I’ve finally arrived in Uganda and I’m really happy to be here, but it has required another very long travelling day – one of the hazards of travel I guess!
Yesterday after travelling to London I checked into the Travelodge near Heathrow which was the hotel I stayed at before visiting Central America and it provided good connections to the airport. Then this morning grabbed an early night bus to the airport so that I would arrive in plenty of time to check my luggage weight – I was carrying a huge bag of toy cars for the kids and a couple of hundred pairs of underwear that was being sent over by my friends family so the bag was a bit on the heavy side but luckily it was still within the limit. I also spent some time doing last minute research about things to do as my new flights arrived in time for me to have a good nights sleep before exploring Entebbe in the morning.
I thought my luck had run out again when we got to the departure gate as we were told our plane would be delayed by at least 30 minutes due to technical problems and with a short connection and terminal change required when I arrived in Brussels I was worried I would miss my flight to Africa. However it turned out connections in Brussels work a lot better than in many hub airports and I arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare. Brussels Airlines seem to travel to lots of destinations in Africa – I saw flights to Sierra Leone, Togo, Guinea and Ghana on the boards in addition to my flight to Rwanda and Uganda.
The flight to Africa went smoothly and we arrived at Kigali airport in Rwanda for our stopover a little early. It was a shame the sun had already set as it seemed we flew in between the hills of Rwanda and over the city before landing so it would have been a great view. It was also a shame that my arrival in Rwanda was only for a stopover as I really enjoyed the few days I spent there in 2009 and one day hope to return.
After less than an hour, during which the plane was cleaned by a crew of people that looked like Ghostbusters we departed for my final stop of Entebbe, Uganda. The flight went really quickly and, as the airport is on a peninsula, it was very unsettling to have felt the plane touch down without being able to see land or any lights. I stocked up on supplies while waiting for my luggage before heading out to meet the guy who was transferring me to the Entebbe Backpackers where I’m spending the night. The hostel is ideal for my needs as they have private cottage rooms available for only $25 including transfer from the airport at any time of the day or night. I’m in my room now, and it’s very basic, but has everything I need – a bed with (most of) a mosquito net, a shower, power sockets to charge my phone and seems secure and quiet enough for me to get a good nights sleep ready for an early start tomorrow.
