A trip north

I recently took a trip from Kampala to Gulu on a working cum visiting trip to meet colleagues at Gulu University. I was psyched up for the trip since I hadn't been to Gulu in a while.

On the morning of the trip, I found my way to Buganda Bus Park (BBP) to get on a Gulu-bound bus. It was an usually hot and dusty Kampala morning, with the makings of a thunderstorm afternoon written all over it.

I arrived at BBP just before 11:00 a.m. For those who haven't used that bus terminal, it is one chaotic place. Different bus services that are headed to the same destination compete for passengers in a crude way - one is made to feel like a rope in game of 'tug-of-war' so to speak! Anyhow, I found myself being pulled in the direction of a BTC bus, which plies the Kampala-Gulu route daily.

Now, being a stickler for time, I asked the ticket master what time the bus would set off for its destination. His response was "I load strictly for 1 hour". He said this while he looked me straight in the eye without blinking. He gave me my ticket and I boarded... I took a window seat so I could sight see, but most importantly for getting first-rate fresh air (it can get extremely hot and musty in our non-air conditioned buses!). I tentatively estimated our arrival time in Gulu to be at around 5:00 p.m. To my surprise, the bus had only four or five actual passengers even though almost all seats were occupied. It turned out these "other" passenger were only seat-fillers - mostly hawkers who occupy the seats to give the impression that the bus is almost full and ready to depart.

Wildlife to see at Karuma bridge.

The hawkers can be either saviors or an annoyance (aggressively shove whatever good/merchandise it is that they are peddling in one's face). As I sat in the bus willing time to  fly by, one hawker would board after another with their 'stuff' - which ranged from knock-off electronic equipment to food items. One came in selling roasted chicken yelling "tongweno tie, tongweno tie!" Another one came selling men's coats "London coats here for 3,000; pay 3,000, get one London coat!"

Meanwhile, the 1 hour loading period stretched to 2 hours, then 3 hours, then.... "why in heaven's name weren't we setting off?", I wondered. I looked out the window only to notice that the 'original' ticket master had been replaced by another. Looking back I realized that what he meant by 'loading strictly for 1 hour' was perhaps his way of referring to his shift. 

All this time the temperature in the bus kept shooting up as the sun kept getting hotter and hotter. It was so hot that I stewed and sizzled in my own perspiration. Had I been a piece of steak, I would have been well done! Seriously! Being the Ugandans that we are (so docile for my liking), no passenger showed any concern regarding the extended delay despite the heat building up in the bus. I scanned the faces of some passengers for any signs of restlessness until I noticed one. A few seats down the aisle from my seat I saw a passenger clad in an MTN t-shirt visibly agitated. At first I mistook him for a hawker. He would shift restlessly in his seat then get up, look out, and sit back down again.

Time check: 2:15 p.m. A crew member member got on the bus to count how many empty seats remained. Mr. MTN asked the crew member why they were keeping us waiting that long in the park. The crew member's response was that there were still three empty seats available that needed to be occupied. That was when Mr. MTN took him on... yours truly gladly backed him up! Then some of our fellow passengers joined in. The crew member hurriedly exited the bus. Mr. MTN followed him out to continue his argument. A short while later to our relief, the bus driver took his seat and eased us on our way towards our destination. Time check: 2:30 p.m.

The magnificent Karuma Falls... one of the sights to look forward to when traveling north.

The journey began well with the bus slowly inching along the highway. When we were finally out of Kampala, they kept stopping to pick up more passengers. By the time we reached Karuma Falls there was no standing room. Then came the rain! The bus leaked like a faulty faucet. By the time we arrived in Gulu it was already 8:00 p.m. On arrival I heard that that particular bus service often breaks down. Guess I was lucky to survive that one!