traveling

Rule number 1: when someone, in Africa, says “don’t worry” don’t, for any reason, trust him. Be aware that a catastrophy will eventually occur.

When we got in the car to Kampala, I was warned that thre 45 km drive, thanks to the new motorway built by the Chinese Government (we’ll talk about this in the future), could last no more than 1 hour. By my side, after all the flights and useless waits, that was extraordinary good news.

My optimism was definetely misplaced, tough. As soon as we went out from the security area of the airport, we had to face the Kampala traffic., which is something that you can’t believe, imagine and forget. It took us almost 5 hours from Entebbe to Africana hotel, near the city center.

In the following days, I realized it’s pretty common, also due to blackouts (not so infrequent) or thunderstorms, to spend almost half a day in the traffic because everybody gets stucked (I don’ know the reason).

A few facts about Kampala

Unlike other countries in Africa, density population in Uganda is quite high (160 inhabitants per square km) and this this influences many aspects of every day life (driving and moving is almost impossible).

Kampala is the biggest city in Uganda and is said to have 1,5 million inhabitants, but other estimates affirm there are even more than 3 millions people living in the city center and in the suburbs.

The city is famous because it was built by the British putting together different settlements on hills stretching along Lake Victoria (originally there were seven hills but now, since the population is growing, the number is more than double).

Just like all the other capitals built during the British colonialism, there are no squares (a square is needed only in democracy), therefore all markets, social life etc happen along (or in the middle) the streets.

Kampala is a complex mix of different cultures, ethnicities, cultures and religions. There are lots of places of worship (Anglican and Catholic churches, mosques and Bahai and Hindu temples). For Christians, the most famous and important place is Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine, where, between 1885 and 1887, 12 Catholic and 13 Anglican converts were executed.

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Eating in Kampala

Since it is an international city, it is not difficult to find the desired type of restaurant, cafe and fast food (the most important ones are inside the shopping malls). However, if you want to visit a very special local place with traditional cuisine you must absolutely try “Africa Hot Pot”.

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END OF PART 2