PASSENGERS' TRANSPORT SYSTEMS * Africa - The Joys of Public Transport in
On this African adventure my companions and I have vowed to use public transport almost entirely; buses (long distance and local), minibuses, ferry boats and trucksAfrica -Zulu Jazz/Amberinsa (Pennsylvania,USA) -12 Nov 2007: -- ... The advantages of public transport are of course the cheap price but also the experience of rubbing elbows with locals (although this can be both enjoyable and unpleasant...) Some of the disadvantages of pub trans include long waiting periods, infrequent bathroom stops and losing all of the feeling in your ass... The Bus... the travel times here, they are roughly:
Jo-burg (SA) - Gaborone (Bots) : 5 hrs
Gabs - Palapye : 3 hrs
Palapye - Maun : 4 hrs
Maun - Nata : 3 hrs
Livingstone (Zam) - Lusaka : 6 hrs
Lusaka (Zam) - Lilongwe (Malawi) : 14 hrs
Lilongwe - Mzuzu : 6 hrs (it was supposed to be 4 but the bus got a flat tire)
Mbeya (Tanzania) - Dar es Salaam : 12 hrs
That’s alot of time on a bus... Mostly bus rides aren’t that interesting, but once in a while something notable will happen. In Malawi a volunteer typically leads the passengers in prayer before setting off. I don’t know if this occurs because of the devout religious faith of Malawians or because of their fear that the bus won’t reach its destination… In Botswana if you arrive late or get on the bus when its already full you’re left standing in the aisle until a seat opens up - if a seat opens up... The only bus ride so far that has featured live animals was in Tanzania (unless you consider cockaroaches to be live animals, in which case we also encountered some on a Zambian bus), and it was what I believe to be a single chicken discreetly concealed in a small cardboard box. I wouldn’t have even noticed it except for the box’s makeshift airholes and the soft clucking noise that emanated from within, which definitely indicated the presence of a fowl. Also in Tanzania we saw two goats tied to the top of a tanker truck...
Gabs - Palapye : 3 hrs
Palapye - Maun : 4 hrs
Maun - Nata : 3 hrs
Livingstone (Zam) - Lusaka : 6 hrs
Lusaka (Zam) - Lilongwe (Malawi) : 14 hrs
Lilongwe - Mzuzu : 6 hrs (it was supposed to be 4 but the bus got a flat tire)
Mbeya (Tanzania) - Dar es Salaam : 12 hrs
That’s alot of time on a bus... Mostly bus rides aren’t that interesting, but once in a while something notable will happen. In Malawi a volunteer typically leads the passengers in prayer before setting off. I don’t know if this occurs because of the devout religious faith of Malawians or because of their fear that the bus won’t reach its destination… In Botswana if you arrive late or get on the bus when its already full you’re left standing in the aisle until a seat opens up - if a seat opens up... The only bus ride so far that has featured live animals was in Tanzania (unless you consider cockaroaches to be live animals, in which case we also encountered some on a Zambian bus), and it was what I believe to be a single chicken discreetly concealed in a small cardboard box. I wouldn’t have even noticed it except for the box’s makeshift airholes and the soft clucking noise that emanated from within, which definitely indicated the presence of a fowl. Also in Tanzania we saw two goats tied to the top of a tanker truck...
Labels: public transport system
posted by Unknown @ 12:25 PM
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