Kampala, Uganda = Meh

So the past 2 days we have been here in Kampala, Uganda. It is a bit different from Lira as it is the capital and, due to its status as the commerce center of the country, the only city where wealth flows in from foreign nations. Already, after having been here for only 2 days, I am starting to get an itch to not only get out of Kampala but also Uganda. It shows flashes of what its neighboring countries are but when you talk to Westerners about Uganda the conversation always ends up in discussing the neighboring countries and plans to explore. We have heard a number of things and Kenya and Tanzania and Derek and I are planning a trip to briefly visit those countries before we head home.
Here in Kampala there is the usual big city problems like awful traffic and pick-pocketers however there are also a few other problems unique to Africa and maybe Uganda. For one, the power goes out frequently. It’s surprising to say that as we have had the same problems 300 km north in a much smaller town. To say that in the capital city doesn’t say much for the country’s infrastructure. Also, there is an abundant amount of very mediocre places to eat. Derek and I searched today for almost 2 hours looking for something interesting to try but didn’t see too much that looked good. There is a lot of Ugandan interest in fast-food and there are a number of large food courts that have very Western-looking food stalls. We wanted to get some interesting crafts as well and were sent to a large “market” with stalls that all sold the same corny African wood carvings and lame t-shirts. Besides this market and a few smaller, more expensive art galleries, there was nowhere else to get some interesting gifts. The only things we picked up were from an antique shop because the carvings there were rather inexpensive and had various significant meanings to the small tribes that produced them. At least we got a bit of content with our gifts. We are hopefully that in Nairobi and Dar-Es-Salaam we are able to pick up some interesting scarves and beads to take back home with us. I have always been interested in Arab culture and both of those places have very different influences than the British influence on Kampala. Today we even made it up to a mosque on the top of a hill over-looking the city and for 5,000 shillings (less than $4) we were able to go up into the minaret and take pictures of the city below. They started the call to prayer while we were up there and it ended up being a pretty cool experience for both of us.
So far Kampala has not really shown us too much but it is nice to get some amenities that we have come to miss since being up in Lira. We are leaving for Jinja tomorrow morning to go rafting at the mouth of the Nile River which will be a welcome change of scenery. I’m sure after this long weekend of traveling we will all be ready to get back on Monday and get back to work.