A view of BUNIA by air, the first stop on the way to  our base, this is where the HQ is set and it is quite a bustling town with a lot of NGOs based here. There is also a UN bar that has a happy hour and a PX at the airport that stocks quite a lot of western foodstuff, we will not have this luxury though.

Kampala

When I arrived at Kampala I stayed at a nice B&B up on TANK HILL, it was very much NGO central with both VSO and Oxfam having compounds up there. My main concern was to gain a visa from the embassy. As it happens obtaining the visa was relatively easy. Just a quick trip to the embassy, fill out the forms, pay the money (quite a lot!) and it was ready the next day. I was expecting a lot more hassle than that, especially after trying to get a visa in London before leaving. They wanted all sorts of information including bank statements, criminal record checks etc. additionally they wanted to keep my passport for 5 days minimum (over the Christmas period, so more than likely longer). What with our trip to the Caribbean coming up I was not going to risk it.

There are several types of transport in Uganda and Africa in general. At the lowest level it is simply a backie on a push bike, these are generally seen in the smaller towns for moving around cheaply and easily. Due to Western diet these are generally out unless the destination is downhill. The next level up is known in Uganda as “Boda Boda”. This is simply a backie on a motor bike and much more my style. They can vary immensely in speed and safety depending on the bike and driver. Some are very fast and you feel yourself holding on for dear life as you weave through the traffic, but at least you don’t sit in it. The embassy trips were generally pretty good, but you do have to question why on one occasion the driver had a helmet and I didn’t, additionally he was missing a wing mirror. I would like to tell you how fast we were going, but the speedo was out as well!

The next level of taxi would be the car, invariably cracked windscreens, but probably the safest way to travel and one I would recommend from the airport. They are more expensive, but for longer distances better.

On the long distance front there are also ‘Matatus’ or Japanese 4x4 vans crowded full of people. These have an awful reputation of crashing, but they are everywhere and the most economic form of transport. There are also bus services and coaches for travelling between major towns.

Catch up

Hello everyone, I apologise for not adding anything before now. In reality I have been a bit lazy, although I could claim I have been busy – which is true of the last few days.

I will endevour now too catch up on a few bits and pieces, so pse stay with me.

Just a quick photo....view of river which runs through the region we will be living in taken from plane.

Hi everyone,
As you (or I hope you do!) know we are heading off to the 'Democratic Republic of the Congo' (phew!) early 2011. Pete has already left and I am going in February. All very exciting, we will be working for two years for a humitarian relief agency in the areas of security, finance and logistics (Pete) and logistics, communications and media (Lizzie). The programme aims to set up and maintain rural health clinics in a remote area of the DR Congo. This has been a long time coming and thank you to everyone who has supported us in one way or another whilst we have been preparing to go/recovering from minor ailments. We couldn't have done it without you.

The idea of this blog is to keep people updated of how we are getting on - if you have the odd moment to take a look - and also for us to have a record of our time overseas. I have always been quite reluctant to write something like a blog, sort of feels a but indulgent of people's time (and surely it wouldn't be interesting enough for people to read!). As people who feel awkward updating their facebook status we will have to see how this goes. 

I will leave it there and there should be some news from Pete in the next couple of weeks.  

Lots of love, Lizzie.

OK just a quick note to let everyone I have arrived safe and sound. Lizzie and I aim to update this blog from time to time as she has already mentioned. As a newbie to this interweb writing stuff, I will be open to comments from people about what they would like to know etc. Needless to say it will be so riveting and informative that you will post no comments at all.  I am currently in Kampala, Uganda sorting out the visa and am prepping to fly to Congo on Fri. I will put a few thoughts down tomorrow as I have a slack day before flying, so until then "Tafadhali nataka bia [pombe] baridi - I would like a cold beer". This should always be the first thing to learn in the local language!  Pete.