Kampala clubs are huge, it is definately an experience to make your way on to an African dance floor with your mates, it is a big deal, I had a few beers nothing too drastic, they get into the club scene big time over here, one place had four floors with different DJ's catering for differing tastes, seas of african bouncing and rolling in time to the rythym, it seemed surreal like something out of a book to be here seeing the whole thing in motion, Lawrence was pointing out big African hip-hop stars that were hanging out at tables full of all sorts of drinks and girls, people are really interested in the whites as we are rare here and stand out, people here speak English! everyone speaks English! so you can talk in depth with locals, some fresh from Iraq, others born in England, all have a story. One of the first things I found out was the very high percentage of those with aids in this city something like 40%, cringe cringe it makes sense when you see the way they interact. I was also surprised at the number of Ugandans who are in or just come back from Iraq it seems alot go to work for private security companies as mercenary for high wages and high risks, the night was worthwhile just to hear some of these guys yarn. We stayed up till late talking and taking in the experience of the scene, I haven't seen anything quite like it before...
We slept today until the cows came home, facilities in Lawrence's abode took a bit of getting used to, a hole for a toilet, basin as a shower and a washing machine, life will never be the same when i get home. For breakfast we hit a nearby, sane, laid back market and bought eggs, avocados, tomatoes and toast. It felt great to amble out of bed lazily and stroll around checking out the dusty red, rolling neighbourhood. Lawrence eats avocados whole two at a time, the avocado here is everywhere and tastes so good, i tried to follow Lawrence's example, never too much of a good thing is my motto when it comes to food. The food in Uganda is delicious and different, they eat alot of bananas and have found even more ways to cook this staple of their diet than even Tanzania, my first meal consisted of 'matoki' which is mashed savoury banana, its like mashed potatoes but yellow and banana instead of potato, mixed in with chili, I had this with g-nuts or ground nuts made into a sauce, tastes like a mild satay or peanut sauce and is meant to be really good for you, cheap too, they added peas, carrots and a few roast potatoes and I was savvy!
We were basically in chill mode just checking out random spots around town, taking in the sights of Kampala, a sunny well planned city where the people love to dress up, dressing up is great bright frilly colourful African suits and the same form for the dresses. Uganda is a Commonwealth country as well, but like the rest of Africa has problems with leadership/politics and corruption, the same president has been in power now for 23 years he has changed the constitution a number of times, a tell tale sign of a dictatorship, he also silences opposition with jail terms and election cheating. African dictators have to hold on to power otherwise when they leave its curtains, Mugabe is the prime example, still apparently this leader is doing good things for Uganda despite his many questionables, they have come a long way since the days of Idi Amin. Police are seen constantly, keeping everything in order, directing traffic, walking the beat, some ride in big convoys on the back of jeeps they like an intimidating bunch, always suspicious and carrying large weaponry. There is no where near as much suffering to be seen here as in Dar-es-Salaam, but poverty is still around and so are the mosquitoes, my left arm bore the brunt during the night
For dinner we had flame grilled pork sticks, this is by far the best pork I've ever tasted, on the side we had roast banana in a salsa sauce, I was in heaven. We mulled over the extent of our trip so far in between plenty of laughs, in the background played Ugandan 'ragga,' a fast paced form of reggae with a catching beat designed to make you dance. We have planned to get the max out of our Christmas/New Year break and are going to be packing a fair bit!
We slept today until the cows came home, facilities in Lawrence's abode took a bit of getting used to, a hole for a toilet, basin as a shower and a washing machine, life will never be the same when i get home. For breakfast we hit a nearby, sane, laid back market and bought eggs, avocados, tomatoes and toast. It felt great to amble out of bed lazily and stroll around checking out the dusty red, rolling neighbourhood. Lawrence eats avocados whole two at a time, the avocado here is everywhere and tastes so good, i tried to follow Lawrence's example, never too much of a good thing is my motto when it comes to food. The food in Uganda is delicious and different, they eat alot of bananas and have found even more ways to cook this staple of their diet than even Tanzania, my first meal consisted of 'matoki' which is mashed savoury banana, its like mashed potatoes but yellow and banana instead of potato, mixed in with chili, I had this with g-nuts or ground nuts made into a sauce, tastes like a mild satay or peanut sauce and is meant to be really good for you, cheap too, they added peas, carrots and a few roast potatoes and I was savvy!
We were basically in chill mode just checking out random spots around town, taking in the sights of Kampala, a sunny well planned city where the people love to dress up, dressing up is great bright frilly colourful African suits and the same form for the dresses. Uganda is a Commonwealth country as well, but like the rest of Africa has problems with leadership/politics and corruption, the same president has been in power now for 23 years he has changed the constitution a number of times, a tell tale sign of a dictatorship, he also silences opposition with jail terms and election cheating. African dictators have to hold on to power otherwise when they leave its curtains, Mugabe is the prime example, still apparently this leader is doing good things for Uganda despite his many questionables, they have come a long way since the days of Idi Amin. Police are seen constantly, keeping everything in order, directing traffic, walking the beat, some ride in big convoys on the back of jeeps they like an intimidating bunch, always suspicious and carrying large weaponry. There is no where near as much suffering to be seen here as in Dar-es-Salaam, but poverty is still around and so are the mosquitoes, my left arm bore the brunt during the night
For dinner we had flame grilled pork sticks, this is by far the best pork I've ever tasted, on the side we had roast banana in a salsa sauce, I was in heaven. We mulled over the extent of our trip so far in between plenty of laughs, in the background played Ugandan 'ragga,' a fast paced form of reggae with a catching beat designed to make you dance. We have planned to get the max out of our Christmas/New Year break and are going to be packing a fair bit!
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