Life in Uganda: Rural Driving

Today, I'm starting a little series I like to call "life as we know it in Uganda." I'll attempt to make it a weekly series, but "life as we know it in Uganda" isn't always predictable, so the sporadicity shall be part of your introduction to Ugandan life. 

We'll start with driving, as that is generally a visitor's first truly Ugandan experience upon exiting the airport (hmm, I forgot about visas and customs and baggage claim...oh well, driving is more common). 

Driving in Uganda is always an interesting experience. 

On the road between Jinja and Kampala

 In Entebbe and Kampala, the roads are generally tarmac. Driving in Kampala is a completely different experience that may be covered sometime in the future. For now, we're just talking about driving in the rest of Uganda. Once you leave Kampala, you'll find tarmac on major highways...but otherwise, dirt roads and potholes are the new normal. 

A "shortcut" from Jinja to avoid Kampala traffic

It's common to find all sorts of transportation occurring on Ugandan roads: cars, lorries (trucks), coasters (mini-buses), taxis (which look more like 15-passenger vans), boda-bodas (motorcycles carrying passengers or goods), bicycles, and pedestrians. 

The roads are very narrow for the amount of traffic they contain!

What would be simple two-lane roads in America are in fact 6+ lane roads in Uganda: a pedestrian lane, a bike/boda lane, an eastbound car/taxi/lorry lane, a passing lane (sometimes), a westbound car/taxi/lorry lane, another bike/boda lane, and a final pedestrian lane. 

Bicycle with...something??

The below scene is quite common, almost un-noteworthy, despite the rather hazardous driving situation:

Roads in Uganda are a lifeline, so finding people chatting with pedestrians, bicycles, bodas, or taxis on the side of the road is another thing to beware of. 

Finally, you can't forget the livestock. Many families keep their goats/pigs/cows tied up on the side of the road for grazing, though sometimes drivers (and passengers) have a freak-out moment when the livestock starts ambling toward the road, seemingly untied! 

And then there's the occasional cow herd walking down the road.

Chickens, unfortunately, are never tied up, but they seem smart enough to stay out of the road. 

Another complication in Ugandan driving is the sun; it can be quite bright, especially if you are driving toward the sunset, rushing to be home before dark!

Ah, equatorial sunshine

Plus, dirt roads and little rain means much dust...making the pedestrians, bicycles, bodas, livestock, and other vehicles rather difficult to see until the last minute!

see the dust on our windshield?

So, there's a small introduction to driving in Uganda. 

note bene: If daylight driving simply isn't exciting enough, then night driving will surely give you that adrenaline rush. I wouldn't recommend night driving in Uganda--or even night passengering--for the faint of heart. Imagine the darkest night, on the most potholey, narrowest, unlit dirt road you can fathom...and then add other vehicles and bodas also dodging the unlit pedestrians, bicycles, and livestock. Ai-yai-yai!