Kigali – Rwanda’s clean and efficient capital!

Kigali is like a European city. That was our first impression of Rwanda’s capital. Clean, modern with good roads and efficient public transport, this city is a million worlds away from Kampala and the other places we visited during our time in Uganda. Claire and I are staying at Yambi Guesthouse up on the hill in the Gikondo region of the city. It was recommended to us by Chrissy the Irish lady we met on Lake Bunyoni. This place is gorgeous – like staying in a mansion – and Patrick, the man in charge, is great fun and had loads of suggestions for places to go, things to do and places to eat. He was super chilled out, always playing cool music and from the first night onwards it felt like we were just crashing at his house.

The first difference we noticed during our time in Kigali was the moto taxis. These are similar to boda bodas in Uganda – motorbikes you pay to hop on and off – but they are also completely different! Where boda bodas are shaky, old-style motorbikes that Claire and I could share ensuring there were often three of us per bike, moto taxis are much more professional modes of transport. Firstly the bikes are completely different – motos look more like traditional speedy motorbikes and have much better suspension whilst also being more powerful and able to go much faster. Secondly they only let you travel one passenger at a time and thirdly the roads here are much more organised and seem a lot safer. And finally – this one will please our parents no doubt – they all wear helmets and carry helmets for their passengers. Kigali is a hilly city, picturesque throughout, so whizzing around on the back of motos is great fun. Bodas were used to get from A to B in Uganda, whereas here, in Kigali, I actually look forward to hopping on the back of a moto and taking a trip through the city.

Another difference here in Kigali is how safe you feel. Claire and I have had no issues walking around the city centre at night time. Someone told us it is the safest city in sub-Saharan Africa, which whilst hard to prove, wouldn’t surprise me. It’s also incredibly clean.

One morning we visited a local art gallery to take in some culture. After wandering around and looking at a range of art work, some of which was cool, whilst other bits weren’t – just like any other gallery really – we were told about an African film festival taking place in town. The next day Claire and I headed to The Office – a function space on top of a tall building – where the festival was taking place. A nice setting, with fantastic views of the city, the makeshift open-air cinema was showing short movies from around Africa. Claire and I sat and watched a short film set in Uganda about a small boy selling meat-on-a-stick and bananas. This was then followed by another Ugandan short called A Hungry Man, a funny film about a man who pulled scams in order to get money and food. A Ugandan Del Boy perhaps? We then watched a short about children in Uganda who collect rubbish from the streets to exchange it for very little money in order to pay for food. The movies then moved away from Uganda, with us watching a Kenyan short called I Am A Flower, the meaning of which was hard to understand. The final short film we watched was also from Kenya and was called The Cleansing. It was a funny look at a rather dark and twisted tradition whereby women in the village had to be ‘cleansed’ if their husband died. Cleansing was merely the act of having sex with another man in the village and had to take place in order to free the woman of the curse left on her and her home by the death of her husband. Despite the sensitive subject matter, the film was well made and approached it with a wry smile, whilst also including a HIV awareness message. All in all, the movies were great fun and we would have most certainly stayed for longer if the full length documentary on next wasn’t subtitled in French – much to our dismay. As soon as the film began and the first line was spoken we noticed the French subtitles. Claire and I looked at each other, slowly got up, and walked out.

A local football team training in the city. 

Kigali is such a nice city that we often simply wandered around looking for bars to sit in. We sat and had beers in Chez John, a local place with cats in the roof; a nice Italian place with a cool terrace; The Car Wash, a big sports bar with the biggest ribs on offer that I have ever seen and a couple of other nice places with cool atmospheres. One night we met up with Doreun, the nice French girl we met in Lake Bunyoni, Uganda, who is working in Kigali teaching French at an international school. She took us to a new place called The Madison Hotel, that had a cool outdoor bar, made nice brochette – fancy-meat-on-a-stick and played cool music.

One night Claire and I went out for Indian and ate some of the best food that I have ever tasted. Khana Khazana had a large outdoor eating area, a lively atmosphere and served up some truly fantastic food. Claire’s chilli paneer was made with the nicest sauce that I have ever tasted. My chicken tikka Nawabi was also delicious. It was, in my opinion, the best food we’ve eaten on our trip so far. I am salivating just thinking about it.