AboutFrank Expertise My knowledge is mainly of the capital city, Kampala, and surrounding area. I will be glad to share about transportation, society, government, living conditions, education, media, etc.
Experience Experience in the area: I spent a month in Uganda, consulting at a major university and visiting government, media, and civic entities. My consultancies have taken me to many third world countries, equipping me for comparative observations about Uganda and other emerging societies. Many articles on economic development, media and society, emerging societies -- published in various countries, several languages. Credentials: Retired professor of international mass media.
Expert: Frank Date: 4/2/2004 Subject: Planning the trip
Question Dear Lawrence,
We will be travelling from Kenya to Tanzania to Uganda and back to Kenya in July and August, for a period of one month. Can you give us some general hints on what to see, how to travel where to sleep, and what not to forget in planning the trip?
Thanks.
Kind regards,
Mi
Answer April 3, 2004
Dear Mi,
Sorry, can't be much help on your total travel itinerary. As the website indicates, I'm not really an “expert” on Uganda, but after having spent a month there and finding no source on this site that could help me, I signed on to provide what assistance I could. Although I was briefly also in Kenya, my knowledge of that country is very limited.
My stay in Uganda was only in Kampala, Entebbe, and Jinja, all in south Uganda, all on or near the north shore of Lake Victoria. I was on a program for the American Embassy, and so I leaned heavily on their advice. However, I roomed with another American scholar who had spent six years in the country as a research professor, so through the Embassy and my roommate, I got a pretty good picture of the situation. But it has now been three years since I was there, and my knowledge of the current situation is more from the media than from observation. So what I can tell you is subject to change.
You didn't say how you will travel – with a tour group, in a rental car, by bus . . . . That makes a lot of difference. If with an escorted tour, you have to trust the organizer. I've seen tour groups led by “one of their own” who didn't know the territory, and that's pretty risky. Best if the tour is conducted by a trusted local concern. If you will be on your own, as suggested in your inquiry “where to sleep,” that's a further challenge.
Don't expect to find good accommodations other than in major cities or in tourist areas that cater to foreign visitors. In Kampala, for instance, I could only recommend one hotel that is both comfortable and secure. In Intebbe, also one, close to the airport. In Jinja, more risky.
As for road travel, I can't say about Tanzania, other than general knowledge that tour hosts have established routes into the game preserves south of Nairobi. There is a major route from Nairobi to Kampala, and although I have traveled only part of it, I understand it is a safe route, with regular bus connections between the two capitals.
The three countries you mention have a loose alliance for trade, cooperation, and tourism – and as you surely know they are all former British colonies and English is the major language.
Based on my observations in Uganda, and I'm sure it's similar in all three of your destination countries, you must be very cautious. Major cities are relatively safe, but security goes downhill in smaller cities, and to rock bottom in the bush. Along Uganda's northern border with Sudan, and along the Congo border to the west, local “lords” rule with total lawlessness. Kidnappings and murder, also enslavement of children, are common. Embassy warnings are “stay far away.” I did. You should. Only last month there was news of mass killings along the northern border.
Even in Kampala, going out alone at night is not advisable, nor is it safe to go into certain parts of town, where so-called “street kids” control the streets, mugging and robbing almost at will in the guise of begging, and they are largely ignored by authorities. On the other hand, with local advice as to the safer parts of town, and careful discretion. you can get by pretty well in Kampala. My outings to Entebbe and Jinja were in company of a group of trusted locals.
Travel within Kampala is mostly by vans that serve as bus-taxis, operating on a set route, and everyone just crams in. They're called matatus, and on major routes they're safe so long as you guard against pick-pockets. And they're cheap. Regular taxis are also fairly reasonable, and generally safe except at night, when nothing is really safe. Speaking of pick-pockets, they're everywhere, as are muggers in some areas. Dress down, and avoid looking like a target. Don't carry much cash, and don't keep it in a single place. If accosted, be willing to give up a cheap billfold with limited cash in it, and consider it a cheap experience.
Sanitation is pretty bad, stinky storks everywhere eating the garbage along the streets. (Be careful not to walk under trees where storks are perched, for they seem to delight in liquid bombing of pedestrians.) If you've not had experience in a society with very limited infrastructure, brush up on the cautions.
Don't drink the water. That also means no ice. For liquids, stick to dependably bottled water (best is Coca Cola bottler), beer, or major brand soft drinks. Get those in original containers, not a less-than-clean glass. Don't use straws that are already unwrapped; they're recycled. Even with bottled water, make sure the cap-seal is unbroken and the bottom of a plastic bottle has not been plugged with wax (meaning it could have been refilled from a tap). Local beer is quite good, and safe; Kenyan “Amarulla” (similar to Irish Cream) is excellent. Don't get coffee or tea in public other than at top end restaurants or hotel dining rooms -- it's normally only lukewarm, possibly made with tap water that hasn't been heated enough to be safe. Coffee is almost always instant. Take your supply of coffee/tea if you like, and try to find access to heating safe water for it.
No fruits or vegetables that haven't been peeled or cooked under conditions you have reason to trust. That means no lettuce at all, no lettuce or tomato on burgers, no green salads. Fruit juices can be good, if you get them where you have reason to believe they're prepared in sanitary conditions.
Wash hands often, especially before eating. If impossible to wash, don't touch food, or with hand-held food, hold it at one place only, eat off the other side, leave the part you handled.
Carry lots of Pepto-Bismol tablets (they coat the stomach!) and chew a couple after (or even before) eating anything at all questionable, or at the first sign of a rolling tummy.
Well – I might have told you more than you want to know, and it may sound a bit discouraging, but parts of the area can be quite attractive. Uganda was once the “pearl of Africa,” a prime destination for vacationing Brits (including nobility and royalty) when it was a colony. Be sure to visit “the source of the Nile” near Jinja. And I must say I found my stay quite an education, albeit a bit of a nervous one. You seem very adventurous, so go with a positive expectation but a cautious demeanor. And enjoy!
If there is anything else you want to ask, feel free to write again, perhaps directly to midnamego@aol.com -- and I'll share all I can from my limited knowledge of the area.
