Budongo Forest to Entebbe

  Entebbe, Uganda
Thursday, June 19, 2008

Budongo Forest to Entebbe

Thursday June 19th, 2008. Drive from Budongo to Entebbe
Today's travel wasn't going to be too arduous. The plan was to drive to Entebbe and stay there overnight and then head out to Ngamba Island the following morning. It should have been a 5-6hr drive but of course we got side tracked and ended up taking well over 12hrs. But it was an enjoyable drive - not least because it was a sealed road for most of the journey.
The road out of Budongo was dirt but it was all good, undamaged dirt road. We got into Masindi and stopped for petrol, etc and found a little bustling junction town. There's probably not much there except hotels to break up the journey to Paraa and Murchison Falls from Entebbe/Kampala but I love people watching and seeing how people live so this was a great little stop.
Next was on to Hoima. We had sealed road then dirt then sealed but it was all good road. This was clearly the major road for the country where the rest we had been travelling on along the western border were not as well travelled. Again Hoima doesn't have much to offer the traveller but its got plenty to look at if you like seeing things you've never seen before Its another junction town and doesn't look too inviting but could walk the streets of this place and find plenty to keep myself occupied.
We had lunch at an old Christian missionary stop that is now a hotel and restaurant - I can't think of the name of it but I am sure anyone would know it. They have a great lunch every day for a great price. We finally convinced Martin to let us eat local. Coming from Asia, we are used to eating our way through every new place we get to but in Uganda they can be quite reserved about their food (ie: they are not too proud of it). There's no reason for this really. It really nice. Maybe its not as varied as some others but its tasty. Lunch probably cost us less than US$10 for three of us and it was one of the best meals we had had for days.
In Hoima they have the palace of the locally renowned Bunyoro king. The Bunyoro king had numerous run-ins with the British and was eventually exiled to the Seychelles around the turn of the 20th century. He finally returned some years later and died on his way back to his palace. The palace itself is not very exciting but the throne room is pretty cool with animals skins from many years gone by as well as spears, crowns, drums and stools used by the king. This is not an official tourist thing and Martin had to gently persuade his way past the guards at the gate and then got the number of the Permanent Secretary. He came back from lunch to show us around and sign the guest book (one previous guest in the book was named Robert Mugabe but he assured me it was not THE Mugabe). We gave the Permanent Secretary a tip of Ush10,000 (about US$6) and he seemed pretty happy.
Out of Hoima we found the sealed road and were on tar for the rest of our trip. YAHOOOOO! Well almost, every now and then the road would turn to crap and we would be driving around holes again but there was no more "African Massage" as Martin put it. Soon enough we were approaching the capital - Kampala where we had asked if we could visit the Bugandan Kasubi Tombs and the craft markets in Bugand Road.
The Kasubi Tombs are where a number of the Bugandan kings have been buried and where the old palace is. This is a world heritage site as it is the world's largest thatched hut - which present quite a site as you go through the gates. It cost Ush15,000 per person and then you get the compulsory guide who of course will be tipped at the end of the tour. Our guide - Nicholas - had a great sense of humour but the whole tour was over very quickly and then they usher you into the room where they have their art for sale. Its OK stuff and not too expensive but we didn't need or want anything he had so we tipped him and headed to Entebbe. The whole visit cost about US$25 for two people and lasted about 45mins. Frankly I thought it was a little pricey but its still worth a visit if not just to see inside the thatched hut (I'll leave that as a surprise for you all).
Of course we had left our shopping of big stuff until the end of the trip so that we wouldn't have to lug things around with us but we could have bought anything along the way and left it in the car really. We hadn't been looking for anything so this was the first time we went to a decent sized craft market. They have plenty of stuff at these places - unlike some I have seen around where 99% of what they have is ugly and badly made and often completely unrelated to the place your in. This market was different where they had the cheap touristy stuff (beer mats, hats, t-shirts, etc) but they also had really nice old masks, spears, etc etc. It doesn't really matter if this stuff is dusty because it has just come off a truck and was actually made last week - its all very reasonably priced. We got a great mask for about US$20 and a set of the crazy horns from the Ankole cows for US$10. We really didn't need to get anything else to have our mementos for the house.
It was getting dark and the traffic was pretty heavy but it actually flowed pretty well. People had warned us of bad traffic in Kampala and Martin was worried about getting caught in it but honestly it is nothing compared to a good traffic jam in Asia. Here the traffic may be heavy but at least it moves. It took us about 50mins to get from Kampala to Entebbe and to the wondrous Hotel Lybia (nee Lake Victoria Hotel Windsor). I just have to tell you all about this place.....
It has recently been bought by some Lybian businessmen and all the old world English/Colonial charm has been stripped out with mechanical precision. The nice 4ft high terra cotta pots at the entrance have been spray painted silver. The red brick columns have been painted a dark maroon/pink. And then you get to the foyer...absolutely no character whatsoever. This hotel has been upgraded with all the latest Uganda has to offer and in the process turned into one of the most depressing hotels I have every been in. It is clean and nice and new but it is so sad.
Then when you check in you get the piece de resistance. There is the obligatory photo of President Musevini and then to his right is a photo of Colonel Gadhaffi. Gadhaffi's photo is very strategically hung 2inches higher than Musevini and is looking over his right shoulder down at his "friend" from the south. It is almost comical and should be one of Entebbe's off beat tourist attractions.
Check-in, shower, room service, colapse and sleep.