Places to visit in Uganda

A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through facebook and came across one of the pages which advertise Uganda’s tourism. A lady had written to a page asking for places recommended for visiting in Uganda.

I do not know what the she thought, but I was personally overwhelmed by the responses/ comments from different individuals trying to answer a small thing.

 

A lot included their numbers urging the lady to call them, others telling her to inbox them, a number were saying had sent their friendly requests and she should accept them. Is it me who did not understand the statement or them? cause if am from Uganda or has ever been to Uganda and moved around, I can at least mention a place or 2 for someone to visit.

 

This has now prompted me to write about few places of which some I have been personally. If that lady is still looking for what she asked for, hope this can shade some light.

No matter where you’re going in Uganda, as long as you’re flying in, you have to land at Entebbe International airport. Then you can go wherever you want from there. You can hung around there if you’re not into crowded places like Kampala.

 

  1. Kampala

It’s hard to convince someone that you were in Uganda without talking about its capital ” Kampala”. The motor bikes [ Bodabodas] which are the easiest and fastest means of transport though highly dangerous. The taxis [ mini buses ] which carry 14 passengers but some times more. The vendors selling food stuffs. The stalls of Rolex [ chapati and eggs] quite a delicacy in Uganda. The night life, the places which do not go to sleep [ kabalagala,Bukoto, and other] more than 40 clubs in the city. If the streets are not crowded enough for you, then you need to visit Owino the market for second hand cloths but you have to be careful with your belongings [ phone, wallet, bag, jewelry] you might lose them.

 

  1. Jinja

From Kampala you can take an organised trip or take public means to Jinja. Visit the source of the Nile[ longest river in Africa]. You can swim, raft and do bungee jumping.

 

  1. Lake Victoria

What can l say? it’s the largest lake in Africa. It extends its waters to other 2 countries [ Tanzania and Kenya] the lake has 84 islands and Kalangala being the most visited in Uganda. Some people chose to take a round trip of the lake going through all the 3 countries.

 

  1. Bwindi Impenetrable

When you talk about GORILLA trekking, you’re either advised to visit Bwindi or Mgahinga. The journey takes almost the whole day [ taking Kampala- Masaka] road. There is a stop at the equator if you would love to step in both the north and Southern hemisphere at the same time. It’s strongly advisable to have your trekking ticket from Uganda World life center in the city where you are staying. The tour company can advise accordingly. This Journey takes 2 days minimum [ the day you travel to Bwindi, the trekking day  ] and maybe you can chose to stay relax or you get back to the nearest town [kabale] and continue to Bunyonyi.

 

  1. Lake Bunyonyi

This is one of my favourite places in Uganda. I have visited it more than 3 times. Bunyonyi  is the second deepest lake in Africa with 29 islands. l have not been to all of them but I can proudly say I enjoyed Bushara and Byonamagala. l took a sneak peek at punishment Island [ curiosity].

We were able to jump in the river and swim or just float for some of us who are not so good at swimming. The place is amazing, the food uhhh….uhhhh..uhhh. I had to go for Crayfish pizza it’s not every day that you see that on the Menu somewhere else. There is a visit to Batwa pygmies, the border to Rwanda is right near there you can cross there for a few minutes and cross Rwanda off the map…hihihihi.

 

  1. Queen Elizabeth

There is a game drive through the  grasslands of the park that settle wildlife such as Cape buffalo, Uganda kob, waterbuck, warthog, lion, leopard, hyena, giant forest hog as well as elephants.

The Kazinga channel is about 40m long adjoining Lake Gorge to Lake Edward. It has the perfect view of the park’s major wildlife ventures. The shores of the lake attracts a large concentration of mammals, birds as well as reptiles all year around. The animals can be viewed well by the Nile cruise or probably at the entrance of Lake Edward. The operation of the cruise run from 15.00 and 17.00, furthermore voyages run 11.00 and 13.00 depending on the demand of the tourists.

 

  1. Murchison falls

This amazing place has been described by many people as “ paradise in the wild , the anger of the nile, The wild heaven, etc”

Presently the spotlight of a visit to Murchison is the launch trip up the stream to observe the Falls and riverbank wildlife ranges of crocodile along the sandbanks, as well as large numbers of different species getting down to drink & bathe.. The launch starts at 09.00 and 14.00 every day. The round trip takes 3 hrs. Another boat trip goes downstream from Paraa down to the papyrus delta at the point where the river enters into Lake Albert. This 4-5 hr return adventure provides a good chance of discovering the shoebill stork and different varieties of wildlife.

What can I say, it’s worthy a trip, plenty of places to stay in from high class to budget hostels.

 

  1. Fortportal

Is one of the towns in Uganda. The place is quite loved by tourists, it seems to be a little cleaner than the rest of places in Uganda.

It is near the Rwenzori mountains, the crater lakes, the kibale chimpanzee forest and many other things the place has to offer.

 

There is a lot Uganda has to offer, but these are some of the places you have to visit and enjoy when you are in Uganda. I wish you a happy holiday, enjoy every single adventure.

Say “Hello” we all need it

Casual greetings might seem irrelevant to you or to any one you greet, but believe it or not the giver and the receiver of the greeting is affected by the wave that word possess.

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Hi, Hello, Živijo/Zdravo, Hola, Ciao, Hallo, Salut, etc in whichever language you say it, it attracts someone’s attention. The intention might be an act of kindness, respect, or just a gesture of recognition. When someone says hello, good morning, good after, good evening, good day or any word that represents a form of greeting to you, that person has recognised your existence in the space where he/she is in.

These are simple words in multiple languages which we say without even thinking because they come naturally to some of us. I was raised in a social community where sharing greetings is obvious to everyone stranger or no stranger. I grew up seeing my parents waving and saying hello to the neighbours and other people on the streets and at fast it did not make sense until I moved to cities where people enclose themselves in fences not knowing neighbours, pass by each other and almost collide in corridors without saying word, share lifts, sitting close to each other in a bus or train and don’t say a thing to anyone, and so on.

It’s crazy how we look for friends online, get dogs to help us connect, wait for a break through and even pray for a miracle. when everyday, every single day a chance presents itself and we ignore it not because we are busy but we fear what people will think of us.

hi pics

 

Greeting is the beginning of a relationship of any kind. The word “ hello” is powerful, people fear to say it because they are not sure of what the other person’s reaction will be. It’s all about fear. Now take away the fear of what will happen and just say it regardless of whether you get a response or no. Make it your mission to say it to people you meet while jogging, in a lift, to those you sit nearby on a bus or train, at work etc. Just do it without expecting a response and you will be surprised how much it will change both your life and those people you get in contact with.

This word opens doors to many possibilities, It lights up faces, it makes someone’s days, it’s a sign of humanity. People pay attention to those who say hello to them.
When I moved to Europe to a country which does not speak English as a first language, I could not wait to learn the greeting words and carry on with the culture from my Country side in Uganda. The reaction was not appreciable. People looked at me like I was the craziest person they have ever seen and did not respond at all.

I won’t say l was not discouraged, l was. I thought may be because of my colour, I was in one of European countries with the smallest number of Africans. It took me months to see somebody with my skin colour, I felt so alone and teared up. I thought may be I was never going to be welcomed in this community so l decided to keep everything to myself.

Nobody deserves to be alone, so before the whole idea of keeping to myself sunk in, I decided to go out early in the morning to get some air. I was meaning my business not saying a word to anyone and out of nowhere, this man said “Dobro Jutro” which means good morning in Slovene. I had to fumble with the response, I was not expecting a greeting and I was still practicing the greeting words. I smiled from ear to ear, that morning greeting gave me a new purpose and I started saying ” Hi” again.

Now I say hell to anybody I come in close contact with, l see people putting on smiles when they see me, they wave, they ask me about my day, I have made friends and it feels like I am home.

SAY HELLO WE ALL NEED IT

 

pic are courtesy of

Understandingrelationships.com, quantumphysicsofbeliefs.com, irishcentral.com, silverfrog.hubpages.com