The final country on my East Africa circuit was Uganda. It's
hard to say which of the four countries my favorite was as each place had its
benefits and disadvantages. However, if I had to choose a country to spend the
most time in, then that accolade would have to go to the enchanting land of
Uganda.
There are several factors that contribute to this. First,
Uganda has some of the friendliest people in the region. You are not constantly
hounded by touts or safari-selling schemers at every corner as in neighboring
countries. In fact, people in Uganda are extremely hospitable, welcoming, and
eager to get to know you. Secondly, Uganda is an extremely safe country to
travel in. The capital city Kampala is fast becoming a party town with a whole
variety of things to do at night. Even in the somewhat turbulent western region
on the Congo border, where I went to see the gorillas, I never felt under any
threat. In fact, Ugandans often pride themselves on their country's security.
That's no surprise considering the hell they went through under their former
despot military leader Idi Amin, and the chronic wave of crime some of their
neighboring countries are now experiencing. A third reason is that Uganda has
enough perks to keep the visitor occupied for a long time. The main reasons
tourists come to Uganda is to see the endangered mountain gorillas, take a
wildlife water trip down the Nile to the spectacular Murchison Falls, or to
engage in some mouthwatering adventure tourism in Jinja, at the source of the
Nile; such as river rafting or bungee jumping. To add to this, there's always
stuff going on in Uganda's vibrant capital city Kampala - which is probably the
most happening city in East Africa. A fourth factor that makes me pick Uganda
is the fact that, despite all of the above factors, Uganda has not been hit by
the hoards of tourists countries like Kenya and Tanzania have - thus enhancing
your experience with the country and its locals.
I arrived in Uganda
from the west by bus from Kigali, before exiting about a week later to the
east, from Jinja to Nairobi. I've divided this website into three categories.
The first section is the obvious highlight, the mountain gorillas in Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park. The next section is dedicated to Kampala and Jinja.
Here you'll find photos of Kampala and my nearby detour to the equator. I've
combined this with some very dodgy photos I took from my TV set of the grade 5
river rafting in Jinja. The final page is dedicated to the abundant, yet
unforgettable orphans of Uganda who I had the pleasure of coming into contact
with and entertained at both the Bwindi NP and the nearby village of Botogota.
