Bus trip from Moshi, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya

There are a few options for getting to Nairobi from Moshi, including flying though it's quite expensive. In fact, a private taxi to the airport in Moshi is as much as a bus to Nairobi! A plane ticket costs about $300 dollars and the bus about $20, so even though my organization was paying, it would feel a bit irresponsible to fly. It was also my first time to Nairobi and I always enjoy seeing the change of landscape when I go somewhere new.

One of my co-workers is Kenyan and she recommended taking the Impala Shuttle. She said it takes a little longer but is much safer and they won't, "leave you at the border". While I've never actually been left at the border, I have felt the frantic and chaotic nature of some border crossings and I've definitely seen people get left behind by their bus. This can be particularly difficult as your luggage typically remains on the bus through the border checkpoint.

View in the bus, pre-Arusha switch. 

The bus was scheduled to leave at 6:30 but didn't get on the road until 6:45. It was a mini bus, what they call a coaster in Jamaica. I like these buses because they are a bit bigger than a regular mini-bus but they still have enough power to pass slow moving trucks. I was really excited because the bus wasn't full and I had plenty of room to stretch my legs. I also got a spot on the west side of the bus to avoid the sun. This is a big time travel tip when traveling by bus in the tropics, especially if there are no curtains. Thus, I was disappointed when we pulled into Arusha an hour and a half later to switch buses. The bus I entered was already fully loaded and I had to settle for sitting in one of the fold down seats in the middle.

Mt. Longido from the north look south. 

The group was a mix of what I deduced were Kenyans and Tanzanians, with a few other East Africans mixed in. The bus trip to the border was entirely uneventful; the only thing to note was the passing of Mt. Longido, a small mountain close to the road that wasn't nearly as imposing as Kilimanjaro or Meru, but a nice contrast to the flat Savannah surrounding it.

Mt. Longido looking from the west to east. 

When we got to the border we were quickly hustled to the departure desk. The line went quickly and afterwards I was unsure where to go. I wanted to use the restroom but our driver quickly found me wandering around and shouted for me to proceed to the Kenyan immigration. He seemed to have experience corralling and moving passengers through the border and his pointed commands stopped me from explaining that I simply wanted to use the toilet.

Crossing over to Kenya.

I followed some other passengers across the road. At this point it was very unclear where to go as the road wound around to the right but we walked over a small hill to the left. The Kenyan immigration point wasn't really well marked from the road so I was happy my other passengers knew where we were going. The border could certainly be described as porous as we didn't pass through any closed area or checkpoint anywhere along the process.

The Kenyan side had a money changing bureau, small shops with phone credit, and a small visa office. It was easy enough to buy the tourist visa for $50 and before I was finished, the bus was waiting. I was most surprised by the large amount of Masaai women that were selling handicrafts to passengers waiting for their bus. The border wasn't a busy border by any stretch of the imagination and there seemed to be a wealth of sellers.

Waiting for the weigh station. 

The journey from the border to Nairobi was very straightforward until we reached closer to Nairobi. There were suddenly huge modern industrial complexes by the highway. Some of these were cement factories, warehouses, and cryptically named "logistic centers". It was a stark contrast to the small scale mostly natural resource exploitation that I see in Tanzania and certainly supported the argument that Kenya is the most industrialized country of East Africa.

The highway opened up to four lanes on each side but we suddenly saw a massive traffic jam of semi-trucks. Without hesitation our driver pulled across the median and drove into oncoming traffic. We were quickly followed by other cars and we proceeded slowly flashing our lights and honking as we went. The traffic jam was massive with semi-trucks lined up for literally miles (or kilometers, whichever you prefer). Although our driver's maneuver was dodgy, it's absolutely within the confines of developing country driving and I was happy when we cut back across the median in front of the trucks.

I arrived safely downtown at around 2:00pm. The trip was quick, comfortable, and best of all, absent of traffic!

EDIT: On the way back the journey was equally as easy. The only additional thing that occurred was the presence of two hustlers at the border who claimed to need to inspect your exit stamp and collect some money. They were two grimy looking guys, easily identified as scammers, though they spoke confidently and with authority. It took me a second to realize what was going on before I hurled a Swahili insult (wapumbavu/idiots) and moved across the border.