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Tips for Travel in Uganda and Kenya - can also be applied anywhere else in Africa...

You have landed at Entebbe Airport.  It is about 9 am in the morning and you can see Lake Victoria right next to you.  Islands in the distance with lots of birds nearby.  All kinds of thoughts race through your mind and you are wondering what Uganda might be like.  Soon, you will find out...Welcome to Mother Africa- Welcome to Uganda.

Once you are here, there are the immigration forms, the visa application, have your International Health Card ready in Uganda.  Fill out the forms and move up the line.  Immigration officials are quite helpful and usually nice.  Custom Agents are pretty much the same, rarely will you get questioned or searched.

We will be meeting you, so there is nothing to look for but the friendly face of our driver with a sign with your name on it. 

As you drive toward Kampala take in the sights and sounds of Uganda.  There will be plenty of them on the way into Kampala.  You will find it quite different but like most people, enjoyable.

Africa is a different world and a mosaic of many cultures and traditions.  Life for many is harder here, life most often is shorter, people live in the moment, celebrate each day. In the morning you will often be asked "how was your night?"  There is a deep concern for a quality of life, of not missing out.  Things are not measured by minutes, by appointments but more about relating to people and to the world in which we live. 

Westerners often become frustrated by the little things, instead of the big thing, "Quality of life and quality of relationships.  Life,  birth, marriage, graduations, death are all celebrated as family, clan, tribe, village or community.  Go to Africa with an open heart and mind and learn some things that might enrich your own life. Oh, by the way if you do not know the saying, "Hakuna matata," no problems - if you do not have patience now, you will have after your season in Africa.

Practical tips that can save you some grief:

Keep the jewelry to a minimum.  I have seen earrings torn off a woman and this one was a pierced kind causing a lot of pain.

If you carry a wallet, cash, keep it in your front pocket so you can put your hand over it.  Do not carry a belt pack, that can easily be cut off and be gone before you know it. 

Keep your passport in safe keeping and have a photo copy of it with you. 

If you are staying for a long period of time, get an air evacuation insurance in case of a medical situation.  It is not very expensive and a good idea in case of an accident or medical emergency.

Don't act lost even if you are.  You will attract attention that is not desirable and often it can mean that you might be followed.  You can go into any shop and ask for direction.  (Listen to your African Friends and follow their advice)

Do not drink the tap water, and if you are somewhere do not take ice in your drink unless you have been assured that it is purified water.

If you not near any source of bottled water, boil it for 20 to thirty minutes.  Even some of my African friends have come down with typhoid in Nairobi by drinking tap water.  When you brush your teeth, used boiled or bottled water.

If you cannot peel it, don't eat it.  Stay away from raw things since unless you have a hearty system, otherwise it will Imodium time. 

If you are invited for dinner, eat what is there.   We certainly do not want to come across as the ungrateful Westerner who rejects Ugandan hospitality.

If you are staying somewhere where your laundry is done for you, "do not include your undergarments."  Africans find that offensive.  Do them in the bathroom and hang them up in your room. (you can easily buy Omo detergent and with the weather being what it is...they will dry quickly.)

In most public places such as the post office, banks, airline offices, there are most often no such things as lines or queues, there is a sort of free for all.  Two places the welcoming and kind African turns into this warrior person.  on the road or in queue.  The first time I tried to buy stamps in Kisumu, it took me 45 minutes, after that I too became a warrior with a gentle side of course.

Driving in Africa?  Have patience, lots of it.  Get used to the speed bumps, the police checks with barriers across the road and the pot holes in the road.

Before you swim in open body of water, make sure that there is not a bilharzias' danger in the lake or stream.  That is a nasty group of worms that can invade your body and cause havoc.

Taking pictures:  If you are taking pictures of people up-close, ask first, some find it offensive to have their picture taken, or think that you are profiting from it.

If you do not know how to bargain, or it makes you uncomfortable, get used to the ancient dance of humorous haggling over the price.  It is expected, and if you don't, the seller of wares will be disappointed.

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The biggest tip would be one of the cultural adjustment. How does one do that.  It is the process of immersion.  Allow yourself to be immersed into Africa, it sounds, scents, sights and most of all people. 

The people of Uganda are some of the friendliest in the world.  They love spending time with westerners and we have much to learn from them.  Enjoy the new friendships, be open, be willing to learn and ask questions and remember "Hakuna Matata - Don't sweat it."

    Copyright © 2008 Alpha and Omega Tours and Travel PO Box 886 - Kampala - Uganda