chaos in Kampala

OK, so this is what I expect a ‘real’ African city to be like…pretty chaotic! In the centre the traffic jams are horrendous (Karen, do you remember how bad we thought the Vietnamese cities were…? This is ten times worse!) cars, boda bodas, people selling stuff and trucks everywhere… crossing the road is risky business.

All this traffic also makes the air quality very bad…no real fresh air and the heat doesn’t help (30+ degrees). Another irritant is the way that people just grab me because I’m white and they want to sell me something…that doesn’t happen in the villages!

So not really my kind of city although there are some very modern touches with fancy restaurants and nice hotels… Oh and some fantastic shop/restaurant names including the Jesus and Maria Supermarket, the Friendly Supermarket with friendly prices (yes, that is their slogan!!) and the Chilly Willy Restaurant. Ha!

Also, the city is still on high alert re terrorist attacks although it’s been a while since the last one – you’ll go through metal detectors and be searched for firearms etc at hotels, restaurants and big shops.

So after a couple of days in the city spent preparing for the road trip to other parts of Uganda, I was ready to get into rural Uganda again.

My friend Amos from the Big Beyond team is joining me… before Christmas I asked him to help put an itinerary together for me, but I was pleased when he said he’d take holiday and come along! In return I’m helping him do a business plan – so it’s a win-win!

It’s going to be a ten day road trip full of nature and animals including some chimpanzees hopefully!

And thereafter I’ll be back in the little community of Rubuguri for another four weeks of volunteering – am looking forward to the rural and super relaxed pace of life I so enjoyed there!