This trip was planned towards the end of last year. I reluctantly decided to fly AirAsia because there’s a direct flight to Nairobi. When I heard that Kevin had to endure a 21-hour bus trip from Nairobi to Kampala and remembering how I had to wait for ages for the bus to depart in my previous African trips, I decided to fly certain routes. The route became circuitous when I read that the land border from Bujumbura into Rwanda is closed due to dispute. Work in the new department meant I couldn’t finalise my trip as early as I would have liked and it was only in mid-March when I started to frantically book accommodation and buying the flight tickets within the region.
Unlike previous trips, I decided to start assembling things to bring a week before departure (clothes were only packed in the evening before departure).
Friday, 25 April 2025
I left the office at 15:17 and made my way to KLIA T2. I dropped off my bag (checked in bag weighed 10.1 kg but my carry on bags were not light). I then made my way through passport control and security check and even stopped midway to buy ticket to watch The Arsenal in Singapore in July. The flight took off at 19:15 and having performed ablutions earlier, I performed prayers just after take-off. I was lucky not to have anyone sitting next to me although that didn’t really help when it came to attempting to sleep. Le sigh.
We landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 23:15 and boarded a bus to the terminal. Passport control was quick, only the bags came out late. I then made my way to Terminal 1A for the following morning’s departure. Alhamdulillah, the guard let me in despite my flight being hours away and I spent the night in the terminal. No one bothered me, Alhamdulillah. If only I could manage some shut-eye!
Saturday, 26 April 2025
I finally gave up on sleep and at almost 05:00, went to the washroom to perform ablutions. After morning prayers, I dropped my bag off and went through passport control. My next flight was at 07:30 and I did doze off for a short while before I was waken up for wet towel. A simple breakfast followed. I would have attempted sleeping again, only we were flying over Lake Victoria then and I was wide-eyed in amazement and wonder.
We landed ahead of time and the immigration process was intense for non-Africans. A Caucasian man at the next counter was asked to go to another counter. The Asian girl ahead of me whom I overheard informed the immigration officer that she worked for an NGO had to contact her friend before she was asked to step to the counter the Caucasian man went to. I’d experienced all this ‘stepping aside’ at passport controls before all over Europe and beyond so I was prepared to endure the same. To my surprise, I only had to answer some questions (where did I work, what was the purpose of my visit, where would I go after this etc), my passport was stamped. I did wonder what the immigration officers would say if told that I was a pensioner and no longer working like Kevin.
I’d read that there’s a bus to the city but when I asked around, I was told there was no bus or motorbike today because of Muganda, some community clean-up that takes place every last Saturday of the month. I finally negotiated with a cabbie to bring me to Belle Africa B&B and he quoted me RWF30k. We were stopped twice by the police asking what we were doing out on Muganda day. We finally reached the B&B after about 30 minutes. I paid USD10 and the balance in RWF in the end. I managed to check in early, Alhamdulillah, but the B&B staff didn’t seem to speak English.
I ventured out at almost 14:00 and walked up to the centre. I walked all the way to the Belgian Peacekeepers Memorial where ten Belgian peacekeepers who were killed during the 1994 genocide before turning back. I bought a three-litre bottle of water and hauled it back. I met a girl in the B&B restaurant and paid for my room in USD.
I tried reading at night but the room light was too dim. Anyway, I needed sleep. The restaurant/bar (I didn’t notice any menu) was throbbing with noise.
Sunday, 27 April 2025
I was woken up during the night by mosquitoes circling and singing in my ear. I covered up myself with the bed sheet but that made it hotter. Finally I got up to perform prayers.
I left at 06:50 and walked down to Nyabugogo Bus Park to find Trinity Bus schedule and fare. It was cool then. At the Trinity bus counter, I was quoted RWF20k which is the fare to the next stop after Kabale. Kigali to Kampala costs RWFf25k so of course RWF20k fare was steep and Kabale is just across the border. Rembo, a Trinity Bus staff, advised me to travel instead with another company, Cross Country, and that he would bring me to the office the following morning.
I then went to browse the Nyabugogo vegetables market then crossed over to Nyabugogo Modern Market. Not many stalls were opened despite it being or maybe because it was a Sunday.
I returned to my guesthouse and had breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised to have it ready when I got back at 08:15 because you know, Africa time means they have a very relaxed attitude towards punctuality. I rested after breakfast and in mid-morning, ventured out to Kigali Genocide Memorial. Don’t trust Google Maps when it said the terrain was fairly flat because it wasn’t.
I arrived at the Memorial about 35 minutes later (after a few stops of photo taking). There was no entry charge but visitors are encouraged to make a donation of USD20 minimum. I gave away my RM50 note. There was a documentary and then we were led to another building with exhibitions of the history and origin of the genocide. Basically it just reinforces how wicked colonists are. In Rwanda, the German colonists introduced race to keep people distinct from each other and then the Belgian colonists used race to solidify their presence.
I left just before 14:00 and walked back to my room to rest. Spent the rest of the day indoors. There was again noise from the bar downstairs but not as bad as the previous evening.
Monday, 28 April 2025
I woke up early for prayers. After a quick shower, I finished packing. Breakfast was a bit late today at 07:10 and I quickly packed half of it before finishing the rest. I left at 07:40 and walked down to Nyabugogo Bus Park. Despite my bags, I arrived just before 08:00. After locating Rembo, I followed him across the road to Cross Country office but we were intercepted by some people who knew Rembo and who convinced him that their vehicle was ready to leave. Well, it turned out that we ended up waiting for an hour before the vehicle was full and even then, the man behind me was adamant that he would not let additional passengers in to squeeze beside him as he’d paid RWF7k to sit comfortably. I was lucky to have arrived early and I sat next to the driver. The driver was an Ugandan and he drove on the right.
We arrived at Katuna/Gatuna border post at 11:55 Rwandan time (Uganda is an hour ahead of Rwanda) and had to go through health check first: we were made to sanitise our hands (the lady officer who was there sprayed our hands liberally), had our temperature taken and I had to produce my yellow fever certificate. Then we had our bags scanned before queuing up to first depart Rwanda and enter Uganda. I also changed the balance of my RWF for Ugandan shillings.
Kabale is only half an hour from the border post and I walked from the roundabout where I went down to my accommodation at an apartment at Mutambuka Road. A supermarket staff kindly called the apartment owner and five minutes later, a lady showed up and brought me to the apartment which was on the third floor. So I huffed and puffed with my bags up the stairs. The unit overlooks Kabale Secondary School. After performing prayers, I went out to find an exchange office. I then hired a boda boda driver to bring me to Lake Bunyonyi. The fare is now 10k one way (he initially asked for 15k). In the end, he brought me around, brought me to a friend’s place, took me out on a brief lake canoe trip, then brought me to a place where we had a birds’-eye view of the lake and its islands. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We then returned back and I paid him 25k for his guide service.
After walking around - I came across three Caucasians - I bought some water and walked back to the apartment. The street noise wafted up. I was surprised to see the ground wet later as I didn’t realise it had rained. The forecast was that it would rain tomorrow hence why I decided to visit Lake Bunyonyi the same afternoon instead of tomorrow.
Alas, the WiFi connection got cut off pretty early so I lost connection to the online world.
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
I woke at 03:45 and remained in bed. Woke up at 05:20 for prayers. Tried to WiFi router again, it still didn’t work. It was foggy when I looked out. Whoa, I only packed a light jacket for this trip.
The fog cleared up around 09:00. I finally ventured out at 10:00 and walked up to Kabale Mosque which I saw while riding the boda boda to Lake Bunyonyi the afternoon before. Then I returned to my room but not before asking someone to help contact the apartment owner. He said he would come in half an hour.
Walter showed up about 45 minutes later and gave me options on my next trip. I could either ride the bus the following morning at 08:00 and stop at Kayabwe, or I could take the shuttle which leaves at 04:00. Both options would mean finding another transportation to continue on to Kampala. He advised me against taking the night bus which was what I planned to do as I would reach Kayabwe around 03:00. Whoa. I told him I’d go with the second option i.e., taking the early morning shuttle. He said he would contact the company and let me know. He also fixed the WiFi toggle and showed me where to press.
I stayed in and finished my book. There was power outage that afternoon which lasted until 18:00. Walter messaged me saying he managed to get me a seat for UGX40k and that the shuttle would pick me up at 03:40. I had to go down and get someone to help pay for the shuttle in advance.
I went to bed at 21:00 but had a very bad night.
To be continued
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