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Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala September 16th 2023

I booked a walking tour through Tripadvisor yesterday, with a female guide, Faridausi and Glyn booked an Uber to meet her in town. She was almost 20 minutes late, but it seems in Uganda, that’s standard and not worth an apology. The first stop was a statue of Edward Mutesa, the first president of Uganda, (after independence from the UK in 1962). He was also the King and pushed out of power by Milton Obote and sent into exile, aided by Idi Amin. And then Obote was ousted by Idi Amin, who made himself popular by returning the body of Mutesa, so he could be buried in Uganda. Nearby stood a statue celebrating Uganda’s independence, a public place with a few homeless scattered around. A very old sign displayed photographs from 1962. A big hole had ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala September 14th 2023

Uganda Day 11 The last day in Uganda and a summary If you were a taxi driver in London and someone asked you to take them to Buckingham Palace you’d at least of heard of it wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t need a photo of it and still not be able to find it would you? Things are different in Kampala…… We got up early and, after a buffet breakfast, caught an Uber down to the start of a walking tour we had booked last night. We were early of course and had a quick walk up to the Independnce Monument while we waited. The tour was due to start at 9:30 and the lady said she was on her way. A different lady arrived at 9:45 and didn’t apologise for being late. She was really nice ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala September 13th 2023

Uganda Day 10 Birds, traffic and getting lost in Kampala I was already awake when the alarm went off at 6 this morning so these lie-ins must be a bit too much. Breakfast was a buffet-style affair and quite Westernised but it was nice. The hotel houses conferences and weddings so it’s a bit posher than we’re used to and everyone is very formal but it’s clean and apparently in a nice part of town. Wehen we were booking in yesterday Zed was concerned that we might be a bit late setting off today as breakfast didn’t start until 7. So we were there just before 7 and ready for when he was due to pick us up at 7:30. He messaged to say that he was on his way, then that there was lots of ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala September 13th 2023

Breakfast at Forest Cottages was a buffet and I was accompanied by the hotel cat with one of her kittens. Both were given some of my omelette and nothing was left. The other three kittens were cuddled up nearby in a plant pot. Zedius was due to arrive at 7.30 am but due to Kampala traffic being solid, he arrived at 8.10. The traffic was practically gridlocked, a hot hell that took some time to traverse. Our destination was Mabamba Swamp, on the edge of Lake Victoria for a boat trip and it took around 2 hours to get there. Being only a few miles south of the equator, it was roasting. It’s weird to think that only the day before yesterday in the mountains, I needed to wear the hoodie I’d bought at the first ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Western Region September 12th 2023

Uganda day 9 Crossing the equator and breaking down on the way back to Kampala Zedius was up early today and even joined us before we’d finished breakfast. Mind you, breakfast was more leisurely than it should have been. We’d said we were leaving at 8 but some things hadn’t arrived by then but, as always, things are a bit more relaxed here. Mind you we did have a 9-10 hour drive ahead of us. And it did turn out to be 10 despite all that follows…. We said goodbye to the very helpful and friendly staff (leaving a tip too of course) and then drove a few miles to a petrol station where we also said goodbye to Didan. We said we hoped to come back one day to stay in the lodge and see ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala September 12th 2023

Today we left Lake Bunyoni for the 440 km trip back to Kampala including a stop at the equator. It was sad to leave all the lovely people of Lake Bunyoni View, but we did leave them a good tip. At a nearby petrol station, Didan said his farewells too and we thanked him a lot for the awesome time we had. And so started our long journey, through towns, past farms with women and children toiling in the fields. By quarries where mostly women were bent over doing what appeared to be back-breaking work. We left our last dirt road and returned to tarmac, where they have far fewer potholes than the UK. Zedius calls it an African massage when we drive over the bumpy dirt roads, but in all honesty, I’ve not found them ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Western Region » Lake Bunyonyi September 11th 2023

Uganda day 8 Out on the water then walking with ‘friends’ in Uganda It’s amazing how much we’ve fitted into our first week here. So getting up in the daylight today was a bit of a shock to the system. The view of the lake was an amazing thing to wake up to though. We even had our first leisurely breakfast of the holiday as our first activity wasn’t due to start until 10. We had a new guide today, Johnson, who had some highs and lows. He was very friendly, his English was great, he knew a lot and he said I look a lot younger than I am. He was only 45 but I had taken him as being older than me. He also repeated himself, a lot, and laughed at everything, which would ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Western Region » Lake Bunyonyi September 11th 2023

Today was a boat trip on Lake Bunyoni, the second deepest lake in Africa. A local guide, Johnson came to our accommodation and walked us down to an open, wooden boat with a motor and another guy doing the driving. It was market day, so many people had arrived by boat to buy food and clothes. Some come from Rwanda to sell clothes and shoes and buy food. We were stared at a lot and even more self conscious, as we were the only people on boats made to wear life jackets. Johnson, a guy in his 40s that looked older, pointed out the most expensive places to stay on the lake: Birdnest which is owned by a Belgian and costs $200 per night and Bunyoni Safari Resort which was huge and out of keeping with ... read more
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Uganda Day 7 Gorillas….sorry…..GORILLAS!!! Last night’s dinner was really good and we were told we needed to leave at 6 so breakfast was arranged for 5:40. Zed then had a call from Didan and suddenly we didn’t leave until 7 so another lie-in until 5:30! The reason for this was pretty amazing. But more of that anon.. Claire still had last week’s alarm set so she very kindly woke us up at 5. Apparently lying half awake is good and helps you to wake up when the real alarm goes off….hmmmm…. Breakfast was good as usual and then Didan, the boss turned up as he would be our driver for today. We have learnt to just go with the flow as things don’t always happen in the right order but they do happen at some point. ... read more
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Africa » Uganda » Western Region September 10th 2023

oday was gorilla day, the original reason we’d come to Uganda, although we have found many more reasons since we arrived. I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect to get so close to gorillas that I could smell their farts, or be surrounded by a tribe of Batwas, or finally meet a female Ugandan driver. The latter being the most unlikely. It is one of the best days of my life, though not as good as my wedding day (hi Glyn!). When we’d arrived in Uganda , Didan had said he could try and arrange a private gorilla trek. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up, as gorilla trekking already is an amazing and privileged experience, but to do it without other tourists would be quite mind blowing. Last night, Zedius told ... read more
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