Museums 101

Apparently Jack needs more sleep then I do! We've been going to sleep at the same time, yet every morning I wake up around 7-730am and she's still sounds asleep. Around 8am I usually end up waking her to start our day. She made the request last night to sleep in today so I obliged. She finally got out of bed around 910am when I told I was going to breakfast (free with our hotel) without her. We took our time, read the news, brushed up on some Facebook time... By the time we actually stepped out of the hotel, it was 11am. Talk about a lazy morning. But after 2 months of travelling (there's a big difference between vacation and travelling), it feels nice and relaxing.

We decided to walk to the National Museum of Uganda today, taking an hour to do so. By the time we arrived, 12pm, hot and sweaty, we did lunch instead. Lol. Lazy day. We went to a more "white people" filled place for lunch, a coffee shop with again - great coffees and fresh salads. Being in a big city allows you to treat yourself to the more westerner luxuries. Latte! I'm surprised at the limited amount of tourist we have come across in Uganda. Yet this coffee shop was probably half white, half black, the most whites I've seen yet. There were about 5 white folks at the movies yesterday and both Jack and I felt surrounded by them. We are so used to being the only white folk around, this shows how much expats and NGO workers only stay in the capital. It's quite nice to feel like we're surrounded by the people we are here to get to know, and that's the feeling you get in the rest of Uganda. Kampala is so big, so busy, there's no in between city. It makes everything else we've seen so rural and so real.

Back to the museum we go. It's absolutely hilarious. This is the order in which things were presented : an old Ford car, next to a manually pulled 2-wheeled cart, then presentation of wood from different types of forests in Uganda, then medicinal plants, then the new petrol and oil digging going on in Uganda, expected to start expecting oil in the next few years, then a presentation on malaria with a really interesting "severe malaria algorythm" for us nurses, then of course - Ugandan participation in Olympics. Yep, that's that for the first section. Posters on the ground leaning against the wall, boards covered by furniture pilled in front, dust everywhere... And this is their biggest museum. And of course Justin Bieber's "Sorry" playing on repeat. That songs has been EVERYWHERE.

There were 2 other sections slightly better presented, showing your typical archaeological findings, tribal history and traditions. Outside was a "cultural village" with representations of huts according to different geographical areas. If anything, this museum has been a good laugh. We spent almost 2 hours here, knowing that we needed to stay around this area all day.

Since we got out just before 4pm, and we wanted to see a show (diner and theatre of sorts) in this area of town, we now have 2 hours to waste... Beer! Beer garden with micro brewery short walk away it is. They give you a shot glass of their different brews to taste. Unfortunate thing is, most of the beer is quite bland in Uganda, and this was no exception. They all tasted similar or bad. Lol. But ah well, the place looks nice.

Finally time to make our way to Ndere Centre, a cultural dance show and food! After a little price negotiation (we thought food was included, it wasn't, so we paid the local price which was almost half off!), we got to sit back and enjoy an absolutely incredible show! To think we almost missed it because of the price... There were at points maybe 30 people on stage, either dancing or playing an instrument, with a pretty funny host telling which region they were representing. They even did an Intore dance from the people of Rwanda, a dance Jack was so disappointed we didn't get to witness in Rwanda. It was absolutely fantastic. I also enjoy the idea of paying a dance group to do a representation of their traditional dances and music instead of paying a tour guide to bring me to a village where they mascarade around as if they still live in the days where these costumes were worn. Much less of a "human safari" as they're called around here. It was fantastic and we loved it.Read more