... and then it is just bad. Such was my boda riding experience this morning. It even started out a bit interesting as my goal was to transport an empty trunk to another part of Kampala. So there I was holding firmly to the bar at the back of the seat with a huge trunk wedged between myself and the driver, a bir comical perhaps to those around me, but nothing compared to some of the things that I have seen on the back of motorcycles. Just yesterday I saw a vanity dresser with a mirror attached (a good 6 feet tall.) So the trunk was a little cumbersome, but everything was going well until the motor stopped.
The driver had me get off. Fortunately, the road wasn't a busy one since there wasn't much of a shoulder, just a steep grassy bank that I kind of leaned the trunk against. The driver laid the motorcycle on its side then lifted it up again shaking it from side to side... out of petrol. This actually was not a huge surprise to me since most drivers ride around on almost empty making frequent stops to put in a few squirts. The driver proceeded to blow into the gas tank (not sure what this was supposed to do) and do a little more engine rattling, to my great surprise the engine actually puttered on and he was off almost before I was actually seated. We road about 100 meters till the engine was bone dry and died a second time.
I got off again. The driver informed me, "We walk, then slope down." Which means we walk till the road starts going down again and then can coast to a gas station. He kindly offered to try to balance the trunk on the boda while he pushed. This was not working very well, so I just carried it to the "sloping" point. At the bottom of the hill was a petrol station... a good location as slopers can reach it from 2 directions. The driver put in a whopping 8,000 shillings (about 3 dollars). I guess he wanted to make sure that he got me the rest of the way there. And he did... with just a little more excitement then the average boda ride. After all... TIA.
The driver had me get off. Fortunately, the road wasn't a busy one since there wasn't much of a shoulder, just a steep grassy bank that I kind of leaned the trunk against. The driver laid the motorcycle on its side then lifted it up again shaking it from side to side... out of petrol. This actually was not a huge surprise to me since most drivers ride around on almost empty making frequent stops to put in a few squirts. The driver proceeded to blow into the gas tank (not sure what this was supposed to do) and do a little more engine rattling, to my great surprise the engine actually puttered on and he was off almost before I was actually seated. We road about 100 meters till the engine was bone dry and died a second time.
I got off again. The driver informed me, "We walk, then slope down." Which means we walk till the road starts going down again and then can coast to a gas station. He kindly offered to try to balance the trunk on the boda while he pushed. This was not working very well, so I just carried it to the "sloping" point. At the bottom of the hill was a petrol station... a good location as slopers can reach it from 2 directions. The driver put in a whopping 8,000 shillings (about 3 dollars). I guess he wanted to make sure that he got me the rest of the way there. And he did... with just a little more excitement then the average boda ride. After all... TIA.
