Uganda and white water rafting on the Nile

Truth is that it has been a few weeks since we last escaped the city of Kigali. So after busy weeks of work we decided to leave our work at work and travel to Uganda. Our trip started on thursday afternoon when we went to Kigali bus station to catch the 6PM bus to Kampala. There have been some 3-4 hours bus rides on my trip here in Rwanda, however this one was a little bit different. First of all, the distance between Kigali and Kampala is around 500 km and estimated driving time ca 9 hours. Furthermore, at the bus station we found out that our ancient bus is over-booked. Fortunately next bus arrived ca 45 min later and we left ca 8PM from Kigali. A further 2 hours later we had to go through the border between Rwanda and Uganda. Exiting Rwanda wasn't simple- it took ca 2 hour to get all passport stamps and then back to the bus. The road was extremely bad in Uganda and no toilet on the bus didn't make the trip easier.

We got to the sin city of East Africa next morning at 9 AM and shortly set off for one of the biggest shopping mall in Kampala to take a free shuttle to our hostel, located near the lake of Victoria.

There is nothing better than relaxing in the pool after brutal bus ride.

Saturday morning we woke up early to do the full day grade 5 rafting on the Nile. The company offered a free transportation from Kampala to Jinja and furthermore a small breakfast was provided on arrival. After short introduction they transported us to river.

We joined with another group of 3, really nice Americans for our adventure. And then the adventure began!

After 4 rapids, it was time for lunch.

Some of the rapids were challenging and we did flip several times, however the experienced staff made us feel safe. We covered total of 27 km on Nile and I had just an amazing time! I'm even considering buying the video with all our rafting highlights (all flips included) if I can negotiate the price down a little bit.

One night free accommodation was also included in the price ($ 125) and they dropped us off at our hotel after long day of rafting. We really were exhausted and simply didn't have the energy to party. Even snoring in our mixed dorm couldn't keep us awake ...or at least most of us.

I started my Sunday in our hotel pool.

...then went for a stroll and grabbed a quick breakfast- rolled omelette (or Rolex).

Afternoon we took a taxi back to Kampala where we spent an hour or two with our friends before we jumped on boda-bodas (moto-taxies) and headed to downtown. After the brutal bus ride from Kigali to Kampala, we decided to travel back home in the first class. Despite the fact that there were two seats on one side and three seats on the other side, making stretching impossible, the bus was fast, relatively modern and we crossed the border within less than an hour. Another downside was really loud and shit music for almost the entire ride. Fortunately I turned my headphones into earplugs.

Here are some random photos I took over the weekend. Uganda is truly worth a visit!

Thanks for reading!