A Fortnight of Firsts

The first few weeks in a new country are always the times where you are over awed with new sights, sounds and experiences, but I can tell that with Uganda this will certainly be longer than the first few weeks. The Ugandans up to now have been among the friendliest people I've met from any of my travels, so welcoming and good natured just wanting to get on with everything. There has been a huge increase in the development of the country and in particular Kampala, with plenty of foreign investment pouring in avoiding the historical stepping stone of Nairobi to fund construction. However with all this investment it would appear that there has been very little set aside for transport and the state of the roads or the countries power. Which is why in my first nine days I experienced no less than evening 3 power cuts and my first drive around the city, in an attempt to establish which roads led where, was up and down pot-holes the size of paddling pools and into and back out of dirt tracks and dead-end roads in the heart of town. One of which led me up one of the many hills in the city to the gates of a Military compound. Luckily for me the guard at the time was too busy chatting up three ladies of questionable morals to care and just returned my wave as I performed a rapid three point turn and pointed the car back down the hill.

However there are also the great experiences and discoveries that come out of initial settling in weeks. Suffering from my first Ugandan hangover in the 31 degree heat, I was invited to a late lunch down on the lake at a place called Ggaba point; the landing site of all the fish from Lake Victoria in Kampala. Winding through the streets and around the aforementioned potholes we parked up next to the street side fish auctioneers' wooden shacks and crossed the road to sample some of the freshest grilled fish on offer. There's certainly something to be said for eating fish amoungst the locals, that minutes before had been flapping around in the bottom of a fisherman's canoe, with your fingers and polishing off another ice cold beer beside the bustling peer side. So filled to busting with beer and fish I hopped onto a method of transport that the Ugandans have turned to and embraced to beat the developing traffic crisis affecting the city for another first; my first ride on a Boda Boda motorbike 'taxi'...helmets optional!