Blogs from Uganda, Africa - page 145

I'll spare the details of flights and things, lets just say they all went swimmingly and we arrived just after 2pm on the 5th to be met by some of the staff of Rushere hospital, who took us to a rather nice bed and breakfast just outside the capital city of Kampala. The plan for the saturday (6th) was to get up early, get some Ugandan money (shillings, 1 quid is about 3,300 so basically monopoly money). All that went fine, so the owner of the guest house we'd been staying at (her name is Alice) took us to the bus park in Kampala to get a bus to Jinja (a place we'd been told is rather good for tourists). At the bus park we were met by lots of excited Ugandans (you'd think they'd never ... read more

Took a morning flight from Kilimanjaro airport to Nairobi, Kenya and then caught a connection to Entebbe. The one thing on my mind was the Israeli rescue operation years ago in Entebbe. Other than that, I did not know what to expect from this African country...although if it is anything like the others I had visited, I was going to find a mixture of modern living with the poverty one expects in Africa. Upon landing, I met a lady at the cab stand and, as she was speaking English, we decided to share a cab towards Kampala (which was 20 minutes away). She mentioned a friend of hers rented rooms a house about 2-minutes outside the city and I agreed to check it out. I ended up staying there a few nights (it was in the ... read more

If Kampala was in the United States, it would come with a Surgeon General’s Warning. Between the exhaust-clouded streets of downtown and the death-defying motorcycle taxis (“boda-bodas”) that weave through it, residing in the city may be hazardous to your health. But like most things that come with such warnings, Kampala can be addictive. Coffee shops with character; friendly, English-speaking locals; the biggest used clothes market we’ve ever seen (courtesy of your Salvation Army donations); picturesque views of the city’s rolling green hills; the 24-hour nightlife powered by local beers; the human-sized Marabou storks that thrive among billboards and office buildings…All contribute to the city’s magnetic personality. The longer you stay, the harder it is to leave. Our introduction to the city came in the form of a fender-bender: almost the exact moment downtown Kampala came ... read more

It seemed like a good idea to take n overnight bus to Uganda because of savings and more time spent sightseeing during the daylight, but it wasn't so simple. Crossing into Uganda, was even more confusing than crossing into Kenya from Tanzania. Once you are let ouit of the bus in front of the Kenyan immigration office, you have to make your way to the other side of the border. That wouldn't have been such a difficulty if it weren't pitch-black outside. To make the transition worst, the Kenyan border is open 24hours, but the Ugandan border opens at 5:30am. So we wait in the dark between 30min to an hour. Man, I think I need to either improve my night-vision or get the sleep out of my eyes because when the lights in the office ... read more

If you ever want to know what it feels like to be famous then go to Uganda. Then simply drive down the road in an open top truck. Every single local that you pass will smile and wave at you, children will run from their huts in hysterics shouting Muzungu, Muzungu how are you? (or in many cases Mzungu, you give me monnnnneeeeyyyyyyyy). The more excitable children will often start dancing and clapping until you are out of sight. In fact one of the hardest parts about travelling through Uganda, apart from the insane potholes, is the constant concentration you need to make sure that every warm wave is returned. It's election time in Uganda and there is a growing feeling of political instability that threatens to boil over at any time. This is to be ... read more