Kampala

TL;DR: Arrived in Kampala, capital of Uganda. Crazy city. Met up with Sadler for drinks. Nile Special was love at first sight.


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First impressions of Kampala? A lot of hassle really, why can't there be a regular bus from the airport to the capital? Kris and me managed to hop into a taxi with a frantic polish guy called Dominique who turned out to be a fellow AIESECer. Of course, we got ripped off for our first ride in Uganda, but not too badly. After that, it was steady sailing on the road from Entebbe to Kampala. The streets are very different to anywhere else I've travelled. This is my first time in mainland Africa after all. Rows of brightly painted mud, brick, wood and steel huts. Most of them feature extravagant MTN, Airtel, Coca-Cola, Orange and Pepsi advertisements, among others, making the streets quite colorful. Goats, chickens and kids mill about, recklessly crossing the roads avoiding the boda-bodas (taxi motorbikes) and matatus (minibuses). The driving style reminds me of China, but there's more potholes and less regulation to adhere to (what's a red light?).

At the same time it's all quite photogenic, the deep green grass contrasting with the very red earth. I didn't pull the camera out much today though, so this shot is from walking around the streets of Kampala at sunset.

Ah, Kampala. A mess of urbanization, easy to love and hate at the same time. After dropping our backpacks at our average hotel, Kris and me visited parts of New and Old Kampala, looking for cell phones, foreign exchanges and supermarkets. Old Kampala is like the bustling heart of the city, with thousands of people milling through the street vendors and rows of matatus lined up while bodas skillfully drive through carrying three passengers and a goat. It's impossible to feel part of the crowd ("Mzingu, Mzingu!") but it's amazing to look upon.

At nightfall, we returned to our hotel on City Square to meet up with Sadler, who's been around chilling for a while on his own. Couple beers on the hotel terrace before having dinner at the local in our building. I'll just throw it our there now, they really like their carbs in Uganda. Too much rice and matoke, not enough meat, although the goat is really good. Beers on the other hand, are something else. Of course, everything is cheap in Uganda (except for Pringles) so beers are less than £1. Tonight, I began a very long and loving, although perhaps not healthy, relationship with Nile Special, the local brew. That beer will forever stay in my heart. Eagles are pretty good too, at 6.3% 500ml bottles for £0.5 everywhere, but I didn't try those until much later.

Enough sidetracking, Sadler, Kris and me headed to a bar nearby called Mateo's after dinner. They're big on football in Uganda so we watched the Man. U - Chelsea game, while slowly drowning on cocktails.

Overall: a good, welcoming, yet frenetic first day in Kampala!