B2P – Day 0 – Travel Day
We’ve all officially made it to Kampala! Its 5 am and I am unable to get back to sleep so i’ll provide a quick update here!
All of our team except for Jennifer, Sarah, and Fred had our connecting flights transfer thru Dubai. Becky and I had a significant 14 hour layover. They managed to grab dinner at Dubai mall while admiring the worlds tallest building, Burj Khalifa.
We met David S at the Dubai airport and departed Dubai around 9:30 am. We weren’t organized enough to arrange seating next to each other so I passed time playing this soccer video game on the entertainment unit. Food has always been the highlight of any flight and it didn’t disappoint! We had the option of Chicken or Cod, everyone agreed both good choices ! I’m not actually sure how to describe the dessert, but it was like a giant bowl of whipped cream with some fruit jelly in the middle of it. I finished all of it!!! Those of you competing against me in the weight loss challenge can now rejoice 🙂
The landscape sure changed looking out the airplane window. From nothing but Sand Dunes over the UAE to the site of Lake Victoria and lush green fields.
We were greeted Ugandan security who had as all hand sanitize before we went to customs. Hand Sanitizer, masks, and latex gloves……..thank the Corona Virus.
We grabbed our luggage, Exchanged some money dollars for Shillings and headed outside to our B2P driver Jackson.
The drive from Entebbe to our hotel in Kampala was ~45 Km and took at the very least one and half hours. The roads went from a impressive expressway near the airport to narrow, un-maintained, non striped, pothole ridden backstreets shared by cars, trucks, bikes, cows, and goats. oh, and they drive on the “right” side of the road ( I really wanted to call it the wrong side of the road but for all our Australian readers and Dave, ill let that one slide!
The inside of the hotel was a relief, I thought it would be a lot rougher from the neighborhood. We all check in, freshened up , and met in the lobby restaurant for food and drinks. A very nice place actually. We were all fairly jet lagged, and still getting accustomed to our surroundings. Jeremy stayed simple and safe with an order of French fries.
Becky, Vinay, Dave S, and myself ( Issa) went for a stroll in the neighborhood. Found a small supermarket, and then the neighborhood watering hole. We grabbed a “Nile” beer and then on the walk back found a dinner spot where we ordered Naan bread, Goat Curry, Chicken 69, and Tandoori pizza………….I quickly learned about India’s rich history in Uganda. Much of the food is Indian inspired around here. Jeremy and Dave C met up at the restaurant later on once they heard we found food!
Jennifer, Sarah and Fred should be arriving later in the night, we were all to tired to wait for them and went to bed! hopefully we will see them in the morning ..
Tomorrow we travel to site I’m told…..Stay tuned