Travel Guide: Uganda

Good
morning readers! As you may recall, last week I wrote about my experience in Tanzania.
While I was living in Tanzania I also traveled to neighboring Uganda
for a week, and that is what I wanted to talk about today.

I
love Uganda. The people are incredibly friendly, and the adventures are
endless! As you can probably tell from the above photo I am a bit of an
“adventure” traveler. If it involves swimming with sharks, riding
elephants, or exploring volcanoes count me in! So, when my friend Jon
(whom I was visiting in Uganda) suggested we white water raft The Nile I
jumped at the opportunity! 

Jon and I did a day trip to the southern city of
Jinja in order to whit water raft the Nile. In addition to loving the rafting, I actually weirdly
enjoyed traveling there. One thing I love about Uganda is the scenery –
from extremely lush to very dry the views are always something to
admire. Additionally, one of my FAVOURITE foods I ate in Uganda can only
be acquired during bus travel … Does that sound odd? Well, you need
to travel Uganda by bus and try “bus stop” Chapati and then talk to me
haha.

Essentially, when traveling the country by bus you end up
going through bus stops that are filled with people reaching food and
other trinkets up to the bus window to be purchased. Every time we
travelled anywhere Jon and I got the Chapati, which is a doughy pancake
like food that is incredibly delicious.  

*Ordering our bus stop Chapati*

While visiting Uganda I spent the majority of my time in the capital, Kampala. Kampala was quite a modern city with a variety of cool shops and restaurants. I loved being able to buy fabrics from local retailers at every turn. I bought so many fabrics which I brought back to Canada to display on their own, turn into pillows, and even turn into dresses. 

* A selection of the fabrics I brought home with me*

The final city I visited in Uganda (other than Kampala and Jinja) was Gulu. Visiting Gulu was something I had wanted to do for years. In 2008 I worked for the non-profit Invisible Children which was founded by three young guys after having witnessed the destruction in Gulu at the hands of Joseph Kony and his rebel army, the L.R.A. Invisible Children began as a grassroots organization that grew to produce a number of short documentary films, help build a number of schools in Gulu, provide scholarships for Gulu students and employ a number of women to handcraft goods for sale in the US and Canada. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the Invisible Children Gulu Office and getting to tour one of the high schools IC helped build.

While in Gulu Jon (who was also a law student) and I were tasked with attending the first day of a trial of a former L.R.A. commander. We were to observe and report as necessary. The trial was an experience I will never forget. 
 

As I’m sure you can tell my experience in Uganda was WAY too intense and busy to sum up in one blog post, but, I will leave you with a few remaining photos and thoughts on this amazing experience:

3) On Saturdays there is a farmer’s market in Kampala that is definitely worth checking out. It has so many beautiful fabrics, dresses and paintings all made by locals

*The view from Jon’s apartment in Kampala*

*the mode of transport around Kampala- Boda’ing*

*The BEST East African beer (Nile Special)… which we are using to take our daily malaria pills… that part is not recommended haha*