Muramutsye....amakulu or similar greeting is one that gets you across a number of random encounters ( and I don't claim to have spelt them right). As you may realise, some people speak English or something like it, others some French and yet some are clueless about these colonial albatross.
Anyhow, right from the Gatuna /Katuna boarder, the difference is manifest. As you might notice, for most entry points into Uganda, bomb threats are on peak alert and you cannot avoid those sizzling metal detectors. (Whether they work properly or not considering they buzz at everything from hip bones to shoe laces!) Forgive the digress, If you want to visit Rwanda, clean your shoes, wrap your cassava or g.nuts ( Iryn say Amen!) in newspapers but whatever you do, do not employ the services of a polythene bag (kavera). The check point techniques did not auger well with my countenance how, with boarder brigade boys who are employed to disencumber visitors' luggage piece by piece, dirty linen and all, private apparel all in the name of looking for the famous kavera. My humble suggestion is that Mr. Kagame should invest in research for a more innovative and less explicit way of searching through people's luggage. The current noble endeavors are discomposing to say the least.
The miles before the capital city are not of outstanding gradient particularly since one will have traversed a host of similar terrain in Kabale and much of Western Uganda. There seems to be one major central car/bus park for both intra and extra-jurisdictional voyages in the name of Nyabigogo some place below a towering hill a few minutes out of the heart of Kigali. This is where one would catch a taxi/matatu/daradara (or whatever it is you call a 14 passenger public service vehicle), to any destination in or outside Kigali. The beauty of the city is imposing albeit in a modest sort of way. It is a breather from the Kampala potholes, Nairobi human traffic and Nyabushozi towering dust. The streets in Kigali and surrounding suburbs are adorned with clean black tar, occasional white painted stripes, a litany of palm trees leading to the sunset and beautiful street lights that actually work!
Frankly on my first such drive, I had to be reminded to put on my seat-belt by the driver since I had tactfully eased into the front passenger seat for the obvious reason of being able to read signposts and locate my stop without much ado. Even after the taxi had filled up I noticed we were not moving and subconsciously thought I heard the driver repeat something similar to a belt in Bantu dialect. For some reason I eventually fumbled for what I had not thought about until then. Almost contemporaneously the taxi jostled out of its packing space and I felt my diaphragm replace some inhibited vacuum above the intestines.
In Kigali you will notice a couple of boda bodas (bikes) and these are really few and far between. They are not only different in make from those elsewhere in East Africa, but they are also shaped to accommodate strictly one passenger, no commodious luggage (our charcoal and matooke type) allowed and do not go as far as the city center. Intriguing though is the helmet syndrome. Riders to these particular bikes always have a passenger helmet slid into their arms like a watch or capping onto some spot on the bike front. Forget about the ordeal of sharing a helmet with a potential thousand head sizes, oiled, washed and less washed....it is almost taboo not to put on a helmet. At one point I witnessed a young belle struggling to keep her onclave head within the airspace of this metallic monster, a problem that was exacerbated by her constantly buzzing blackberry handset.
The traffic rules violate a couple of some we studied in primary school, something like "pedestrians keep right..". Rwanda is a drive on your right country so if you are doing a footsubishi be sure to pursue your prospects on the left side of the road and be on the look out because given the less traffic jam, those motor monsters may come speeding at you like you would not like. Mark you, adhere to the crossing lights because unlike the ones in Uganda, those signs do work with a sort of count down timer that road users are accustomed to.
There are myths about places and stuff but some of them might not be easily demystified without risking political correctness so I will steer clear of the hurricanes of political relativism. Just a lil sneak peak though, most of the cool rides had babes like Leila of the Airtel advert, Flavia and Karitas (oba?! haven't seen her in a while so I am not so sure) but I cannot vouch for a similar concentration per ca-pita on the street pavements. Enough can of worms risked on that wave.
Swiftly moving on, Rwanda is arguably a secure place to be, but whether that requires a host of army green clad night duty guards parading the streets at intervals of 100 metres is questionable. The bee line green canopy with humongous radio calls, aerials of which tower into the night sky conjure a creepy nightmare of a war zone. Again it depends on who is looking.
I have my complaints about the internet too. Whereas Google will show that the land of a thousand hills has one of the best net savvy progressions on the Black continent, I am inclined to wonder why roaming compatibility has not been streamlined yet. Despite the presence of a couple of similar networks like MTN and Airtel, the internet settings seem to be much less than hand in glove just a couple miles South of the Pearl of Africa so much for the East African Community frenzy.
That said, Mr. Kagame has mastered his Ordinance follow through in that every SIM card has got to be registered in time and no extensions that we are so accustomed to on D-day. Problem though is, with the national Identity card craze, a foreigner can hardly buy a new line and have it registered in record time. For the citizens such processes are less stringent in that a retailer can register one's line at purchase point and a passport can be obtained in
I also liked the fact that every job has to be publicly advertised but that could have its lows. This would be in instances of training and apprenticeship ventures prior to confirmation but maybe there are ways around everything. In relation to press related business, there seems to be less competition and say liberty that you would see elsewhere. there are not that many tabloids liking around or even Television stations doing translated Telemundos, second base music videos and splash weddings all day.( That Telemundo stuff is very developmental by the way, or is it?!). I do not care so much for Agataliko dust either so forgive my lack of fascination for vain entertainment.
I have always been a fan of Rwandan music and it was fascinating to listen to so much of it kinda like a luwombo, katogo overdose (that does not have to make sense but you get my point). I cannot claim to understand every lyric of the songs but the passion and spirit probably developed from intensive use of the local dialect is a lull from the kidandali one line songs on Kampala streets. It was actually impressive to watch Rick Warren speak a bit of Kinyarwanda on the 2nd Annual Thanks Giving day at Amahoro stadium. Yes I had a VIP ticket to that event so I had a vantage appreciation in a Great Expectations kind of way. I promise not to floss again, and I am cognizant that not everyone gives a hoot about such stuff but there goes your nose (opinion).
What else, oh ya the streets and houses are all numbered and labelled except that there was no coherent formula really but kudos for the try. One could at least locate the right house once one got on the right street. There is also a trend toward diversion of business and influx out of Kigali so you would arguably look forward to nice five hotels and beaches in the country side in Gisenyi and similar places. I did not say Kisenyi so do not get all queasy on me. Please do not try to take picture in the streets otherwise a green suit will hawk down on you and shortwave something that will resound "fotola......blah blah blah". True story!
One tourist while covering an event looked through the camera and said,
" I love Kigali and I also love the girls!",
I plead the fifth on the last part of the quotation.
No kidding, that place is damn expensive actually but a cool getaway to relax and shove some sobriety up your medulla once in a while. It is worth the visit. Peace out!
