This is from the beginning of the trip.
MY FIRST MOTO EXPERIENCE!
So I definitely underestimated the entire moto taxi driver situation here in Rwanda! It is great! They are usually cheaper (have to be careful or they try to rip you off by stating a muzunga price/white person price). However, they are fun and fairly safe. Overall, a much better option than trying to walk/taxi everywhere.
Understanding a bit of the language is definitely important.
Muraho = Hello
Nangahe (non-gah-hay) = How much?
Urahenda (ooh-rah-hane-duh) = That service is too much
Rimwe, Kabiri, Gatatu, Kane = one, two, three, four (ALWAYS follow this with using your fingers to clarify).
Most important, clarify the price prior to getting a helmet or getting on. Don't be afraid to say too much and walk away. Motos appear everywhere so it is hard to be without a lower offer.
Getting on and off can be difficult at first. Where do you hold on/grab?? You’ll learn. Be careful not to throw the guy off balance…. If he thinks you are a pro he won’t steady the bike as you jump aboard which spells disaster for a beginner.
Also, what about falling off while he is driving?? Well, I was a total foreigner since I was nervous the first few times and held on directly to the man’s stomach. Honestly I held on for dear life since I was so dang scared! Now, it is much easier to just hold onto the back handle or something.
Payment: Always keep those pesky 100RWF!! They come in handy for moto drives since drivers tend to either have zero change OR they pretend not to hoping for you to be aggravated and just say forget it and not wait for change. It’s annoying, but total worth thinking about.
Most of all…. Have fun J
I’m trying to include a video of my first moto experience…. A very very very short ride. Hopefully it uploads! It was not busy out so it wasn’t exciting at all. Now since I moto everywhere I should probably take a better video. We’ll see; maybe in a later post. Enjoy!
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