# Notes on Life in East Africa and Tips for Future Missions --- *I will preface this article by saying that the following is based on my personal experiences traveling and working in East Africa, and I am not an authority on these subjects. I am a seasoned traveler though, having spent more than 450 days living or backpacking through nearly 35 countries in the last 10 years. This will serve as a catch-all article of things I wish I would have had a better handle on before arriving in East Africa.* ### Transportation ##### Air Travel ##### Bus Travel  ### Taxis Musoma lies along the shore of Lake Victoria, with a single main paved road stretching north-south and dirt side roads leading to adjacent homes, farms, and businesses. ### Motorcycles Motorcycle taxis (mototaxis) are very common in the places I visited in Africa, and cost 1/10th what a traditional taxi charges to get from point A to point B. In Musoma, I had a choice between abundant mototaxis and bajajis (discussed below), but in Gatagara, Rwanda, my choices were limited to taking a mototaxi, or walking. Taking a motorcycle taxi is intimidating. I read and heard many stories of frequent motocycle taxi accidents. I learned the word *poli poli!* in Swahili (“slowly, slowly!”) and it came in very handy on the back of many mototaxis. Like anything though, you get used to it, and I developed a few ways to maximize my safety when taking a mototaxi: 1. Mototaxi drivers can be very aggressive when someone looks like they are interested in a ride. I never gave my business to a driver who called out at me or drove up to me. **Always go with a mototaxi you chose yourself, not one that solicited you.** 2. Most mototaxi drivers carry a spare helmet for their passenger, but you wouldn’t believe the condition of a lot of those helmets (cracked, duct taped, scuffed, etc.) The last thing you want it to do is get on the back of a motorcycle with a cracked and scuffed up helmet…what happened to the last passenger? **Always inspect the helmet, and try it on for fit, before proceeding with the negotiation or getting on the back of the motorcycle.** I got so comfortable with choosing mototaxis that if I couldn’t see my face reflected in the helmet’s paint job, I took my business elsewhere. 3. By the same token, **inspect the tires on the motorcycle.** I was in Rwanda during the rainy season, and bald tires are bad news. 4. If you can help it, **don’t take a mototaxi in the rain.** It started raining the very first time I took a mototaxi in Rwanda. 60 km/hr may not seem fast in a car, but it’s terrifying on the back of a mototaxi in the rain with a fogged-up face mask. 5. If you don’t speak the local language, see if the driver speaks a little English. Speaking English is not a pre-requisite for being a good driver (duh), but for a few minutes you are entrusting your life to this person. **Choose a driver you can communicate with.** At bare minimum, you should be able to communicate to the driver that you wish to stop, slow down, or turn. It is also necessary to confirm that you are both on the same page with the negotiated price.  ### Bajaj In Musoma there were no shortage of bajaj auto rickshaws—they were the primary way I got around while working at LVDC. Bajaj auto rickshaws (which I’ll shorten to bajaj(is)) are 3-wheeled vehicles, with a single seat in the front for the driver and a bench seat in the back for passengers. The bajaj controls look like motorcycle handlebars, a little disconcerting when you first see it, but it somehow feels safer than riding on the back of a mototaxi. That is, until the wind hits it — you feel as though one good, swift gust would blow you straight into the lake. Each bajaj reflects the personality of the driver — every bajaj I saw was customized in some way. Curiously (to me, at first), bajaj rides are not private, though you could pay extra for a solo ride. If there is room (and even if there isn’t) a driver will stop for anyone they think they can fit into the bajaj, to maximize their profit. While bajajis are relatively small, drivers really packed passengers in sometimes. I personally experienced a ride with 4 people on the bench seat in the back and another passenger sitting on the lap of the driver in front. By default, bajaj operators drive along the main paved road, between the bus station uptown and the business, shopping, and dock areas downtown. The bajaj ride going downtown cost a flat rate of 1,000 Tsh per person (about $0.44 USD). Any ride going uptown, or diverging from the main paved road costs extra and the price would be bartered for beforehand. If you were travelling with a group, you had the option of bartering a group rate. I never experienced paying more than 3,000 Tsh for any ride in a bajaj.  ### Utilities ##### Electricity ##### Water ### Cell Phone and Internet ##### Cell Phone Use ##### WIFI ### Food  Soda comes in both plastic and glass bottles, but soda in a glass bottle costs half of what it costs in plastic. ### Weather  ### Daily Life ##### Laundry ##### Muzungu! ### Accommodations ### Communication ### Legal ### Takeaways ### e-NABLE Community Call to Action