One year ago today: Sept 20, 2005 (from Kampala to Kigali)

Most of the day was spent on a bus ride (approx 9 hours) from Kampala to Kigali, Rwanda. The bus ride on Jaguar coaches was our first long overland transport in Africa, and turned out to be ok for the most part. As was almost always the case, we were the only non-Africans on the bus. During the trip, we crossed the equator into the southern hemisphere.

Luckily, we had some food and water with us -- we quickly learned that it's always good to have food when travelling in Africa, since distances are long and you don't always stop. You should also be prepared to hold your pee for a long time.

One of the more chaotic things about overland travel in Africa (and in Asia, for that matter) are border crossings. Border crossings tend to be pretty ramshackle affairs with a reputation for corruption and lawlessness. For the most part, we found the crossing to be confusing since very little direction is given and nothing is signposted. Everyone just rushes out of the bus at once and heads in seemingly different directions. Then the bus just takes off; we're not sure where exactly it goes. Eventually, we figure out that first we need to get our passports stamped on the Ugandan side, walk across the border, and then buy our visas and get stamped on the Rwandan side. All while navigating a maze of money changers, beggars, and food/drink vendors.

While we were figuring out the border crossing, we saw a big "overland tour bus" arrive at the border and were immediately relieved that we decided not go on that type of trip (we had considered it). It did not look fun, being cooped up with a group of other foreigners in a beat-up old truck, covered in dust and looking visibly exhausted.

The difference between Uganda and Rwanda was evident as soon as we crossed the border. In Uganda, there was lots of land and the population density wasn't too high (see photo below). The moment we entered Rwanda, there were tons of peopleworking in the fields and it seemed that every bit of land was intensely terraced and farmed. The poverty was quite palpaple, and I noticed that many people didn't have shoes on their feet. The Ugandans and Rwandese drive on different sides of the road, which must makes driving a challenge when crossing the border.

Eventually, we made it to Kigali and checked into a guesthouse run by the local Episcopal Church. During dinner, we met Denise, a veteran aid worker who specialized in refugee hot zones during times of conflict. She had just returned from a trip to Burundi and really opened our eyes about the suffering, violence, and systemic injustice taking place in Africa. She said that she was burned out from the work, and after listening to her stories, it was easy to understand why. At the same time, Kim and I noticed a real conviction, honesty, and hope in Denise that was encouraging and truly inspirational.

We had read about the ineffectiveness and corruption of governmental and large-scale aid projects in Africa, and it was interesting to hear them confirmed by Denise. Her recommendation is to support grassroots, micro-level charities in Africa. When Denise found out that we were from Silicon Valley, she wanted to know whether we could help her contact Larry Ellison about sponsoring a Gorilla refuge in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Apparently, the plight of the mountain gorillas in the DRC is severe and underchampioned, and she would like to help setup a refuge for them there.

So if anyone reading this can help me connect Larry Ellison with Denise in the Congo about setting up a mountain gorilla refuge in the DRC, please let me know.


A view outside the window from the bus, one of only 3 photos we took on this day.