50 Reasons Why I Love Uganda By Diary Of A Muzungu
As one of the shiny new fighter jets flies over my house, no doubt practicing for this Tuesday’s independence day fly-past, I’m mulling over the week-end papers, full of stories about Uganda @50 and what the last 50 years of independence have meant to Uganda. Is the country better or worse off as an independent nation? What does the future hold? Will the celebrations be hijacked by anti-government protesters? Will there be tears before bedtime?
I’m no expert on Ugandan politics (although the muzungu is very proud of her politics degree from SOAS) – so let’s leave the analysis to the pundits and have some fun.
So, To Celebrate The 50th Anniversary of Independence, I Thought I’d Share With You My Top 50 Reasons why I Love Uganda.
1.Airtime
Everywhere you go, every shop, bar or street corner can sell you mobile phone credit, for as little as 200 Uganda shillings (a few cents or pennies).
2. Boda boda
There are 100,000 of these motorbike taxis in Kampala. Huge fun but use with extreme caution. Don’t expect them to hang around if you have an accident. Read How to ride a boda boda.
3. Birds, birds birds
I LOVE BIRDS! And Uganda has over 1000 species: pretty, beautiful, stunning, huge, noisy, elegant, comical, graceful, they’re all here.
4. Bus Journeys
Hmmm am I crazy? Frankly, any bus journey could be your last but one of my favorite memories is taking a bus from Kasese down to Butogota. 10,000 shillings for a free Safari as we drove down through Maramagambo Forest sighting elephants. Ahh.
5. Cappuccino
I love Ugandan coffee, just don’t serve me Star coffee powder!
6. Chimps at Ngamba Island
I fell in love with the hilarious chimps.
7. Dancing
Africans invented dance! Try keeping me off the dance floor.
8. Dogs
‘The boys’ Baldrick and Percy. These recycled street dogs light up my day. Always happy to see me, following me around until I give them what they want – food and a chance to escape the compound and chase a goat.
9. Driving in Kampala
Yes the traffic is a nightmare, yes the potholes wreck your car, but there’s something quite liberating about driving through this city at times. Careering over the wrong side of the road to dodge potholes can be fun, let’s be honest!
10. Dung Beetles rock!
11. Elephants brought me to Uganda.
(Yeah I know, most people would just get on a plane!)
