Last night in Entebbe, cycling to and sight-seeing in Kampala

Continuing with the theme of my previous post, I would like to reiterate how phenomenally rich the bird populations are in Entebbe. My final night by lake Victoria watching the sunset proved to be the best bird-watching evening by far! Those unidentified large shelled-organism feeders I thought were solo, came in groups of four that night. King fishers, usually fairly solitary and a precious sighting when one does spot one, were found in groups of 4 to 8. At one point 5 of them were sitting together on the edge of a boat. This is unheard of in my bird watching days. Anywhere I have traveled to, I only find King fishers alone, or at most a pair. And they were putting on a show for me! Diving for fish left right and center! Take a look at the following video to get a glimpse of what these amazing creatures are made to do:

Diving king fisher

(sorry, can't embed the video here, so I hope the link works!)

It seemed like all bird species were out to party that night as I spotted 4 species I hadn't seen either of the other nights I observed. Perhaps the storm in the distance played a role in the increased abundance?

That storm eventually reached us in Entebbe and caused a ruckous all night. It was still pouring when I woke up bright and early to get going on my journey to Kampala. It took me a bit longer to get my things together as I had to secure a tarp over my tent and matt sitting ontop of my rear rack. After thanking my wonderful host family and their lovely help for the incredibly generous hospitality they gave me over the preceding 4 nights, I finally left at 9am. Thinking I had a 6 hour journey ahead of me (being that it was 45km to Kampala and this was my very first time cycling fully-loaded with my panniers, etc), I was anxious to get going. Off to a bit of a wabbly start, it was astonishing how quickly I became used to the weight I was pushing around. I have to work on balancing out the weight, especially in the front, but the bike ran like it was made for this kind of thing (oh yeah, it is!). I cycled up and down gradual hills, passing villages and run-down tiny little shops, kids and people everywhere, intermittent heavy traffic composed of boda-bodas (small motorcycles than taxi people around) and matatus (taxi mini-vans). The views were pretty spectacular and people were very friendly if I needed to ask directions or use a porcelain hole. It's incredible how much I enjoyed the ride actually. 

Lots of fruit stands along the way! Food is plentiful in southern Uganda.

I can't figure out why there are so many giant houses on top of every hill and why they're all unfinished. A couple of Swedish dudes studying something relevant (can't recall!) suggested they ran out of money or the workers are dragging out the work to get more money, but who knows!

Lots of bike shops set up out of shipping containers or whatever they can find. Those are always the best to see along the way!

Sweaty sweaty HAPPY!

So Kampala has been great. I have learned so much. I can't believe how much there is to do here!  have learned A LOT about the history of Uganda, Ugandan traditions, and just how insanely rich the night life is in Kampala. Not what you expected? The economy in southern Uganda is relatively good, allowing for the locals to party ALL night, EVERY night -no exaggeration. Doesn't matter what night of the week it is, you can guarantee a fantastic party is hoppin' in the local bars, live music, tons of people and no one goes home before 5am, no one. Good thing you can grab a Rolex at any time of night, so you can keep dancing til the wee hours of the morning. A Rolex is pure GENIOUS, it's an omelette wrapped in a chipati -a kind of fries pita-ish. Absolutely delicious and of course costs less than a dollar. on the street night or day.

So, let me tell you about the education I have recieved while visiting some of Kampala's tourist attractions. I visited the Kasubi tombs, part of the Buganda kingdom -the largest of Uganda's five kingdoms- where the last four deceased kings are burried. Tragically, the main tomb holding the four kings was burned down in 2010 after a group of people entered the kingdom at night and set the 100 year old structure on fire. The site, at the time, was not protected with no security and not even a wall around it. Now, with money from UNESCO and the Ugandan government, a wall has been built, there is plenty of security and they are renovating the kings' tomb as well as the rest of the kingdom grounds, which are ancient and falling apart. No one knows who the culprits are, but at least the mumified bodies of the kings remain preserved under concrete casket. The history structure, however, never had a chance. Although you cannot see the kings' tombs themselves, there is plenty more to see on the Bugandan grounds. My tour guide took me around, not taking a breath for an hour and a half. He explained the role played by the head sister of the current king, chosen by the king himself as she is deemed their Nnaalinyas, essentially a princess. My guide also told the story of the past kings, one having 84 wives and about 120 children. Goog thing he had a council of chiefs at that time that made the decision as to which of the king's sons were to be the next king. Although there is no long a council of chiefs, the king remains the decider in which of his sons shall rein after him -very different from the typical result in other kingdoms where the eldest of the king's sons is assumed the next king. Smart. As a consequence though, hostilaty towards thos who were chosen arose often, and at one point a 4 year old boy was poisened, presumably by one of his brothers, because he was chosen by the king.

The first president of Uganda was actually a Bugandan king. The four kings buried in Kasubi were all influencial in their own way. One was approached by the first English explorers, striking a friendship that eventually led to the king realizing the importance of educating women and women were sent to school under his rein. Another was assinated by the English because he believed Uganda should be independent of colonization. One king was appointed at the age of one, another the age of 15. Fascinating history. If you want to know more, you should visit the tombs! It's well worth it and the restoration should be complete by this April (should...). The views from the site were spectacular and many members of the Bugandan kingdom reside there. They are called "descendents" and fulfill very specific roles and are not allowed to mary outside of the kingdom's population. 

The various living things the Bugandans identify with and, therefore, are not allowed to consume! The present king is feature in the center.

Traditional drums, some of them quite old, played during certain Bugandan ceremonies. The largest of the drums (tough to see here, but about the size of 2 and a half of these put together) is only played when a new king is chosen, therefore has not been played in several decades.

Traditional cloth worn by Bugandans before the Arabs introduced them to cotton. Made by collecting bark from fig trees, soaking it and sun-drying it. Now used to mummify their kings!

Still hot from the night before!

The Bugandans are conservative, some being Christians, others being Muslim. Us tourists are given a beautiful cover-up for the tour.

The view from the Kasubi tomb site with Christian graves -fully covered with concrete- Muslim tombs -open to the ground underneath.

I have been staying at the Red Chilli Hideaway, a place recommended to me by two friends independent of each other. It's full of mzungus and has all the luxeries of hot showers, food and a well-stocked bar. Although I'd rather avoid places like these while I'm traveling here, I have met some pretty awesome people doing awesome things and most have traveld the world! For instance, I met a couple of Canadians yesterday, one has LIVED in Burkina-Faso! I don't think I've met anyone that's even visited Burkina-Faso let alone lived there. The other Canadian happened to be from SUDBURY! What are the chances? Tons of Swedes here too, never seen so many of them traveling in the same place.

Complete with pool. Haven't set foot in it.

My humble dwelling with freshly laundered clothing using my Scrubba! Thanks Grandi!

One night, I decided I needed to NOT go out and party and catch-up on some sleep since tenting and going to be at 5:30/6am does not result in more than 3 hours of sleep in a "night". So, I decided to go to an early show at the Ndere Centre. WOW WOW and WOW. A performance of traditional dances from all over Uganda and one from Rwanda each representing either a kingdom or a chiefdom. The musicians were unreal, playing their version of the bass, guitar, fiddle and a giant xylophone! Vocals were amazing and the dancers had a ridiculous amount of energy. When they weren't constantly moving the hips in ways I think would make my back go on strike or dancing while doing push-ups, they were literally running at full speed around the entire stadium (including behind the audience). The best part about the dancers was that they were perma-smile. They clearly LOVED their job and LOVED dancing these beautiful traditional dances. I wish I could have taken a video to show you, but I would have had to pay $50! Instead, I have some pictures.

We were all invited to dance together at the end! Such incredible energy.

There is SO MUCH to do in Kampala, I had to chose what I would do for my last day as it is time to get out of mzungu land and get to Jinga, Sipi falls and beyond! So I decided to go to the Gaddafi mosque and the national museum. I never made it to the museum because I spent so much time at the mosque! No matter, I ended up tagging along a tour that was talking about the entire history of Uganda as we stood on top of the pirouette overlooking the city of Kampala. I then opted to pay a quick visit to the lesser known Hindu temple that was relatively close by.

Still known as he Gaddafi mosque, it is officially renamed as the Uganda National Mosque and is the largest mosque in all of sub-saharan Africa.

Some of the city of Kampala.

They dressed us accordingly to respect the customs. Surprisingly, I was able to remember to say hello and thank you in Arabic (yet, I dare not try to spell the words here).

Simple Hindu temple.

I was the only person visiting. For some reason this is not one of the regularly suggested tourist attractions.

Well, after 5 days of sight-seeing and partying in Kampala, I'm finaly continuing on. I felt my stay here was a bit backwards, like I was rewarding myself with luxeries before really having cycled anywhere, but the history I learned is priceless and I'm very grateful to know so much more about the country I'm about to travel. Forwards to Jinga, Mbale and Sipi falls!