Uganda
Lubaga

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    • Hari 6

      My God in the mosque

      9 November 2019, Uganda ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      Today was my 'day off' so I was keen to see some of Kampala. I had the morning at the guest house just reading and relaxing before Aggrey picked me up at around 12:30. We drove to the national mosque which is the second largest mosque in Africa. I was given a kind of tunic to wear for the tour. Aggrey waited in the car while I was shown around by a tour guide, she took me into the main mosque, but first removing my shoes, and explained the history of it being built, originally started by Idi Amin and then knocked down and completely built by Gaddafi, opening in 2008. The mosque itself is very beautiful, with the materials coming from all over the world- carpet from Libya, windows and doors from Italy- it has stain glass windows and a huge chandelier in the middle. She shows me the Quran and tells me the story of how it was written, to which I politely nod along. She told me to walk up to the balcony where the women are allowed to pray, while she waited down the stairs to collect our shoes. We then walked to the minaret, and she I climbed to the very top alone, while she waited at the bottom! I'm not usually scared of heights but this was a bit different, the concrete steps were slightly uneven and my tunic meant that I couldn't step as I usually would. I prayed the whole way up (hence the title!), so God definitely got me to the top. Once I reached the top the view of Kampala was incredible, looking down at all the busyness of the city. After I reached the top a man and his son joined me, but he spoke very limited English and didn't understand any of my questions so just told me how great Kampala is! The way down was still pretty scary so I prayed the whole way down too! I reached the bottom of the 50m tall minaret and greeted by my tour guide asking about the Queen and thinking the Queen's great great great great grandson, or something like that! She takes me back to Aggrey, and on the way people are greeting me in Arabic, there were lots of people visiting as it was Muhammad's birthday.

      We then went to lunch and I then had a hair cut at the salon. They thought my hair was very soft and even washed it for me after, which they don’t do for me at home! Then a quick stop at the craft market again and then to church for the Saturday evening service at Downtown. Which was of course loud and full of dancing. Then back to the guest house and met the new girl who is staying there from Japan.

      Quite a busy day!
      Baca lagi

    • Hari 12

      Kabaka's Palace

      15 November 2019, Uganda ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      As it was Felisha's last day we decided we'd go to Kabaka's Palace, and be proper tourists. As we arrived we were told that the king was going to arrive soon, which is unusual because he doesn't live there so only visits for events. We waited around a bit to see if he was going to come soon, while the guide told us about the history and some information about the marriage ceremony here, it's all very confusing! It then became obvious he wasn't going to come for a while so we walked around a bit and then to the torture chamber. It was used by Idi Amin in the 70s, it was built by the Israeli arms for Idi Amin as an armoury, but he changed it into a torture chamber. In total 25,000 people died in the chamber in the 7 years it was used; in total he killed 800,000 people in the 7 years, which was 4% of the population of Uganda at the time. It was a very eerie atmosphere, with writing and handprints on the wall from the people being killed and the relatives of those people. This part of history is why the king doesn't live there. We walked back up and saw the King's car driving past into the palace, this then meant we couldn't go in to take a photo of the outside.

      It was then back to downtown where I had to say goodbye to Felisha. I grabbed lunch at the Watoto cafe before Aggrey picked me up and took me go Bbira for just over an hour to say goodbye and thank you to everyone there.

      Then back to the guest house for dinner with all my gecko friends and to bed.
      Baca lagi

    • Hari 8

      Road to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Park

      2 Disember 2019, Uganda ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      I decided to upgrade to a private room with a shower and fluffy white towel after the muddy trials of the previous day which felt like the lap of luxury after a week of camping. I spent a long time in the shower washing the ochre red, ingrained, mud from myself and my shoes and slept well on the plush surroundings despite having to get up at 5am for a long truck journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park where we will hopefully see the dwindling population of those 'gentle giants' the mountain gorillas. As we left Kampala the sun rose reddening in the dusty air of the awakening city streets already bustling with people on their way to earn their living on foot, motorbike, vans and cars. I saw one of those huge marabou storks flying like a contemporary pterydactyl overhead. We also saw them pecking the turf of a rugby pitch in Kampala yesterday. As we slowly escaped the urban influence of Kampala, the vista opened out into tropical green, lush forest expanses infused with banana plants, and high hill peaks rising all around us, punctuated with small roadside villages summoning legions of Ugandans to their daily business. After the equatorial line (see footprint) we travelled through more lush countryside populated by a special breed of cow, Ankore, (possibly named after the Ugandan tribe of the same name who bred them) which has giant horns like the ancient and long extinct aurochs of old.Baca lagi

    • Hari 14

      My Birthday!

      18 Februari 2023, Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      You can imagine that given my career choice (wedding/event planner), celebratory occasions are something I love! Every year for my birthday, I love using it as an opportunity to spend time with loved ones, connecting and sharing an experience often with service at the heart of it. We told Sam earlier in the week that our last full day would be my birthday and we wanted to spend the day connecting with the community and being of service in whatever way he thought would be beneficial and respectful. And boy did he plan an amazing day for us :)

      We kicked it off visiting the local craft market, and we are 2 lovers of art!! It was a joy to connect with the local artists, hear their stories, learn how each piece was made and purchase a few small gifts for our families. Johnny in the first picture is a local artist and friend of Sam who we spent many hours with. He not only helped us find what we loved amongst his collection but also helped lead us to the booths of his fellow artists for items he didn’t have!

      Next, we visited Sam’s community! He lives nearby to a group of single moms he has become friends with over the years whom he identified would be so grateful for a visit and service project together. We purchased some basics like rice, sugar, cooking oil and school notebooks and worked together to package and distribute them amongst the families. We were moved by the care, focus and intention of the women. They did the math to ensure every mom got the exact same proportions and showed us how to scoop in a way that not one grain of rice would be wasted. We laughed, played, sang and danced. Sam surprised me with a birthday cake that the children loved cutting together with me. The most touching part was seeing their patience and gratitude as we went down the line to share little bite sized pieces as we didn’t have plates and forks for everyone. They all asked to take photos together and we exchanged numbers with some of the moms so we could continue to keep in touch for years to come.

      Sam helped us package an extra piece to take home to share with Sally and the boys for our family pizza party! It was a birthday I will never forget ❤️
      Baca lagi

    • Hari 58

      Découverte de Kampala

      4 Februari 2022, Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      Quand nous avons passé du temps à Nairobi lors nos vacances en juillet, nous n’avons pas aimé cette ville pour diverses raisons (le trafic routier impossible, l’architecture inintéressante, l’aménagement inexistant et le manque cruel de verdure)

      Nous avions donc un fort à priori négatif sur Kampala, en pensant que cela allait être la même chose. Finalement, nous sommes surpris en bien.

      Nous ne retrouvons pas le caractère étouffant des grands axes en quadrillage de Nairobi. Ici, la ville est construite sur des collines, ce qui limite par nature l’urbanisme et crée de jolies courbes. La végétation est omniprésente. Nous avons même apprécié le bain de foule du grand marché Owino, où rien qu’à l’évocation de ce nom, une personne un tant soit peu agoraphobe ferait une sévère crise d’angoisse. Malgré le caractère grouillant, les gens sont calmes et personne ne nous saute dessus pour nous vendre la plus belle Rolex (la montre cette fois). Nous avons trouvé de bien belles chemises, une paire de lunette de soleil (des Ray-Ban évidemment) et de bien jolis fruits.
      Baca lagi

    • Hari 58

      More of Kampala

      28 Februari 2016, Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      We've been taking it easy in this big ol' capital. We walked over to a place called 1000 cups of coffee yesterday since both Jack and I have been itching for a good latte. So, so rewarding. Along the way was a little craft village with all your typical and repetitive tourist aimed crafts like wooden giraffes, drums and bags. We've decided to keep our shopping for our last stop - Nairobi. Thats hoping we'll find what we want there... You find yourself weighing the pros and cons of having to carry things for another month or not finding them again later.

      Visiting the Mengo Palace and Bulange Royal building gave us a good bit of new knowledge of Ugandan history and their attachement to their tribal history. The monarchs reign over social and cultural issues here, and are incredibly respected by the people. As our guide from yesterday put it, in newspapers here you will find many caricatures of the president, mocking him, but you will never find anyone saying something negative or mocking the kings in Uganda. The Buganda King, based in Kampala, has the largest Kingdom, was given the crown at 16 years old. It is passed on to the son of the Royal families chosing, and can not be given to the first son, unlike your usual royal line.

      Each Ugandan identifies to a tribe and a clan. The clans are all represented by animals or insects and such. It's interesting to hear them introduce themselves - I'm from the Buganda tribe, and the elephant clan. To this day, even the youth, are proud of their clans and follow the tradition (mostly) of never marrying someone from your clan, yet marrying within your tribe. They ask about Canadian clans and tribes. It's hard to justify that I know so little about our First Nations that I can't really contribute to that conversation.

      The visit at Mengo Palace also led us to this old underground torture chamber used by Idi Amin during his time as general commander. They say in the 6 years he used it, over 15000 people were killed here, mostly by the use of electricity run through the body of water kept along the corridor... It was marking.

      We made our afternoon into an art gallery one, quite like in Kigali. Free art galleries, why not. Again, having the money and space for these things, my apartment would look so eclectic and wonderful...

      Topped the night off with a movie - DeadPool! I was so excited! I've been talking about seeing a movie for a while, it's a way of letting go and really relaxing. My mind, which never usually stops working throughout that day, can finally stop and enjoy the movie. I laughed the entire time, loved it. I was probably in an extra good mood since I got to chat my sister thanks to the great Wi-Fi in the mall. It's was therapy of its own to get to hear her voice.

      Last day in Kampala before heading to Jinja for some River rafting... Wish me luck!

      FYI - I didn't elaborate yesterday, but the national mosque was beautiful! It had contributors from around the world, chandeliers from Egypt, carvings from Marrocco, stained glass from Italy... We even got to climb the minaret and had incredible views of the city. Only down side is the coverings they give - made me feel incredibly awkward to have to cover up into a hijjab and skirt... Like Halloween.
      Baca lagi

    • Hari 2

      Kampala

      6 Julai 2017, Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      We drove from Jinga to Kampala, starting on mud roads before we reached the main road. Enjoyed passing the villages before we went around the capital of Uganda, stopping at a massive local market which we loved. There were lots of lovely looking veg, not so nice looking offal, clothes... Stayed at a campsite just outside the city near the lake and had a relaxing couple of hours by the pool, after trying to clean off some of the mud our tent got covered in.Baca lagi

    • Hari 79

      kampala (wakaliwood)

      12 Ogos 2022, Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Wakaliwood ist ein Ort der Träume. Ich habe mich in dieses Set voller Ideologien, harter Arbeit, Spaß und Aktion verliebt.

      Wakaliwood is a place full of dreams. I felt in love with this set that is full of ideologies, hard work, fun and a lot of action.Baca lagi

    • Hari 57

      Finally the Capital

      27 Februari 2016, Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      We made it to Kampala! Busy, tons of people, impossible to walk effectively Kampala!

      I'm a small town kind of gal when it comes to travelling. I like peaceful, simple places. Big cities are sometimes overwhelming. But there's a certain character in Kampala that really needs to be experienced first hand. The streets are lined with street vendors everywhere, and that's on top of the multiple markets. As much as I'd like to say you can find anything you need around every corner, most of these vendors just repeat themselves. Fruits, second hand clothing, snacks, and a bunch of handkerchiefs.

      There's people everywhere. Again, we haven't seen that many tourist though. Maybe that's because of the size of the city. Who knows. But the vendors will grab onto you, they'll use pitty tactics like buy from me, help me. You basically have to ignore everyone talking to you because responding to everyone would take too much time.

      Jack has an incredible sense of direction, so she managed to get us to the hotel and get us to a mosque and Hindu temple we wanted to see... It was impressive. Because of the size of the city, I'm afraid we will have to take boda-bodas to get from site to site. We're currently in a very central hotel, 6 floors up, broken elevator of course. According to lonely planet, it's the best deal you'll find in town. Whether or not that's true, who knows, but the location is fantastic. The fan wasn't working, and in this room you need a fan! So when we returned from our walk around 7pm they came to replace it. 10 minutes and we had a new fan. Then the TV, which is wall mounted, had no electrical plug around it. Whoever thought that through should be fired. So we asked for an extension cord and eventually got it, only to realize there's 2 channels - one with really boring news, mostly a list of statistics, and one with football highlights. Hm. Then the hot water never made its way up. Good thing the location is great... And there's Wi-Fi!
      Baca lagi

    • In Kampala und Entebbe

      5 Februari 2021, Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      In Richtung Hauptstadt nimmt der Verkehr sichtlich zu. Es ist Freitag nachmittag, daher ist besonders viel los. Als wir Kampala erreichen, geht gar nichts mehr. Die Straßen sind verstopft, an manchen Stellen stehen wir gefühlt eine halbe Stunde. Ansonsten geht es nur im Schritttempo voran. Verkehrsregeln scheint es nicht zu geben. Autos, Mopeds und Fahrräder fahren kreuz und quer und blockieren sich gegenseitig, dazwischen Fußgänger. Auch die Rettungsfahrzeuge mit Blaulicht haben keine Chance. Bei einem echten Notfall riskiert man hier wohl, im Krankenwagen im Stau zu versterben. Manchmal wird eine zweispurige Straße auf drei Spuren ausgeweitet, da der Gegenverkehr beide Fahrbahnen blockiert. Da hilft nur noch das Ausweichen auf den Gehweg. Wow!

      Für mich ist die “Fahrt” wie ein kostenloses Sightseeing von Kampala mit allem, was dazugehört. Wir sehen unendlich viele Straßenhändler und kleine Läden, auch größere Shopping malls, riesige Werbeplakate im amerikanischen Stil, jedoch auch viel Müll, der teilweise im Fluss schwimmt sowie urinierende Männer am Straßenrand. Die Eindrücke sind geballt und es ist schockierend zu sehen, wie Armut und Defizite in der Infrastruktur und Müllentsorgung in einer Großstadt aussehen. Ich empfinde es nochmal anders als auf dem Land, wo die Menschen ihr einfaches Leben in Subsistenzwirtschaft führen.

      Am frühen Abend erreichen wir endlich das Corona-Testlabor. Auch wenn die Organisation der Formalien etwas chaotisch erscheint - die Hygienestandards und Durchführung des Tests wirken auf mich sehr professionell. Anders als ich es bisher in Deutschland erlebt habe, wird das Einmalstäbchen extrem tief in die Nase eingeführt, das ist wirklich unangenehm. Die Ärztin ist jedoch sehr freundlich und angenehm und wirkt beruhigend. Jetzt hoffen wir natürlich alle, dass unsere Ergebnisse negativ ausfallen und wir sie auch rechtzeitig vor unseren unterschiedlichen Flügen erhalten.

      Dann müssen wir aus der Stadt heraus wieder zu unserem Airport Guesthouse nach Entebbe fahren. Wir stecken wieder im Stau fest! Unsere Stimmung im Auto ist jedoch super - wir drehen die Musik auf und singen lauthals mit, manche Auto- und Mopedfahrer schauen verdutzt, haha! Kampala by night - das ist auch ein tolles Erlebnis, in dessen Genuss wahrscheinlich nicht so viele Touristen kommen ;).

      Nachdem wir endlich den ausgebauten highway Richtung Flughafen erreicht haben, geht’s zügig voran. Gegen 21 Uhr erreichen wir unser Guesthouse. Die Angestellten freuen sich sehr, uns nach knapp zwei Wochen wieder zu sehen.

      Ja, hier hat unsere aufregende Reise begonnen. Es fühlt sich wie eine halbe Ewigkeit an, unendlich viele Eindrücke und Erlebnisse habe ich in der Zwischenzeit gesammelt. Wir waren jeden Tag von morgens bis abends zusammen und haben uns dabei intensiv kennen gelernt, man kann sich nicht “verstecken”. Ich finde, unsere Gruppe hat super “funktioniert” und wir alle - ganz besonders auch Robert - haben mit einer positiven Grundeinstellung dazu beigetragen, dass sich auch schwierigere Situationen noch relativ gut “anfühlten”.

      Am Samstag verabschieden wir sechs uns im Guesthouse. Unsere Corona-Testergebnisse kommen nach und nach. Da das Guesthouse kein Internet hat, ist es mit der Organisation der Ausdrucke etwas komplizierter, auch hier hilft Robert. Am Ende klappt alles, wir sind alle « negativ » und dürfen damit ausreisen :). Claus, Helga und Justina fliegen weiter nach Arusha/Tansania, Thomas und Christian zurück nach Deutschland. Bye Bye! 👋 Nach dieser langen gemeinsamen Zeit fühlt es sich schon ein bisschen traurig an. Wir sehen uns jedoch ganz bestimmt wieder in Deutschland, bis bald!

      Ich genieße noch einen ruhigen sonnigen Tag im schönen Garten des Guesthouse, bevor ich dann am Sonntag weiter nach Kenia/Mombasa fliege.
      Baca lagi

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