Meet the Parents...in Kampala

In January, my parents visited me in Kampala and I was able to truly splash out like a princess for the first time in Uganda (you'll see...). It was a timely visit, just after the mid-point of my internship here and a great time to catch up on what's going on with my family. And I finally started using my digital camera, so these are actually my pictures :)

Here I am at the "source" of the Nile in Jinja, an industrial town east of Kampala. There are two spots that are considered the "source" of the Nile, across the river from each other. My parents had been in Egypt and had cruised down the Nile, so it was fun to take them to the southern end of the famous river.

Is this awesome or what? Shout outs to Aneil and family...you're so special that the Jinja City Council named a street after you (*grin*). Jinja was an East-Asian dominated town before the era of Idi Amin.

This picture still makes me laugh out loud. "Hog-tied" takes on another meaning on the streets of greater Kampala. The green round thing is a jackfruit, and there's a banana leaf hanging off, too. Mmmm...roast pig...

"When he was a young wart-hog..." I watched the Lion King before heading out for a safari at Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in western Uganda and that song kept going through my head. Yup, that's a wart-hog, and he's only a few feet from our dining table.

My parents and I stayed at the Mweya Safari Lodge, which overlooks the Kazinga Channel at QENP. It was such a great place to stay: excellent service; a pool that overlooks the Channel so you can watch animals while you lounge and take dips to cool off; great food; a bonfire at night; popcorn and peanuts to munch on at the bar; and your bedsheets turned down at night. Oh, and sparkling clean bathtubs! AND...magazines in the bar/lounge (I'm a closet Hello magazine fan). Thanks to Mohit at Global-Interlink in Kampala for setting this up...he's a terrific travel consultant.

(sorry, there aren't any safari pics yet because I sent my film back to Canada to be developed...stay tuned though!)

My mom and I at Mweya Safari Lodge's dining room. Can I just say I lurve buffets...too bad my stomach has shrunk from blasted beans and rice. There were so many yummy things to eat: lamb moussaka (!!), roast beef, fresh salads...and a dessert buffet!

Another ha ha picture, because it does reflect my princess status ;P

Aidchild is an NGO that operates the Equation Cafe at the equator on Masaka Road, and has a series of funny road signs to advertise the Cafe. It's a great place to stop, have a drink and shop for handicrafts that are made by villagers to supplement their incomes (kind of like a Ugandan version of Ten Thousand Villages by MCC).

Ahhh...finally, some arts and culture! A wooden statue at the Art Faculty of Makerere University in Kampala.

It was cool to visit the University and get an insider's tour with my friend Rodney, an alumnus of the school. It made me miss being at university for a moment (8 years will do that) but then I got over it.

The Art Gallery was closed but we were able to visit Bruno's studio/office that was chock-full of pottery! He's a lecturer there, and made some pieces for the film The Last King of Scotland (Gillian Anderson stars) that was shot in Uganda in 2005.