraffes and lions from the sky. The whole journey from Maasai to Nairobi was less than an hour, however, the flight stopped by another two airstrips to pick up more passengers. I noticed there was even a duty free shop by one of the airstrips. I was quite curious what would be in that duty free shop if it was open that day.
It couldn’t be a good idea to take the coaches in Kenya if you have car-sick. However, I have no doubt at all that you must be a very good and very experienced driver in order to drive in Kenya.
posted by Jennifer tae @ 2:08 am
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