Sunday, November 4, 2012

The joys of coffee, hot showers, non-African food and Skype

The other volunteers who I normally hangout with in the weekends went to Kigale to go chimpanzee trekking this weekend. (I'm planning on going at the end of my trip as I have ten days to fill in before I head to Kenya.) Left to my own devices I decided to head to Kampala for a weekend of mzungu treats.

High on the priority list was some decent coffee and non-African food. Yesterday I went to a cool little cafe/gallery/farmers market for lunch. Hmm the joys of eggs florentine and carrot cake should not be underestimated! The place was full of expats and it really made me think how different expat life in Kampala is to living out of Kampala (where I am forced to live a much more African lifestyle - bucket showers and pit latrines included).

In terms of African capitals, Kampala is by all accounts one of the better ones. Yes there are areas of slums, but these are relatively contained and the nice areas really are very nice. It is also comparatively safe. I feel happy walking around the city centre (it will be interesting to compare it to notorious Nairobi).

The scariest aspect is the appalling traffic. Taxes on car imports were reduced a few years ago resulting in an explosion of traffic flow which the roads are quite simply not equipped to deal with. The traffic is even scarier when weaving in and out of it on the back of a boda boda (the motorbikes used as the primary means of travel). I avoid using them whenever possible!

I followed up lunch with a joyfully hot shower at the backpackers I am staying at. Washing hair in a bucket of cold water just isn't as satisfying as a hot shower.

I rounded out my Saturday with wood fired pizza and beers out at an Irish pub, (is it some kind of rule that every city in the world must have an Irish pub??) with a bunch of expats I met.

Today I have marvelled at the joys of my iPhone and technology as I have managed to talk to my parents, both my sisters and three friends. The Skype connection was so excellent to NZ I would have sworn I was talking to someone just down the road. It is really awesome being able to talk to people about all my experiences. It helps me to remember that there is a whole other world out there.

On the agenda this week is a trip to one of the islands on Lake Victoria to do HIV testing which should be interesting.

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