Uganda Read This!: Just Rwanda(ing)

Uganda borders five countries - South Sudan, DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya - three of which we cannot go to. I always knew that I wanted to travel but decided to invest my time at my respective sites, knowing that I could always do so once I finish my service.

Well there comes a point in one’s service where you just have to get out.

I was there and so after COS I decided to embark on a quick adventure before beginning some final projects back in Kitgum. You can read all about my trip to The Loveliest Lake.

I knew I wanted to keep my trip on a budget so I opted for a quick visit to Rwanda, where the VISAs are free and the roads are impeccable.

I left from Kabale and managed to score a ride with a new friend in a new, air-conditioned Toyota Corolla that didn’t look like the tires were about to burst.

Note to readers in the first world: This was a big deal! Not only are most small cars labeled as Toyota Coronas, yes, like the beer, this car’s speedometer actually worked, his gas tank was full, and there were working seatbelts.

After agreeing for him to take me to the border he said that he was going all the way to Kigali and would be happy to take me. We established a price of 15,000UGX from Kabale to Kigali, a whooping 6USD, and soon I was asleep as the rolling hills passed me by. Two hours later and I was in a country’s capital that resembled the first world…

Motorcycles drivers only allowed to carry one passenger and are required to wear a helmet and provide one.

Roads with painted lines and no potholes.

Sidewalks!

Transport that only sat 1 person per seat.

Customer service!

No increased prices simply because I am white.

I arrived at the hostel to find Meish, who I was traveling with in the land of 1,000 hills. We decided to venture into the city center for dinner and a movie until her brother arrived that night.

As we awoke the next day, we found the streets empty. No motorcycles or taxis speeding away. No people opening up shop. The city was dead.

This was when we were told that we were witnessing “umuganda”, which is community work. Rwandans between 18 and 65 years are obliged to participate in a variety of public works. As we walked around town we saw people weeding and picking up trash. Even President Kagame goes to a different community each month to assist in whatever way possible. Meish and I just looked at each other and thought about Museveni going into a Ugandan community to help pick up trash.

Yeah… Uganda is not there yet.

After picking up some trash to play a part in the day, we ended up at the very popular Meze Fresh, which is essentially Chipotle in Rwanda. Burritos, burrito bowls, salads, and tacos were our options to be filled with a myriad of options, including the beloved honey-lime-cilantro dressing. They even offer mushrooms, which are delicious in a burrito.

Oh and this can all be washed down with a margarita or ice-cold Corona.

After letting our burritos digest we decided to walk around some more before ending up at the infamous Hotel Rwanda. Well here is a fun fact… That is not actually the name of the hotel. It is actually called Hôtel des Mille Collines, meaning Hotel of a 1,000 Hills in French.

We walked through the hotel where 1,268 people took refugee during the genocide. We decided to sit poolside and realized after sipping our drinks that this was the same pool that provided water to the refugees when supplies become low. As we sat and made friends with some other expats, I realized just how far this country has come after 20 years of a horrific event in history.

Anyway, the next day we left Kigali to go to Lake Kivu, tucked in the northwest corner of the country. We found accommodation at a cute lodge called Inzu, meaning house in the local language of Kirwanda.

The staff was wonderful, the food was delicious and beautifully presented, the tent looked like something out of Potter Barn and the bathing area is exactly what I want for my future home. No hot water required!

We played Bananagrams, read, and ventured down to the lake where we hiked around the peninsula, played frisbee with the locals, took a boat ride with some new friends from Belgium, and even got hand massages from children at the hot springs. We even managed to walk towards the DRC when we were spotted a stop sign. We believe that could have been the border. Awesome border patrol don’t you think?!

Lake Kivu is one of the few lakes around the world that contains methane, making it an exploding lake.

Yes, I said exploding.

Read more here as it explains much more than I could. The Guardian and BBC. All I know is that we are okay and that they are converting some of the methane into electricity, which seems pretty awesome.

After two days at the lake, we ventured back into Kigali where we decided to visit the genocide memorial. Words cannot describe my emotions as I weaved in and out from exhibit to exhibit. I saw clothing of innocent children, skulls and bones of people who were executed simply because they were Tutsi, and the burial place that held the bodies of over 250,000 individuals.

I was sick to my stomach and taken aback by the atrocity but realized how far Rwanda had come since 1994. The people came together, put aside their differences, and ended up building a greater country.

The memorial was incredibly informative and allowed for a greater understanding as to what took place. Tucked in the corners of the memorial were faces of the children lost in the war along with pictures from other genocides that have occurred worldwide. Needless to say, the Kigali Memorial Center has done an extraordinary job remembering what took place.

That night we need a pick me up and did so with dinner at New Cactus.

First time for fondue and escargot!

The next day was our last but before we left we decided to visit two of the churches that Tutsi refugee’s took to as a place of safety and security. Unfortunately mass murders occurred at these sites and they have been left to view without modification. Clothes piled on church pews, skulls amounting into the thousands, broken glass from shattered windows, blood from children being slammed into the wall, rosaries from those saying their final Hail Mary’s, bibles left open to the page that the Sunday school students read from and even old jerry cans that once held drinking water.

The sites were well kept and visited by many.

As we watched the 1,000 hills pass from the side mirrors of the car, we had finished our vacation.

We reached the border, completed our paperwork and were squeezed into a car meant for five people with five others already inside... Which conveniently broke down five minutes later.

While I could simply roll my eyes or get frustrated at the situation I realized that these are the things that make Uganda, Uganda.

I was back and ready for the final stretch.

For more photos visit: Rwanda and Kigali Memorial Center.