Kampala, Uganda

We spent a few days around Kampala acclimatizing to Uganda. It was complete mayhem downtown with every street packed with vendors and people going every which way. It only took a few minutes to realize that the people in Uganda are extremely friendly. This totally made our day, contrasting to the unrest we felt in Egypt, we were now able to talk freely and openly to the locals. The city of Kampala itself was an adventure to walk around, kind of like a big game of Frogger. We quickly learned that the matatus (mini buses) claimed right of way without slowing for pedestrians. As you can see, the main matatu stand had plenty of options for adventure...

Just out of downtown we stayed near Soya Stage on Konge Rd where the neighborhood was full of bars all playing a mashup of African and pop music. The fish and posho (corn flour mixed and cooked into what looks like mashed potatoes) was amazing and so was our first sampling of Uganda’s beer (which was a real treat since we had just spent 25 days in Muslim countries). It’s a fun place to visit, but just don’t go there expecting to have any meaningful conversation since the neighboring bars crank up the volume in competition.

One day we headed out to KK Beach, which turned out to not have a beach at all! Instead there was a tiny little village with ‘cute’ places to eat fish on the banks of Lake Victoria. There was a cement boat landing for fishermen to sell their catch, but sadly the water was a scary green color that made swimming not an option. We jumped on board a boat full of locals and headed out across the lake. We didn’t have a clue where we were going and there was quite a scene when we arrived at a shoreline they called the ‘Miami of Uganda.’

Downtown Kampala is basically one big market with everything being sold on the streets and in small labyrinths of venders. On the flip side there is an area of big glamorous hotels and shopping centers. It is here where you will find mazungas (white folks) pushing shopping carts around large shopping isles. Some might have been preparing for their trip into the jungle to see the world’s only dwindling population of mountain gorillas, or maybe heading out to Jane Goodall’s island chimp foundation, but we were preparing to head into a different kind of jungle, a small village with a school full of little kids!