Uganda

Visited: February 2005

Duration of visit: 7 days

Capital city: Kampala

Population: 28 million (2005)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

• Extremely warm and humble people, showing respect appreciation in a calm way.
• Unsuccessful chimpanzees trekking in Budongo Forest Reserve.
• Kampala – one of the fastest growing cities in the world is still calm, pleasant and easy going.
• Driving on Uganda roads – from bicycles to motorcycle boda boda to minibus matatu – from calm riding to crazy rampage.
• Jinja – the adventure capital of East Africa.

Named The Pearl of Africa by Winston Churchill … for magnificence, for variety of form and colour, for profusion of brilliant life — bird, insect, reptile, beast — for vast scale.

Well known for wild animals’ safaris, endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees trekking, the second largest freshwater lake – Lake Victoria, white-water rafting and some other natural beauties. Furthermore, alongside remarkably friendly, warm and humble people, Uganda is on the way to becoming a stable African country with bright future.

Uganda straddles the Equator, enjoys plenty of sunny days and rainfall, creating exuberant vegetation, rainforest and voluminous rivers.

Uganda was part of my overland trip from Europe, through the Middle East and East Africa – the African Big Tour.

Since I had already visited many national parks in Kenya and my budget couldn’t afford gorilla trekking, I avoided these two activities in Uganda.

Nevertheless, I travelled around the country enough time to appreciate the main cities, mingle with locals, taste the food and try various means of public transport.

Crossing the border from Kenya was straightforward, since my visa was previously arranged at the embassy in Nairobi. Emigration officers on both sides were efficient, but rude when returning my passport. Matatu (minivan) was small, offering very limited space under the seats. It was challenging to push the backpack under my seat and extend the legs comfortably, but not different to other Eastern African countries.

The adventure capital of East Africa – the town of Jinja – was my first stop in Uganda. The white-water rafting, the Source of the Nile, and bungee jumping are the main reasons why so many backpackers stop in this city, located on the north shores of Lake Victoria.

Jinja received me with friendly people and colorful market, fully loaded with inexpensive fruits and clothes that were created by seamstresses who sews right on the street, without being bothered by passing people or traffic. Stable electric supply from nearby electric power station has attracted many factories to the area, slowly changing the lifestyle and promising bright future with more work opportunities for younger generations.

People are quiet, fit, calm and amiable, reminding me on Sudanese; the opposite of intrusive, overweight Kenyans. Especially elegant posture is shown by bicycle riders, who transport passengers and goods on a short distance – boda bodas. I would sit on a cushioned seat above the rear carrier of a sturdy Indian roadster bicycle, hold my luggage or carry it on my shoulders and enjoy smooth driving.

The basic condition for the service of boda bodas is flat area, without exaggerated climbs up the streets. It would be impossible to ride uphill on these heavy bikes with so much weight.

Football is a synonym for sport in East Africa.

Well, when we talk about football, it means English Premiership League. It seems that a big majority of fans in Jinja support either Arsenal or Manchester City. I don’t have any preferences, but simply like to enjoy a good match with plenty of goals. Everybody was happy when Chelsea lost the game that was transmitted on a big screen in a kind of improvised cinema, where a symbolic fee has to be paid to enter and enjoy the game.

Predominantly male fans were frenetic like the biggest fanatics in the stadium. They jumped out of the chairs at any good pass, play, defense or action.

After almost a year of travelling through the Middle East and East Africa my budget was very limited and I was running out of money for expensive adventures available in Jinja. Still, I booked rafting on the Nile with a local agency, but the next morning I was not feeling very well and I had to cancel the participation. My stomach didn’t allow me to try one of the most adrenaline-filled adventure on the famous river.

I was really disappointed, since there are not many opportunities for this kind of adventures in Africa.

Pleasantly green capital city of Uganda is much bigger and hilly than Jinja. Bicycle boda boda was replaced by moto boda boda, but the kindness and calmness of the drivers remained unchanged. I felt safe and secure, nobody was pushing me to buy goods or services. I noticed many Indians and Bangladesh expats; consequently, considerable number of Indian restaurants are available.

Internet access in cyber cafes is fast and inexpensive, hotels are solid, restaurants fairly clean. People seem to be smart and practical.

The Uganda Museum is the oldest museum in East Africa, opened in 1908. It exhibits a collection of traditional culture, life, cultural heritage and music with playable musical instruments, hunting equipment, archaeology, science and natural history.

Religious buildings represent a mix of various religious denominations that Ugandans believe in: mosques, churches and the prominent Bahai temple, the first mother temple to be built in African continent in 1958. The Bahai temple was the tallest building in East Africa when it was completed in 1962. The year in which it was constructed coincides with the year of Uganda’s Independence.

An excellent alternative to gorilla trekking is the observation of monkeys and chimpanzees within a national park. Budongo Forest Reserve in the Murchison Falls National Park is a mahogany tree-lined home to the largest number of chimpanzees in Uganda.

About 600 chimpanzees are estimated to live in the forest.

Driving from Kampala to Masindi was a pure pleasure … for our driver.

The road was in perfect condition and the driver was speeding the matatu up to 160 kilometers per hour at some sections, while on dirt road parts the maximum speed was 120 kilometers per hour.

I don’t feel comfortable in a small van driving so fast, when you cannot predict what other traffic participants will do.

We arrived to the camp to early. No employees were at the spot yet, only a few drunk farmers, who invited me to explore the nearby village. During a short walk the situation turned out to be unpleasant, when drugged guys became aggressive and forced me to follow them.

The real action in the wilderness started at night, when I was laying down in a comfortable hut of my cottage inside the park.

Monkeys and chimpanzees started to scream loud, sounding like whooping bark or roar.

They appeared to be on the trees around the cottage, communicating with each other or scaring random visitors.

Next morning, we went for a walk in the forest to search for chimpanzees. In a distance we heard many noises, but we couldn’t spot a single one. I only saw red-tailed monkeys and the black and white colobus monkeys. Still a pleasant experience.

The old capital city prior to independence, located on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Entebbe is famous for extensive National Botanical Gardens and the location of the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, which also serves as the national zoo. I spotted many primates in botanical gardens and finally saw chimpanzees in an overpriced zoo. Not the same as to see the animals in wilderness, of course.

Botanical Gardens were established in 1898 on the shores of Lake Victoria. They are one of the oldest botanical gardens in Africa, with over 300 species, impressive collection of trees and plants. Home to a number of monkeys and good location for birdwatching.

It is hard to believe that a rather small town without any high buildings and only basic infrastructure could serve as the capital.

Uganda was not my main destination during North Africa and East Africa trip, therefore I stayed in the country for very short time. Still enough to appreciate extremely friendly, calm and honest people, who seem to treat foreigners as their bosses. For the moments I was feeling almost uncomfortably when treated and named in such a humble way.

Rather unusually high percentage of the population lives in rural areas (80%), which reflects decentralized system that has so far maintained cities enjoyable and not overcrowded. Almost half of the population is below 14 years old, making Uganda the second most youthful country.

All these are key factors, why Uganda will probably convert into one of the fastest growing countries in Africa in the next decades, in population and economy.

If the country manages to avoid internal ethnical conflicts, political tensions and suppress corruption ambitions, it possesses a strong potential to emerge as one of the most successful nations in Africa.