Ok...public transportation isn't just one of the things I love, it is absolutely my favorite thing about Nairobi. The Matatus (15 passenger vans that are usually transporting a minimum of 25 people) don't have seat belts, doors that close, or adequate head room. However, the sacrifice of these amenities is easily made for bumping reggae/hip hop music, black lights, flat screen TV's playing music videos, and drivers that don't look a day over 14. Not to mention, each matatu has a name. Some of my favorite names so far: Shut up and Dance, Beyonce, Baraq, Assassin and Glory to the Lord. At a matatu spot on any given day their are typically 10 to 20 vans with young guys (I call them spotters) standing at the door yelling where they are headed. Once you figure out which van you need to be in, you climb in and over anyone who happens to be in your way. Reggae blaring, the spotter hops in as the van drives off. Matatu drivers are notoriously
reckless and will literally drive down the wrong side of a divided highway if it means passing up a few lanes of traffic. The spotters hang out the side of the van holding up on their fingers the number of spots open. There are always at least two spots left, even if someone is sitting on your lap. Getting anywhere on public transportation in Kenya is a great adventure, not even being sarcastic, I love it. On our long bus journey from Lamu I had fallen asleep for 15 minutes and awoke to find 30 people standing in the aisle of the bus, a baby in my friend's lap and three live chickens pecking around under our seats. The bus in the above picture is named " Rock University Graduates" and had an actual guitar welded on the back of it. Public Transportation =Amazing.
Ok...public transportation isn't just one of the things I love, it is absolutely my favorite thing about Nairobi. The Matatus (15 passenger vans that are usually transporting a minimum of 25 people) don't have seat belts, doors that close, or adequate head room. However, the sacrifice of these amenities is easily made for bumping reggae/hip hop music, black lights, flat screen TV's playing music videos, and drivers that don't look a day over 14. Not to mention, each matatu has a name. Some of my favorite names so far: Shut up and Dance, Beyonce, Baraq, Assassin and Glory to the Lord. At a matatu spot on any given day their are typically 10 to 20 vans with young guys (I call them spotters) standing at the door yelling where they are headed. Once you figure out which van you need to be in, you climb in and over anyone who happens to be in your way. Reggae blaring, the spotter hops in as the van drives off. Matatu drivers are notoriously
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