I've heard the most hectic traffic in the world is in India. Haven't been there but I think I have some good comparisons already from this trip. In China any public transportation - or any queue actually - is a hoot. There's no queue really, there's just a bunch of people rushing. And forget about giving room or a seat to an elderly or a disabled person. If you start having a concience, you'll never make it to your destination. A London rush hour Tube is also a blast. I almost fainted carrying my rucksack to the airport in the middle of crowds created by the Jubilee line delays. The Londoners were just fine. Apparently the Tube has taught them to breathe even when there's no oxygen.
In Ghana the local buses, trotros, have offered yet new insane traffic experiences. The trotros are minibuses that are usually jam-packed with people. You wait for one at the roadside and when the trotro stops the conductor, or "mate", steps out and shouts where the bus is going. And pay attention - for example, when your destination is Circle in Accra the pronounciation for it is "Sehk".
The trip from my home in Amanfrom to central Accra is about 1-2 hours depending on the traffic, which is usually heavy. And it gets hot! It's a good thing the street vendors sell everything from sweat-wiping towels to drinking water on the way, straight through the open trotro windows, otherwise I probably would've been hospitalised a couple of times already.
So the trotro can get hot and it can also break. I've been on one twice as it's broken down in the middle of the road. The driver and mate usually start to fix it right then and there. My very first trotro ride was one of these unsuccessful trips and when the other passengers noticed the confused obruni (white person) they just told me to follow them and we walked to the next bus stop (only to be picked up by the same trotro they'd gotten fixed). Even if it's not your trotro that signs off you can usually see some on the roadside filled with passengers and someone changing the tyre on it or something. Normally in Finland people would be furious. How can this happen? On a public bus? Outrageous! But not here. People gather their things, buy a mango and wait for another trotro or the car to start.
And it's not just people you travel with in trotros, it's their possessions too. Last weekend I sat in the backseat between a car tyre and an antenna. I witnessed a massive fight on a bus when someone tried to move a piece of furniture in the small minibus. The driver got so upset he turned off the engine and went to sit on the curb and pout. He didn't start the car until the mover was out.
This is why Ghana uses both GMT and "African time". You can't really schedule anything very precisely because you never know when you'll get into a trotro not to mention your final destination. You never know when the door of your minibus will fall off. But it's all okay. How can anyone get upset with the cheerful African music playing in the background (it really does always play everywhere).
So the traffic is chaos but this is the most relaxed traffic chaos I've seen anywhere and the only fight on the road has been about furniture. So please, when entering the country please don't import fruits, meats or your road rage.
In Ghana the local buses, trotros, have offered yet new insane traffic experiences. The trotros are minibuses that are usually jam-packed with people. You wait for one at the roadside and when the trotro stops the conductor, or "mate", steps out and shouts where the bus is going. And pay attention - for example, when your destination is Circle in Accra the pronounciation for it is "Sehk".
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| Trotro hopping. |
So the trotro can get hot and it can also break. I've been on one twice as it's broken down in the middle of the road. The driver and mate usually start to fix it right then and there. My very first trotro ride was one of these unsuccessful trips and when the other passengers noticed the confused obruni (white person) they just told me to follow them and we walked to the next bus stop (only to be picked up by the same trotro they'd gotten fixed). Even if it's not your trotro that signs off you can usually see some on the roadside filled with passengers and someone changing the tyre on it or something. Normally in Finland people would be furious. How can this happen? On a public bus? Outrageous! But not here. People gather their things, buy a mango and wait for another trotro or the car to start.
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| Taking the trotro to the Children's Village in Kumasi. |
And it's not just people you travel with in trotros, it's their possessions too. Last weekend I sat in the backseat between a car tyre and an antenna. I witnessed a massive fight on a bus when someone tried to move a piece of furniture in the small minibus. The driver got so upset he turned off the engine and went to sit on the curb and pout. He didn't start the car until the mover was out.
This is why Ghana uses both GMT and "African time". You can't really schedule anything very precisely because you never know when you'll get into a trotro not to mention your final destination. You never know when the door of your minibus will fall off. But it's all okay. How can anyone get upset with the cheerful African music playing in the background (it really does always play everywhere).
So the traffic is chaos but this is the most relaxed traffic chaos I've seen anywhere and the only fight on the road has been about furniture. So please, when entering the country please don't import fruits, meats or your road rage.
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