One year ago today: Sept 24, 2005 (Back to Kampala, Uganda)

We head back to Kampala from Kigali, so another 8-9 hour bus ride, crossing the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere en-route. Here are some photos from our bus ride from Kigali to Kampala...








Cows in Uganda and Rwanda have very large horn.


Hip-hop music video, shown during bus ride. The popularity and prevalence of hip-hop culture in Africa is pretty embarrasing. A really poor export and something Americans should be ashamed of.

After arriving in Kampala, we had a scary adventure trying to get back to the Kampala Backpacker's Inn. The taxi drivers wanted what seemed like too much money, so we decided to take a matatu instead. Matatus are shared minibuses, and "shared" means crammed with 16-20 people. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find my photo from inside the minibus, but I found a few similar photos online that capture the experience quite well: Kampala minibus station, inside matatu.

As you can tell from the photo, it's hard to know which matatu to take, since they have different routes. We asked around, and were told to board one that was nearly full. We repeatedly asked the driver whether the Kampala Backpackers Inn was on the route, and we were assured that it was indeed. So we climbed on the matatu with around 15 or 16 other people and took off. After about 5 minutes, Kim realized that we were going in the wrong direction. This time, when we asked whether we were going to the Kampala Backpackers Inn, they changed their minds and said no. We would have to complete the trip and they would take us back to the Kampala minibus station.

Kim and I about had a cow and told them to stop the bus. Not knowing where we were, we angrily jumped out of the bus nonetheless and told them to shove off. Of course, the driver had the audacity to ask for money, but we refused to pay. We were unsuccessful in trying to hail a taxi (we had our full backpacks on) and eventually settled for a couple of boda-bodas instead.

Because we had our packs on and our nerves were on edge, we were pretty nervous about taking the boda bodas, but didn't have much of a choice. So we hopped on with our bags in tow and took off. I had to stop my boda-boda a couple times to readjust my pack (it was heavy and I was about to fall off the back), but eventually we made it to the Kampala Backpacker's Inn. Of course, the boda-boda drivers decided to up their price upon arrival, and it was good that the security guard at the hotel helped us resolve the difference.

One really annoying thing that we encountered time and time again in Africa was people constantly trying to rip us off. One of the most common tactics was agreeing on one price and then changing it later. I understand that they need the money -- oftentimes just to feed their families -- but the standards of honesty and forthrightness were really quite low. On the other hand, we were never physically threatened nor robbed, and we're quite thankful for that.

Upon arrival at the Backpacker's Inn, we checked our email and tried to connect with the folks at the Village Enterprise Fund (VEF). We had planned to spend a few days visiting this grassroots NGO, but hadn't managed to connect with them about details. As it turned out, we had a couple extra days on our hands so we decided to go up to Murchinson Falls for a short safari with a Swiss couple we met at the Backpacker's Inn. Hopefully, we could connect with VEF upon our return.