Rwanda

Rwanda

The land of a thousands hills, a thousands lakes, and a thousand smiles...

The trip to Rwanda was nothing short of eventful with plenty of mishaps, laughs and great sights. I had the privilege of accompanying my great English friend Gemma for 7 whole days of fun and traveling. :)

Travel Day : Kampala-Kigali

Gem and I in the bus!!
In two places at once-Rwandan border

Our "luxury" transportation

Leaving Uganda and walking into Rwanda!!

We decided to be smart and get the early bus. It was a good thing we did, because 13, yes I said 13 hours later we arrived in Kigali. The trip was good all together. While on our one (and only) stop, Gemma and I decided to take turns going to the restroom. She went first, while I waited with the bags. Then when she promptly returned, I went. * Side note: *Something about the African ( or maybe Ugandan) culture is that when you stand in LINE for anything ( and in this case it was the bathroom) and wait your turn, you will be push away and be rudely butted in front of.* I thought that maybe I was being tried for my level of patience or something, so I calmly (???) let the ladies pass me. They did and soon I was in the bathroom. As I was leisurely exiting the bathroom back to the bus, I realize the bus wasn't there!! I frantically looked around ( at this point I have nothing on me-no cell phone, no money, no passport...NOTHING but myself and a bag of tissues) I was summoned by a man who yelled, "The bus is down there!!" I saw the bus and just as I was making my way over there, it was stopping. Apparently INSIDE the bus, Gemma had run to the front and shouted for the bus driver to stop. Let's just say that when I sat down I was more then relieved and decided to STAY on the bus for the remainder of the trip....:) We arrived in Kigali and thankfully had booked ahead. We found our beds and crashed into bed....

Day 1- Kigali

Our first morning we decided to explore the city of Kigali. It was extremely quiet and incredibly clean. We assumed that because it was Sunday, most of the people were either attending their religious services or just sleeping in.

Fresh and Ready for a new day...The city center...

We ventured to the famous sights, but at the same time took our time and did some random exploring. Our first stop was the Hotel Mille Collines. We asked the guard if we could go inside the gate and look at the hotel. We weren't allowed to enter the hotel because they were renovating it and there were toilets and construction all around us, but we did get to see the outside and take some pictures. It was kind of neat to go on our own "tour" as opposed to a guided tour. You discover so many more amazing things when you travel independently.To those of you who don't know, this is the hotel where hundreds of people fled to during the genocide. It is also where the film " Hotel Rwanda" was filmed.

We also went to the two different genocide memorials, a craft shop where we found a genius purchase for Gemma's boyfriend and then went back to the hotel. We walked all around town, so by the end of the day, we were wrecked. :) The main genocide memorial in Kigali was awesome with history going back to before the genocide, then following to during the genocide and then telling stories of hope after the genocide. It was quite a remarkable exhibition and I felt educated after I left, not to mention visually educated as well...it was a heavy thing to go and see, but I am grateful I did....

Later in the day....

Our genius purchase:

A giggling camel... On the other side it says, " I LAUGH you."

H-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s!

I will update with more pictures and stories later.....to be continued