Day 2: Lake Victoria and Bugala Island

What an amazing second day. An early start to the day as we needed to make it to the ferry before 2pm, we checked out early to run some errands – shopping and lunch! Lol We went to the crafts area to get some African goodies, and then head off to lunch at a Korean restaurant before driving all the way back to Entebbe to catch the ferry to Bugala Island, the biggest of the 84 islands on Lake Victoria, in which 64 are actually inhibited. If you’re having a hard time imagining what I am trying to tell you, just think of Venice, and times that by 10 to get the size, I hope!

The ferry ride is a 3h long trip, cruising 10knots down south on Lake Victoria. We were privileged enough to know the captain, and was given permission to visit the captain’s deck. The ride went pass the equator, and we were trying so hard to snap the 00”00 but were unfortunately not fast enough, getting a 00”03 S instead. But we will have another chance when we return to the mainland, perhaps we’ll get lucky then.


View from the ferry. The land seen at the back is Bugala Island.

We reached the island around 5pm. The journey into the estate takes another hour, and this time it’s bumpy dirt road all the way. The scenery shifted from Kalangala town, to greeneries – jungle and palm trees. Occasionally monkeys ran across the road, and little children ran and hid when they saw a car coming. There were various birds flying around, I felt as if I could reach out and touch them. We saw the lake most of the time too, as the island is of a longish shape.

The view from dad’s house, or this area, is breathtaking. Situated on top of a tiny hill, from one end one can see the stretches of palm trees, while on the other side we can see the nursery, and then suddenly, the lake itself glittering like diamonds in the day, and also the other nearby islands. Eagles fly really low around here, but thankfully they don’t attack… I think.

Due to an early and busy day tomorrow, the evening ended early. Besides, lights out at 11pm, which means even if I had wanted to do anything, it would have been too dark to do so. For the first time in ages, I slept before midnight! More to come in the next few blogs…

Africa trip - Uganda. Day 1 - June 15th

“We are not beginning our descend into Entebbe. Please fasten your seatbelt.”

My heart did a quick leap. Finally! After delays and delays for takeoffs in each and every airport that I passed through, the plane finally landed in Entebbe International Airport, the old capital of Uganda. Great! Next step? No idea. Typically it would be immigration, baggage pickup and then customs, in that order, before I am able to get out. But I was quite certain that somewhere there would be a glitch. And voila! After some visa confusion (as I insist over again and again that I do not need a visa for entry, while the Americans apparently did, I played the blind person as I just walked out without much caring for stopping to be checked… As they say, ignorance is bliss.

My parents and my youngest sister met me at the airport. From there we travelled another 40mins into Kampala, the current capital, where we will be spending a night to catch the ferry to the island where dad works the next day. As I look out at the dusty houses, the worn road, I couldn’t help but felt a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps you know, perhaps you don’t. I spent my childhood in estates because of my father’s work; and until today I remember the dirt smell of the truck, the bumpy roads, dust everywhere. You can say that I was well contented to be here.


After a short rest, and a quick swim, we head out to dinner at an Indian restaurant. You might or not be aware, but there are many Indians here. I recommend watching “The Last King of Scotland” to brush up a bit on your Ugandan history. In short, the Indian food is very, very good; very, very spicy; very, very authentic. In fact, it was so spicy that I was sniffing...! From dinner we went to a bar/club/hangout (never found the right word to describe it, but you get the picture), where we met loads of people from dad’s work. It was opened air, very dark, only the stage had lights as there were some performers, and since the people we met were all Africans, I couldn’t tell them apart at all, seeing that besides their eyes and white teeth, I had trouble seeing them in the darkness! There were two memorable things to take away from this place: 1. an earthquake (perhaps it chased me all the way from Japan… 2. the funny performances. Tired as we were, we ended the night early since it was going to be a long day the following day. I was so happy to be able to sleep in a bed after spending 24hours in planes! (A total of 5 airports (Tokyo-Osaka-Dubai-Addis Ababa-Entebbe), 4 flights. Left 9pm, arrived 9pm (JST))

Friday once more

I love Fridays; the start of the weekend, and especially for this week, a much needed break.

Let's recap this week:

Since Monday, a friend from Wales is here, and will be here for two months! He's slowly discovering Japan, and for me, it is very refreshing to see Japan from a foreign person's point of view. LOL. I might be a foreigner, but after living here for so long, nothing surprises me anymore, although the news freak me out....!

I finished all my presentations, yes! Now all I need to do is to write a report for Tuesday, and submit in my translation drafts for another class before I head off to Africa 6 days away. ^_^

And to top it off, the yen is strengthening slightly ^_^

D-Day

June 7th is here. It is past 3 in the morning, and I've finally finished my handouts for tomorrow/today's presentation... Not happy with them but it can't be helped. It's a "Just Do It" situation ... LOL

Other than that, I've been having an alright week. Had some good news that kept me smilling to myself, I bet people on the road thought I was senile. Well, can't help it! Joy is joy, and true to my name I must stay.

In a week's time I'll be heading off to Africa... yeah! A much needed holiday, although I'll be working on my thesis at the same time. Perhaps I should just write about sustainable development and get my father to help me... lol

Definitely looking forward to next month, with some friends from Norway coming in, and then me heading off to Florence..! ^_^ Now if Paris works out perfectly, can't ask for more.

BEd time!!!!!!!!!!!

A new month

Ohh.... it's already JUNE... we're closing in fast to mid-year, end of the 2nd quarter. Craziness. I really wish that time would go by slower. Just the other day, while I was in the radio studio with Chris, he said: "isn't it funny how long a minute can be when you're waiting, but how fast it goes by when you're in rush?" How true! I am most definitely feeling it this very moment.

Seeing that time is of great importance, I shall now return to my work...sigh. I've got 2 back to back presentations for my seminar class next week (what an idiot I am for agreeing to do two at the same time...!!), and then a short piece on Murakami Haruki for the third period. Good thing litterature is well fun; at least something that I enjoy that I've gotten that done already, haha.

Right, have a good weekend folks, wherever you are!