Raid on Entebbe ... The land of Idi Amin
Saju Komath
Lake Victoria I was inspired to write a travelogue after reading many travel blogs in various online papers and publications. This is my first venture into any kind of writing stuff. Readers are requested to bear with me and may point out my flaws and shortcomings.
Even though I have made lot of travelling to both domestic and international tourist destinations, the most memorable one, one I cherished most, was a short trip to Entebbe, in Uganda. I was stationed at Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, with UN mission. A weekend coupled with few holidays was on the anvil and all of us were trying to find some activity to avoid boredom of the long weekend.
While discussing the alternatives, Entebbe in Uganda, known as Pearl of Africa, came to our mind. We had heard a lot about Uganda. Three of us decided to explore Uganda to spend the holidays. Travel arrangements were never a problem as UN has logistic/recreational air sorties to Entebbe, Uganda. We put our act together and necessary forms were filled and secured seats in the aircraft (with some influence), as everyone wanted to escape to the cool environments of Entebbe from the scorching heat of Khartoum during those holidays.
We checked in for our journey in the wee hours of Thursday… best thing about UN flights are they are punctual and less formalities for check-in compared to commercial airlines. Flights are without food, beverages and airhostesses - quite a disappointment, eh? We took off at 0800Hrs from Khartoum International airport. I was lucky to find a window seat. After 100 minutes of flight we landed at Juba airport, capital city of South Sudan.
I think it is relevant to mention a brief history of Sudan -- Sudan is divided into two parts namely Muslim dominated North Sudan having its capital at Khartoum and Christian and nomadic tribes dominated South Sudan with its capital at Juba. South Sudan government is a semi autonomous body and the President of South Sudan is the Vice President of Sudan. This arrangement was made to end the 20 year long civil war between south and north through UN mediated Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Sudan, once a prosperous country, was ravaged by the notorious civil war in which millions of people lost their lives and brought the state economy to shambles.
After completing immigration formalities at Juba airport, we took off for Entebbe from Juba. It was a short flight of 45 minutes to Entebbe. The change of landscape was evident from the sky... more vegetation and greenery compared to the barren and desert like landscapes of North Sudan. I was hypnotized by the panoramic view from the flight when flight announcement woke me up – I realized that we are about to land at Entebbe international airport.
Entebbe airport is located on the banks of Great Victoria Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Africa. It's also the second largest fresh water lake in the world. It is so vast that it appears like a sea; the other bank cannot be seen from one end. The small boats and vessels moving in the lake made the scene more breathtaking. Out of many airports I had landed so far this was the best looking airport. Our flight touched down at1200 Hrs, the already famous Entebbe International Airport.
What immediately came to mind was scenes of the movie named RAID ON ENTEBBE starring Charles Bronson. This movie is based on the real incident that happened at this airport on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on June 27, 1976, an Air France with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and supporters and flown to Entebbe, shortly after landing all non Jewish passengers were released. The hijackers threatened that all hostages would be killed if their prisoner release demands were not met. A rescue operation was planned by the Israel armed forces with the input received from their secret agency Mossad. The operation took place at night, as Israeli transport planes carried 100 elite commandos over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Israel to Uganda for the rescue operation. The operation, which took a week of planning, lasted 90 minutes and 103 hostages were rescued. Five Israeli commandos were wounded and one, the commander, Lt Col Jonathan was killed. All the hijackers, three hostages and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed, 11 Soviet-built MIG -17's of Uganda's air force were also destroyed. A fourth hostage was murdered by Ugandan army officers at a nearby hospital. I heard that the hanger bearing bullet marks of that operation is still kept as a memorial to that dare devil act.
Source of Nile
We were eligible to have visa on arrival (without any fee, being UN personnel). We could complete the formalities without any delay. We were received by our friend who was waiting with the car. When we stepped out of the airport, I felt like I am in a different world altogether, the climate was so comfortable touching only the mid twenties, greenish surroundings and absolutely non-polluted atmosphere. The scene outside the airport was so soothing to eyes. We checked in to a medium resort near the presidential palace area. Resort was neat, tidy and reasonably priced. Surroundings of the resort reminded me of my home state Kerala in India. I could find jackfruit, pear, sugarcane, tapioca and avocado trees. I heard chirping of different kinds of birds and sounds of squirrels… there was something in the air which calmed your nerves, which made you feel relaxed.
I was thinking about one common saying making rounds during 1970's in my place. It translates to - I will send you to Uganda… - like a threat that I will send you to hell. May be because during that period Uganda was ruled by the dictator Idi Amin and the news in print media was so horrifying about him and generally about Uganda. The reports made us think that Uganda is one of the worst places to live on earth. I wonder how misleading could be the facts and reality from news as we hear. Of course there was some unrest due to policies of the rulers, but in general the situations could not be 180 degrees out of phase.
After a brief rest we ventured out for lunch. Local transport is mainly by two wheelers, locally known as 'BODA-BODA' which means in local language from here to there. Two wheelers mainly used are Indian made TVS Suzuki and Bajaj M-80 and maximum of three passengers including the driver travel in a boda boda. I felt it little risky because of the high chances of accidents - most of the drivers were under the influence of alcohol in the evenings. We found a decent Indian restaurant near to our hotel and food was tasty. True to the saying; you go to any corner of the world you can find a Malayalee there…the manager of the restaurant was a mallu from Alwaye.
Bujagali Falls
Entebbe roads are well maintained and streets were relatively neat and clean. The buildings, mainly from the old era and the architecture reminds of Anglo Saxon era. Uganda was a British colony from 1894-1962. Still majority of the population dress like British and English is spoken by almost all. So the communication was easy. The main staple food for the locals is known as Matoka. It's made by boiled and smashed green bananas mixed with either meat or dry fish. It started raining by the time we finished our lunch. I came to know from the manager that it usually starts raining here if the temperature rises a bit. Most of the hotels here are without a fan or AC, beautiful nature itself functions as air conditioner .
We took a taxi instead of boda-boda to reach hotel. After a short nap and shower, we stepped out of the hotel in the evening. The rain had stopped and sky was clear. We just wandered into the streets and by lanes of the place. Middle class houses were made of bricks with tin sheet roofing; few of the churches could also be seen on the way. The majority of population constitutes protestant Christians. It was getting dark and the city was readying for the night life which Entebbe is famous for. Dance Bars were open and crowd building up, we entered into one dance bar named Night Riders. 10000 shilling (about 5 US dollars) was the entry fee. Blaring African music, disco lights, football match telecasts on the big plasma screens and the ladies were enjoying drinks and dancing around and at the podium.
One should mention about the dancing skills of African people. It seems that dance and music is in their blood. The way their steps tune in with the beats are a treat to watch, completely in sync. That's the spirit of African people that they are ready to dance at the drop of a hat. Live life today is the catch word of their philosophy and not bothered about tomorrow. We too tried to catch up with some of their steps and movements. It was around midnight and time had elapsed so quickly. We were tired and hungry, the news was that one resort on the banks of lake Victoria makes the best fish and chips in Entebbe… so we catch hold of two boda- boda and headed towards it… the resort name was Imperial estate, the restaurant and eating area is on the lake banks… the ambiance was very good..
Crane -National Bird
Lake Victoria looks like a sea and one can't see the other shore from one end. Being it a fresh water lake I had a feeling that it's going to be this country's one of the major assets in the future. If you can assess the seriousness of global warming and climate change, the world is going to face an acute scarcity of clean and fresh drinking water in due course. The fish was our own Tilapia and one called Nile carp. Tandoori fried and served with sauce and potato chips. It was very tasty. We retreated to our hotel around 2 am. The climate was bit cold.
Next day morning we were greeted by the hotel room attendant with a warm cup of coffee and later with a sumptuous breakfast, room charges are inclusive of breakfast. The receptionist told us that there is a botanical garden and zoo nearby so we headed towards it. I felt so fresh and energized even though the sleep was not adequate. The garden and zoo are well maintained, main attractions were the Gorillas, African lions and the Crane which is the national bird of Uganda. In the reptile section there were crocodiles, anacondas, spitting cobras and the dangerous African black Mambas. The Black African Mambas are the fastest moving snakes in the world, it can reach a speed of 23 Km/hour, and its size varies from 2.5 meters to maximum of 4.3 meters. Another specific character of this creature is its ability to travel with up to a third of its body above the ground. And it can kill a human within 15 to 30 minutes after the bites if not treated with the correct anti venom. Quite spine chilling isn't it
Resort
Our third day program was the visit to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It's a 45 minutes drive from Entebbe, minibuses move quite frequently between the two cities at very cheap rates. We got into one from the Entebbe's bus stand. The passing lands were so scenic and full of greenery. Minus the people and buildings it looked like places from Kerala or Goa. The thickening traffic and crowds indicated that we were in Kampala. Kampala is a big city with lots of sprawling buildings, business and shopping malls. One thing which I noticed is that majority of the business centers, casinos and shopping malls are owned by Indians, mainly Gujarati, even there is a big Hindu temple at the heart of the city. The economy is controlled by Gujarati Indians. These are the people British brought from India during colonial rule mainly to work in banking, tailoring and agricultural fields. They slowly gelled into this country at the same time keeping alive their culture and identity and building their own business. There used to be some flare-ups earlier between locals and them but it is all peaceful now.
It's known that Uganda is one of the most peaceful countries in the African continent. Our taxi driver took us to a famous Indian restaurant in the down town Kampala area for lunch. Menu included from our own dosas and iddlies to varieties of north Indian dishes. Owner of the shop happened to be a Tamilian. I could find many Ugandans with families having lunch over there. Well it seems that they too have developed a taste for our delicacies. Driver informed us that we have enough time to visit the equator zone before our return journey to Entebbe.
The equator passes though six African countries, one amongst them is Uganda. The location is about half an hour drive from Kampala town. As this equator zone being a curious tourist attraction the place was crowded and we could see people from many countries and colors documenting the area and taking pictures with the monument built at that place. We too had our share of video recording and posing for pictures like our feet simultaneously being on Earth's North and South Pole. The guide was demonstrating an interesting experiment by rotation of small flower in a water filled container. In the north side of the equator line the flower rotated clockwise, and in south side of the equator it rotated anti clockwise and at equator it stood still. I think it has something to do with the magnetic field. It was getting dark and the crowd was thinning so we decided to call it a day and retreat to Entebbe.
Fourth day's plan was to visit the source of great Nile river. It's a place called Jinja roughly one hour drive from Kampala city. We started from the hotel as early as 0700 hrs in a Taxi. The city was just waking up from the previous night's hang over. Cool morning and fresh air made our journey very pleasant. We got some traffic blocks near Kampala and the driver told that the traffic will be dense later on as farmers from surrounding villages will be heading to the main market to sell their products. The soil in Uganda is very fertile combined with tropical rain and irrigation facilities always yield good crops. Typically south Indian vegetable like chena, ethappazham, kappa, kumbalanga are available among the vast varieties of vegetables in the market.
Road near Entebbe Airport
The road was getting uphill, we were entering to high range area and the landscape was also changing, now the road is passing through plantain, coffee and corn cultivations. We crossed a junction where street vendors selling barbecued meat and fish approached our car. Around 10am we entered into Jinja town. It's the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala, hub for adventurous sports like kayaking, white water rafting and rock climbing. For all these water sports and activities advanced booking was required, so we opted for sightseeing only.
Our first destination was to the source of Nile. It is a few kilometers away from town area; roads were not asphalted but a combination of red clay and mud. The area near to the source was developed into a well maintained garden and picnic spot. Restaurants, handicrafts and trekking accessories shops were all there. Small boat operators were waiting in their jetties to take the tourists near to the source water fall. We got into one and moved away. It must be mentioned that natural beauty was breathtaking in that area. Water was very clean and crystal clear; the boat man took us near to the Ripon falls in Lake Victoria. It was truly majestic. It was a spectacular sight -the great White Nile River originate from here, flows through Sudan, where it meets the Blue Nile River (originate from Tana Lake of Ethiopia) in Khartoum, Sudan and further flows through Egypt before merging at Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. It is one of the longest river in the world with length of 4106 miles and ancient civilization of Egypt resting on its mighty banks. Often Egypt is referred to as the 'Boon of Nile River'.
Our next stop was at Bujagali falls, located about 8kms away from Jinja, and is a spectacular scenic spot with 1 km of raging rapid forested islands in the Nile with abundant bird life. Though a single massive drop - of the kind that generally earns waterfalls their fame - is lacking, the Bujagali are distinctive because of the sheer volume of water cascading over the series of low rapids that makes it remarkable. The luxuriant vegetation covering the river banks and islands and the startling diversity of bird life and fish, complete the stunning vista. Local residents believe the falls to be the site of a spirit, called the \'Spirit of Bujabald,\' who protects the community by performing rituals at the falls. The spirit is embodied in a man, Jaja Bujabald, who lives next to the falls; he is the thirty-ninth person to be the spirit. The 95-year-old man worked as a doctor using local plants and herbs. Lots of people report to have seen him walking over the water. Indeed he seems to be able to pass the falls where others didn\'t dare to go. People belonging to Busoga tribes live in this area. This place has become a sought after destination for the adventure sports activities like white water rafting, Bungy jumping, kayaking and quad biking.
One of the disturbing information I heard was news of construction of a dam near this falls. This spectacular falls are the only one of its kind in the whole of the world, with waterfalls throughout the year. This scenic virgin beauty of the Bujagali falls will be lost forever once the leadership in Uganda allows this treasure to be dug up. You and your children will never dream of ever having the opportunity to experience this magic of nature. Bujagali falls will be no more! A number of concerned citizens in Uganda have been trying to bring pressure to bear on the leadership in Kampala not to let this beauty and cultural heritage be destroyed. What immediately came into my mind was about our own Silent Valley dam project near Palakkad, Kerala and how the nature lovers combined with ordinary people movement succeeded in canceling that project. We can draw some parallel with Bujagali and Silent Valley, I had been to there. Both are natural wonders. I sincerely wished same fate for Bujagali too!
It was almost evening when we finished our sightseeing, light was fading .Had a quick bite of refreshments in an Indian restaurant in the city area and started our journey back to Entebbe. All were so quite during the journey back may be like me my companions were also having a relive of the wonderful day we had. All the good things have to come to an end. Finally it was our last day of a short and sweet tour. Return flight to Khartoum via Juba was at 1215 local time; check in started from 1000 hrs.
We left our hotel around 0930 hrs after bidding farewell to caring and friendly hotel staff - in this short period I did make a good rapport with them. Felt so uneasy... Had the same feeling when you leave your near and dear or your own country... sorrow filled my heart? I was so reluctant to leave this beautiful place. As the saying goes … love at first sight … yes, it was Love at first visit… I had already decided in mind to visit this country many more times. Even my friends had the same feeling. I was wishing for cancellation of the flight… am I being childish?
At the entrance to the airport, the display read – 'Welcome to the Pearl of Africa' - True in every respect. At last at 1220 hrs our flight took off from Entebbe. I had a last sight of the soothing nature and Lake Victoria promising that I will come back soon...
Even though I have made lot of travelling to both domestic and international tourist destinations, the most memorable one, one I cherished most, was a short trip to Entebbe, in Uganda. I was stationed at Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, with UN mission. A weekend coupled with few holidays was on the anvil and all of us were trying to find some activity to avoid boredom of the long weekend. While discussing the alternatives, Entebbe in Uganda, known as Pearl of Africa, came to our mind. We had heard a lot about Uganda. Three of us decided to explore Uganda to spend the holidays. Travel arrangements were never a problem as UN has logistic/recreational air sorties to Entebbe, Uganda. We put our act together and necessary forms were filled and secured seats in the aircraft (with some influence), as everyone wanted to escape to the cool environments of Entebbe from the scorching heat of Khartoum during those holidays.
We checked in for our journey in the wee hours of Thursday… best thing about UN flights are they are punctual and less formalities for check-in compared to commercial airlines. Flights are without food, beverages and airhostesses - quite a disappointment, eh? We took off at 0800Hrs from Khartoum International airport. I was lucky to find a window seat. After 100 minutes of flight we landed at Juba airport, capital city of South Sudan.
I think it is relevant to mention a brief history of Sudan -- Sudan is divided into two parts namely Muslim dominated North Sudan having its capital at Khartoum and Christian and nomadic tribes dominated South Sudan with its capital at Juba. South Sudan government is a semi autonomous body and the President of South Sudan is the Vice President of Sudan. This arrangement was made to end the 20 year long civil war between south and north through UN mediated Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Sudan, once a prosperous country, was ravaged by the notorious civil war in which millions of people lost their lives and brought the state economy to shambles.
After completing immigration formalities at Juba airport, we took off for Entebbe from Juba. It was a short flight of 45 minutes to Entebbe. The change of landscape was evident from the sky... more vegetation and greenery compared to the barren and desert like landscapes of North Sudan. I was hypnotized by the panoramic view from the flight when flight announcement woke me up – I realized that we are about to land at Entebbe international airport.
Entebbe airport is located on the banks of Great Victoria Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Africa. It's also the second largest fresh water lake in the world. It is so vast that it appears like a sea; the other bank cannot be seen from one end. The small boats and vessels moving in the lake made the scene more breathtaking. Out of many airports I had landed so far this was the best looking airport. Our flight touched down at1200 Hrs, the already famous Entebbe International Airport.
What immediately came to mind was scenes of the movie named RAID ON ENTEBBE starring Charles Bronson. This movie is based on the real incident that happened at this airport on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on June 27, 1976, an Air France with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and supporters and flown to Entebbe, shortly after landing all non Jewish passengers were released. The hijackers threatened that all hostages would be killed if their prisoner release demands were not met. A rescue operation was planned by the Israel armed forces with the input received from their secret agency Mossad. The operation took place at night, as Israeli transport planes carried 100 elite commandos over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Israel to Uganda for the rescue operation. The operation, which took a week of planning, lasted 90 minutes and 103 hostages were rescued. Five Israeli commandos were wounded and one, the commander, Lt Col Jonathan was killed. All the hijackers, three hostages and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed, 11 Soviet-built MIG -17's of Uganda's air force were also destroyed. A fourth hostage was murdered by Ugandan army officers at a nearby hospital. I heard that the hanger bearing bullet marks of that operation is still kept as a memorial to that dare devil act. Source of Nile
We were eligible to have visa on arrival (without any fee, being UN personnel). We could complete the formalities without any delay. We were received by our friend who was waiting with the car. When we stepped out of the airport, I felt like I am in a different world altogether, the climate was so comfortable touching only the mid twenties, greenish surroundings and absolutely non-polluted atmosphere. The scene outside the airport was so soothing to eyes. We checked in to a medium resort near the presidential palace area. Resort was neat, tidy and reasonably priced. Surroundings of the resort reminded me of my home state Kerala in India. I could find jackfruit, pear, sugarcane, tapioca and avocado trees. I heard chirping of different kinds of birds and sounds of squirrels… there was something in the air which calmed your nerves, which made you feel relaxed.
I was thinking about one common saying making rounds during 1970's in my place. It translates to - I will send you to Uganda… - like a threat that I will send you to hell. May be because during that period Uganda was ruled by the dictator Idi Amin and the news in print media was so horrifying about him and generally about Uganda. The reports made us think that Uganda is one of the worst places to live on earth. I wonder how misleading could be the facts and reality from news as we hear. Of course there was some unrest due to policies of the rulers, but in general the situations could not be 180 degrees out of phase.
After a brief rest we ventured out for lunch. Local transport is mainly by two wheelers, locally known as 'BODA-BODA' which means in local language from here to there. Two wheelers mainly used are Indian made TVS Suzuki and Bajaj M-80 and maximum of three passengers including the driver travel in a boda boda. I felt it little risky because of the high chances of accidents - most of the drivers were under the influence of alcohol in the evenings. We found a decent Indian restaurant near to our hotel and food was tasty. True to the saying; you go to any corner of the world you can find a Malayalee there…the manager of the restaurant was a mallu from Alwaye.
Bujagali Falls
Entebbe roads are well maintained and streets were relatively neat and clean. The buildings, mainly from the old era and the architecture reminds of Anglo Saxon era. Uganda was a British colony from 1894-1962. Still majority of the population dress like British and English is spoken by almost all. So the communication was easy. The main staple food for the locals is known as Matoka. It's made by boiled and smashed green bananas mixed with either meat or dry fish. It started raining by the time we finished our lunch. I came to know from the manager that it usually starts raining here if the temperature rises a bit. Most of the hotels here are without a fan or AC, beautiful nature itself functions as air conditioner .We took a taxi instead of boda-boda to reach hotel. After a short nap and shower, we stepped out of the hotel in the evening. The rain had stopped and sky was clear. We just wandered into the streets and by lanes of the place. Middle class houses were made of bricks with tin sheet roofing; few of the churches could also be seen on the way. The majority of population constitutes protestant Christians. It was getting dark and the city was readying for the night life which Entebbe is famous for. Dance Bars were open and crowd building up, we entered into one dance bar named Night Riders. 10000 shilling (about 5 US dollars) was the entry fee. Blaring African music, disco lights, football match telecasts on the big plasma screens and the ladies were enjoying drinks and dancing around and at the podium.
One should mention about the dancing skills of African people. It seems that dance and music is in their blood. The way their steps tune in with the beats are a treat to watch, completely in sync. That's the spirit of African people that they are ready to dance at the drop of a hat. Live life today is the catch word of their philosophy and not bothered about tomorrow. We too tried to catch up with some of their steps and movements. It was around midnight and time had elapsed so quickly. We were tired and hungry, the news was that one resort on the banks of lake Victoria makes the best fish and chips in Entebbe… so we catch hold of two boda- boda and headed towards it… the resort name was Imperial estate, the restaurant and eating area is on the lake banks… the ambiance was very good..
Crane -National Bird
Lake Victoria looks like a sea and one can't see the other shore from one end. Being it a fresh water lake I had a feeling that it's going to be this country's one of the major assets in the future. If you can assess the seriousness of global warming and climate change, the world is going to face an acute scarcity of clean and fresh drinking water in due course. The fish was our own Tilapia and one called Nile carp. Tandoori fried and served with sauce and potato chips. It was very tasty. We retreated to our hotel around 2 am. The climate was bit cold.
Next day morning we were greeted by the hotel room attendant with a warm cup of coffee and later with a sumptuous breakfast, room charges are inclusive of breakfast. The receptionist told us that there is a botanical garden and zoo nearby so we headed towards it. I felt so fresh and energized even though the sleep was not adequate. The garden and zoo are well maintained, main attractions were the Gorillas, African lions and the Crane which is the national bird of Uganda. In the reptile section there were crocodiles, anacondas, spitting cobras and the dangerous African black Mambas. The Black African Mambas are the fastest moving snakes in the world, it can reach a speed of 23 Km/hour, and its size varies from 2.5 meters to maximum of 4.3 meters. Another specific character of this creature is its ability to travel with up to a third of its body above the ground. And it can kill a human within 15 to 30 minutes after the bites if not treated with the correct anti venom. Quite spine chilling isn't it
Resort
Our third day program was the visit to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It's a 45 minutes drive from Entebbe, minibuses move quite frequently between the two cities at very cheap rates. We got into one from the Entebbe's bus stand. The passing lands were so scenic and full of greenery. Minus the people and buildings it looked like places from Kerala or Goa. The thickening traffic and crowds indicated that we were in Kampala. Kampala is a big city with lots of sprawling buildings, business and shopping malls. One thing which I noticed is that majority of the business centers, casinos and shopping malls are owned by Indians, mainly Gujarati, even there is a big Hindu temple at the heart of the city. The economy is controlled by Gujarati Indians. These are the people British brought from India during colonial rule mainly to work in banking, tailoring and agricultural fields. They slowly gelled into this country at the same time keeping alive their culture and identity and building their own business. There used to be some flare-ups earlier between locals and them but it is all peaceful now.
It's known that Uganda is one of the most peaceful countries in the African continent. Our taxi driver took us to a famous Indian restaurant in the down town Kampala area for lunch. Menu included from our own dosas and iddlies to varieties of north Indian dishes. Owner of the shop happened to be a Tamilian. I could find many Ugandans with families having lunch over there. Well it seems that they too have developed a taste for our delicacies. Driver informed us that we have enough time to visit the equator zone before our return journey to Entebbe.
The equator passes though six African countries, one amongst them is Uganda. The location is about half an hour drive from Kampala town. As this equator zone being a curious tourist attraction the place was crowded and we could see people from many countries and colors documenting the area and taking pictures with the monument built at that place. We too had our share of video recording and posing for pictures like our feet simultaneously being on Earth's North and South Pole. The guide was demonstrating an interesting experiment by rotation of small flower in a water filled container. In the north side of the equator line the flower rotated clockwise, and in south side of the equator it rotated anti clockwise and at equator it stood still. I think it has something to do with the magnetic field. It was getting dark and the crowd was thinning so we decided to call it a day and retreat to Entebbe. Fourth day's plan was to visit the source of great Nile river. It's a place called Jinja roughly one hour drive from Kampala city. We started from the hotel as early as 0700 hrs in a Taxi. The city was just waking up from the previous night's hang over. Cool morning and fresh air made our journey very pleasant. We got some traffic blocks near Kampala and the driver told that the traffic will be dense later on as farmers from surrounding villages will be heading to the main market to sell their products. The soil in Uganda is very fertile combined with tropical rain and irrigation facilities always yield good crops. Typically south Indian vegetable like chena, ethappazham, kappa, kumbalanga are available among the vast varieties of vegetables in the market.
Road near Entebbe Airport
The road was getting uphill, we were entering to high range area and the landscape was also changing, now the road is passing through plantain, coffee and corn cultivations. We crossed a junction where street vendors selling barbecued meat and fish approached our car. Around 10am we entered into Jinja town. It's the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala, hub for adventurous sports like kayaking, white water rafting and rock climbing. For all these water sports and activities advanced booking was required, so we opted for sightseeing only.
Our first destination was to the source of Nile. It is a few kilometers away from town area; roads were not asphalted but a combination of red clay and mud. The area near to the source was developed into a well maintained garden and picnic spot. Restaurants, handicrafts and trekking accessories shops were all there. Small boat operators were waiting in their jetties to take the tourists near to the source water fall. We got into one and moved away. It must be mentioned that natural beauty was breathtaking in that area. Water was very clean and crystal clear; the boat man took us near to the Ripon falls in Lake Victoria. It was truly majestic. It was a spectacular sight -the great White Nile River originate from here, flows through Sudan, where it meets the Blue Nile River (originate from Tana Lake of Ethiopia) in Khartoum, Sudan and further flows through Egypt before merging at Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. It is one of the longest river in the world with length of 4106 miles and ancient civilization of Egypt resting on its mighty banks. Often Egypt is referred to as the 'Boon of Nile River'.
Our next stop was at Bujagali falls, located about 8kms away from Jinja, and is a spectacular scenic spot with 1 km of raging rapid forested islands in the Nile with abundant bird life. Though a single massive drop - of the kind that generally earns waterfalls their fame - is lacking, the Bujagali are distinctive because of the sheer volume of water cascading over the series of low rapids that makes it remarkable. The luxuriant vegetation covering the river banks and islands and the startling diversity of bird life and fish, complete the stunning vista. Local residents believe the falls to be the site of a spirit, called the \'Spirit of Bujabald,\' who protects the community by performing rituals at the falls. The spirit is embodied in a man, Jaja Bujabald, who lives next to the falls; he is the thirty-ninth person to be the spirit. The 95-year-old man worked as a doctor using local plants and herbs. Lots of people report to have seen him walking over the water. Indeed he seems to be able to pass the falls where others didn\'t dare to go. People belonging to Busoga tribes live in this area. This place has become a sought after destination for the adventure sports activities like white water rafting, Bungy jumping, kayaking and quad biking. One of the disturbing information I heard was news of construction of a dam near this falls. This spectacular falls are the only one of its kind in the whole of the world, with waterfalls throughout the year. This scenic virgin beauty of the Bujagali falls will be lost forever once the leadership in Uganda allows this treasure to be dug up. You and your children will never dream of ever having the opportunity to experience this magic of nature. Bujagali falls will be no more! A number of concerned citizens in Uganda have been trying to bring pressure to bear on the leadership in Kampala not to let this beauty and cultural heritage be destroyed. What immediately came into my mind was about our own Silent Valley dam project near Palakkad, Kerala and how the nature lovers combined with ordinary people movement succeeded in canceling that project. We can draw some parallel with Bujagali and Silent Valley, I had been to there. Both are natural wonders. I sincerely wished same fate for Bujagali too!
It was almost evening when we finished our sightseeing, light was fading .Had a quick bite of refreshments in an Indian restaurant in the city area and started our journey back to Entebbe. All were so quite during the journey back may be like me my companions were also having a relive of the wonderful day we had. All the good things have to come to an end. Finally it was our last day of a short and sweet tour. Return flight to Khartoum via Juba was at 1215 local time; check in started from 1000 hrs.
We left our hotel around 0930 hrs after bidding farewell to caring and friendly hotel staff - in this short period I did make a good rapport with them. Felt so uneasy... Had the same feeling when you leave your near and dear or your own country... sorrow filled my heart? I was so reluctant to leave this beautiful place. As the saying goes … love at first sight … yes, it was Love at first visit… I had already decided in mind to visit this country many more times. Even my friends had the same feeling. I was wishing for cancellation of the flight… am I being childish?
At the entrance to the airport, the display read – 'Welcome to the Pearl of Africa' - True in every respect. At last at 1220 hrs our flight took off from Entebbe. I had a last sight of the soothing nature and Lake Victoria promising that I will come back soon...
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