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Today is the 17th December, officially 7 days til christmas, and It feels like just another day! I've been travelling around Rwanda and Western Uganda for the last fortnight and It's been quite an experience…
It started on the 30th November when we all met in Kampala so that we could catch the morning bus going to Kabale which is right by the border. It meant we had to be awake by 5 00 and at the bus park by 6 00 so that the bus could leave at 7. We were told directly, "It is not africa time!" and we would leave on the dot 7 am…. We left at 8 30. It was a slow bumpy journey on a massive coach with loads of speedbumps and only 2 chances to eat all day (Street food because people run along side the bus trying to sell their chapatti's samosa etc as the bus is going past) until we arrived late afternoon in Kabale. Admittedly there is nothing in Kabale however I was delighted to find across the road from where we were staying was a bakery! It was almost like heaven, almost like a mini gregg's! They had pizza's, sausage rolls, pies, pasties, and even chocolate cake! It was almost like heaven, especially given a pizza was about 60p.
The next day we finally crossed the border. We had no idea what the exchange rate was like so when a guy walked up to offering a currency change we had no idea how good his rates were… We all decided to change a little money there and then just to get us to kigali and 2 minutes after we crossed the border, the same guy walked across the border and back up to us offering to change our money back into Uganda Shillings! We got into Kigali and we felt like we'd already left Africa, everything was organized, clean tidy and just not African, it honestly felt like we were in Greece or an Eastern European Country; the only thing which reminded us we were still in Africa was the fact our taxi broke down and 5 local men (including a guy so old we thought he might die helping us out!) had to push us to the nearest station in the middle of the city centre.We spent the next 3 hours trying to find some sort of cheap accommodation and tried 3 or 4 different hostels. Me and Kieran were in charge of changing currency so we went to change everybody's shillings into Rwandan Francs whilst they found accommodation, luckily we found them later otherwise they wouldn't have had any money! We ended up spending the night in a plush apartment that should've cost $200 a night but we dwindled it down to $160 between the 12 of us so we enjoyed a nice night there even though everything in Rwanda is ridiculously expensive, you almost pay double the prices in Uganda to get food in Rwanda and there isn't even Street Food! L Street food is the best way to keep prices down as well as getting good food on the go like Rolex, maize, sodas etc.
The next day we decided to go to the Genocide Museum in Kigali about the Rwanda genocide of 1994. It was so sad and moving to hear the facts of what occurred little over a decade and a half ago and the museum really was the best dedication to what has happened, especially the mass grave of over 250,000 victims of the genocide are kept. It was interesting but at the same time shocking and horrifying to see what atrocities occurred between people that were separated purely by atribe/wealth.
After the museum, we went for lunch, sure enough I was pleased to find a buffet meal for 2,000 Rfr (Rwandan Francs) which is about 2 quid. After that, most of the guys had had enough of the ridiculous prices of Rwanda and decided to head back to Uganda whilst me and Mikey decided to head over to Gisenyi which is by Lake Kivu and right by the DRC border. We got there quite late, but surprisingly enough ,dead on time. We found a nice place to stay in a church hostel for 2,000 Rfr a night and that very night we met the Kenyan and Rwandan Volleyball Team! Turned out the very next day on the 4th December was the 2012 Olympic qualifying for Beach Volleyball in East Africa! After a nice chat, we found out we could watch the finals the next day where Kenya and Rwanda would battle it out for a place in the Olympics. The next morning, before the finals we went for a walk beside the lake (Although it felt more like a beach given there were sandy beaches) and after walking for 20 minutes, we came to the DRC border! We didn't realize how close we actually came to crossing the border; it was less than 50m away. After a couple more days there and a nice trip to the Serena Hotel where we spent the day sun bathing and relaxing by the beach, paying 4,000 Uganda Shillings equivalent for a soda which should cost 700 and a $13 pizza for lunch, we decided to head back on the 6th December. I also found a place to play basketball for the first time in 3 months which made me quite happy(and sad when I had to leave) but it made me realize how much I miss it…
Rwanda really was a beautiful country, really organized and incredibly developed given what happened 16 years ago, every bus left on time and you were given receipts for everything. I almost got reverse culture shock because of how western the place felt but on the bus back to the border I was sad to leave because it was so picturesque and everything just seemed right and in place. The journey on the way to Gisenyi had some spectacular views as we went up and down and round the sides of the mountains and the view of the Virungas (Mountain Volcanoes) was incredible and I really was amazed by how beautiful Rwanda was and understood exactly why it earnt the nickname of "the land of a thousand hills". Even the boy I sat next to offered his blanket for warmth during the journey was heartwarming as you passed by each village watching the kids run around playing football and waving, for the first time I enjoyed being a tourist and being the "muzungu".
We got back into Uganda and headed off to Lake Bunyoni, it was a "lovely" lake I must say because the views were outstanding and it was a shame you couldn't get an overhead picture because each of the 29 islands has it's own view/perspective completely different to the others. So we spent 2 nights camping there and we were frozen!We never realized how cold it would be on a lake with the winds and being further south and how big a difference it makes. After that, we decided to spend 3 nights on one of the Islands on Lake Bunyoni called Byoona Amagara, We spent almost an hour coneing to the island but it was nice because you felt closer and the views were just awesome. The island is almost completely self-sustained and was a really nice relaxing atmosphere as you could spend the day relaxing as you curl up on the sofa with a book and you go canoeing around the islands (Which me, Kieran and Mikey did one day with some hilarious T.I.A outcome) and just soaking up the ambience. 3 nights was about right as you can easily get bored and because it was so nice I decided to live in luxury, I had 3 really nice meals every time including a pizza and chips one day and even after stuffing my face for 3 days my bill was only 100,000 shillings which is just over 30 quid, not bad for 4 days! After getting a speedboat back to the mainland, the only transport available to Kabale was a pick up truck. So sure enough, the 10 of us jumped on the back of a pick up truck with all our bags and 20 other Africans and we held on for dear life as we slowly made our way back to Kabale along a narrow road with several bumps, it was almost like a rollercoaster ride! However we were never in danger but it certain was a true African Experience.
After one too many nights in Kabale, we finally got the night bus for 8 hours from Kabale to Fort Portal. We were told it left at mid-night, so we should be there at 11. So sure enough we naively arrived at 11 30… settled down, fell asleep and we still hadn't moved, we didn't leave til 2 30! Only then we couldn't leave until half a dozen passengers had to get out and push the bus forward so that they could jump start it! I have to say that was one of the worst journeys of my life and I can probably say you've not been to Africa until your on a bus at 4 30 in the morning, with a radio blasting music on right next to you, a screaming baby and for some reason we went past 2 miles of ridiculous speedbumps which made everyone bump 2 inches of their seat every time for about 50 speedbumps! However it was nice to pass through QENP and we happened to see some Baboons and even some elephants as we passed through.
We spent a bit of time in Fort Portal and we visited one of the crater lakes and now I can officially say I have Bilharzia! Well done! (Sorry that well done is a Uganda Joke) It sounds serious but I'll be fine, I'll need to pick up the medication in 6 weeks so I may as well swim in as many Billharzia lakes as I can between now and then.
Currently I'm in Kampala, waiting til Monday to go back to project where it's Patrick our host's birthday on Tuesday and also someone keeps telling me Christmas is coming up but I'm not sure I believe it! It's really weird and hard to explain, it doesn't feel like Christmas, partly because it's 25 degrees outside but still, although the shops have all the decorations up and you can buy Christmas trees and santa suits, I've just bypassed the whole commercialism of Christmas here and you know what…. I love the fact that what Christmas will mean to me this year is the smile on Sam and Nelson's face(Aged 7 and 9) when we give them their first ever Christmas presents and the satisfaction of eating loads of meat and drinking sodas and just spending time with our host and his family. That's what I'm looking forward to most, so whilst you're opening your presents, spare a thought for those that will appreciate some shoes for Christmas J
In other news, the Uganda Group have invented the Rolex Challenge, a Rolex is a chappati rolled around an omelette. I set the record of 7 (1 egg 1 chappatti) but the bar has been set a 4 (2 Egg 2 Chappatti) rolex… I'm determined to win, I'll keep you updated on that (Unless I lose!) Also, Zanzibar is finally booked for January so whilst your all enjoying a nice cold winter breeze I'll be sitting and relaxing by the sandy shores of Zanzibar.
Hope you're all having a great year… I hope to hear from you all either by post, email, facebook anything…. I feel guilty talking about me all the time but I want to know what's happening with you…
Take care,
God Bless
Shaun
- comments
Suzannah Hey, sounds like you're having fun. I'm pleased you're having a gd time. I'm having fun doing childcare. I'm on placement in a primary school and the kids have been making christmassy things like reindeer boxes and paper lanterns. It's the Christmas party on Monday and or Tuesday, so that should be gd. Have a great Christmas. God bless, love Suzi x
Miriam I am worried about this Bilharzia you have. How do you know you have it? Nan Mac caught it and she was quite poorly with it. You need to get medication as soon as possible. Mum
Alex Maclaclachlan Hi Shaun, glad to hear that you are enjoying your Africa experience. It is something you will remember and cherish for the rest of your life. Wth regards to your Bilharzia, six weeks seems a long time to wait for medication. The sooner you can get medication the easier it is to nip it in the bud before it reaches a chronic stage. Take care and be careful in your drinking water as well as swimming because both can cause it!!! Have a very different Christmas experience this year. Lots of Love Nan & Granda Mac.
Anna Shaun it sounds fab! :) We did a bit of pick up truck riding the other week I LOVE IT...biggest adrenaline rush! Have a lovely New Year x