We headed to Kampala in the evening to catch the 10 p.m. bus to Kitgum. I wish I could use words to describe Kampala, but I am afraid I just don’t do it justice. It is crazy and if you blink, about 100 people will pass you by. There is every mode of transportation you can imagine in the street, with street vendors setting up on the ground along the street. There is wall-to-wall people and transportation. The journey to Kitgum is long, but costs only $10. It is 433 KM (269 miles) from Kampala to Kitgum, but it took us 9 hours to reach the town. I love the journey on the bus, especially when I get to sit in the front seat and can see everything. My friend Patrick came down to get me and escort me back, which means he made this journey TWO times back-to-back, just for me. That is dedication and love. Patrick is one of my former students from UCU. He is a teacher at a school up here and has a daughter about a year old. I saw her last year when she was just born. I am sure she is huge now. The journey is not easy, but at least it is cooler at night. I like riding overnight because there is less traffic and the temperatures are cooler. There is no air conditioning on the bus, so of course, we have to rely on the natural breeze. There is also no bathroom, which makes for an interesting 9 hours. We did stop about three hours in to a rest area that has latrines and a food shop. I hate latrines, but I have gotten pretty good at using them. Then, about four more hours in, the bus driver pulled over to the side and said we could ease ourselves, if needed. That is because the journey took longer than we expected because it had rained heavily and the roads were quite treacherous. The bus was slipping and sliding and at one point, I really thought we were going to get stuck, but the bus driver backed up and got through it. What makes the journey worse is that they are doing construction from Gulu to Kitgum (like 100 km, 62 miles), so it is incredibly muddy with dirt roads. It took us three hours for that part and it was super slow going. Otherwise, from Kampala to Gulu it is paved and easy going. I am glad they are trying to pave things up this way, but it is a pain right now.
My favorite part of the whole trip was when Patrick
surprised me with a bottle of sherry when he got back on the bus. I had never
had Ugandan sherry and I liked it, maybe too much. I guess it just took the
edge off for us. One of my best friends always says everything is better with
alcohol and I think I might agree.
My hotel here is simple, but nice. It is about $15 a night
and it is a great value. It seems like a lot when you change it to Ugandan
shillings (50,000), but it is a bargain for American standards. There is even a
fan, mosquito net, and hot water! I love it. The chef is also really nice and
will do any special requests, which is awesome.
