Uganda, Summary

Kabale, southwestern Uganda, a small town before the border of Rwanda . Driving around Uganda has ended. Particulary green country , it means that as the ground is vertile and the amount of the rain could be in some places 2 metres a year, then everything grows well. The trees are probably four times higher than in Estonia and some leaves are the size of A4. The grass is not greener, it is as green as in Estonia, mentioning it just in case.

The issue of internet here is as usual. This „usual„ means that as there is no electricity in town since morning, then there is no internet either in most of the places.

While driving have taken a few photos of banana – transportation - first bananas on a bike.



A bit later it turned out , that this stick was used while making a stop. So that the bike will not turn over.

Uganda, Fort Portal

Still in Uganda. On the whole the circumstances here are such as whenever you plan yourself a kind of administration , then at least half of the day is filled with it. And so for several days. The application of Rwanda visa was a good example. The country is so far advanced , that the visa application can be submitted over the internet. You fill the required application, , add annexes to the documents - either invitation or hotel reservation and in a few days you should receive the response. It was said that it was not possible to get a visa at the the border standing in a queue. ( It is generally, real life shows that without any preliminary application it has been received at the border as well.).

But since the Rwandian Embassy was situated next to the Uganda Museum, then it seemed better to get the visa from the Embassy. Besides - there was nobody to give me an invitation and not the slightest idea to make a hotel reservation. And if you go to the Embassy and ask properly , then it happens, that you do get it. The proper asking means that you don`t ask for a visa but you ask how soon you will get the visa and if it is possible to have it the same day. Internet and Lonely Planet gave different information about the time of receiving visas. But it was not a great surprise , the main thing was that the address of the Embassy was the same on both - Kampala paper map and GPS maps.

The first day was the following - I thought that I would reach the place in two – three hours and ignored the basic rules of movement - use only the main streets. And so I spent two hours in such a traffic jam that the visit to the Embassy was over for that day. Completely my own fault – do not trust blindly the GPS route, as this time it went through the local taxi park in the centre of Kampala. Kampala taxi or Matatu is not a car but a Toyota mini-bus. Those who have been to Kampala know about the speed one can move between the other cars. The next day I reached the Embassy in time, the questionnaire was relatively normal and probably one photo was needed. You fill it out, hand it over and ask if perhaps you could get it by the evening already. In respone a paper on the wall is pointed out. It says that applications for visa will be reviewed within 72 hours. So back on the second day.

The Uganda Museum was a few hundred metres away.

Uganda, Jinja

217-th day of the journey



This size of birds were on the table in the morning.

Uganda

Day 183,
Gulu. Northen Uganda
Internet cafe

The crossing of Kenya-Uganda border was a few days ago. Already from a distance a line of trucks , some kilometres long, caught the eye.

Of course, it was o.k. to drive over, because of the separate customs and border check-up for passanger cars. You drive as far as you can and then as always at the border – all kind of money-exchangers and other busy-bodies will gather around the car. Someone tries to make me clear that he is the one to assist and help the border-crossing And points out the direction of the customs. My reply – that I can manage myself – doesn`t matter and he enters the customs with me, settles down comfortably like at home there and starts to fill in some forms for me.

Life has shown that there are several kinds of assistants – some of them just point out the house and door and just wait outside. This kind is of no much use. And then there are those who march in everywhere and organixe a fast border crossing without any queue or problems whatever.

Which means that they , indeed, have got a service to offer and it helps to save time and nerves. And it was really fast - the car formalities ready and the stamp of leaving Kenya in the passport. And the arrangement of the documents for Uganda was also included to the service. So here it was necessary to fill in visa application, It was a post-card – size form and the necessary information was – name, date of birth, passport information and the number of the car. And then fingerprints were taken from both hands. Some more minutes and the passport was returned and it was said that everything was o.k. Not any page-size stick added to the passport, just a stamp in the passport and that was it. So it was. Nobody wished to see the passport any more. Can`t compare to the border-crossing in Egipt. Like day and night.
 

The first impression of Uganda was positive in every way. And it caught my eye, that the sides of the roads were cleaner than in some other African countries. Usually there are terrible amounts of black transparent thin plastic bags everywhere. Road ditches and cacti and shrubs and trees are covered with them. And more carbage on the roadside means approaching populated area. But these are the first impressions. Time will shower what further.

Sipi Falls near Mount Elgon.

The Lonely Planet says that Sipi Falls is one of the most beautiful in Uganda. Made up of three separate watefalls. To be far enough it is possible to have all the three falls in one picture.