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Published: July 27th 2008
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Hi everyone it's time for another blog. It's a little overdue but that is because of the lack of internet over here. We had an amazing time traveling through Uganda so bare with me as I rattle off a few stories.
We basically left Kenya on day two, crossing the border about mid morning. It was a pretty massive drive but we were all kept entertained by all the kids who came running out of their huts to wave at the Muzungus (white people) jumping, waving and yelling. It all seemed a little weird but a guide later explained to us that most of the children go to school, and white people fill the history books and paintings. Makes sense when you think about it, look at Jesus, the Pope, Hollywood stars, the Mona Lisa etc etc, so when a bus load of white people comes cruising through their village they go a little nuts!
On the other hand some of the older people who remember past wrongs would like to see us chased out of town, and who can blame them. It is a very surreal experience to have entire towns stopping and staring at the bus as it
rolls through.
You'll be happy to know that on one of the first nights in Uganda my ATM card got swallowed by a machine and I had to sort it out in the bank the next morning before the bus could leave. Talk about stressed out!
That same night we went down to the local pub for a beer (because beer fixes everything), walked into the pool room and into a group of young blokes who were already playing and did NOT look friendly. Luckily we got onto the table and after a bit of chat and learning the local rules we felt a little more at ease. Ugandan 8-ball rules....a little different to back home.
Which brings me to my next story. Feeling like some more pool at the next town we went in search of a table. We were asking in a local hotel when a man popped up and said that he had the best table in Kisoro. 'Ok, that's nice' we said and walked out. Of course he followed us out and offered to take us there, to which we reluctantly agreed, however he took us to car instead of walking us there. And
I know what you are thinking... Dean and I felt the same. Your not gonna like this mums, but we got in the car for the most nervous 3 minutes to date. To our surprise we pulled up at a little bar in the back streets with a nice little table, thanked the man and got stuck into one of the best afternoon sessions of the trip. We spent every afternoon there for 3 days mixing it with the locals, each time greeted with high 5's, cheers, and friendly smiles. It also helped that we were playing amazing pool!
That last night we all went to a local dance in a small shed posing as a night club, and Dean tells me that some blokes we had never met before walked up and asked him if we were the Muzungus who played pool! Talk about news travelling fast.
I must also let everyone know another story from that night. We were all having a blast dancing, and one of the girls wanted a dance from me so we got to it for one song before I wandered off back to the group. Anywho, the next day she rocks up
at the campsite for a visit, and because my mum raised me to be a nice boy I was polite and sat down for a chat. Needless to say she did not speak much English and it was there that I found out that she was only 16....oops...I was out of there!
Sometime in those few days a few of us took a dug-out canoe over to visit an island we had heard about in the bar. It ended up being a good day, walking with the kids through a mosquito infested banana plantation looking for snakes, what more could you want. Luckily we had packed a few lollies, chips and rolls for lunch so we shared them with the village, you should have seen their faces light up.
Next day was Gorilla day! We were supposed to go to the Congo the day before (snake day) but our guide got to camp an hour late telling us that some military blokes had gone missing in the jungle and there was a man hunt in progress. Possible gun-fire cancelled out the Congo. So anyway we ended up tracking the Gorillas for a few hours on the Ugandan side
of the border until we found them on a hillside. I can't explain the high of sitting in the jungle with these animals, take a look at the photos and they should give you some idea. Breathtaking. Oh and check out the video of how close the silverback came.
Another interesting thing we did was take a hike and visit a Pigmy village on the Rwandan border. They did a few traditional dances and then invited us up for go. Of course Dean and I HAD to get up show them some moves of our own! There are some sweet videos to come out of that day!
The last place on the way back to Kenya was a place called Jinga at the start of the Nile River. We spent a couple of days there, spending one of them doing the rapids. Let me tell you that spending some 'down time' under raging grade 5 rapids will leave you ghost white, coughing up water, and wondering if it was Jesus you saw in the haze of water while you were down there. For example on the first rapid we were flipped, I went under and the first two
times I tried to come up I hit the raft, and I think one more missed attempt to reach the surface and I would have been In SERIOUS trouble. And I mean drowned SERIOUS. But at the end of the day when everyone is back safe and sound, it makes for a great piss-up!
I think that is most the stories from Uganda, keep an eye out for the Kenya installment of the trip.
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KJ
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Hey Mr :)
Hey ya Tedgie. Awesome blog! I'm so green with envy right now. I've already put some of the things your experiencing on my wish list. It looks and sounds like you having a blast. Wow! It's very inspiring. Stay safe my friend! MWA