Being a veggie it can be tricky eating out in some parts of the world. So when I’m presented with a choice from the menu it comes as a bit of a surprise, so much so that what I tend to do at Govinda’s pure vegetarian restaurant on De Winton road in Kampala is go for the thali lunch that works out at incredible value.
The lunch is a buffet with a selection of salad starters, various chillies and pickles three or four curries and soups plus puris chapattis and rice which is always followed by a sweet and washed down with an endless supply of chas a rather refreshing butter milk drink.
Being a buffet you can pile your thali tray as high as you like or just go back for several helpings and do this all for the price of 10,000 UGX which is about £2.70. Yum!

Plot 9, Dewinton Rd. (Kampala), Kampala (at Iskon Hare Krishna Temple Building)
+256(0)77-605-206
Google map: bit.ly/ht3ErN

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People here are very laid back and the feeling is contagious! We managed to go three days without a cup of coffee didn’t seem to mind.

You hear the words "Hakuna Matata" everywhere. Literally.

Internet services down nationwide all day? Hakuna Matata...

Flights cancelled? Hakuna Matata...

Two hours in wall-to-wall rush hour traffic in Kampala? Hakuna Matata...

In the Mukono District, about an hour outside of Kampala, Uganda, we met Edward Mukiibi and Roger Serunjogi, coordinators of the Developing Innovations in School Cultivation (DISC) project. Edward, 23, and Roger, 22 are improving nutrition, environmental awareness and food traditions by establishing school gardens at preschool, day and boarding schools. By teaching kids early about growing, preparing, and eating food they hope to cultivate the next generation of farmers and eaters who can preserve Uganda’s culinary traditions. “If a person doesn’t know how to cook or prepare food, they don’t know how to eat,” says Edward.

One DISC student, 19 year-old Mary Naku, says she’s gained leadership and farming skills from the program. “As youth we have learned to grow fruits and vegetables,” she says, “to support our lives.” Thanks to DISC, students see agriculture as a way to make money, help their communities, and preserve biodiversity.

At the HIV/AIDS Resource Center in Katuna (on the border between Uganda and Rwanda and one of many towns along what is known as the Northern Transport Corridor—a span of highway that stretches from Mombasa, Kenya through Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and all the way to Djibouti), we were introduced to the important work of the Solidarity Center and Uganda’s Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU). The Solidarity Center is a non-profit launched by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), to empower workers around the world by helping them form unions.

The Center and ATGWU are working with truckers, who have some of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Africa due to the frequent and lengthy delays at the border which often lead to boredom, drinking and unsafe sex, by providing care, support and information through one-on-one or community group outreach. The Center also provides free testing for truck drivers, already more than 5,000 of them to date.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that Uganda, like most of the countries in Africa, is full of contradictions. While we were there, the "Bahati Bill" was introduced in parliament, calling for life in prison—and in some case the death penalty—for people found “guilty” of homosexual activity. As gay marriage laws are passed around the world, including most recently in Mexico City, it's hard to believe that lawmakers would punish people for being gay or having HIV/AIDS.

But as we traveled we couldn’t help but immediately feel, and fall in love with, the pulse and energy of the bustling country.

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As a fellow writer commented, porters for your gorilla safaris are essential. This encourages local employment and money back into the local community.

When I was looking at this I found World Primate Safaris as a specialist gorilla safari operator who seemed very good with excellent local knowledge. They are the sister company of World Big Cat Safaris and once again seem to know their stuff.

Gorilla Safaris - www.worldprimatesafaris.com/destinations/rwanda/main-attractions/
World Primate Safaris - www.worldprimatesafaris.com

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Overall, the Aponye Hotel in Kampala, Uganda is a very good budget option in the heart of the bustling city center. It is in walking distance from restaurants, markets, ATMs, the bus station and more. Approximately $40/night, the room was very simple, clean, with air-conditioning and hot showers, and Wifi in the lobby.

Aponye Hotel
www.aponyehotel.com/
Apollo House, Plot 17b William Street, Kampala
TEL:+256-414-349239

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