Nation Media Group journalist, Wendy Watta, has detailed how her trip from Nairobi to South Africa by bus turned out to be a journey filled with surprises.
Watta, who shared her experience on trip savvy, detailed how she did not anticipate that the journey would take longer than expected but was astounded at the rate at which she never failed to learn something new at every point.
The journalist, a travel enthusiast, began her journey by taking a detour to Kampala from Nairobi, a trip that she expected to take only 14 hours. The journey, however, ended up extending by seven hours after the bus broke down on multiple occasions.
"In Busia, the younger male passengers got out to try to push the bus while the rest of us looked on in disbelief from the side of the road. I arrived in Kampala 21 hours later," she entailed.
Upon arrival, Watta also detailed how the touts scrambled for passengers in a bid to woo them to board their PSVs, a habit that is also common in Kenya.
"They have normalized grabbing your hand to try to persuade you to choose their services, all while jostling for space and shouting over each other."
One factor that she considered as the journey progressed was the language barrier, which came out clearly as she arrived in countries such as Zambia.
At this point, she narrated how an agent duped her while she was exchanging currency at the border. Thinking that she had exchanged Kenyan currency with Kwatcha notes, she later discovered the South Korean Won in between the notes.
"I learned to always be keen, count my money, and look at the notes; an agent in Zambia threw in South Korean won between the kwacha notes, and I only discovered this much later after enough time had passed for it to be amusing," she stated.
Among the issues that she encountered on the journey included corrupt officials who tried to dupe non-locals as well as a lack of air conditioning in most buses.
"Expect that someone will try you at the borders, where the sheer amount of corruption I witnessed was nothing short of spectacular. An official asked me to pay him because I did not have the cholera vaccine, or he would not let me into the country."
"I asked to see supporting documents stating the requirement for a cholera vaccine. A leaflet, perhaps? When he realized that I was neither in a rush to leave nor taking the bait, he let me go," she narrated.
Despite the hiccups, she treasured the journey for its experience and encounters with different cultures along the way.
"The journeys to my destinations were not always smooth, but the lessons I learned on the way there will stay with me forever," she stated.
