Navigating Kenya. Avoiding Death.

(July 2010) I have mentioned Kenyan transportation options throughout my Kenya blogs. It has been a big part of Kenya for me since it is so ingrained in the culture and has been important to us to get all sorts of places. Since getting to Kenya I have traveled by airplane, taxis (regular sedans about 10 years old and often white), Jackie’s little blue car, the old school van to the village, the awesome open safari jeep, and the giant fancy tour bus from safari back to Mombasa. That transportation was all good and fine.

The real cultural experiences have taken place in matatus and tuk tuks. There are also guys that drive motorbikes and regular bikes with a seat on the back for you and sans helmets. Boda Bodas or Bicycle taxis yell "boda boda" at you as you walk by and they ride along busy roads waiting to get hit. No thanks – I have to draw the line somewhere. Don’t worry Mom I refused to ride on those death traps. Here I display my obsession with the Kenyan transportation options I used via pictures and few words (for once):






Tuk-Tuks – various views. 3 people can squeeze in the back of these small colorful vehicles. They are good for short distances, especially in the city since they maneuver well. Crazy cheap too, prices range from $0.60 - $6.00.










Matatus – saving the best for last. Pictures inside and out. Colorful, slightly dangerous, and extremely cheap transportation. They have fun honking horns, crazy loud US or Swahili music, random quotes on the back and inside (often about Jesus or Obama), and at night many of them have crazy colorful lights inside and on the front. We were literally in one matatu that crammed in 20 people! Another time we had a rooster in the front seat with some kids...ahhh matatus I will miss you!