Transportation

Having been here awhile now, I thought I would enlighten my readers regarding the modes of transportation I use here.

First, the primary mode of transportation is ... my feet! Yes, ladies and gentlemen unlike the US, many people still use their feet to go to and from work, school and social meetings. Because of this, I had to readjust the time I allowed to get to events ... and was late the first few times.

Also, here in the city we have buses. (But there is no such thing as a school bus.) There are some larger intercity buses (which I prefer), but most are the size of 15 passenger vans with seats lining the walls (which are called "marshukas"). The interesting thing about the buses is that there seems to be no maximum capacity! I have seen many a bus bursting with people, produce and live chickens! (yes, I even had to share my seat with a pair of them once!)
If you want to get on a bus, you wait till it is a hundred meters away and wave your hand ... there are only a handful of actual bus stops. To get off you walk to the front, say the magic word and hand over your coin. (Sounds easy, but the trick is doing it all gracefully and not making a fool of yourself!)
Also, there is no map of the routes. You just have to "know" where they are going. (I have had a couple of adventures figuring this out.) And the buses are allowed to go the wrong way on one-way streets! So you can't ever just look one way before you cross!

Taxis are another interesting addition to the traffic here, because I would guess 80% of the cars are taxis! They come in all shapes, sizes, types and colors ... except yellow! It seems to me anyone can be a taxis driver as long as you buy the sign and take up part of the road leaving your door open to welcome potential customers.