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Today I didn't have anything scheduled, except to recover from my safari before flying to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro. I was on my own now, having concluded my arrangements with Jumbo Safaris. I went down to breakfast around 8:00. It was already warm and muggy. In addition to the basic buffet, I ordered an omelet with sausage and bacon for $6.50. I asked the front desk exactly what my final bill would be, and what it would cost to go to the airport tomorrow, so I would know how much money to change. I planned to go for a walk around Kampala today, and would change money and mail my post cards in town. The hotel has a poor rate for travelers' checks (90 cents to the dollar), but is not bad for cash.
It always feels a little strange venturing beyond the hotel gate for the first time in a strange city with an unknown culture. Although I had been in Uganda a while, I had been shepherded about by Jumbo Safaris, and being on my own for the first time felt different. I had never really seen Kampala, except through the car windows. I carried my small camera and a bag containing my Lonely Planet book and post cards, plus the hotel key I wanted to mail back to Margherita Hotel in Kasese.
I walked past a bunch of taxis clustered around the hotel gates, and turned up the hill, walking through a very nice neighborhood, including the Nigerian ambassador's residence. I walked toward the enormous Sheraton Hotel, whose tower was just visible over the hill. The Sheraton is in a beautiful park overlooking the central business district. I changed $240 at Speedbird Forex Bureau there, where Catherine had said I would find the best rates for travelers' checks. I would need $203 for the hotel bill, taxi and departure tax. The rest would be for souvenirs. The Sheraton has a little gift shop mall, and I looked in their shops, but didn't buy anything, expecting everything to be expensive here.
I walked around the park, where many people were lying in the grass, and then walked into the city, quickly finding the post office, where I bought stamps and mailed my post cards and hotel key. Then I walked along Kampala Avenue, which is home to numerous banks, all surrounded by small armies of armed guards. I headed down the street toward the parliament buildings, which are behind an impressive gate. The gate was open, and as I had read, you can still see bullet holes in the pillars, especially on the back side. Beyond the parliament buildings, I came to the National Theater. Next door is a dilapidated arts and crafts institute. I had been told I would find a craft market behind the theater, but it was deserted today.
I walked back toward the center of town, and down the hill toward the river valley. Here, the streets were were crowded with a lot of small shops, and I found a large market. I returned to Kampala Avenue and walked in the other direction, past the square and a large matatu stop, arriving at Pioneer Mall, a nice little collection of stores. Inside, I found a well-stocked gift shop. I looked around a while, and decided to buy a large "kissing mask" similar to the small one I bought in the safari lodge. I also bought a batik print of some ladies with fruits, that reminded me of village scenes I had encountered in the countryside. Similar prints were the most common decorations in the hotels where I had stayed. I spent a total of $33.
I started looking for a place to have lunch. My Lonely Planet book said the Tandoor Restaurant had a good lunch buffet. I found it, but it was closed. A nearby "Red Bull" restaurant was supposed to have interesting German food, but I didn't see it. I saw a Fido Dido ice cream and snack shop next to Tandoor, and a "Munchies" on the next block, modeled after an American fast food restaurant - most obviously McDonalds. It had burgers, hot dogs, and southern fried chicken. I walked back to a Curry Pot restaurant I had seen. They serve Ugandan curries. A sign outside said they were now introducing boiled goat. I ordered beef curry with matooke, and had a couple of cokes, all for $4. Ugangan curries are not very spicy. Some beans and vegetables were served on the side, and a fruit cup was included for desert.
By now, it was getting very hot out. I wandered around some back streets past the Hotel Equatoria, and found the Hotel Gloria which Jumbo Tours had suggested as a cheaper alternative to Fairway. It didn't look very impressive, but maybe it was not bad. The Lonely Planet book suggests it is not too nice, but Catherine said it's been remodeled since they reviewed it. I walked down the hill, across Bat Valley and a stinking creek, and a short way up the neighboring hill, which had a Sikh Center, a large tower of some sort higher up, a church (or possibly a mosque), and a nice house at the very top. This neighborhood generally looked run-down, and I didn't go very far before heading back across the valley to Kampala Ave.
I wandered around some more streets, and returned to the market I had seen earlier. No one had bothered me in Kampala until now - even the street hawkers and beggars went about their business passively. The market was different. I had to keep moving or be immediately accosted by numerous peddlers all wanting to help me find what I was looking for. I didn't spend much time there. I was hungry for some ice cream, and walked up toward the Sheraton. Just below it was a nice Italian restaurant / coffee shop where I had seen an ice cream stand. I got strawberry ice cream and sat on the patio a while, having a Sprite also.
It was now around 4 PM, and I decided to walk back to my hotel. Walking through Kampala, one of the most striking things is all the armed guards, both government and private. Each store has its own guard out front with a rifle, even the small grocery stores. The electronics shops and banks are most heavily guarded, with the banks tending to have a small army. Soon after I got to my room, I had a call from Florence of Jumb Tours, checking that everything was ok and that I had a way to get to the airport tomorrow. She said a lady had checked into the Fairway today, who would visit Murchison Falls with them, and maybe I would see her.
The hotel pool was very popular on the hot afternoon. I thought about a swim, but instead dropped off my packages and set out for another walk, up to the top of the hill behind the hotel, past a big military complex. I was going to loop around back to the hotel, but instead descended the other side of the hill, arriving at Kampala Ave. near the Equatoria Hotel. I met a friendly person on the way down, and talked a little.
It was around 5:00 now, and I thought it would be good to get dinner in town tonight, so I walked down Kampala Ave. to an Ethiopian restaurant, Daas, which I had noticed earlier between the Tandoor Restaurant and the Curry Pot. It was not a cheap restaurant, but not as expensive as the hotel restaurant at Fairway. I was seated upstairs, and ordered Doro Wat, a chicken dish served with a hard boiled egg and berbere chili sauce. I was warned that it was very spicy. I said that was good, and ordered a Nile Special beer to accompany it. The waiter brought a basin and pitcher to wash my hands, because Ethiopian food is eaten without utensils. The meal came on an enormous plate lined with an injira, a fermented Ethiopian bread with a moist, bubbly texture and a wine-like flavor. The chicken and egg were at the center, covered with berbere sauce, with small dabs of beans or lentils and spinach around the edge, plus a second folded injira. The meal was very good, and just spicy enough. The total was around 6500 shillings.
I finished dinner at about 6:00 and walked back to my hotel via the Sheraton park, where a wedding party was taking pictures. I stopped in a grocery store and bought some matooke chips for a snack later. I had gotten quite a sunburn today. Back at my hotel room, I checked the hot water and found that, finally, it was at least a little warm, and I had a bath. Afterward, I repacked, taking my film out of its canisters to make hand inspection easier. Tonight, there were a pair of bad British sit-coms on TV, followed by long speaches by the President of Uganda, who was in Washington for some economic talks. He was actually an interesting speaker, so it was worth listening a while. Mostly, he talked about how to get the poor farmers out of poverty. Their problem is that they have little land, and use most of it to feed their families, planting the rest with low-value crops such as cotton or coffee, which bring in only a few hundred dollars per acre a year. He complained that protectionism kept Ugandan beef out of America, Europe, and Japan, where beef is more expensive. He also discussed improving Uganda's telecommunication infrastructure. A lot of what the President said made a lot of sense, and he seemed to have a firm understanding of economics, which gave me hope for Uganda's future development. I went for a walk around the hotel grounds, which were quiet tonight, and went to bed around 10:00.
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| Previous: February 21 | Journal Contents | Next: February 23 |