Thursday, 10 October 2013

THE KOMBI RIDE – A TRUE AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

I have always wondered; why do kombis only decide to go rogue on you when you have somewhere to be and you are super late? Have you ever been in a situation where if the kombi would take off there and then, you would just barely make it? But as if fate knows you are in this situation, the driver will on this particular day decide to stay below the speed limit and go through every road in your neighbourhood looking for passengers. And then when the kombi is full and you are somewhat relieved that you are on your way finally, cops decide to show up and a good 10 minutes or so is wasted playing cops and robbers. Argh!

When it comes to change, it is only in a kombi you will see the value of a R5. Isn’t it humorous how regardless of how much you have in your pocket, there is no way in the world you will ever willingly leave the conductor with your R5, J.

Kombis aren’t all bad though. I especially love how maverick the drivers become when they are working the morning traffic. If you want to beat the morning traffic, the kombi is your best bet, because as long as there’s a pavement, you are home and dry!

I am always fascinated by the passengers. It’s as if there is a PLEASE BE QUIET sign in the kombi. Because as soon as one gets in they become quiet and either goes deep into thought or gets absorbed with his phone. There are those however, who do not seem to see this invisible sign. Of this group, there are some who will humour the passengers, while some will make the girl they are seated next to regret everything that led to her seating at that particular spot at that particular time, lol.

My favourite are the wannabe cool guys who will get into a kombi as a group and want to give everyone the impression that they are “it”. They will talk at the top of their voices, making sure everyone hears the conversation, they will have an opinion about everything and just about everything tickles them. But then, you may have been in this group once or twice, lol. So maybe it’s the curse of boarding a kombi as a group of friends, lol.

Lots of drama goes on in the kombis every day! Reality tv doesn’t even have the best of it, because the whole kombi experience – it’s in a class of its own, lol.


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