The Pearl of Africa

FLASH-BACK POST: post written on January 16, 2010
We entered Uganda with a bang - literally - as Rich’s head stuck the immigration sign like a mallet ringing a gong. Being freakishly tall, Rich’s head has been the victim of many a low-hanging item in the past few months. This gong-ringing was particularly hilarious because it prompted everyone around to say, in near chorus, “oh, mzungu, sorry, sorry, pole, pole mzungu’ (roughly translated, 'sorry white guy').

Our bus ride earlier through western Kenya had been beautiful with rolling hills covered with tea-plantations. As far as the landscape went, there was little to tell us we had left Kenya and entered Uganda. Soon enough, though, our bus reached the city of Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria. Jinja is considered to be the source of the Nile River and is unequivocally one of Uganda’s jewels. Large estates with massive homes adorned the outskirts of town and along the river, while the center of town was packed with more modest dwellings and shops. Our backpackers hostel occupied one of these old mansions and the 1-mile walk into the center of town was relaxing with tree lined boulevards.

 A view of the main drag in Jinja, Uganda.

A bike with a very heavy load and some goats in a neighborhood of Jinja, Uganda.

Most travelers visit Jinja for white rafting, but we had stopped here as a fellow traveler mentioned it as a mellow town with friendly people to spend a few days in. He was right. We enjoyed biking around the town, having a lunch of frightening orange and blue biryani on the shores of the Nile, and watching flocks of Maribu storks dine a la carte from the dumpsters in the center of town. Carissa was particularly pleased with the “African tea” she was able to find in Jinja - tea steeped in hot milk and spiced deliciously with cinnamon, clove, and cardamom.

 Maribu storks dining al fresco

Carissa and Rich on the banks of the Nile River, Jinja, Uganda

A few days in Jinja and we were ready to face Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. We expected it to be bustling and hectic, and it was. We managed to find a hotel (the magnificent Aponye Hotel) right in the middle of the downtown area in the wholesalers district. During the day the street in front of our hotel was blocked to regular traffic by large trucks being filled any type of retail good you can imagine. The sidewalks were jammed with young men carrying foam mattresses, bundles of rebar, boxes upon boxes of shoes, etc. There was a mosque across the street that’s loudspeaker prayers and devotees spilled out into the sidewalks and street several times per day, adding to the sensory overload. Motorcycles and pedestrians everywhere, making it impossible to walk side-by-side down the street; walking felt more like constantly fighting your way upstream.

Street view out of our room at the Aponye Hotel, Kampala, Uganda.

Kampala, Uganda

It was pure madness, so Rich was particularly surprised on our second day walking around these areas when he realized that the madness felt comfortable, safe, perhaps even normal. Amazingly, the streets only a few blocks uphill from this area were completely different - broad boulevards with nearly empty sidewalks and (relatively) orderly road traffic. A few days in Kampala and many miles walked and our opinion did not change - the city just had a good energy about it. Incidentally, Kampala was the first city where someone tried to pick Rich’s pocket. Unfortunately for the would-be thief, his bright yellow shirt and floppy sun-hat made him stand out in the crowd as he passed us a second time, and rich was able to slap his hand away as he tried to reach into his pocket.

With coffee shops, good Chinese food at Fang Fang, and excellent chapatti from the Obamamobile (see Obamania post), Kampala met many of our food cravings and we enjoyed our time there. We had dinner with another veterinary friend, Benard Ssebide, and Rich enjoyed watching the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament with other enthusiasts. After a few days here we looked forward to seeing southwestern Uganda, but are glad we’ll get to pass back through Kampala on our return to Nairobi (for our flight out of Africa) in a couple of weeks.