Blogs from Kabale, Western Region, Uganda, Africa

Hello everyone J So...I’m now in Africa! I’ve been slow (again!) with photos and updates because I’ve been behind with my Uni course, sorry! In my last update we were getting ready to leave Brisbane… in typical style it was pretty hectic which was good in a way because it stopped me from getting too emotional… L Tuesday 1st May - BRISBANE to MELBOURNE (Australia) and then onto DOHA (Qatar) We finished packing in the morning, not easy! I’d sent a lot home and to New Zealand but still had far too much. The challenge was packing for cold and warm climates (both in Uganda and back in Melbourne and New Zealand) and I wasn’t 100% sure on appropriate dress for Uganda – would vest tops be ok or would it need to be T-shirts? Gem ... read more

On Friday afternoon, we headed up to Lake Bunyoni, Uganda. The drive took about 3 hours, including the border crossing. Let’s just say it was not like going between the U.S. and Cananda. We parked our car and piled into the boat with three other couples and mountains of camping gear. Arriving at dusk, we checked in and ordered dinner. The camp occupied the entire island with a combination of cottages and safari tents. The “sunbird” tent had a wash basin with a bucket of water, a composting toilet, a gravity-fed, outdoor shower, and two beds. After dinner, we played cards and drank French wine around the fire. The next morning, they delivered hot water for the shower and coffee (after a reminder by Alex). The water was hot, but it was still fairly brisk and ... read more

Ok, so I know Ugandans are polite. So much so that I usually feel like a badly dressed potato around them. But the amount of messages I got after arriving me to Kabale, asking if I was alright, seemed kind of extreme, even for Ugandan standards. But then my colleague Paul told that people weren't just polite, they were asking quite literally if I had survived the trip. Looking at Ugandan road statistics, actually not a surprising question. I know I'm a spoiled European and all that, and that I cannot expect the same level of comfort than at home, blablabla. But that hasn't really mattered so far, as I've actually been quite comfy in Kampala, snug as a bug to be precise. Not so on the way to Kabale. In a way, I thanked the ... read more

It's a short journey back to Kabale from Lake Bunyonyi. As I wait for my taxi, I idly glance over a map showing the districts of Uganda and am surprised to find that more than a quarter of them begin with K. I stay a couple of nights in Kabale. The Golan Heights hotel appeals because of its incongruous name but I choose a funky hostel that has wifi. Once again, travellers are in the minority, though there are plenty of volunteers. Kabale is swarming with bicycle boda bodas in numbers I've never seen before. I meet a Scottish couple who have been living in Kabale for ~8 months. It has been a tough experience for them, not helped by some family tragedies back home, and it seems as though our conversation is an outlet for ... read more

beste bloggers en andere aanverwanten, Waarom,Waarom nu pas de volgende editie van "de avontuuren van cor en aar cola" welnu onze tijdelijke woonplaats Montreal,Canada gaat gebukt onder weersverschijnselen zoals:ijsregens stormen en huul vuul sneeuw dit alles gaat gepaard met gemiddelde temperatuur van 20 graden onder nul. en dan doe je maar 1 ding BINNENZITTEN! en dan vallen de blogjes toch een beetje tegen (zie voorbeeld) maandag: binnengezeten dinsdag : ook binnengezeten woensdag: uitgeslapen en daarna binnengezeten donderdag: enz. Zoals je ziet niet echt een basis voor een stoere indrukwekkende blog.....dus wat nu? nou heel simpel..... je gaat gewoon een maand naar Oeganda daar word altijd wel oorlog gevoerd en het is er lekker warm dus de perfecte uitval basis voor een actieve vakantie Dus vanuit Montreal........... het vliegtuig van KLM gepakt richting Amsterdam ... read more

We had a reasonably easy border crossing into Uganda wish I could say the same for the 'roads'. We could easily have been driving through the middle of fields judging by the speed we could go and the pot holes (some the size of a large dog). The difference between Kenya and Uganda was immediately obvious and incredible. The houses were round thatched mud huts in the middle of banana plantations, people on the side of the road seemed more aloof with only a few waving at us as we went by. Our first stop was Kampala, the capital. Our first big town since Nairobi it was a change in culture. Most fascination was the huge storks all over the place like pigeons. Just sat randomly on billboard and roofs you can imaging the amount of ... read more