Blogs from West, Burundi, Africa - page 2

Bujumbura is the capital of Burundi and according to the British Foreign Office, the only safe place to visit in Burundi and then only if you have to! It's actually very westernised and one of the nicest capitals I've visited in Africa so far. Our hotel is on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Saga Beach area 5km outside of the city centre. A great setting with a real beach and western facilities. To extend our visa with visit the PAFE office and have to fill in 2 forms, provide a photo and photocopy of the important pages of our passport. We are told we can pick up our passports later that day but of course this turns out to be nonsense and after 3 return visits it's finally ready the day after. It's the ... read more

Just south of Rwanda lies its forgotten little brother, Burundi. Shaped a little like a human heart this tiny country has experienced its fair share of internal troubles as the Tutsi and Hutu populations periodically massacre each other. Two of the first three Presidents after independence were assassinated and in 1994 another was killed in the same infamous plane crash that took out Rwanda's President and sparked the subsequent inhuman horrors of the Genocide. Unlike Rwanda, Burundi has continued to be ruled throughout by its Tutsi minority and, unlike the repressed Rwandans, the locals here still proudly distinguish themselves as either Tutsi or Hutu. Whether this approach to internal differences is better than the 'sweep-it-under-the-carpet' Rwandan method is debatable, but, with the official disarmament of the last rebel group a year ago, Burundi is perhaps on ... read more

For those of you - both of you? - who have been following this blog off and on (mostly off) for the past few years, it's time to officially put it on a permanent hiatus. As much as I love these nutty little essays about my time on the road, they're just a bit too time-consuming to keep up with, given the demands of my freelance work. So for now, my dear TravelBlog, it's time to say adieu, though it was blogging here that helped me develop a voice as a travel writer, and that in no small way allowed me to set off on this professional path. For that, TravelBlog, I thank you, and I thank all the readers who have followed my travels, offering their support along the way. Not to say I'm hanging ... read more

The minibus I catch to Bujumbura originates in Kigali, and I'm the only new boarder so I have the least comfortable seat available - and that's without taking into account the sizable lady next to me nor her luggage which is taking up all my legroom. However - and it's possible I dreamed this - the minibus also has aircon so I may be cramped but at least I'm cool. The border with Burundi is reached in barely half an hour and immigration is a model of efficiency. I'm stamped out of Rwanda, stamped in to Burundi, and even have time to change all my Rwandan francs at a price little different to that on Yahoo Finance - all within 45 minutes. Two hours later, after a hilly journey little different to those I took in ... read more

When I first planned to travel in East Africa on my way home from Ethiopia, I thought I might go to Burundi. Then, various people and the security warnings in my (admittedly old) guide book put me off. However, Barry was heading there and as we were both enjoying the company, I decided to go too. Like Rwanda, Burundi is very green, but imediately seemed less cultivated. Burundi was a real surprise. Arriving in Bujumbura (the capital) after an easy border crossing, I felt slightly edgy - after all I'd heard so much about the dangers. In reality, the greatest danger we encountered was trying to cross the road. The traffic here is chaotic, especially after Kigali. The Saga Residence Hotel was beautiful and the rooms spacious, but the menu limited, so for the next two ... read more