red-eye mutatus and good decisions.

so - transportation here in uganda is dangerous. always. every single time i board any mode of transport (even my own two legs), i am sincerely risking my life. i'm not saying this to be dramatic, i'm saying it because it's a fact.


now, sure, some vehicles are safer than others. people (of the white variety) often vehemently curse boda-bodas...which happen to be my very favorite way of getting from point a to point b. i use them on an almost daily basis (who wouldn't?! it's a buck for a crazy motorcycle ride!) and i have never been in an accident. i've been in an almost accident about 100 times, but that's neither here nor there.

i would say the most risky traveling experience i've had has been on what i like to call the 'red-eye mutatu'. as i've said before, mutatus (also called taxis) are 15 passenger vans and there are HUNDREDS of them in uganda. they travel all over the country. the drivers are infamously crazy and i have been now hit (more like bumped aggressively) by two of them whilst strolling on the streets of kampala. they are equally annoying, convenient, and cheap.


the red-eye is a special breed of mutatu though. i like to think of it as more underground and i feel more african having experienced it and even just knowing about it (you can now add two cool points to your mental assessment of me). my first time traveling on it was when i went to kapchorwa. i didn't want to pay to stay overnight in an expensive lodge that my friends were staying in, but it was already 10:00 p.m. and the normal taxis had stopped running. the person driving me to the lodge mentioned that he 'knew a guy' who made trips from kapchorwa to kampala every saturday morning, leaving around 2:00 a.m. instant fear and excitement struck me which channeled itself as a laugh. he said, 'i'm serious!' and i said, 'so - am i, what's his number?' in true african style, we just so happened to be close to this guy's house so we pulled over and i met him, exchanged numbers, and he agreed to pick me up in about 4 hours.


sure enough, 2 a.m. rolls around and i get a phone call from andrew, the taxi driver. 'rachel - i am outside the lodge! are you coming??' i rolled out of the bed i was so graciously offered by my roomie and went outside. i climbed in and assessed the situation. 15 passenger van, 12 people - this is a miracle in uganda. i've never been in one that wasn't crammed! my excitement was premature. about every fifteen minutes for the next hour, the taxi would slow and a figure would step out from the shadows along the side of the road and into the (pitiful) beams of the headlights. the driver inevitably stopped and we added another sardine to the can. my spacious seat vanished before my eyes and i found myself sharing a space made for one person with at least two others. with my heavy backpack on my lap and a woman singing in luganda at the top of her lungs in my ear, i somehow fell asleep. when i woke up an hour later, there was a live chicken right next to my foot and the singing woman was claiming my shoulder as her pillow. what i wouldn't have given to have a photo at that moment. the rest of that trip consisted of me drifting in and out of non-productive sleep. i dreamt about more singing and a man clapping and a chicken flapping my sandaled feet with it's wings. then i realized i wasn't dreaming, :).


we got to kampala around 6:30 a.m. and of course, a trusty boda was waiting at the stage where i got dropped off. i hopped on with no greeting and simply said, 'muyenga/bukasa sabo...and hurry, i need to sleep' he said, 'mzungu - you are tired! you give me 6,000 shillings!' i said, 'i'll give you 4,000 - take it or i jump off' he drove me home very safely.


the second time i got the red-eye was last weekend. i was in mbale for the week and i wanted to stay until friday night for the proctor's christmas party - best people and food ever, why would i leave?! but i know that traveling to kampala on a saturday is ridiculous and traffic is awful. so...i called andrew and asked him to pick me up saturday morning at 3:00. he told me it would be no problem. so, after some great food and fun with the proctor's and my mbale friends, i hung out in the CURE guest house until andrew came. like clockwork, he called at 3...'rachel!!!! i am at the CURE place. are you coming or i go?' me - 'coming andrew, hang on.' i ran outside the gate and the guard giggled at my sweatpants and luggage that i was dragging behind me. before i could stop them, they threw my bag on top of the taxi (thank goodness it made it to kampala with me!). i still had my backpack and crawled into the front row. i had my ipod in and was grooving for about an hour. i didn't even get annoyed when my seat partner snuggled up against me for a nap. john mayer was in my ears and i wasn't squished! an hour and a half into the four hour journey, we picked up a small family. for some reason, two of the children decided to sit in the front row with me, my snuggle buddy, and the conductor (guy who collects money for the driver). that means five people in three seats. i instantly got annoyed and started sweating. i now had a child asleep in my armpit and a man's arm hooked through mine while sleeping on my other shoulder. i put up with it quite well in my opinion until the young chap behind me decided to puke all over the floor. then i said, 'right peeps...let's get some windows open.' ugandans hate wind therefore they hate having the windows open. after a brief fight with my comrade to the right, i won and sat gripping the window open for fresh air. my feet were now up on the seat with me. for at least an hour i sat with a butt cramp. never have i been happier to see a boda. he didn't even argue with me for my price. i got dropped off at home around 7 and slept til noon.


i'm aware that traveling four hours through dark bushland is probably not the safest endeavor in the world. but that's why you're hearing about it now and not before i did it. i didn't want pat to worry about anything for no reason - now she knows i make intelligent decisions, :).