A bus park at six in the morning
Why the bus leaves when it is full, not when it is late.
Letters from the Road
A short letter every Saturday from a bus, a ferry or a guesthouse: one route, one thing to pack and one thing to know before the border.
the road
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The road so far
Every stop, newest first
Each letter is one stretch of the road: a bus park, a border, a ferry or a seat by the window.
Kampala
A border post
Crossing a border at night
What I carry in my hand, and what stays in the bag.
Lake Victoria
The lake ferry at dawn
Trucks first, people after, and a seat by the rail.
On the road
Mangoes at a window stop
What to buy through a bus window, and how to eat it.
On the bus
What to carry in a small day bag
The few things that stay on my knees all day.
A guesthouse
Reading a route on a paper map
How I plan a day of changes before I leave the guesthouse.
Western Uganda
The long red road to the lake
Eleven hours on one road, and what I did with them.
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Downloads
PDF · 14 pages
Kampala to Nairobi Route Notes
The road in stages: where the buses leave, where they stop and where to change.
About me
I grew up in Uganda and I have travelled East Africa on public transport for most of my adult life: by bus, by minibus, by boat across the lakes and, when nothing else was going, on the back of a truck. I write in a notebook on every journey, and the notebook is where these letters begin.
Every Saturday I send a letter from the road. What I sell grew out of what readers asked me for: route notes for the roads I know best, a border crossing checklist, a packing list, an ebook of the letters and a course on planning a trip by bus. I do not lead groups. I show you how to plan your own.