Truck Life

19/04/2012
These early starts are continuous! There hasn't been a day yet when I've been out of bed after 6.30am! This morning, my alarm was set for 6.15, but I was up at 5.50 in time for the call to prayer from the mosque near the campground. By the time this trip is over I'm sure to be a morning person.

Today was another truck day, and we crossed the border into Uganda in the late morning, parting with another 50USD for a stamp in the passport. Crossing the border seems to take some time, as we first needed to clear Kenyan customs and be stamped out of the country before getting our Ugandan stamp. To pass the time in no-mans land, there were lots of touts selling fruit, soft drink and samosas.



We pulled up at a random town for lunch not fat from the border, where we were quickly surrounded by local kids and chickens. The kids had a great time playing with Mitch's hacky sack, and they were so cute! They were such happy kids, and loved posing for pictures. Once the photo had been take, they all would rush up to see the photo. When we were about to head off, they started singing 'This is Africa' by Shakira for us. Absolutely adorable.

More card games in the truck (this time Up The River), followed by a nice nap on the beach and some book reading. Spending a whole day on the truck isn't too bad, as there is plenty of room, and with inward facing seats, you can move around easily. The sides of the truck are canvas, and most days we have one side rolled up, so that you can watch the towns and countryside go by, and wave to all the kids as we drive. Other cool elements of the truck:
• a sound system to play music from iPods
• a heap of 12V cigarette lighter outlets for charging phones, batteries etc.
• plenty of storage space
• a library full of books and magazines
• a heap of cards, plus a range of balls to play with on lunch stops
• and of course, the amazing beach!

This is the only day so far where it hasn't rained at all. Normally come 3pm, the skies open and you get a few hours of rain. Not so today, which was a nice change to be dry all evening.

We have two nights here in Kampala, and we took the opportunity to have a few beers, and a compulsory strawpedo. After dinner we played 'chicken' and 'yee-haw' (those who were at Carly's birthday this year will know the games), and I really felt sorry for anyone who was trying to get an early night's sleep, cos it was loud! Out trip leader, Malcolm, got out his Sheesha pipe and we had apple and cola flavour. Yum yum.

There are a few rules we follow on this trip. Number one, it's a truck, not a bus, and if you call it a bus you have to buy Iain a drink (our truck driver). The truck's name is Jozi, and she gets very sensitive about these things. The second rule is that you must play the Game of Life at all times. This means that you can never (ever) say the word MINE in response to a question. If you do, you must immediately drop to the floor for ten push ups. And you must do them there and then- so when we were walking though a muddy cow paddock, that's where you do them. One of the girls did approximately 170 push ups yesterday, and is very, very sore! So far I've only been got once.

The third rule is that if you are the Numpty, you must wear the numpty award at all times. This is a dummy on a lanyard, and it must be visible at all times. Each night at dinner we have numpty nominations, where you nominate someone for doing something stupid that day. The previous numpty listens to the nominations before deciding the new numpty. If you win the award three times, you also have to wear bright orange crocs at all times.

Anyway, safe to say that there are lots of laughs on the trip so far, with many more to come!