Title – Taxi Brousse
Date – August 2003
Location - Madagascar
The Taxi Brousse is the Madagascan minibus, they travel between and around the main towns. They can seem at first sight to be a realisation of your worst nightmare, but you have to remember where you are. They are often filled well over the number of available seats and with cargos ranging from mattresses, to livestock and fresh produce to sell at market. As well as this small children are often thrust towards you, as you are offered the best seat in the back of the bus and the parents feel that their kid sitting on your lap is the least you can expect in return for that privilege. These are not always the most comfortable means of transport, but normally get you to your destination in the end.
These Taxi Brousse are often the best form of transport in this country, but the poor state of the roads and the age of the vehicles means that break downs are a regular occurrence and no trip seems complete without a flat tyre or a damaged radiator. It’s at these times when sitting at the side of the road waiting for the genius of the driver and his helper to fix the problem with nothing but the most basic of tools, that you realise where you are. Watching some local men walking by your broken down vehicle as they set off on a hunt with their spears, certainly put the scene in some perspective.
These are the experiences that seem significant to you, that are sometimes difficult to explain to others when you return home. The key to our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop at Beyond The Blue, is to ensure that you can develop the confidence to experience to deal with all the oddities that are out there in the world, that are just waiting for you to arrive.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Date – August 2003
Location - Madagascar
The Taxi Brousse is the Madagascan minibus, they travel between and around the main towns. They can seem at first sight to be a realisation of your worst nightmare, but you have to remember where you are. They are often filled well over the number of available seats and with cargos ranging from mattresses, to livestock and fresh produce to sell at market. As well as this small children are often thrust towards you, as you are offered the best seat in the back of the bus and the parents feel that their kid sitting on your lap is the least you can expect in return for that privilege. These are not always the most comfortable means of transport, but normally get you to your destination in the end.
These Taxi Brousse are often the best form of transport in this country, but the poor state of the roads and the age of the vehicles means that break downs are a regular occurrence and no trip seems complete without a flat tyre or a damaged radiator. It’s at these times when sitting at the side of the road waiting for the genius of the driver and his helper to fix the problem with nothing but the most basic of tools, that you realise where you are. Watching some local men walking by your broken down vehicle as they set off on a hunt with their spears, certainly put the scene in some perspective.
These are the experiences that seem significant to you, that are sometimes difficult to explain to others when you return home. The key to our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop at Beyond The Blue, is to ensure that you can develop the confidence to experience to deal with all the oddities that are out there in the world, that are just waiting for you to arrive.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
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