Jinja
So Derek is leaving soon, and last night he decided that he wanted to make a day trip out of today, and either go to the Entebbe area (near the airport and Lake Victoria) or go to Jinja (mouth of the Nile, and also near Lake Victoria- the lake is huge, and those places are probably at least an hour to two hours apart).
Since traveling alone is a bad idea, and I figured that I would be holed up forever unless I had people to go out with, I was happy to come along with Derek, and let him make the choice, and since the "mouth of the Nile" and the Nile river and its rapids are so famous and well known, visiting Jinja became the final choice.
We woke up early, and headed out around 9 ish to get a matatu down to the center of Kampala city, on Kampala road. We got cash exchanged at one of the main banks, which was actually rather freaky. They have little pods that you have to enter the bank in- you push a button, then a semi-circular glass door opens up, you step into this little capsule that barely fits you, the door seals behind you, and after a bit, the semi-circular glass door opens in front of you. The freaky part is that when you step in, it bounces a bit like an elevator... as if they could banish you to interrogation chambers in the basement if they were somehow displeased with your looks or what you had on your person. We got our money without much trouble, then we headed down to the "taxi park," which is this football field full of these crazy matatu drivers, and tons of people who make food and carry around trinkets and water and every little impulse buy item they can think of. You find a sign (or ask some people) that has a matatu going the direction you want, then you wait for it to fill up, then you go. The ride to Jinja costs 3000 USH, and before I left, I spent 2k on 2 water bottles (good investment, finished it all in the period of the day) and a bag of "chups" which Derek said was a decent tasting fried meat thingie, and since I had no breakfast, and needed to eat something with my mefloquine (saturday is my date with mefloquine tablets) I decided to try the chups. It turns out that chups is actually "chips" and chips is exactly what the English meaning of the word is- fried potato wedges. But Uganda is rarely that straight forward, so they also threw in... 1) orangey-red sauce, identical in consistency to sweet and sour sauce that they put on random fast food chinese stuff. Did not try it. 2) chunks of beef. Those were decent, as long as you ate the chips before they got soggy with the moisture from the beef. 3) noodles. That was by far the strangest addition, at the bottom of the plastic bag, that was wrapped with a brown bag. I had to eat all this with my fingers, since there was no utensil provided, and after some purell, I dug in, then ate my mefloquine with half a bottle of water. I feel my malaria protection is renewed once again.
The matatu ride to Jinja is rather fast, like 1-1.5 hrs, considering that once the matatu is full, they don't slow down or stop to take new passengers, and just speed as fast as they can to the destination so they can get paid and get more passengers. After arriving, I used a travel guide that Howie gave me (thanks man, it's a really good book, lifesaver) that had a MAP of the city, and recommendations on what to see and where to eat. As a result, we saw a few good souvenier shops (kampala kinda sucks for tourists, it's kinda a mess and too urbanized to have much in the way of crafts, and the rural areas are busy trying to survive, and don't see enough tourists to warrant making any crafts). Jinja is a pretty nice town, quieter, posher, and prettier than Kampala (the flow of tourists that come in may help contribute to the prosperity of the area). There are class 5 rapids and some awesome play holes for kayakers in the area (Amanda, you'd love it I think- they have a place like 40 clicks away with "one of the world's best play-holes for kayakers" which I think you've heard about before, and mentioned to me) and lots of tourists come to go white water rafting on the Nile, which sounds pretty neat when you think about it.
Derek and I went to this place that was recommended in Howie's book, Gately on the Nile, for lunch- and we both agreed that it was the best food that we had eaten in the entire country of Kampala, for the durations that we had been there. I had this gnawing craving for veggies- veggies tend to be pretty bad looking here, and not too safe to eat, but when I saw this tender beef fillet and wok fried vegetable dish, I had to get it. It was great- the beef was really tender and tasty, and there were zucchini, and mushrooms, and green beans, and cauliflower, and butternut squash like the way Paula makes it, and potatoes... just great. The price was 11k USH, which is like 6 dollars... and for a plate of food that I would have paid 10-15 bucks to have in the states, it was a great deal. And the place was fabulous too, like a resort almost, without being huge and resort like- the entrance is much like a little house/inn with a hedge that blocks view to and from the main street. It's right on the Nile, and on the dining patio, there is this great view of the Nile, and a fountain and immaculate garden and lawn- it's a rather beautiful place, with good weather, and nice breezes, and comfortable places to read, and no mosquitoes at the time (but then again, it was midday, and mosquitoes come out in force at dawn and dusk if they're going to come out at all).
After lunch, Derek and I walked over to the "Mouth of the Nile" monument/gardens, which actually are on both sides of the Nile- apparently the site used to be a waterfall, but with the construction of the Owen Dam, the area is now flooded, and there only remains the monuments. Jinja is so safe feeling and nicer in atmosphere than Kampala is- Derek mentioned it was like being in the Southern part of the US- lots of large, well worn houses, plantation like fields and open spaces, and a river kinda like the Mississippi. We actually felt safe enough that both of us walked around with our digital cameras... in our hands! as opposed to hiding them in our backpacks and feeling paranoid. My camera isn't much, but Derek's is a very nice and rather expensive digital SLR, which is about as pricey as my brand new laptop.
We walked a decent long ways to the gardens, mainly because we took an indirect path, but the Mouth of the Nile was actually not that impressive- it was as impressive as the rest of the Nile was, which is pretty impressive in its width, and reputation, but this segment wasn't much special, except for the fact that you knew that part of Lake Victoria was draining into it.
After seeing this, it was getting close to 3 pm, and we wanted to be out of Jinja by 4, so we could be back to Kampala before the sun set and the muggers came out with the mosquitoes (we're just a bit paranoid). We had seen a few handicraft souvenier stores on the way in, and told them that we'd shop on our way out, since the stuff was going to be heavy, and we didn't want to carry stuff- we probably spent about 50 US total on all the kind of traditionally stereotypical African souveniers- wooden masks, animals, and the like. I do have to say that some of them are rather well carved, and even if it is an obvious souvenier that would never have been used in some village in Uganda for a village ceremony, they're still pretty neat, and the wood and stone is just nice to the touch.
We made it back without issue, and I bought mangoes when we got back. Craving for fruit and veggies persists, but more so fruit now, that I had that great lunch at Gately's.
Since traveling alone is a bad idea, and I figured that I would be holed up forever unless I had people to go out with, I was happy to come along with Derek, and let him make the choice, and since the "mouth of the Nile" and the Nile river and its rapids are so famous and well known, visiting Jinja became the final choice.
We woke up early, and headed out around 9 ish to get a matatu down to the center of Kampala city, on Kampala road. We got cash exchanged at one of the main banks, which was actually rather freaky. They have little pods that you have to enter the bank in- you push a button, then a semi-circular glass door opens up, you step into this little capsule that barely fits you, the door seals behind you, and after a bit, the semi-circular glass door opens in front of you. The freaky part is that when you step in, it bounces a bit like an elevator... as if they could banish you to interrogation chambers in the basement if they were somehow displeased with your looks or what you had on your person. We got our money without much trouble, then we headed down to the "taxi park," which is this football field full of these crazy matatu drivers, and tons of people who make food and carry around trinkets and water and every little impulse buy item they can think of. You find a sign (or ask some people) that has a matatu going the direction you want, then you wait for it to fill up, then you go. The ride to Jinja costs 3000 USH, and before I left, I spent 2k on 2 water bottles (good investment, finished it all in the period of the day) and a bag of "chups" which Derek said was a decent tasting fried meat thingie, and since I had no breakfast, and needed to eat something with my mefloquine (saturday is my date with mefloquine tablets) I decided to try the chups. It turns out that chups is actually "chips" and chips is exactly what the English meaning of the word is- fried potato wedges. But Uganda is rarely that straight forward, so they also threw in... 1) orangey-red sauce, identical in consistency to sweet and sour sauce that they put on random fast food chinese stuff. Did not try it. 2) chunks of beef. Those were decent, as long as you ate the chips before they got soggy with the moisture from the beef. 3) noodles. That was by far the strangest addition, at the bottom of the plastic bag, that was wrapped with a brown bag. I had to eat all this with my fingers, since there was no utensil provided, and after some purell, I dug in, then ate my mefloquine with half a bottle of water. I feel my malaria protection is renewed once again.
The matatu ride to Jinja is rather fast, like 1-1.5 hrs, considering that once the matatu is full, they don't slow down or stop to take new passengers, and just speed as fast as they can to the destination so they can get paid and get more passengers. After arriving, I used a travel guide that Howie gave me (thanks man, it's a really good book, lifesaver) that had a MAP of the city, and recommendations on what to see and where to eat. As a result, we saw a few good souvenier shops (kampala kinda sucks for tourists, it's kinda a mess and too urbanized to have much in the way of crafts, and the rural areas are busy trying to survive, and don't see enough tourists to warrant making any crafts). Jinja is a pretty nice town, quieter, posher, and prettier than Kampala (the flow of tourists that come in may help contribute to the prosperity of the area). There are class 5 rapids and some awesome play holes for kayakers in the area (Amanda, you'd love it I think- they have a place like 40 clicks away with "one of the world's best play-holes for kayakers" which I think you've heard about before, and mentioned to me) and lots of tourists come to go white water rafting on the Nile, which sounds pretty neat when you think about it.
Derek and I went to this place that was recommended in Howie's book, Gately on the Nile, for lunch- and we both agreed that it was the best food that we had eaten in the entire country of Kampala, for the durations that we had been there. I had this gnawing craving for veggies- veggies tend to be pretty bad looking here, and not too safe to eat, but when I saw this tender beef fillet and wok fried vegetable dish, I had to get it. It was great- the beef was really tender and tasty, and there were zucchini, and mushrooms, and green beans, and cauliflower, and butternut squash like the way Paula makes it, and potatoes... just great. The price was 11k USH, which is like 6 dollars... and for a plate of food that I would have paid 10-15 bucks to have in the states, it was a great deal. And the place was fabulous too, like a resort almost, without being huge and resort like- the entrance is much like a little house/inn with a hedge that blocks view to and from the main street. It's right on the Nile, and on the dining patio, there is this great view of the Nile, and a fountain and immaculate garden and lawn- it's a rather beautiful place, with good weather, and nice breezes, and comfortable places to read, and no mosquitoes at the time (but then again, it was midday, and mosquitoes come out in force at dawn and dusk if they're going to come out at all).
After lunch, Derek and I walked over to the "Mouth of the Nile" monument/gardens, which actually are on both sides of the Nile- apparently the site used to be a waterfall, but with the construction of the Owen Dam, the area is now flooded, and there only remains the monuments. Jinja is so safe feeling and nicer in atmosphere than Kampala is- Derek mentioned it was like being in the Southern part of the US- lots of large, well worn houses, plantation like fields and open spaces, and a river kinda like the Mississippi. We actually felt safe enough that both of us walked around with our digital cameras... in our hands! as opposed to hiding them in our backpacks and feeling paranoid. My camera isn't much, but Derek's is a very nice and rather expensive digital SLR, which is about as pricey as my brand new laptop.
We walked a decent long ways to the gardens, mainly because we took an indirect path, but the Mouth of the Nile was actually not that impressive- it was as impressive as the rest of the Nile was, which is pretty impressive in its width, and reputation, but this segment wasn't much special, except for the fact that you knew that part of Lake Victoria was draining into it.
After seeing this, it was getting close to 3 pm, and we wanted to be out of Jinja by 4, so we could be back to Kampala before the sun set and the muggers came out with the mosquitoes (we're just a bit paranoid). We had seen a few handicraft souvenier stores on the way in, and told them that we'd shop on our way out, since the stuff was going to be heavy, and we didn't want to carry stuff- we probably spent about 50 US total on all the kind of traditionally stereotypical African souveniers- wooden masks, animals, and the like. I do have to say that some of them are rather well carved, and even if it is an obvious souvenier that would never have been used in some village in Uganda for a village ceremony, they're still pretty neat, and the wood and stone is just nice to the touch.
We made it back without issue, and I bought mangoes when we got back. Craving for fruit and veggies persists, but more so fruit now, that I had that great lunch at Gately's.
posted by Vince at 9:58 AM
3 Comments:
Butternut squash, eh?
I'm not sure why that caught my eye out of the entire post, but I always laugh when I think of butternuts (see the movie Half Baked).
glad my book is doing you some good =) things are aiight here, starting to wind down again and everything about to go crazy. take care sweeeet vince.
I'll have to see Half Baked, esp since you recommended it so vigorously over IM.
And Howie, the book is really helpful- haven't gotten around to reading your thesis yet, what with all the power outages here in Kampala, but I'll get to it- I've pretty much gone through my whole stack of books already...
You Stanford guys, barely even done with school!
Post a Comment
<< Home