Hello Uganda!

Walking off the plane was a slight reminder of my first few times landing in Abu Dhabi - like sticking your head in an oven. However this oven was only set to about 150 instead of the UAE 220.

Humid and hot I made my way through the airport and was collected by a little Vietnamese Henry.

Before coming to Uganda I asked a few people that come here often if they thought I should rent a car to get around - NO! they all said - traffic and roads are crazy.

So.. initial thoughts on that… they were right.

Lanes don’t seem to mean much, not only for overtaking each other, but also for direction driven in; driving with hazards isn’t just when something is wrong.. it’s all the time because driving is just a hazard in general.

On the wild ride to Petit Saigon Hotel, I very quickly realised how much I’m going to love this place.

Not only because of Henry’s story of visiting Uganda on a work trip 21 years ago and staying for life after experiencing this place, but also because of the Birds I saw fluttering around.

The most magnificent Pied Kingfishers, Rainbows of Gonoleks, Songs of Turacos, Stares of Hamerkops, Herons, Mousebirds, and then spectacular gliding Black Kites between the MASSIVE gliding, stealing, fear inspiring Marabou Storks.

I very quickly opened Mrs Google to get these names to scribble down in my notebook as I arrived in my room, so that I wouldn’t forget them - something that I soon found out was not going to happen easily anyway since they are EVERYWHERE.

If you’re not a bird lover and don’t know what these look like from just hearing their names - go to Mrs Google because they’re amazing and I haven’t snapped photos of them yet!

Or keep an eye on the blog as I’m sure at least some of them will surface on future posts.

When I arrived at the hotel I soon realised why it was so-named.

It is a Vietnamese/Belgian Hotel, which I must admit confused me a little. Unfortunately my first meal did not clarify the creation of this combination too much, but my first drink sitting under the trees at one of the “beaches” of the Victoria Lake could not have been more appropriate.

Usually when I travel, my first drink will be a local beer or something of the sort.

In this case, I was handed a “Bell”!

If you have spent any time with me during the most recent festive season, you’ll understand why it made the interesting meal totally worth it… plus of course the fantastic view and the chirping birds (and a survey worker or two) to keep me company.