“Nagawa – you cowardised!” A detour via the Congo
Adventure in West Nile – and beyond
There were two international highlights to our trip to West Nile. The silly Muzungu was to miss one of them!
On Saturday morning, we took the smooth tarmac road from Arua, heading north towards the border with South Sudan. We passed few vehicles on our two hour journey. We drove through Koboko, location of the Amin family home.
Although Hashers had been disappointed to learn we wouldn’t be able to cross into South Sudan, the reasons why were quite apparent once we got to the Oraba border. Queues of young Sudanese refugees, mostly women, young children and teenagers, stood in orderly lines waiting to register with humanitarian agencies. A gigantic World Food Programme tent sat one side of the road. In front were lines of buses and piles of bags and bedding. The whole scene seemed calm and orderly; apparently we arrived on a quiet day. Generally 1,500 refugees enter Uganda via this border every day.
Uganda’s friendliest policeman
Nagawa and Kampala Hash House Harriers meet Uganda’s friendliest policeman. At the Oraba border with South Sudan. Behind us is ‘no man’s land’ between the two countries
Uganda’s friendliest policeman explained that there is no trade with South Sudan. Even the petrol tankers that we saw driving across the border were actually destined to cross into the DRC a couple of kilometres ahead. He explained that on the other side of the border, things were quiet but the real trouble was further north.
There is no discernible difference to the buildings and huts on either side of the border. My few days stay in Arua gave me a better appreciation of the historically mixed communities and tribes in West Nile, South Sudan and the DRC.
Kampala Hash House Harriers walk down to no man’s land at the Oraba border with South Sudan
The policeman explained that the river is the natural boundary between Uganda and South Sudan. He pointed to where the Congolese border is, 4 or 5 km away. Although the official border is Oraba, it is of course “very porous” meaning you can’t police every field and bush. (So how many people are really coming into Uganda from South Sudan?)
Tripping over goats
I would say the people of Oraba were very surprised to see 20 or more Hashers in bright pink T-shirts tripping over goats in their backyards!
I love jerry cans! All lined up at the water pump. Oraba border, West Nile
I wasn’t running that day so every few minutes, the runners would stop, let me catch them up, then they would run off again for a few minutes. We repeated this several times… until…
We must have been running / Hashing / walking for an hour before it really started raining. I was carrying my phone and camera in a cotton bag which I stuffed up inside my T-shirt. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and put my head down to try and avoid the worst of the heavy rain. My glasses quickly misted up so I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
The rain became heavier and heavier. If someone had called out to me, I would never have heard them above the sound of the rain. In Kampala, I would have quickly looked for shelter (like a bar!) but I was in the middle of the bush. There were cracks of thunder overhead. Standing under a tree wasn’t really an option.
I saw no-one: no Hashers, no bright pink T-shirts, no villagers. There were no vehicles, no boda bodas, no bicycles. Just the goddam rain and bush.
I walked on for what seemed like ages. There were no signs of any chalk marks to show the Hash route. The rivers of rainwater running over the tops of my trainers told me that the chalk marks were long gone.
I just kept walking. What else could I do?
I was totally soaked, but the heavy rain wasn’t subsiding. How long could I go on like this?
Typical thatched hut in a village at Oraba border, West Nile
I realised that we had definitely walked more than 5 km since leaving Oraba – remembering the policeman’s words, I wondered: were those the 5 km that were going to lead me into the Congo? There’s a thought: where the hell am I? If I accidentally cross into the Congo, who will know? If the muzungu can’t make herself understood here in the village, how will I communicate with someone deeper in the bush? Will my phone network work if I accidentally cross the border?
I got a bit despondent at this point. Had the others forgotten me? Had they turned off halfway down the hill while I had marched up ahead in the wrong direction?
I approached a homestead of large square thatched huts. I didn’t know whether to go forward or back. Instead I stood under a small tree, contemplating what to do…
Jajja to the rescue!
An old lady beckoned me over.
She waved her arm at me and invited me into her hut. She produced a blue plastic chair for me to sit in the middle of her large hut, bare but for a chicken scraping at the dirt floor. Five young children stood around staring at the Muzungu wringing out her sopping wet hair.
The rain eventually stopped.
I asked Jajja where Oraba was. She pointed right and then she pointed left. Hmmm… in two opposite directions!
I decided to turn left which put me back on the same path I had been on before. I called Hashmistress who said they had a problem seeing the turning as well. (That did not give me much confidence. I had walked with my head down – who knows how many turnings I had passed during that time?) She added that I just needed to “look out for a cassava field and an upturned pot.” Roughly translated this may equate to ‘branch at the pawpaw tree’ in Hash-speak, especially to a Muzungu who lives in Kampala and can’t tell her cassava from her yam! (Did I mention something about feeling despondent?)
I carried on walking. I looked left and right. I didn’t think I had passed any cassava, I certainly had not seen an upturned pot.
Then I hit what can only be described as a road. Surely Hashmistress would have told me if I was about to reach a T-junction intersection with a road?
Breaking all the rules
And then I heard something. I couldn’t believe I was hearing it. I was so lost in my little world in the middle of nowhere, that it took me a few seconds to work out what the noise was.
It was a boda boda!
I almost ran towards him.
And then I broke my own rule. Normally I discriminate and only go with the mzee, the oldest boda boda driver. This time I jumped on the first boda boda I saw.
A young boy filled up the motorbike engine with some petrol from an old water bottle and we were on our way bumping down the marram roads, the wind blowing through the muzungu’s wet hair.
I knew that I would regret this decision. I knew that KH3 would be merciless with me for cheating!
“Oraba” I said. “Is it far?” I asked the boda guy.
“It’s a bit close,” came the answer.
If I’d taken a guess, I would have taken the right direction but the 15 minute boda boda journey would have been a lot more on that dodgy foot.
Luckily my camera had survived the downpour so I had a chance to film this! Look out for: the man carrying a bed on his head… the men leading a cow to market … the men thatching a hut! Look closely and you may catch a young boy waving at the muzungu…
Boda boda motorbike tour through the villages and countryside of West Nile, northern Uganda. The villagers walk to market from @CharlieBeau Diary of a Muzungu on Vimeo.
“Nagawa* – you cowardised!” Said Ki Love Love
Back at the main road, I had expected to see everyone there waiting for me. I had been worried that I would be holding up the bus. I couldn’t believe it took them more than an hour to join us, while I shivered in my freezing wet T-shirt. I stood next to the slowly barbecuing goat and hugged the heat coming off it. It’s many a year since I’ve been that cold.
Petrol tanker waiting to cross Oraba border, West Nile, into South Sudan. Final destination DR Congo. In the distance is South Sudan
A regular hash is just one hour, these guys ran for 3 ½ hours. Where had they been?
To the DRC!
To South Sudan!
Everyone apart from me made it to the tripartite border, a point where Uganda converges with the DRC and South Sudan.
Without Nagawa! Eh banange! I was gutted.
What kind of a travel blogger gets lost and misses the international highlight of the trip?!
… NOTE: During my West Nile adventures, I stayed in Arua. I love this town. Read my blog ’10 little-known things to do in Arua, West Nile.’
An invitation to Masaka: the Uganda International Marathon!
Uganda International Marathon Masaka – Are you interested in running through the beautiful Masaka countryside?
As regular Diary of a Muzungu readers will know, I’m a regular runner with Kampala Hash House Harriers (more for socialising than the running!) In fact, no way am I a good runner – but Hashing has helped me explore Kampala, Jinja, Nairobi, Kigali, and – just last weekend – Addis Ababa.
Hashing “the drinking club with a running problem”runs every Monday at 6 pm – Red Dress Run for the Valentine’s Hash, Kampala
But move over Muzungu, Uganda has some awesome running talent: Ugandan long-distance runner Stephen Kiprotich is the reigning World and Olympic marathon champion, having won gold at both the 2012 London Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.
Uganda International Marathon Masaka logo
Whether you’re a serious Marathon runner, or just fancy exploring somewhere new for the weekend, the Uganda International Marathon in Masaka may be just what you’re looking for!
Lizzie, from the Uganda International Marathon organising committee writes:
Having already gained support from mainstream media in the UK, the Uganda International Marathon hopes to engage visiting British runners with this beautiful country and simultaneously raise funds for NGOs who work to support the most vulnerable within it.
The inaugural Uganda International Marathon is being held on 24th May 2015. The event will see 100 International runners join 800 Ugandan nationals and expats to run a beautiful course through the rural villages and farmland of Masaka, three hours drive west of the capital of Kampala.
The Uganda International Marathon offers full (42km), half (21km) or 10km routes and participants receive a race number, medal, headscarf and water around the whole course. After the race there will be a party in Masaka’s Liberation Square, open to all, with food and drinks available as well as music and dancing. The brilliant Weaverbird Arts and Sculpture camp will play host to the Athletes Village.
Uganda International Marathon Masaka runners
Our International runners are using the Marathon as a chance to fundraise, an option we strongly encourage expat and local entrants to do too. All money raised will be split between the local community and a charity or cause of your choice, anywhere in the world. This allows people to not only contribute to the local community of Masaka that will be welcoming them, but also to contribute to a cause that’s already close to their heart.
The team behind the Marathon include CHEDRA, an NGO based in Masaka, and several Londoners who have all come together to create the race, which will hopefully become an annual feature in the region.
UK news coverage of Uganda International Marathon Masaka international runners
We hope you can join us for the inaugural Uganda International Marathon, which promises to be ‘a race like no other’.
To register for the Uganda International Marathon, expats and foreign volunteers should buy tickets online here. For details on where / how Ugandan nationals can register (Kampala / Masaka or via Mobile Money) go to my Diary of a Muzungu Facebook page.
View from Weaverbird Arts and Sculpture camp, Masaka, host to the Uganda Marathon’s Athletes Village
Hope to see you all in Masaka!
If you have any friends who you think would be interested in this event, please send them this link and follow the updates on Twitter and Facebook.
Update August 2015: the event was a success and is planned again for 2016! Check out the Uganda International Marathon web site.
Update June 2016: last minute registration! Special price for Ugandans is just 10k UGX per person. Check my Diary of a Muzungu Facebook page for info.
On my knees again: an audience with the Bunyoro King
Bunyoro Kingdom – Empango Celebrations inauguration run, Hoima, Uganda
De Muzungu’s developed a taste for hanging out with Ugandan Royals recently, so when I heard Kampala Hash House Harriers – the Hash – were (dis)organising the Bunyoro Kingdom’s Empango Celebrations inauguration run, my name was first on the list!
11th June 2013 marked the 19th anniversary of the coronation of Omukama (King) Iguru Gafabusa Solomon the 1st of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, so the inauguration run (two days before the actual Empango) was one event I couldn’t let pass me by…
It was only to be expected: for one reason or another, the bus left Kampala for Hoima two hours late.
Just as we were ready to leave, someone asked “where’s the driver?”
“He’s gone to Friday prayers” came the answer.
Eh banange! Only in Uganda.
As we left Buganda Kingdom and crossed the Mayanja River into Bunyoro, Harriet explained that “Kabalega was a real King who fought for his kingdom. He didn’t just sit on a red carpet.” We were to hear his name mentioned many times on our trip to Bunyoro.
The only way off the bus is to drink the beer first! Empango inauguration run, Hoima
The fact our bus was only half full meant there was more than enough beer to drink. “If you can’t dance sleeping, you can dance standing ” and so the party bus danced its way from Kampala to Hoima.
Pump action. Harriet eagerly watched the dial on the petrol pump go round, making sure we didn’t waste a shilling of beer money on unnecessary fuel
We’d been at the petrol station 20 minutes before we realised there was no petrol. Tewali! (Nothing!)
The second petrol station was also empty.
Third time lucky, we landed at a “wind-up petrol station.”
We arrived in Hoima, Bunyoro Kingdom, at dusk
Surprise, surprise, most of us missed Friday’s ‘Red Dress’ Hash run around Hoima. Stopping seven times along the way for ‘short calls’, snacks, chatting up the ladies, more beer, muchomo roasted meat, etc tends to do that to your programme. The three plus hour journey took twice that long.
Mural of the traditional marwa drink that is shared and sipped with straws from a calabash. Scene at the – more cheap than cheerful – Riviera Hotel, Hoima, Uganda
Saturday morning started with a visit to the Karuziika, the Omukama’s Palace, a modern looking house (Brits, think Surrey suburbs!) with some traditional Bunyoro huts being (re)built in the compound, in preparation for the Empango Celebrations on June 11th. [Great time for the camera to fail, part 1].
We were welcomed by the hugely knowledgeable Permanent Secretary (PPS) who commended us for our “exercise to combat modern lifestyle diseases.” That made me feel a bit sheepish. (Had no-one mentioned that the Hash is ‘a drinking club with a running problem?’)
Throne Room at the Karuziika, Bunyoro Kingdom Palace Uganda. Look how well-behaved we can be! Empango Celebrations inauguration run, Hoima
Earlier we’d been invited into the Throne Room. Excited Hashers – ordered to leave smelly trainers and drinks outside – were asked to sit on the assorted lion and leopardskins lying on the floor as the PPS introduced us to the Bunyoro Kingdom’s history as traders, hunters and metalworkers. He briefly flicked up a corner of the ceremonial bark cloth so we could have a peek at the nine-legged throne / stool.
I’m hooked on the Bunyoro cultural history. “The empire was built and lost on ivory” he told us, as we heaved a heavy elephant tusk around our group. He pointed out the spearholes in the lionskins beneath us. The huge lion paws were still intact and there was a discernible smell of (big) cat. As for leopard “there are only two ways to kill one,” he said, “with a club or by strangling it.” (This advice obviously predates the invention of AK47s!)
We heard that the King has just returned from China – nothing to do with ivory I hope? I first arrived in Uganda to work for the Uganda Conservation Foundation, essentially combating poaching and protecting elephants, and there I was sitting on dead animal skins, passing around an elephant’s tusk … !
Oil looms large over Hoima, Bunyoro, Uganda. Hashers stop at a checkpoint
As we Hashed (ran/walked) into Hoima town, I chatted to someone from the local radio station about Hoima’s new status as Uganda’s Oil City. Definitely a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. He told me stories of people relocating. Some have come to Hoima to seek their fortune, others have had to move out of town as their 60,000 Uganda shillings monthly rent has increased to a whopping 200,000 UGX. Ow.
Hoima market scene, similar to many across Uganda, is set to change with the construction of a new purpose-built market centre. Growth in Hoima is fuelled by the developing oil industry.
The town’s growth is fueled by Uganda’s developing oil industry. The Hoima market scene, for example, similar to many across Uganda, is set to change with the construction of a new purpose-built market centre.
The walk to Lake Albert down the steep Rift Valley Escarpment takes around one hour. Better take a boda, especially coming back up!
Saturday afternoon’s trip to see the oil wells wasn’t what I expected. Silly me, fancy expecting to see oil wells on your trip to see the oil wells! In the end, the impromptu boda boda trip down the steep escarpment, passing the modest Kabalega Falls on our way down to Lake Albert, was one of the highlights of the weekend. Impassable by vehicle, the loose gravel and hairpin bends made it a hair-raising descent. To be honest, coming up was even scarier, especially when we met this guy and his jerry can collection as (three of us on a boda) were struggling to negotiate a tight corner.
Better take a boda coming back up the Rift Valley Escarpment!
The smell of drying fish hit us as we approached the village of Kibero.
It felt like we’d landed in an alien country. There were no vehicles, just a few bodas (making the most of the unexpected day tripper BONANZA) and no advertising (thus little colour). Neither were there any food stalls, market vendors or rubbish in the dirt roads. It all seemed very strange. There are hundreds of Ugandan villages cut off from the rest of the world but this one was different somehow, just a collection of drab sun-dried mud houses, piles of fish drying in the sun, ducks, people sitting on doorsteps. [Great time for the camera to fail, part 2].
On the beach – not a slot machine or ice cream van in sight – dozens of excited kids posed for photographs with the Lake Albert backdrop.
The remote Kibero fishing village, Lake Albert. You have to love Ugandan kids, always a beautiful smile for the camera.
Back in Hoima, Saturday evening’s programme was a special audience with the Omukama at the Palace.
All the ladies had on their best dresses. (Rumour had it that the Omukama would pick One Lucky Lady as his next wife! So we all kneeled dutifully when a Hashette tipped us the nod.) The Omukama looked very dignified, although the corporate branding across the front of his tent slightly overshadowed the traditional nature of the occasion. What next? “Bunyori Kingdom sponsored by Tullow”. Sigh. Pragmatically, oil has to be the best thing to happen to the Kingdom this century, as the minister of information, Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, confirms in Uganda: Bunyoro is regaining her glory.
On the search for Mparo Tombs – the tombs of Kabelaga and his descendants
Recap: so, on Friday we’d missed seeing Katasiha Fort and on Saturday we’d missed seeing the oil wells… next stop (would we find it?) Mparo Tombs, “historical site rehabilitated by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces [the army] in honour of Kabalega in recognition of his struggle against colonialism.”
In 2009, Kabalega of Bunyoro was declared a national hero by President Yoweri Museveni and honoured with a three-gun salute for his nine-year resistance against the British colonialists.
Kabalega is said to be ‘the last great king of one of the greatest kingdoms in the Great Lakes region,’ and is buried at Mparo. Unfortunately, we didn’t get inside the grass thatched traditional hut that is Kabalega’s Tomb.
Sir Tito Winy’s Tomb is encased in concrete inside a modern structure. It is covered with a huge cowhide, fixed in place with nine traditional hoes. Mparo, Hoima
The traditional huts of the Bunyoro Tombs are very similar to the Buganda Kingdom’s famous Kasubi Tombs – showing Bunyoro descendence from Buganda.
The Kasubi Tombs burned down in 2010. (2014: rebuilding of Kasubi Tombs is underway).
“The man with the key is gone” but we were at least shown the grounds by ‘the heiress’ – one of Kabalega’s descendants.
Luckily we had Harriet to translate for us!
Paint it pink and I’d eat it. Les reads the plaque on the rather weather-battered wedding cake cum monument
The monument marks the spot where in 1877 Kabalega granted an audience to Emin Pasha.
“When Emin Pasha came face-to-face with the Omukama (King) for the first time, Kabalega was dressed in a piece of fine orange-pink coloured bark cloth. It covered his body to his breast except the left-hand shoulder, over which was thrown a piece of darker coloured bark cloth. He wore a necklace of hairs from the giraffe’s tail, the middle of which was strung a single blue glass bead, which encircled his neck. He was strikingly fair and about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He made the most favourable impression on Emin Pasha.”
A.R. Dunbar, “Uganda’s famous men series: Omukama Chwa 11, Kabalega” (East African literature Euro 1965).
Money offering left outside Sir Tito Winy’s Tomb. Sir Tito Winy was the heir to Kabalega
Writing this blog has given me a real interest in Kabalega and Emin Pasha. I’m pretty dumbfounded by what I’ve read. Between them they changed the course of history for millions of people, numerous kingdoms and several countries. How have I been in Uganda almost five years and hardly learned about them? (Visiting Kampala’s rather posh Emin Pasha Hotel hardly counts!)
Girls paying our respects at Kabalega’s Tomb, Mparo, Bunyoro Uganda
Kneeling for the camera was my idea of fooling around. If I’d known what I’ve read today, I would have done it with more respect.
Julia receives a roadside benediction from what appeared to be a Chineseman made out of recycled metal. What’s this all about?
A few kilometres outside Hoima, we came across some disused ornamental fountains. Another fountain featured a metal bird. Some interesting colonial type buildings lay derelict next to them. I can imagine this all being snapped up and turned into a bijou coffeeshop when the real oil money starts pouring into town. Andrew Roberts, co-editor of the epic Bradt Uganda guide, what is this all about?
All in all, another brilliant Uganda week-end for Diary of a Muzungu. It’s a shame we didn’t hang around for the real royal Empango celebrations. Apparently 200,000 people partied for three days! Photos of the official Empango celebrations
The Omukama at the 2013 Empango celebrations in Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, Uganda
2014 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Omukama’s coronation, guess who’s planning to attend?
For more Ugandan royal stories, read A wedding fit for a king.
If you like African bus journey tales, you might enjoy No hurry in Africa: on board the bus Kampala to Kigali and Kampala to Nairobi – 14 hours of speed bumps
A Royal Wedding – the muzungu gets an invitation
It’s not every day (week / month / lifetime) that you get an invitation to a Royal Wedding, so what’s a girl to say?
I was delighted, honoured (and excited!) to receive an invitation to attend our friend Prince David Wasajja’s wedding on April 27th 2013.
A big part of the excitement was seeing the Kabaka for the first time. I would translate the word Kabaka as King but my Ugandan friend D.K. says “the word King doesn’t really convey the grandeur we attach to the Kabaka, this symbol of our cultural well-being!”
An explosion of noise! The Kabaka arrives for Prince David Wasajja’s wedding 27.04.13 Kampala Uganda from @CharlieBeau Diary of a Muzungu on Vimeo.
There was an explosion of noise as the Kabaka arrived for Prince David Wasajja’s wedding at Rubaga Cathedral, Kampala.
According to Wikipedia, Prince David ‘Daudi’ Kintu Wasajja is “the youngest brother of Muwenda Mutebi II the current Kabaka of Buganda. He is the youngest son of the late Kabaka Muteesa II, the 35th Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda, and Winifred Keihangwe, an Ankole princess.”
There were some real characters at the Royal Wedding! Part 1:
Meet the bakongozi ba Kabaka, the clan whose duty it is to get the party going – literally!
A truckload of these guys rocked up, dressed in barkcloth and leopardskins, with (replica) spears – all part of the fanfare that announces the arrival of the Kabaka. Fireworks were let off and the throng went into meltdown.
“Let’s get it started…. yeah …. Let’s get it started…”
It was fascinating to see the Buganda culture ‘live in action.’ There was an explosion of noise as the Kabaka arrived for Prince David Wasajja’s wedding at Rubaga Cathedral, Kampala. The crowd’s excitement was tangible! Check out this teeny weeny (but LOUD!) video clip.
The Kabaka is rarely seen in public except for at a few official kingdom functions. In fact, it is his youngest brother who is often called upon to represent him at such occasions (but I hear he was busy that particular day).
David is very humble, so we easily forget Who He’s Related To.
That said, his wedding was not your average Ugandan wedding.
Traditional and modern, the Royal Wedding was a very inclusive affair: Baganda and other tribes, the Kingdom and the State, Catholic and Anglican, friends and family, Hashers and non-Hashers – they’d even thrown in a handful of bazungu for good measure!
Apparently David is only the third prince to wed at the Catholic Rubaga (Lubaga) Cathedral. Unlike most of the Royal Family, David is Catholic (as his mother was). The Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Lwanga, presided over the marriage ceremony, also attended by Ugandan Vice President Edward Ssekandi. Bishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo, the retired Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, offered some words of wisdom to the newlyweds. No idea what he said – but his words seemed to go down well!
And we were well behaved (or did I leave too early?)
Wikipedia also states “Local media claims Wasajja to be one of the eccentric “Hash Harriers”, a group of Kampala socialites.”
So, thinking I’m doing them a favour, I offer three Hash friends a lift to the reception in my (admittedly TINY) Mini Pajero. The seats in the back are great – if you’re a short-legged kid!
“You should at least think of your passengers before offering them a lift” one of them complained seriously, his long legs up around his ears as we bumped downhill on the shortcut past the Kabaka’s Lake. I had to laugh.
And then we hit traffic. “Just drive to the front!” they shouted! “We’re VIP.”
I hesitated – were we really? As the only Muzungu for miles, I really didn’t want myself to stand out even more than I did already. I was happy to wait in line if everyone else had to.
“No, go on,” they urged. “We have a VIP sticker” – and indeed we do, I still haven’t removed it from the windscreen 😉
So I overtook everyone, drove right to the front of the queue, and without hesitation a traffic policeman yelled in my face “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DO YOU THINK YOU ARE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE?”
Oh.
Before I could think what to say, all three friends screamed back, “How dare you talk to her like that! DON’T YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS?”
… And we were inside the Lubiri!
The Will Smith-lookalike bodyguard pushed me in front of the bride to get a better shot “yes, use your zoom lens!” he ordered. I tried my best to record this piece of Buganda Kingdom history
Princess-to-be Marion really seemed to struggle up the steps to the Cathedral. She kept her poise but the dress seemed very heavy – especially when people kept treading on it!
The speeches, oh the speeches… in Luganda… for three and a half hours… Friends told me it would be ok to take a book along to keep myself occupied during the speeches, but it didn’t feel quite right. Instead I fiddled with my camera. Everyone assumed the Muzungu was a journalist I think (no complaints from me!)
There were some real characters at the Royal Wedding! Part 2… obviously a diehard Baganda… (happy to ask me for money though, even at a Royal Wedding!)
There were some real characters at the Royal Wedding! Part 3: “what’s the (homemade) uniform about?” I asked. “We love UGANDA!” they replied, grinning.
MINISKIRT ALERT! (See the Facebook photo album). This lady obviously didn’t read the newspapers banning miniskirts from the wedding. But how did she get in? (I suspect she arrived in a traditional, long flowing Basuti and removed it once she’d got through security, but that’s only a guess!) She looked a lot more presentable than the woman who came dressed as a butterfly, complete with huge stick-on wings!
The day was full of music: Catholic choral music, traditional Buganda songs, the Uganda national anthem, some serious drumming from the Zulu contingent, some Lingala from a funky Congolese band, top Ugandan artists including Radio and Weazel, Juliana Kanyomozi, Dr Hilderman, the obligatory Jose Chameleone, Bobi Wine and Ragga D.
During his speech, the 47 year old prince explained why he had taken his time to marry. According to the Monitor newspaper, this “for understandable reasons had a few people genuinely worried.”
Come on, if you were a good-looking Prince, would you give up the single life to rush into marriage?
“I do not rush into doing things,” he explained during his speech. Indeed!
In Britain, when someone is frequently late, we say “he’ll be late for his own funeral”- at least the Prince wasn’t late for his own wedding…
“Slowly by slowly…” I say… mpola … mpola… isn’t that the way things are done around here?
I chuckled to read “His youthfulness, which many of Kampala’s nightlife have known, will probably take the attention away from the very-hard-to-ignore age difference between the prince and his wife.”
Ah well, we Hashers are well-known for being young at heart.
Note from the Muzungu: between (unintentionally!) drenching my laptop with tea, a house move and meeting client deadlines, the Royal Wedding has hardly had the full Diary of a Muzungu treatment yet – but it was a fascinating day in Buganda Kingdom history from start to finish. Here are a few of my favourite photos and video clips (er…ok one) to give you a feel for the festivities. Click here to see the full photo album on the Diary of a Muzungu Facebook page – read the article alongside the photos 🙂
CONGS! Prince David Wasajja and Princess Marion.
Note no. 2 from the Muzungu: I’ve been working on this blog for weeks but technical problems (my laptop, my dongle, the internet, the blog itself) have frustrated me constantly. Do please check out the Royal Wedding photo album on the Diary of a Muzungu Facebook page – and if you know a Kampala-based web designer looking for an internship, ask them to get in touch! I’m not a quitter but sometimes I wonder whether I should be!
Diary of a Muzungu’s travel highlights – across Uganda and Kenya
The Muzungu’s travel highlights of 2012 – Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls, community tourism in Mabira Forest, Lonely Planet, Nairobi – and two Royal Weddings!
Life in Uganda has tested me in many ways and 2012 was ‘challenging’ as we say around here – but I’m still here ‘living the dream’ (on a good day!)
The year ended on a real high, literally – waking up on Christmas Day in a treehouse overlooking Kibale Forest to the sound of chimpanzees and forest birds.
We had a feast! – with “all the trimmings” of a British Christmas dinner, including bread sauce, crackers, naff jokes, silly hats and Christmas stockings, all imported specially for the occasion.
A Kibale Forest special! The metal trunk oven worked a treat. We even had roast potatoes. Bahati cooks Christmas dinner for 12
Kibale Forest to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After Christmas we put the Baby Car (a.k.a. Mimi) through her paces. Our party of twelve people went on a 4 wheel driving adventure along the muddy marram tracks across heavenly crater lake country, en route to Queen Elizabeth National Park for a couple of days Safari, a luxury overnight in Volcanoes’ Kyambura Lodge and the most brilliant water safari and birdwatching day out on a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel. Simpson saw his first hippos and crocodiles! – I adore the waterways’ incredible birdlife (TWITCH!)
family pose, Queen Elizabeth Equator, Uganda
It’s almost a year since my last trip for our epic bird-ringing week-end at Julia’s amazing home in Kibale Forest – maybe that’s where I’ll write my book? Chimp alert! or muzungu bolthole?
From there Julia and I travelled to the wide open savannah of Ishasha where we’d jumped in an elephant trench and had a go at maintaining the matooke (banana) plantation – all in a day’s work for the Bazungu!
Why I love elephant dung! tells the story.
Back in Kampala, my photographer friend Javi and I rocked up to State House, the President’s office. Javi asked me to collaborate with him on a book about Uganda and we have the makings of a great project – we just need someone to pay for it! And so we spent Valentine’s Day sweltering on the veranda as our 10 a.m. meeting got put back and back and back. By 4 p.m. we finally had our slot with one of the President’s Permanent Secretaries, a charming lady called Grace: but alas the answer was NO.
We didn’t get to meet The Man With The Hat (The Big Man) either. Boo, hoo Valentine’s Day, no red rose, no book deal, not nuffink.
I love seeing everyone’s favourite Uganda memories – this one went back to Scotland with fellow VSO volunteers Stuart and Elisabeth
September saw the launch of the Uganda photo souvenir map Facebook page. The Uganda map is designed by Andrew Roberts, a UCF Director and co-editor of the Bradt travel guide. Special thanks to ‘Chimp Girl’ Julia Lloyd and Harriet ‘Ebola’ Fowler for commissioning photo maps and for all your support! Each montage is individually created with your photos and 10% of sales go to the Uganda Conservation Foundation to help fight poaching in the National Parks – now at its worst level in decades.
Poaching is fuelled mostly by the growth of the Chinese middle classes and facilitated by China’s growing networks and investments in East Africa. Check out my friend Anne-Marie’s brilliant article about poaching in Uganda, entitled There is a lot of it about.
In October, I was delighted to welcome fellow Lonely Planet* blogger, Isabel Romano, on her first trip to Africa. After a visit to Ggaba market on Lake Victoria and a relaxing lunch at Cassia Lodge taking in the view, Ronald and I introduced her to a very different view of Kampala: a visit to Namuwongo slum.
Ugandan kids have the best smiles! Thanks to Isabel Romano of www.diariodeabordo.com for this fabulous photo
To find out more about some of the excellent development work in Namuwongo slums, check out Events for Namuwongo on Facebook.
My friend Ronald is a professional dog trainer based in Kampala. I love my walks with him and De Boys – Baldrick and Percy!
The best friend a girl could have: the Dog with the Waggiest Tail. Coming to Uganda gave me the chance to have my first dog, Baldrick, my parter in crime in many of my blog stories. Here are some of my favourite moments.
Namuwongo is dear to my heart – the first place I lived in Uganda.
Murchison Falls National Park
I celebrated my birthday with Red Chilli’s at their camp in Murchison Falls National Park, where we partied all week-end to celebrate the camp’s tenth birthday. A percentage of all the camp’s profits go to support the Steve Willis Memorial Fund.
Anne-Marie and I should have known better: as we entered the Park, we opened the car doors in exactly the wrong spot letting vicious biting Tsetse flies loose in the car. We spent the weekend itching, scratching and regretting it!
You can’t help but fall in love with the Rothschild’s Giraffes in Murchison Falls National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Tembo Canteen on Mweya Peninsula in Queen Elizabeth is possibly the best location in the world to endure three days of PowerPoint presentations, with Mike Cant’s talk about mongooses being the highlight. Kabina squashed on a hard wooden benche, I loved reconnecting with my conservation friends for UWA’s research symposium: Dianah, Phionah and Richard from NatureUganda, Aggie and Dr Margaret from UWA, Gladys of Conservation Through Public Health, Alex, Erik and Emmanuel from UCF, Alastair and Andy from Wildlife Conservation Society. Poaching, invasive species, climate change and human wildlife conflict are just some of the big issues UWA is challenged with.
The weekend finished with a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel. The eager eyes of a warden even spotted a leopard, a distant dot high up on the hillside! We certainly didn’t expect to see a leopard in broad daylight from the boat, but that’s the wonderful thing about going on Safari – every outing is different.
Birds and bird watching in Uganda
By the way, if you like birds you might enjoy some of the muzungu’s Uganda birding stories, now grouped on one handy page inspired by attending the UK Bird Fair and hanging out with expert birders Roger, Malcolm, David Lindo ‘the Urban Birder’ and Aussie Chris Watson.
African Fish Eagles on the Kazinga Channel, Queen Elizabeth National Park
The best community tourism projects in Uganda are promoted by UCOTA
The UCOTA community tourism fam trip was another highlight. We had a lot of fun, as you will read in – Can you play the Xylophone? – and got to meet the real people living on the edges of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Theirs is not an easy life.
Honey never tasted so good!
A wave of patriotism flooded Uganda in 2012 as the country celebrated 50 years of independence. Needless to say it also brought up a lot of discontent, mostly aimed at the current regime’s 26 years in power. My contribution to the party? 50 reasons why I love Uganda – my most popular blog ever.
A moment of feeling homesick…
I felt a twinge of homesickness as I thought of all my friends and family celebrating the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the London Olympics. British expat friends dressed in the red, white and blue of the Union Jack and gathered round a TV set in Kololo to watch the celebrations along the Thames.
Cha, Amy and Jennie. Diamond Jubilee Kampala
I was glad to be able to get a glimpse of London Bridge on TV. I felt quite homesick for a moment! Diamond Jubilee 2012
Uganda was delighted to welcome home the Marathon gold Olympic medallist Kipsoro. It seemed to be a typical Ugandan achievement – mpole, mpole ‘slowly by slowly’ – wait until the very last event to win a medal…! Ugandans are rightly proud of this homegrown talent, who actually trained in next door Kenya.
A wave of patriotism swept across Uganda in 2012. Boda boda photo courtesy of journalist photographer Amy Fallon http://www.amyfallon.com/
Running across East Africa, with the Hash House Harriers – and a Royal Wedding
I know a lot of talented runners. Kampala’s Seven Hills race (or does Kampala have 22 hills now?) certainly keeps us fit! At 1000 metres above sea level, rumour has it that if we train here in Kampala, we return to the lower lands of Europe with more stamina. (I certainly huffed and puffed my way up Tank Hill in Muyenga, Kampala for a few months before I acclimatised to the increase in altitude).
An invitation from the Buganda Kingdom
Regular Diary of a Muzungu blog readers will know of my Monday evening antics with the Kampala Hash House Harriers, that have taken me to all corners of Kampala, Jinja, Nairobi and even Ethiopia. I felt a million Muganda ladies sigh (and maybe a couple of Muzungu ones too) as the Buganda Kingdom announced the engagement of our friend Prince David Wassaja. We wish you all de best Federo! The Muzungu was honoured to be invited to the Buganda Royal Wedding.
De Prince tries to keep a low profile as he passes villagers on the annual Kampala Jinja relay
I was honoured to attend the wedding of Prince Wasajja at the Lubiri in Mengo
Northern Uganda comes to Kampala
In April we welcomed back the sometimes controversial comedienne Jane Bussman to Kampala for another run of her award-winning show, entitled “The worst date ever – or how it took a comedy writer to expose Africa’s secret war.” It was a sell-out night in Kampala. All proceeds from Jane’s show went to complete construction of a house for ex-LRA child soldiers in Northern Uganda.
Meeting new tribes in Nairobi, Kenya
The Muzungu and new friends from Turkana and Pokot tribes, Kenya. The tourism show at Nairobi’s Sarit Centre whet my appetite for more East African travel
Check out the Muzungu with my new friends – the guy looks very cute! Kenya is only a bus ride away and I need to explore the country further!
The two are not connected 😉
We stopped for a spot of shopping – in the middle of the sugarcane plantation, Mabira, Jinja
Griffin Falls Ecocamp, Mabira Forest, Jinja
Set in the heart of Mabira Forest, Griffin Falls campsite is a charming little hideaway.
Enkima red-tailed monkey mural, one of many on display at Griffin Falls Camp, Mabira
The banda accommodation and food are basic and cheap; if you’re happy with cold bucket showers and a kerosene lamp, you’ll love this place. Isla and I hired bikes for a guided tour of the Forest and the Falls and I even saw my first Grey Cheeked Mangabey! Hussein and Peter (tel +256(0)751949368 / +256(0)751955671) are very friendly and knowledgeable about the forest’s birds and trees, under threat from so-called developers. The campsite is a real gem.
PHEW! Well I’ve worn myself out just reliving all of that lot…! Time for a lie-down now…
So what does the New Year hold for the Muzungu?
2013 is my year – and hopefully Uganda’s too, after National Geographic voted Uganda one of the top 20 places to visit in 2013.
*Sadly, after four years, Lonely Planet has dropped its links with Diary of a Muzungu and the 100s of other travel bloggers featured on its web site, after Lonely Planet was sold to the BBC. Farewell #lp we’ve had a good run. We in Uganda loved being Lonely Planet’s no. 1 destination to visit in 2012 and working with Lonely Planet bloggers to create a free downloadable book of photography was a personal highlight.
Moving house Ugandan style. PHOTO Mark Thriscutt
Diary of a Muzungu now accepts guest posts so if you have a story you want to share with the world, please get in touch! Thanks to my first guest blogger Mark Penhallow for a hilarious blog about Driving in Kampala
If you haven’t visited Uganda yet, feel free to explore my blog or drop the Muzungu an email for more Uganda and East Africa travel ideas. Wishing you an adventure-filled New Year!
Yes, we have no bananas
“Yes, we have no bananas” a song that could have been written in celebration of Uganda’s favourite fast food
Two hands of bananas guide us on our road trip
Bananas require no preparation, no refrigeration – and they’re cheap; just reach out your arm and you’ll find one – in villages, along the roadside, in the corner shop and balanced in wide baskets on ladies’ heads amongst the traffic jams in downtown Kampala.
I’m not a mathematician but … if Uganda were an equation, surely: matoke + boda boda = UG?
Baby Dillon can eat four sweet bananas for breakfast!
I arrived at Julia’s homestay on the edge of Kibale Forest plastered in banana – they were everywhere I looked. Fresh bananas were ‘ever waiting’ for the guests at Julia’s. We brought them with us from Kampala too, although they quickly turned brown in the hot car.
Three days in the Bush, all banana’d out, we point the car in the direction of the crater lakes of Fort Portal and pass a lady selling fruit under a tree.
“Would you like some more bananas?” Julia asks.
“No thanks.”
I may well have eaten a banana too many. I tell you what love, I’ll tell you where you can stick your bananas.
And from 1923, a song by Louis Prima that sticks in my head as stubbornly as banana puree clings to my once-clean trousers ….
*Check your sound’s on*
1, 2, 3 let’s sing along to: “Yes, we have no Bananas”…
It’s run by a Greek
And he keeps good things to eat but you should hear him speak!
When you ask him anything, he never answers “no”
He just “yes”es you to death, and as he takes your dough he tells you
“Yes, we have no bananas
We have-a no bananas today
Cabashes, and scallions,
And all sorts of fruit and say
We have an old fashioned tomato
A Long Island potato but yes, we have no bananas
We have no bananas today”
When he got them in the store, there was fun, you bet
Someone asked for “sparrow grass” and then the whole quartet
All answered “Yes, we have no bananas
We have-a no bananas today
Those walnuts and doughnuts
There ain’t many nuts like they
We’ll sell you two kinds of red herring,
Dark brown, and ball-bearing
But yes, we have no bananas
We have no bananas today
Yes, I don’t think we got soup or pie
You gotta coconut pie?
Yes, I don’t think we got coconut pie
Well I’ll have one cup a coffee
We gotta no coffee
Then watta you got?
I got a banana!
Oh you’ve got a banana!
Hey, Mary Anna, you gotta… gotta no banana?
Why this man, he’s no believe-a what I say… no… he no believe me…
Now whatta you wanta mister? You wanna buy twelve for a quarter?
Well, just a one of a look, I’m gonna call for my daughter
Hey, Mary Anna You gotta piana
Yes, a banana, no
Yes, we gotta no bananas today!
That we are entirely out of the fruit in question
The afore-mentioned vegetable bearing the cognomen “Banana“
We might induce you to accept a substitute less desirable,
But that is not the policy at this internationally famous green grocery
I should say not. No no no no no no no
But may we suggest that you sample our five o’clock tea
Which we feel certain will tempt your pallet?
However we regret that after a diligent search
Of the premises By our entire staff
We can positively affirm without fear of contradiction
That our raspberries are delicious; really delicious
Very delicious but we have no bananas today.
The Muzungu’s travel highlights of 2011 – Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Turkey!
Travel highlights – from across Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia and Turkey
If 2011 was busy, 2012 looks set to be busier still! Here are a few of 2011’s highlights for Diary of a Muzungu, Uganda travel blog …
Nairobi to Lake Naivasha Relay – local Maasai watched bemused as 100 Hashers ran through Hell’s Gate National Park
Travel to Kenya
The annual Naivasha Relay (84 km from Nairobi to Lake Naivasha) is one of the highlights of Nairobi Hash House Harriers’ calendar.
40 Ugandan Hashers travelled from Kampala to Kenya for the week-end party (I mean run!) I ran my share of tghe relay- 3 km to be exact – ‘good enough’ as we say in UG.
The weekend started with a 12 hour bus journey: The real ‘boda boda’ experience – travelling sidesaddle into Kenya.
Travel across Rwanda
A full day’s travelling by bus across Uganda, through Kigali, and onto the fabulous Volcanoes National Park (Parc Nationale des Virungas) to stay at Le Bambou Gorilla Village in Kinigi.
The muzungu travelled with her personal physician
Rwanda’s reputation precedes it in many positive ways nowadays.
The smooth tarmac in Kigali made a pleasant change from Uganda’s potholes; the legal obligation to wear a helmet on a boda boda (motorbike taxi) in Kigali came as a bit of a shock after Kampala’s very relaxed attitude to road safety!
A flight to South Africa via Nairobi
TIP: next time you fly, look at the map before you select your seat – choose a window seat, check which side of the plane to sit and have your camera ready. Some of my most memorable travel moments of 2011 have been from on high (and I haven’t even joined the Mile High Club yet!)
- Mount Kilimanjaro through the clouds;
- Traversing the seemingly endless azure blue of Lake Malawi;
- Skirting around the edges of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater;
- Seeing volcanoes emerge over the horizon as we approached Nairobi;
- The shot of Kilimanjaro – en route to Johannesburg – is a favourite. Sigh …
Daybreak at 30,000 feet – Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance
Johannesburg, South Africa
U2′s ‘Beautiful Day’ will forever remind me of a great ten days in Johannesburg, with a great friend and her beautiful daughter, and something deeper – retracing my political and musical roots:
South Africa – Under a blood red sky with U2
Thank you Holly! For the trip, for the friendship and for being a part of my journey as a Voluntary Service Overseas volunteer.
Ethiopia
Hashing – the ‘drinking club with a running problem’ – led me on a very merry dance (hic!) around Ethiopia for two truly memorable weeks. I can’t stop reliving and writing about Ethiopia, here’s one of my posts:
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Feeling IRIE in Addis Ababa
Traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony overlooking Tissisat Falls
A stopover in Istanbul, Turkey
On a trip back home to the UK, I stopped over in Istanbul for a day. Istanbul looks like my kind of place.
A day in … Istanbul got me thinking about how much I’d like to be travelling and writing about travel full-time.
Travel across Uganda
This year, I was excited to take part in the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s new tourism experience: Walking with Mongooses, a really fun and informative day out in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You may have watched the BBC’s ‘Banded Brothers’ TV series, all about these fascinating fellas.
Muzungu with Mongooses at Mweya, Queen Elizabeth National Park
This year has been a year for:
WRITING – articles for The Eye Magazine Rwanda, Uganda’s Business Today magazine and writing and producing Uganda Matters, the annual newsletter for the Uganda Conservation Foundation.
Diary of a Muzungu has been featuring on Lonely Planet since 2009 (PHEW! no wonder I’m knackered!)
Diary of a Muzungu was a Lonely Planet Featured Blogger from 2009 to 2012
CONNECTING – with published authors, Lonely Planet bloggers and the global travel blogosphere. Thanks in particular to Todd Wassel at Todd’s Wanderings, for the beautiful and fantabulous Around the World with 40 Lonely Planet bloggers ebook; Mazarine Treyz of Wildwoman Fundraising for her boundless creativity and energy; Wandering Trader Marcello Arrambide who dropped by Kampala and shared some awesome tips on travel blogging. Writing and blogging can be an introspective way to spend your spare time – but you guys keep me motivated. Thank you so much!
CHANGING CAREERS – I’ve always said that in Uganda, “business is social and social is business” and I like it that way…
After two and a half years as a VSO volunteer for the Uganda Conservation Foundation, it was time to move on and employ a local man to take over my role. I’m so proud to have been part of UCF (work trips to the Bush – safari yeah!)
A big achievement. Launch of the Pan African Conservation Education training manual, Ggaba PTC, Kampala with the Uganda Conservation Foundation team and Voluntary Service Overseas,
Despite the global recession, UCF’s donors continue to support our work with the Uganda Conservation Foundation. The Uganda Wildlife Authority is so pleased with UCF’s work in Queen Elizabeth National Park that UCF is now working with them to tackle poaching and human wildlife conflict in Murchison Falls National Park. (Damn, that’s one trip I missed out on!) As you can see, I still talk about UCF in the present tense and I’ll continue to do as much as I can to promote this fantastic charity.
Life as a VSO volunteer in Uganda has certainly had its ups and downs. It’s been a truly incredible three years so far. I love life in Uganda – but it does sometimes get the better of me:
Shotgun wedding – a surreal and intense day
Here’s a bit more about life as a volunteer in Uganda –
Still counting myself lucky! 2 years on …
So why am I still in Uganda? Here’s one reason – one of my favourite blogs from last year:
Early morning sights and sounds
Happy New Year everyone!
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Shoulder shimmying in Gondar
Secure in the knowledge that Ethiopia has been reported to be one of the safest African countries for a woman to travel independently, I’d mentally prepared to spend the rest of the fortnight travelling on my own. But I’m glad I didn’t; I couldn’t have wished for better travelling companions and, to be honest, there was no escaping the Hashers anyway! No sooner had we said goodbye to one group than we bumped into another.
And so Wailer, Mekdes ‘Madness,’ (Love and) Desire and I set off for Gonder on public transport. I‘d have loved to have sat next to Wailer for a few hours but not in the front of a minibus without a seat belt. The decision was quickly confirmed when a middle aged businessman sat down next to me and a rival ‘conductor’ leapt through the gap in the seats (where I’d have been sitting) and punched the driver several times. Words were said – and he punched him again, the crime seemingly that the driver had ‘stolen’ the wealthy-looking passenger.
A hand pushed open the window next to me to demand money. I quickly slammed it shut and turned to feel his hand reaching through the window behind me – this was going to be an eventful journey!
Things settled down as we left town and we overtook donkeys laden with enormous heavy sacks, horses and carts, kids walking home from school carrying satchels hand stitched from grain sacks. Vehicles were few and far between. A toothless man in his 50s climbed in, crook in hand, and a wooden cross at his neck. The smell of animals clung to his many layered dirty shawls, slowly intensifying as the taxi heated up. A sweating carrier bag of onions added an extra edge to the atmosphere.
Gonder – They came, they saw, they played table football (Veni, vidi, vinci) with apologies to Julius Caesar
Five hours later, we arrived in Gonder. I loved the 1950s style Italian coffee shops (I felt a pang of homesickness for Europe!) and the fabulous ‘nasfiq’ breakfast of spicy tomato lentils, with scrambled eggs and a dollop of yoghurt, served with crusty bread (at the Telesatellite Club below the Post Office).
I love Ethiopian food! Espris or a ‘Spritzer’ is 100% juice: layers of freshly pureed fruit – mango, avocado and paw paw, served with a twist of lime – in a tall ‘knickerbocker glory’ glass and a long spoon. Heaven.
Top on Gonder’s tourist itinerary is the 17th Century Royal Enclosure, a UNESCO heritage site of castles, halls and even an enclosure for the king’s lions! Uganda has little architecture and I lapped up the history. (Funny the things you don’t realise you miss until you see them again).
Read my review of Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure)
Highly recommend using a guide. Ours was very informative, UNESCO registered. We negotiated a group price. 100 birr entry for each of us + 150 birr for the guide. Finished the tour with a fabulous coffee ceremony, opposite the ticket office.
Place had a calm and welcoming feel.
The castle was developed over several centuries, thus captures different architectural styles and periods of history. Close your eyes and try and picture the lions in the enclosure and the halls full of people!
I enjoyed the place but I live in Uganda where there is little architecture, thus Gondar was a treat. If you’re someone who lives in the West, you may find this castle lacks the facilities you’re used to (e.g. no shop, nothing interactive, toilets very basic).
Don’t miss the Church of Debra Berhan Selassie. I went at dusk, it was fabulous and then on a tuk tuk to the Goha Hotel for a sundowner (couldn’t afford to stay there but the view was wonderful).
If in Gondar, would recommend a drink at the hotel to watch sunset.
My TripAdvisor review of Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure) Gondar, August 2011
Later that afternoon I followed fellow Hasher Jesus into the church of Debre Burhan Selassie (how many people can say that?) Inside we admired the church’s beautiful hand-painted walls and ceilings, bedecked with cherubs, one of the more familiar images of Ethiopia. The priest was welcoming and didn’t seem to mind us floating in and out and taking photos.
Traditional Ethiopian dancing, two nights in a row, with our lovely friend and de facto guide Madness, was a riot. The painted plaster walls, traditional musical instruments and goatskin paintings created an inviting and intimate atmosphere for our evenings of shoulder shimmying at Belago and Ansari Bet. The singer worked the room; teasing and entertaining us with poems created for each person in the room, accompanied by a man playing the masenqo a potent mix of string and percussion. She stuck the proffered notes first on her forehead then in her bra. The superb range of her voice was only spoiled by the stink of the latrines. Ethiopia, you need to sort your toilets out.
The masenqo is a single-string violin common in the musical traditions of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The square-shaped resonator is normally covered with parchment or rawhide. [Image courtesy of Abesha Bunna Bet, a really cool English language web site about all things Ethiopian).
Next morning, in the Ethiopian Airlines office (for the umpteenth time), the Man Who Would Not Go Home deliberated about where to travel next. Desire had changed his flight back to Nairobi twice already. When offered the option to get an open return, he’d said no (a decision he was to regret at least two more times).
A very nice man made our flight reservations to Lalibela. We couldn’t believe it when the same man checked us in at Gondar airport. “Are you flying the plane too?” “Yes, I will be on the plane” he said.
Wow, that’s some personal service.
A recap of Africa Hash 2011
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Part 1: three days in Addis Ababa
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Part 2: road trip to Bahir Dar and Tissisat Falls
Thank you! Amaseganalu
Thanks to the Africa Hash main sponsor St. George beer. Africa Hash served as the launch event for their mobile draught beer bar – I can safely say we gave it the baptism it deserves.
Hashing has given me the opportunity to travel abroad with my Ugandan friends, reconnect with English friends I met at Africa Hash 2009 in Kampala, and make friends in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania friends. Mombasa May 2012 is booked (I can’t wait to party with Nairobi Hashers again) and Africa Hash 2013 in Ghana pencilled in…
Special thanks to Addis Hash for inviting us to your fabulous country. I’ve wanted to visit for years but you provided the opportunity, gave us a fantastic welcome, an awesome party and continued to enchant me even after the official festivities were over. I WILL BE BACK!
ON ON
Kampala to Nairobi by bus – 14 hours of speed bumps!
Travel by bus between Uganda and Kenya – with tips and links to some of my favourite travel stories!
It was a terrible night’s ‘sleep’ – a 14-hour bus journey from Kampala to Nairobi: the speed bumps shuddered us awake every few minutes. I swear I woke a hundred times. I awoke cold, shivering and aching.
A few glasses of Waragi – it was my birthday after all – would have knocked me out, but I daren’t drink too much when I know (from the equally long bus ride to Kigali in Rwanda) that the bus drivers have bladders like camels and only stop once, twice if you’re lucky, on the whole journey.
Cowhides for sale along the road to Nairobi from the Uganda border
As night became day, I heard Chinese say “Nagawa, look!” and she pointed to a beautiful caldera (volcano), tinted pale brown, with a pale blue sky and mist in the distance. What a magical sight.
An hour before reaching Nairobi, I watched people walking to work: a man carried enormous lidded baskets over his shoulder, donkeys trailed box carts, a man lay on the ground inspecting his bicycle. Stalls sold cowhides displayed at the roadside.
The bus sped past the ‘Master Kitchen Hotel’ and ‘Hotel Paradise’, two-room shacks painted in bright vertical stripes. Despite their simplicity, I enjoyed the variety of the architecture, in contrast to the uniformity of Uganda.
As we passed tree plantations, I thought of Professor Wangari Maathai founder of the Green Belt Movement and wondered whether they were her work? She died just a few days before we travelled. Since 1977, the Green Belt Movement has planted over 45 million trees in Kenya, and thousands of women have been empowered to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. In 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first environmentalist and African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I’d been thinking about her all week and what an incredible role model she was so it was quite moving to be racing through Kenya and seeing plantations of young trees.
In Nairobi, street sweepers’ brooms have handles! – unlike the back-breaking work in Kampala where the ladies are bent double, laboriously sweeping the roads by hand, as rush hour traffic speeds past inches away from them.
Despite the grubbiness of downtown Nairobi (why do bus stations always take you to the shittiest parts of town?) I had to smile at the wonderfully named shops ‘Recovery Pharmacist’ ‘Arise and Shine Fashions’ and ‘Best Care House Girls.’
Our group stumbled, bleary-eyed, out of the bus and jumped in a matatu (slightly less battered than the Kampala ones!) and headed to our hotel in a leafy part of town. I couldn’t believe it when we pulled up next door to the HQ of the Green Belt Movement! The Hashers made for the bar; I made my way to the condolences book and paid my humble respects, alongside tributes from governments and politicians from across the world. I couldn’t believe the timing – I confess I’d only recently known of Professor Maathai’s work and here I was staying a few metres from the base of this fantastic operation, during the week of condolences.
Paying respects – condolences book. late Professor Wangari Maathai
This cross-border bus journey marked the start of the epic Nairobi to Naivasha Relay which Kampala Hash House Harriers have emulated with our equally awesome Kampala to Jinja Relay!
I love the Hash – together we have travelled all corners of East Africa – and beyond – to Hoima, Kigali, Addis Ababa, Malindi and even to the border with South Sudan (where some silly muzungu got rather lost!)
If you enjoy my cross-border bus journeys, read The real ‘boda boda’ – Nagawa travels sidesaddle into Kenya and MASH-tastic the muzungu’s bus tips from Kampala to Nairobi.
The real ‘boda boda’ – Nagawa travels sidesaddle into Kenya
There were plenty of seats on the bus – so why does the big man always have to sit next to me? As we prepared to leave the Kampala bus park, he reclined his seat and wedged two greasy paper bags between us. “Do you even have an apple to eat?” he asked me as he proceeded to munch fried chicken from one hand and a chapatti from the other; he sprawled in every direction for 14 hours.
We drove straight into heavy evening traffic – and the side of a car. After ten minutes of arguing and arm waving, the consensus was that the car was the one-size-fits-all-Ugandan-term: “stubborn.”
The journey to the Uganda Kenya border passed without incident until one in the morning, when I was roused from the night’s only decent bit of sleep to see somebody in a uniform wave some banknotes right in my face.
In my effort to not be ripped off at the border, I got ripped off at the border – not so much by individuals as by the system: money from my British bank account was issued in Ugandan shillings at the ATM in Kampala. I changed some into Kenyan shillings for the border crossing. Much to my annoyance, I then had to purchase a single $50 note for my visa! (They wouldn’t let me pay the equivalent in either shilling). I don’t even want to think how much money I literally threw away but I didn’t have much choice: my special (work) pass ran out with my Voluntary Services Overseas placement and I needed to leave Uganda in order to reenter on a new tourist visa while my new special pass is being processed.
As the only muzungu on the bus, it was hardly surprising that the bus drove off without me while I took time to change money and fill in forms at the border. “It’s ok” Dirty Dick said “we’ll get on the bikes” and he pointed to the two boys who’d just appeared on pushbikes next to him.
I hitched up my dress and lifted one buttock onto the small padded seat above the back wheel and the four of us pedalled off into the darkness of the no-man’s-land between Uganda and Kenya.
Kampala’s (in)famous boda boda motorbike taxis – that seem to swarm around Kampala like cockroaches – started here, on the border crossing between the two countries. Like them or loathe them, they provide an invaluable public transport service and we couldn’t do without them now.
A big bat swooped beneath the arc of a solitary street light as we coasted down a short slope through a lorry park. The place seemed deserted. I felt the bike wobble (or was that my *kabina?)
Crossing back into Uganda three days later, under my Ugandan name Nagawa (according to the bus ticket) I was issued with a 3 month visa which says I – travelling on a British passport – am a citizen of the USA!
*A kabina is what a lady sits on – the bigger it is, the more compliments she gets!
Nairobi to Lake Naivasha Relay – local people watch as runners and carloads of Hashers motor through to Naivasha
This cross-border bus journey marked the end of the epic Nairobi to Naivasha Relay which Kampala Hash House Harriers have emulated with our equally awesome Kampala to Jinja Relay!
I love the Hash – together we have travelled all corners of East Africa – and beyond – to Hoima, Kigali, Addis Ababa, Malindi and even to the border with South Sudan (where some silly muzungu got rather lost!)
If you enjoy my cross-border bus journeys, read MASH-tastic the muzungu’s bus tips from Kampala to Nairobi and Kampala to Nairobi – 14 hours of speed bumps and No hurry in Africa.
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Magnificent Tissisat Falls
Monday: the Hashiest day of the week.
Tibs (meat) and injera bread (I grew to love it!)
The breakfast promised ‘as soon as we get out of Addis’ was actually brunch several hours later. I ate the best scrambled eggs ever and the Ethiopians shared tibs and injera. I noticed how everyone ate only with their right hand and pretended to do the same. I even sat on my left hand at one point, eager not to accidentally offend.
As we drove north, the landscape changed. I watched a child remove a big brown ‘pancake’ from a pile and tried to work out what it was: well fancy that, it’s a big pile of shit! Dried cow dung ready to put on the fire.
Comparable to Colorado’s Grand Canyon, the Blue Nile Gorge is a sight to behold. Next to a sign that read “the road is highly slipping. Stoping prohibited” we stopped for photos, a small rock wedged beneath one wheel of the coach. As we descended in altitude, the heat intensified.
Flagging, after a whole day on the coach and more than ready for beer, we talked the driver into another stop. It had started raining as I walked out of the restaurant. The coach driver started to drive off, sounding his horn loudly. I chased after the driver, ready to abuse him. Desire and Jesus ran behind me, both careering on the wet road and landing in the ditch hidden behind the coach.
Wailer stands above Helvetas’ remote footbridge near Tissisat Falls
“I banged my finger” Desire said as he showed me a rather bent looking digit. “Oh dear, that doesn’t look right.” A First Aid box was produced and Wailer proceeded to yank Desire’s finger back into position with a crowd of Ethiopian lovelies crowding around them. Desire was force fed local gin, for purely medicinal reasons.
“Monday is definitely not going to be a finger day then,” we teased. “Can’t every day just be a Thursday?” Desire asked. (You work it out).
As we pulled away there were shouts of “Strap, On!” Sheila’s a road safety consultant, so belt up!
Despite what the Ethiopia Bradt guide says, Tissisat Falls are most definitely worth a visit – if you know someone who can turn the tap on! As we turned a corner, three dramatic waterfalls came into view. Possibly the highlight of the whole trip, the Falls and the surrounding vista of mountains in every direction were out of this world.
Hashing transcends cultures, professions, ages and running ability. It’s a real leveler and includes some well-connected people – you never know who’s underneath that Hash T shirt. And so, with a simple phone call, the water flowing through the hydroelectric dam was rerouted for an hour so we could see – and feel from 100 metres away – the full force of the original Falls. How lucky were we?
An Ethiopian lady Hasher, Tissisat (Blue Nile) Falls behind her
Mekdes ‘Madness’ in Gonder, with the next day’s newspaper – featuring the very same Falls!
View a short video clip Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia
Thanks to Helvetas who sponsored the Hash T -shirts for the run. Helvetas constructed the fabulous metal footbridge, one of nine they’ve built in remote parts in Ethiopia. Just see how people crossed before!
Terrifying: some of us would pay good money to scare ourselves witless bungee jumping and the like – but to have to do this to get to work? or receive medical treatment? without any kind of equipment?!
A recap of Africa Hash 2011
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Part 1: three days in Addis Ababa
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Part 2: road trip to Bahir Dar and Tissisat Falls
Thank you! Amaseganalu
Thanks to the Africa Hash main sponsor St. George beer. Africa Hash served as the launch event for their mobile draught beer bar – I can safely say we gave it the baptism it deserves.
Hashing has given me the opportunity to travel abroad with my Ugandan friends, reconnect with English friends I met at Africa Hash 2009 in Kampala, and make friends in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania friends. Mombasa May 2012 is now firmly in the diary (I can’t wait to party with Nairobi Hashers again) and Africa Hash 2013 in Ghana pencilled in…
Special thanks to Addis Hash for inviting us to your fabulous country. I’ve wanted to visit for years but you provided the opportunity, gave us a fantastic welcome, an awesome party and continued to enchant me even after the official festivities were over. I WILL BE BACK!
ON ON
View the whole Ethiopia photo album on Facebook
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Feeling irie in Addis Ababa
Of a forecast 50+ Kampala Hashers, about half that number slowly dripped into Addis Ababa for Africa Hash 2011, mpole mpole ‘slowly by slowly’ all the way – one of them arrived on Sunday morning. Seriously guys, that’s a lot of beer drinking time you wasted.
Hashing, ‘a drinking club with a running problem’ is open to everyone, everywhere. Africa Hash takes place every two years and lasts three days.
The Constitution of the Hash House Harriers states:
- To promote physical fitness among our members
- To get rid of weekend hangovers
- To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
- To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel
“Out of all the bars in all the world, he had to walk into mine.” I’d only been in Ethiopia an hour and who sat next to me? The Hasher I’d done my best to get away from at Africa Hash 2009. But with 300 other Hashers to drink, dance (and possibly even run with!) it hardly mattered.
Friday is a hashing day! The Entoto run – altitude 3,211m
Time to register and to dive into the goodie bag: I loved the Ethiopian flavour, especially the tej (honey wine) glass and the coffee condoms (they keep you up all night, apparently).
Stuffed full of spicy Fir Fir (and ready to catch up on some sleep), I climbed aboard a coach for Entoto. “Ten people need to get off or we won’t get up the hill!” Bozo yelled. We yelled back. Nobody moved; we were too busy singing along to Sucker’s Hash songs as the coach slowly crawled up the hill past the two donkeys f**king by the side of the road.
After Bozo’s proclamation that “Kampala Hash is shit,” I was keen to see exactly what makes Addis ‘so bloody brilliant.’ But, I’ll give it them: Addis Hashes are better marked than Kampala ones. There’s a colour scheme for the different shredded paper marking the trails (until it rains!) and you really led us a merry dance with your check backs, you w**kers.
Kampala is 1000m above sea level but I still found Addis tough going. We walked – and panted – our way uphill for two and a half hours, through the smell of Eucalyptus, pine, sage and thyme. I chose the harder walk first: I knew by the next day I’d be f**ked.
It was a blustery circle back at the top of Entoto and we just hung around long enough to empty the keg of St. George.
Back at Tropical Gardens that evening, the boys from the slum shook their shoulders for us in a terrific dance routine. Sidney Salmon and his reggae band got the crowd feeling Irie. “One love,. …. let’s get together … and drink all night.” Learning more about Rastafarianism was just one highlight of being in Ethiopia.
At this point I have to say that Mismanagement did not live up to their name: the entertainment programme ran so smoothly; it was hard to imagine it was really a Hash event.
Several St. Georges later and the Hashettes Toad Under and Lobster and I turned our attention to the model Ethiopian Airlines plane, strategically misplaced right next to 300 drunken Hashers cavorting on the dance floor. “That thing’s not going to last the week-end!” Toad Under said, as we suggestively draped ourselves over it and set to scheming how the three of us were going to ride it (all puns intended).
My first Blue Donkey (taxi) experience later that night was scary; convinced we were trying to rip him off, the driver pulled over and screamed abuse at us at the top of his voice for five minutes. No-one moved (not that you can in a Lada anyway). Another U turn and another screaming fit later, I was relieved when it was my turn to jump out.
Note: Lobster had asked another Hasher to see I got home ok. He didn’t, he made his own arrangements. I suppose I should forgive him; he’d been locked out of his room the night before while one of the local ladies tested out the contents of the goodie bag with an Antipodean Hasher she’d picked up at the airport. Yes – I do have names!!
Saturday is a hashing day! Suluta Valley run – altitude 2750m
Back on the coach up the hill past the two donkeys (still) fucking by the side of the road.
I made no pretence at running – nor did many others! But enjoyed the scenery and walking with Drainoil, a fascinating man from Kuala Lumpur Hash and a walking piece of Hash history. What he doesn’t know, isn’t worth knowing. Hashing started in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur.
I lagged behind but was delighted when I turned a corner to see a Hasher languishing on a rock, St George in hand. This was undoubtedly the best circle of the week-end … DESPITE THE BEER RUNNING OUT! Ben Ghazi entertained us with the bagpipes (I left Europe to avoid that sound), Queenie dragged (not so innocent) Hashettes into the circle, Sucker was merciless with a cane and the locals looked on, mouths open, as Hashettes mounted Hashers on the open grass.
Back in town, the highlight of Saturday night was the Tam Tam (African music) Club in town. “I’m digging your Ugandan moves” Strap On said. (Two years as a volunteer in Uganda have not been wasted then!)
“I’m staying at the Hilton,” some Hasher chancer told me, “but it’s a bit lonely on my own” he hinted.” I glanced down at his wedding ring. “You should have brought your wife then,” I thought, as I sought refuge on the dance floor to wiggle my kabina some more.
Sunday is a hashing day!
The Red Dress Run was a hoot: there weren’t many Red Dresses (we were uncommonly well behaved after that nice Slave Trader’s warning not to offend the locals) and there was no Running but it was certainly er … Red.
The tree planting was a nice surprise. As a conservationist, I can bore you silly about how much I love trees. The Red Dress Run was in aid of Cheshire Services – a charity that works with Ethiopian children and young people with disabilities.
Back at the Tropical Gardens for our last get-together, a treat was laid on for us: grown men and women vomiting beer everywhere. Nice. Apparently it’s the gas that makes you heave, not the three days and nights of continuous drinking.
Sunday night, I crashed and burned. I hear Nairobi Hashers were giving it large back at the Phoenix Pub. I had another 2 weeks to go; I was pacing myself.
A recap of Africa Hash 2011
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Part 2: road trip to Bahir Dar and Tissisat Falls
Africa Hash, Ethiopia – Part 3: Shoulder shimmying in Gondar
Thank you! Amaseganalu
Thanks to the Africa Hash main sponsor St. George beer. Africa Hash served as the launch event for their mobile draught beer bar – I can safely say we gave it the baptism it deserves.
Hashing has given me the opportunity to travel abroad with my Ugandan friends, reconnect with English friends I met at Africa Hash 2009 in Kampala, and make Ethiopian, Kenyan and Tanzanian friends. Mombasa May 2012 is now firmly in the diary (I can’t wait to party with Nairobi Hashers again) and Africa Hash 2013 in Ghana pencilled in.
Special thanks to Addis Hash for inviting us to your fabulous country. I’ve wanted to visit for years but you provided the opportunity, gave us a fantastic welcome, an awesome party and continued to enchant me even after the official festivities were over. I WILL BE BACK!
ON ON
The meaning of the Jamaican/rasta”IRIE” – my favourite is “I Respect I Eternally” – you have respect for yourself; being happy with who you are.
