Arriving in the Entebbe airport in Uganda, one of the first things you notice are the soldiers with the big guns. Not much bigger than anyone else’s, but they aren’t exactly state of the art, and nor is the piece of string that they have tied from one side to the other, slung across their shoulders.
Through the airport doors and a man on a chair briefly runs a metal scanner over your body. It is cheaper to buy your visa on arrival here, than to mission all the way to Pretoria and pay the R700 at the embassy there. The friendly visa officials will issue you a tourist visa for US$50 and barely a second look.
From the airport, myself and my travel buddy Saskia looked around for an internet café and a bank. Stanbic Bank is a division of Standard here in South Africa, but there are no special rates that apply unfortunately. Things here are bought in either Ugandan Shillings or US Dollars, but it’s better to do things in Shillings so as not to get ripped off with the exchange rate. All the locals use Shillings but traders will happily take your ex-pat dollars for a higher rate than that at the exchange. Keep some dollars on you for emergencies but otherwise it’s best to just use your ATM card and draw Shillings.
A foreigner in Uganda means money. The increase of NGO workers has brought Dollars and Euros into this economy and naturally people want more. All the cab companies and the car hire representatives will flock to your person offering cab rides at tourist prices. If you have the time, wait for the bus that leaves when it is full from Kampala, and again from the airport. It costs about 1500 Shillings instead of the 60 000 that you will be asked to dole out for a private cab. There are loads of ex-pats going to Kampala so if you want a taxi, see if you can share one. Otherwise, haggling in this country is second nature. We got a taxi to our backpackers for 40 000 after some serious work at the cabbies and their fares.
The ride from the airport is near perilous. There are few tarred roads here and the only rule is: don’t hit the other guy. Aside from that, speed is optional, direction is too, as not everyone goes with the flow of traffic, and seatbelts are the last thing on anyone’s minds. In Uganda, people believe that if it is their time to die, then so be it; it is out of their hands.
We stayed in an obscurely located place called the IC Uganda guesthouse. You can find it by directing your taxi to the Hot Spice Club behind the church in Rubaga. Each city or town has little sub-areas. Rubaga is one of them. Everyone who lives here knows them, and all the ex-pats don’t. Know yours, and all will be well as drivers will know where to take you and ask the exact location once they are in the sub-area. Take a right at Hot Spice and up Bazakuketta Street, a dirt road. Then a right and a left and you are there. The backpackers is an old English-style manor and is owned by Zander and Sarah, a lovely and very helpful Dutch couple. If you are new to the country, they have a book of phone numbers that they can supply you with for just about anything. Ask them where to go and how to get there and they will tell you. At 25 000 Ugandan Shillings a night, this place is affordable, more than comfortable, and full of interesting people from all over the world.
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