Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Mombasa Road

Today we returned to Nairobi from Mombasa. Both our trip there and the return included late starts (the latter due to our vehicle needing repairs the night before).

With minimal stops, the journey took about 9.5 hrs. Along the way, we passed many things (including our first zebra and baboon sightings), with two being particularly noteworthy:
1. Roadside villages/towns
2. Slower moving vehicles

Traveling in Kenya (or India or Bolivia) reminds me that developing nation status often applies to a country's traffic rules as aptly as it does to it's economic status. Here, what might be considered a near accident (of the head on collision variety) in the States, is simply a well-executed overtaking of a slower moving vehicle. The fact that a hill or turn may obstruct the view of oncoming vehicles requires only a very incremental amount of faith in the traffic gods, given how close drivers cut it even on a straight road.

Much less intimidating were the many roadside villages and towns that we passed. The villages consisted of a few thatched or tin roofed huts with mud walls. Each hut was a single room, maybe 8 feet by 8 feet in size. Some of them seemed to be attached to small farm plots, others encircled an open area.

The roadside towns closer to Mombasa were less rural, though not much more developed. On the way there, we ran into a good bit of traffic. During these frequent "jams", as the traffic jams are called, the exhaust from the rickshaws and matatus (commuter minivans packed with 16 or more people) and the dust from the road made it pretty hard to breathe. As we slowed to a near halt, we got a good view of the towns' nightlife: laborers gathered together around small fires or kerosene lamps, used clothing sold from racks placed on the side of the road, and the "sidewalks" packed with people.

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