Matatus

Hello from Nairobi! I hope this post finds you all well! Yesterday, I had my first experience on matatus by myself. Matatus are the main transportation for the city. Envision old and kind of junky 15 passenger vans blaring hip-hop music, and you've got a matatu!

Basically matatus work like this: You go up to a matatu or bus stage (stop) and wait for your matatu. When the matatu comes up to the stage, there is someone who works for the matatu that gets out and tries to convince people to get into their matatu. They'll yell, talk to you personally, whatever to get you into their matatu.

Once you find the correct matatu, you hop in, and try find a seat, sometimes while the matatu is already in motion. Depending on the distance between stops, the guy trying to convince you to get into the matatu will sometimes hang outside the vehicle :). Then you go!

Depending on the matatu, you'll have up to 15 people inside, potentially with outrageously loud hip hop music playing. Matatu drivers: mildly insane. They'll go really fast and then slam on the brakes to avoid an accident and they drive all over to get where they need to go, weaving through traffic.

Overall, matatus are overwhelming, insane and simultaneously awesome. For me to get downtown via matatu on off-peak hours is 20 Kenyan shillings (about 27 cents), 30 in the morning (about 40 cents) and 50 (about 67 cents) during afternoon rush hour. It's a cheap way to get where I need to go.

Despite being mildly overwhelming, once you know what matatu you need, it's fairly easy. If you miss a matatu, they often come in less than 5 minutes. I haven't had to wait for more than 3.

Again, I hope you're all doing well, and I hope to hear from you soon.