The postal system will be more automated. This means that as of 1 January we need to use a different PO Box.
Here is the new address
L.P. Zomer and/or H.G. O'Dea
Locatie 308 / HMA Kigali
Postbus 12200
2500 DD Den Haag
The Netherlands
Just to remind you. No food, and please check with us if you want to send anything heavier than 50 grams.
Whem we go to a new post the PO Box remains the same, only the location code and place will change of course.
Lon Zomer and Hazel O'Dea - their life abroad
Sunday 20 December 2009
Sunday 29 November 2009
Cyangugu
Cyangugu is a nice little town split in two areas; one up the hill and the other part at the border. We found Hotel du Lac next to the border, from our hotel room we had a good view on the border bridge. We sat a while to watch life going by and take some photos.
View from our room.
Ladies with their small Sambaza fishes.
After 18.oo the border closes and the streets get rather empty at the border part of town. The other part remains busy with many people walking on the street.
It was sad to see some houses, which could have been nice, were left to rot.
The next day and night we spent at the Peace Hotel. A lovely place with a view over the lake. Luckily we were prepared for the place this doesn't serve alcohol, we had our own little supply.
As the drive back was over the same road, I hope I don't need to explain there were some potholes.
View from our room.
Ladies with their small Sambaza fishes.
After 18.oo the border closes and the streets get rather empty at the border part of town. The other part remains busy with many people walking on the street.
It was sad to see some houses, which could have been nice, were left to rot.
The next day and night we spent at the Peace Hotel. A lovely place with a view over the lake. Luckily we were prepared for the place this doesn't serve alcohol, we had our own little supply.
As the drive back was over the same road, I hope I don't need to explain there were some potholes.
Never mind the potholes
This blog comes with a slight delay, sorry.
We went for the weekend (Friday-Monday) to the south-west of Rwanda, an area we did not visit yet.
We left around ten to be for lunchtime in Butare. There were a lot of people at the roadside because the tour de Rwanda is this weekend. It turned out today etappe was Butare-Kigali, the road we were driving on. Halfway in the well known town Gitarama, we were summoned to another road. We went off the sideroads to come out in the centre at the mean road, just in time for the leader group. People were cheering loudly, the racers were going fast downhill.
The next ten minutes every now and then some racers came past, people cheering for every one of them, even louder for those with a rwandan shirt. The end of the race coincided with the rain starting, it's rainy season after all. People ran off to all sides and we were clear to drive on.
The drive to the entrance of the Nyungwe forest was good, nice road, nice view. However the road became worse every meter, until there was more hole than road. We did see some monkeys at the side of the road. As later became apparent, you don't actually need to go into the forest, the best place to find the monkeys is the side of the road.
There are 6 monkeys in this picture if you look closely.
The tourist office and guest house is at the other side of the forest, so we had no choice but to endure this. When we arrived at the guest house we found out it was fully booked by a group of mostly English people, grump. However we could stay at the teaplantation five minutes up the road, for dinner we had to return, as the teaplantation has just a room. It turned out indeed just a room, no shower, no warm water, broken toilet seat. But you can't complain for 10.000 RWF (12 Euro) and the next hotel an hours drive away. So we went for dinner, which was nice, returned slowly in the dark, driving through the potholes. We opened our bottle of wine and sat outside enjoying the few over the teafields.
We were surprised to see that they knew about Sinterklaas, but I think they weren't good, the next morning the shoes were still empty.
After a good sleep taking the circumstances in consideration we had breakfast at the ORTPN (tourist office) and set off for our walk. We booked the forest walk to the water fall, not the chimp tracking. We started at the edge of the forest, where we left the car guarded by a child. The teafields are stunning, as it is a fully covered low green plant, the hill look like covered in a blanket. The forest walk was lovely, a variety of plants and trees. We saw some big birds and a few monkeys in the distance. The waterfall was nice, but more a landmark than a 'must see'.
We were lucky and it stayed dry all the way to the end of the walk. When we came back to the office we were kindly asked to park the car elsewhere as the prime-minister was on his way. So we paid the guide and hurried off to Cyangugu. It is a mere 20 km drive, but took almost an hour. The man from the ORTPN said they will fix the road next year, I hope he is right. Not only did we have a big rain shower, we also ended up behind a wedding party, which was cool.
We went for the weekend (Friday-Monday) to the south-west of Rwanda, an area we did not visit yet.
We left around ten to be for lunchtime in Butare. There were a lot of people at the roadside because the tour de Rwanda is this weekend. It turned out today etappe was Butare-Kigali, the road we were driving on. Halfway in the well known town Gitarama, we were summoned to another road. We went off the sideroads to come out in the centre at the mean road, just in time for the leader group. People were cheering loudly, the racers were going fast downhill.
The next ten minutes every now and then some racers came past, people cheering for every one of them, even louder for those with a rwandan shirt. The end of the race coincided with the rain starting, it's rainy season after all. People ran off to all sides and we were clear to drive on.
The drive to the entrance of the Nyungwe forest was good, nice road, nice view. However the road became worse every meter, until there was more hole than road. We did see some monkeys at the side of the road. As later became apparent, you don't actually need to go into the forest, the best place to find the monkeys is the side of the road.
There are 6 monkeys in this picture if you look closely.
The tourist office and guest house is at the other side of the forest, so we had no choice but to endure this. When we arrived at the guest house we found out it was fully booked by a group of mostly English people, grump. However we could stay at the teaplantation five minutes up the road, for dinner we had to return, as the teaplantation has just a room. It turned out indeed just a room, no shower, no warm water, broken toilet seat. But you can't complain for 10.000 RWF (12 Euro) and the next hotel an hours drive away. So we went for dinner, which was nice, returned slowly in the dark, driving through the potholes. We opened our bottle of wine and sat outside enjoying the few over the teafields.
We were surprised to see that they knew about Sinterklaas, but I think they weren't good, the next morning the shoes were still empty.
After a good sleep taking the circumstances in consideration we had breakfast at the ORTPN (tourist office) and set off for our walk. We booked the forest walk to the water fall, not the chimp tracking. We started at the edge of the forest, where we left the car guarded by a child. The teafields are stunning, as it is a fully covered low green plant, the hill look like covered in a blanket. The forest walk was lovely, a variety of plants and trees. We saw some big birds and a few monkeys in the distance. The waterfall was nice, but more a landmark than a 'must see'.
We were lucky and it stayed dry all the way to the end of the walk. When we came back to the office we were kindly asked to park the car elsewhere as the prime-minister was on his way. So we paid the guide and hurried off to Cyangugu. It is a mere 20 km drive, but took almost an hour. The man from the ORTPN said they will fix the road next year, I hope he is right. Not only did we have a big rain shower, we also ended up behind a wedding party, which was cool.
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Vehicular vocab
Driving in Rwanda leads to some interesting utterances in our car, sometimes urging other drivers / pedestrians onwards, sometimes just insulting them. Some gems lately...
When being cut up on a roundabout - you should have tooted, that was definitely tootable
When a pedestrian walked in front of the moving car - see the big shiny metal thing - it hurts, don't walk in front of it
Crawling up a hill - go on, change gear, I dare you
Idiot
When the car in front suddenly changes lane - ooh, using the magical invisible indicators again are we?
When the car in front is sticking to the middle of the road - pick a lane any lane
when driver on left is more interested in nose contents than road - if you're hungry get a takeaway
When moto in front of car is cruising for business and veering from side to side slooowly - just drive in a forwards motion will you
This obviously has no affect on anyone exterior to our car, but it makes us feel better. Some of the above are translated, and some have been cleaned up for public digestion
The car is now fixed, we went away for the weekend and abused it through potholes, and did something to the exhaust which made the car very noisy, its fixed now, but communication difficulties mean we're still not entirely sure what was wrong, as the guy from the garage told Lon, it was making a big noise, and now its not...thanks!
When being cut up on a roundabout - you should have tooted, that was definitely tootable
When a pedestrian walked in front of the moving car - see the big shiny metal thing - it hurts, don't walk in front of it
Crawling up a hill - go on, change gear, I dare you
Idiot
When the car in front suddenly changes lane - ooh, using the magical invisible indicators again are we?
When the car in front is sticking to the middle of the road - pick a lane any lane
when driver on left is more interested in nose contents than road - if you're hungry get a takeaway
When moto in front of car is cruising for business and veering from side to side slooowly - just drive in a forwards motion will you
This obviously has no affect on anyone exterior to our car, but it makes us feel better. Some of the above are translated, and some have been cleaned up for public digestion
The car is now fixed, we went away for the weekend and abused it through potholes, and did something to the exhaust which made the car very noisy, its fixed now, but communication difficulties mean we're still not entirely sure what was wrong, as the guy from the garage told Lon, it was making a big noise, and now its not...thanks!
Saturday 7 November 2009
Balcony and Beer
No, we are not drinking beer on the balcony. They are two unrelated subjects, but I just want to write one blog entry. I also want to put Kabul down, but it doesn't start with a B.
When we came back from holiday we still had a few days relaxing at home. To our surprise we found that the tiles of the balcony lifted themselves. According to our houselord a damp problem. So we spent our days with a man locked on the balcony hammering, how relaxing. Clarisse was good, she only left him in after we woke up, locked him on the balcony and sent him home when she went home. That doesn't change the fact that we had to flee the home on a regular basis for our own sanity. Now the man and his friends relaid the tiles and put a few new ones down in a corner, replacing the ones he broke. As extra service he fixed the squeaky tile in the hall, in a way I liked that tile, gives the house character.
On a different note. Forget the doing business index, the presidential elections or the petrol prices going up; Rwanda is developed: We have a dark beer! And it is nice!
To increase their marketshare from 99.8 to 99.9% Bralirwa introduced a brown beer with the catchy name Turbo King. This 6.5% dark beer comes only in 72cl bottles. I don't know the price, but it has to be closer to the local beers than the 4 Euro for import belgium beers. We might have to try some more, just to be sure.
Before the long wait on the decision where we go we have one week of stress deciding which post we want and writing my motivation. An addendum was promised last Friday, it came only today (Saturday). No extra posts for me to react on, except Kabul. As you might guess, I will not put this down. The bad news is that they need several people in Kabul and I can do three of those jobs, so if nobody wants it, there is a possibility they will send me.
On top of this, somebody had the nerve to put down Lusaka as well, it is so unfair, I bagsied it. I am sure I must be the better candidate though. A shame it is anonymous.
Good news for my collegues, somebody put my position on the list.
Next week I will have a final overview of how many people reacted on every post, and then the wait begins.
When we came back from holiday we still had a few days relaxing at home. To our surprise we found that the tiles of the balcony lifted themselves. According to our houselord a damp problem. So we spent our days with a man locked on the balcony hammering, how relaxing. Clarisse was good, she only left him in after we woke up, locked him on the balcony and sent him home when she went home. That doesn't change the fact that we had to flee the home on a regular basis for our own sanity. Now the man and his friends relaid the tiles and put a few new ones down in a corner, replacing the ones he broke. As extra service he fixed the squeaky tile in the hall, in a way I liked that tile, gives the house character.
On a different note. Forget the doing business index, the presidential elections or the petrol prices going up; Rwanda is developed: We have a dark beer! And it is nice!
To increase their marketshare from 99.8 to 99.9% Bralirwa introduced a brown beer with the catchy name Turbo King. This 6.5% dark beer comes only in 72cl bottles. I don't know the price, but it has to be closer to the local beers than the 4 Euro for import belgium beers. We might have to try some more, just to be sure.
Before the long wait on the decision where we go we have one week of stress deciding which post we want and writing my motivation. An addendum was promised last Friday, it came only today (Saturday). No extra posts for me to react on, except Kabul. As you might guess, I will not put this down. The bad news is that they need several people in Kabul and I can do three of those jobs, so if nobody wants it, there is a possibility they will send me.
On top of this, somebody had the nerve to put down Lusaka as well, it is so unfair, I bagsied it. I am sure I must be the better candidate though. A shame it is anonymous.
Good news for my collegues, somebody put my position on the list.
Next week I will have a final overview of how many people reacted on every post, and then the wait begins.
Friday 30 October 2009
The List
The List
This is not an obscure film, but an important moment in our lives as it might determent the place we will live for four years.
Today the list came from The Hague, we have to choose between three and ten postings from the list. I will have to motivate my choices and in March/April we will know more. It could be one of my choices, but they can also decide to send me elsewhere.
The possibilities so far are limited.
Basically Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) or Lusaka (Zambia).
As I have to put three down, we might put Addis Adeba down, but this one is a scale higher than my present one, and therefore unlikely.
It is possible they will like to send me to Juba (South Sudan) but as this is one of the worst posts for Hazel I will have to strongly object to that.
Earlier unofficial information that Mali would be an option was incorrect.
It has to be said there will be at least one addendum next week, so it could change. For now we have to go on the assumption this is it.
We are very pleased to find Lusaka on the list, this will definitely be our favourite.
Now the big task ahead is to write the motivation.
So get your soutern and eastern Africa guidebooks out.
We will keep you informed via this medium.
This is not an obscure film, but an important moment in our lives as it might determent the place we will live for four years.
Today the list came from The Hague, we have to choose between three and ten postings from the list. I will have to motivate my choices and in March/April we will know more. It could be one of my choices, but they can also decide to send me elsewhere.
The possibilities so far are limited.
Basically Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) or Lusaka (Zambia).
As I have to put three down, we might put Addis Adeba down, but this one is a scale higher than my present one, and therefore unlikely.
It is possible they will like to send me to Juba (South Sudan) but as this is one of the worst posts for Hazel I will have to strongly object to that.
Earlier unofficial information that Mali would be an option was incorrect.
It has to be said there will be at least one addendum next week, so it could change. For now we have to go on the assumption this is it.
We are very pleased to find Lusaka on the list, this will definitely be our favourite.
Now the big task ahead is to write the motivation.
So get your soutern and eastern Africa guidebooks out.
We will keep you informed via this medium.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Uganda
We decided this autumn to go for a break in Uganda.
The first couple of days we spent at lake Bunyonyi. This lake is just across the border, just two hours drive from Kigali. The first day we visited Kabale, just a small town with a main road which is too small for two cars and bicycles on either side. We relaxed with a beer at the lake side. We were the only ones in the hotel/lodge because it is low season (occaisional rains).
Part of the steep road towards the lake. If you enlarge the photo you see somewhere in the middle a sign 'humps'. It is nice of them to tell you that after several humps.
The second day we went for a drive. See if we could find the market at the south side of the lake. It turned out a bit longer than we planned. One wrong turn got us on a muddy track, this kind of mud clung to the tires, which makes it impossible to steer. We nearly got stuck in a mudpool because of lack of traction. We ended up doing a full circle around the lake with the occasional view over the lake. Nice lake with islands dotted in it.
After that we proceeded to Queen Elizabeth national park. We prebooked a new lodge at the edge of the park with discount. It was lovely; the park is basically a vast plain surrounded by mountains/hills. Our lodge was on a hill overlooking the whole park; brilliant!
The next morning we went for a bushwalk in a forest reserve just before the park, in this forest you can also go for chimp tracking, but we opted for just a walk. We didn't see any monkeys, just until the end next to the road. But the forest was nice, though humid. We also wanted to go on a boat trip in the park from one of the lodges. As it was low season this could only be done in the afternoon. We decided not to hang around for a day (which would have been fine) but to do it that afternoon. We didn't realise that we had to pay park fees to go there, which made the 15 dollars each suddenly 120 USD (total), slight advantage is that we had a 10 USD discount for living in the East African Union.
As we were driving towards the lodge we saw some elephants on the road. Even a bigger surprise was the hippo crossing the road right in front of us. So in stead of doing a long safari we now saw the main animals of the park, while driving at 60 km/h in order to make the boat.
The boat trip was nice, completely different experience from driving safaris. More relaxing. We saw many buffaloes, birds, hippos, the odd eagle and even three elephants on the river bank. We were sharing the boat with a group of dutchies, who we would encounter later in Kabale again. What is the saying: You can't avoid death, taxes and the Dutch.
One happy looking hippo.
The following day we followed our path northwards towards Fort Portal. This is a road that goes straight through the park. As we paid our 24 hour fee, we went off a side road twice, the first time we didn't see anything noteworthy the second time we went through a gate with a 'coffee shop / internet cafe'. The coffee was the most expensive and worst coffee I had in a long time. The route took us past some mini craters, some with forest, some with lake, rather beautiful. Onwards towards Fort Portal, sometimes 120 k/h and sometimes hard braking for speed bumps. Our theory is that the amount of bumps is related to how much backhanders you have paid to an official and is some sort of status. Sometimes three houses have 5 bumps, sometimes a whole village has none. Sometimes they are indicated, sometimes none. It keeps you alert.
In Fort Portal we staid in a guest house run by a English man and Dutch lady. Nice couple, looked like they live there a long time already, which also has an effect on the upbringing of their teenage son I think. As we were their while a friend of them returned we could join the small party they gave. They invited some Dutch people, some mixed couples and the other guests from the guesthouse where two english medical students and a danish girl. A nice mix. There were some children who felt the need to give a small show, basically they did a dance to three 'kinderen voor kinderen' song. (children for children is a group of children singing to raise funds for poor children). We had a good laugh. The english girl and boy seemed to have a totally different experience from us, they stay in a place without electricity, sometimes no water and 7 hours away from a big city, without a car. Makes you realise that we do have a lot of luxury.
We decided not to stay another day but to had towards lake Bunyonyi again. The B road we took was fine, until we went of it to see some crater lakes. We ended up doing a circle and took the same road again from Fort Portal. The road went through another national park, this was forest with a.o. a lot of bamboo, had a nice feel to it.
The Kabale area is probably the cabbage area of Uganda, we came across several big piles of cabbage.
We arrived back in Kabale and slept in Kabale, not at the lake this time. The White Horse Inn was a reasonable choice, but yet again africans are not good at the details in service. It took a man an hour to come by, look at the light bulb, disappear for a while and put a new lightbulb in. We did tell him, if you shake the bulb, you can hear it is broken.
Monday we went to explore more unknown territory. The road to Kisoro was being remade, the surface was good, but there were several stops because of working man or one-lane tracks. The approach to Kisoro town was brilliant, some nice valleys with a volcano on the background, the pictures don't do it justice, you have to be there.
The town itself seemed a nice hub for locals, a big market and a lot of different kind of shops. The border crossing was like any border crossing: unclear where you have to go, but we managed. As an extra surprise they added the fact that we had to write in a big book who the owner of the vehicle was, where we came from and where we were going, this on both side of the border. I think Mr. Zomer left Uganda, but Mr. Lonako entered Rwanda, I wonder if they will find out this inconsistency.
As a welcome it started to rain on the Rwanda side, a shame. After a good lunch at the hotel of a colleague of mine in Musanze (Ruhengeri) we took the best road in Rwanda. The road is rather new and every village, no matter the size, seems to have sign. The road remains dangerous because of all the pedestrians using the road, it is not really wide enough for that.
We arrived reasonably early in Gisenyi so we had a drive around. It is a shame nobody does anything with those nice old colonial buildings. It does appear to be the policy to tear some down, it is not clear what will rise on those spots.
Instead of going straight back we took the scenic route, via Kibuye. It is a nice road in terms of views, but the road was rather jiggly. I don't know if that is a proper word, but I will describe. The road was made a while ago in layers, first layer being stones, over which sand is compressed. The sand is now partly gone which leaves a road of rocky surface. You can compare it by driving over cobblestones (kinderkopjes). This is not too bad as roads go, but after over three hours our bodies where quiet pleased to see the tarmac.
Somewhere between Gisenyi en Kibuye.
After lunch at Bethanies (Sambousa and fish brochette) back the bendy road to Gitarama and home.
Clarisse was surprised to see us a day earlier than planned and hurried to finish all sort of things (which didn't need to be done in our opinion).
The first couple of days we spent at lake Bunyonyi. This lake is just across the border, just two hours drive from Kigali. The first day we visited Kabale, just a small town with a main road which is too small for two cars and bicycles on either side. We relaxed with a beer at the lake side. We were the only ones in the hotel/lodge because it is low season (occaisional rains).
Part of the steep road towards the lake. If you enlarge the photo you see somewhere in the middle a sign 'humps'. It is nice of them to tell you that after several humps.
The second day we went for a drive. See if we could find the market at the south side of the lake. It turned out a bit longer than we planned. One wrong turn got us on a muddy track, this kind of mud clung to the tires, which makes it impossible to steer. We nearly got stuck in a mudpool because of lack of traction. We ended up doing a full circle around the lake with the occasional view over the lake. Nice lake with islands dotted in it.
After that we proceeded to Queen Elizabeth national park. We prebooked a new lodge at the edge of the park with discount. It was lovely; the park is basically a vast plain surrounded by mountains/hills. Our lodge was on a hill overlooking the whole park; brilliant!
The next morning we went for a bushwalk in a forest reserve just before the park, in this forest you can also go for chimp tracking, but we opted for just a walk. We didn't see any monkeys, just until the end next to the road. But the forest was nice, though humid. We also wanted to go on a boat trip in the park from one of the lodges. As it was low season this could only be done in the afternoon. We decided not to hang around for a day (which would have been fine) but to do it that afternoon. We didn't realise that we had to pay park fees to go there, which made the 15 dollars each suddenly 120 USD (total), slight advantage is that we had a 10 USD discount for living in the East African Union.
As we were driving towards the lodge we saw some elephants on the road. Even a bigger surprise was the hippo crossing the road right in front of us. So in stead of doing a long safari we now saw the main animals of the park, while driving at 60 km/h in order to make the boat.
The boat trip was nice, completely different experience from driving safaris. More relaxing. We saw many buffaloes, birds, hippos, the odd eagle and even three elephants on the river bank. We were sharing the boat with a group of dutchies, who we would encounter later in Kabale again. What is the saying: You can't avoid death, taxes and the Dutch.
One happy looking hippo.
The following day we followed our path northwards towards Fort Portal. This is a road that goes straight through the park. As we paid our 24 hour fee, we went off a side road twice, the first time we didn't see anything noteworthy the second time we went through a gate with a 'coffee shop / internet cafe'. The coffee was the most expensive and worst coffee I had in a long time. The route took us past some mini craters, some with forest, some with lake, rather beautiful. Onwards towards Fort Portal, sometimes 120 k/h and sometimes hard braking for speed bumps. Our theory is that the amount of bumps is related to how much backhanders you have paid to an official and is some sort of status. Sometimes three houses have 5 bumps, sometimes a whole village has none. Sometimes they are indicated, sometimes none. It keeps you alert.
In Fort Portal we staid in a guest house run by a English man and Dutch lady. Nice couple, looked like they live there a long time already, which also has an effect on the upbringing of their teenage son I think. As we were their while a friend of them returned we could join the small party they gave. They invited some Dutch people, some mixed couples and the other guests from the guesthouse where two english medical students and a danish girl. A nice mix. There were some children who felt the need to give a small show, basically they did a dance to three 'kinderen voor kinderen' song. (children for children is a group of children singing to raise funds for poor children). We had a good laugh. The english girl and boy seemed to have a totally different experience from us, they stay in a place without electricity, sometimes no water and 7 hours away from a big city, without a car. Makes you realise that we do have a lot of luxury.
We decided not to stay another day but to had towards lake Bunyonyi again. The B road we took was fine, until we went of it to see some crater lakes. We ended up doing a circle and took the same road again from Fort Portal. The road went through another national park, this was forest with a.o. a lot of bamboo, had a nice feel to it.
The Kabale area is probably the cabbage area of Uganda, we came across several big piles of cabbage.
We arrived back in Kabale and slept in Kabale, not at the lake this time. The White Horse Inn was a reasonable choice, but yet again africans are not good at the details in service. It took a man an hour to come by, look at the light bulb, disappear for a while and put a new lightbulb in. We did tell him, if you shake the bulb, you can hear it is broken.
Monday we went to explore more unknown territory. The road to Kisoro was being remade, the surface was good, but there were several stops because of working man or one-lane tracks. The approach to Kisoro town was brilliant, some nice valleys with a volcano on the background, the pictures don't do it justice, you have to be there.
The town itself seemed a nice hub for locals, a big market and a lot of different kind of shops. The border crossing was like any border crossing: unclear where you have to go, but we managed. As an extra surprise they added the fact that we had to write in a big book who the owner of the vehicle was, where we came from and where we were going, this on both side of the border. I think Mr. Zomer left Uganda, but Mr. Lonako entered Rwanda, I wonder if they will find out this inconsistency.
As a welcome it started to rain on the Rwanda side, a shame. After a good lunch at the hotel of a colleague of mine in Musanze (Ruhengeri) we took the best road in Rwanda. The road is rather new and every village, no matter the size, seems to have sign. The road remains dangerous because of all the pedestrians using the road, it is not really wide enough for that.
We arrived reasonably early in Gisenyi so we had a drive around. It is a shame nobody does anything with those nice old colonial buildings. It does appear to be the policy to tear some down, it is not clear what will rise on those spots.
Instead of going straight back we took the scenic route, via Kibuye. It is a nice road in terms of views, but the road was rather jiggly. I don't know if that is a proper word, but I will describe. The road was made a while ago in layers, first layer being stones, over which sand is compressed. The sand is now partly gone which leaves a road of rocky surface. You can compare it by driving over cobblestones (kinderkopjes). This is not too bad as roads go, but after over three hours our bodies where quiet pleased to see the tarmac.
Somewhere between Gisenyi en Kibuye.
After lunch at Bethanies (Sambousa and fish brochette) back the bendy road to Gitarama and home.
Clarisse was surprised to see us a day earlier than planned and hurried to finish all sort of things (which didn't need to be done in our opinion).
Saturday 17 October 2009
Congo Bongo
A friend phoned if we felt like going to a Congolese band.
We assumed that this would mean some drums and african guitar, but swinging.
It started 19.30. This turned out to be 19.30 african time. Around 20.45 we were asked to go inside - but it was OK, cold beer, great view and good company. So we paid our 1.000 RWF (Eur 1.20) along with 30 others and entered. A bit weird; there were three small blokes rapping on some taped music. Our hope was on the un-manned drumset.
Then after some noisy sound testing some Michael Jackson music come on and a man started moonwalking etc. He did well, but his face was too serious.
Finally a man with sunglasses announced the band and nearly fall from the stairs, because he couldn't see a thing. Apparently this band from Kisangani in Eastern Congo is world famous in this region.
I must say we had a wonderful evening, they were very impressive. Two singers, a tall and a very short bloke, dancing in time. Funny to see how the same movements give a different impression on tall and small people.
It was a good mixture of music, mostly modern rap-like. Sometimes a congolese tune mixed in. Not the 3 minutes pop songs, but proper length well structured songs. They sang in tune, the sound quality was good, they were great showmen. I would gladly put them on a club podium in Europe.
In short: we had a good time watching the catchy, danceable music. The only thing is that they sing in French, but to be honest, often you can not understand lirics anyway.
Go see them if you get a chance.
A good example of their music on this link.
http://www.myspace.com/pasnas
Nice to see they left like a good rockband all of them in a small minibus.
Friday 16 October 2009
Bierfest
It is October so time for a bierfest.
On Friday we went for a drive to find the place, we didn't want to be doing that in the dark. We had a nice drive and actually did find it, even though there are no signs whatsoever anywhere.
Closeby we made this photo
I would be a proud beekeeper if I had a hive in a tree like that.
All local beer (and soda's, called Fanta here) is made by Bralirwa a Heineken company.
Under their best beer brand, Mutzig, they organised a bierfest. It reflected the local culture in many ways:
- It was in Jurupark. A very vague useless map, but still everybody can find it.
- There was a parking attendent, but he did his job very badly.
- There was plenty of food, but you had to fight for it.
- A mix of whites and rich (often overdressed) rwandans.
- A good performance of rwandan band (until they started improvising), an average band of whites with a overconfident singer and an average sound system.
- There was even a VIP Dutchy, but hardly anyone noticed or knew.
Typically Hazel knew that the Bralirwa commercial director was married to someone named Opstelten, but I never knew, until I saw a familiar face being introduced as father of, it took me a while to make the connection. Unfortunately for the man there are always people who like to feel important and have to talk to him. I on the otherhand am above that all, even though he was a VVD major in Utrecht while I was an active young socialist; instead we both drunk beer, seperately.
So after sending a man to find the last softdrink, we went, we had seen the highlights and it was getting cold.
In short it was an enjoyable evening, the best you can get in Rwanda.
On Friday we went for a drive to find the place, we didn't want to be doing that in the dark. We had a nice drive and actually did find it, even though there are no signs whatsoever anywhere.
Closeby we made this photo
I would be a proud beekeeper if I had a hive in a tree like that.
All local beer (and soda's, called Fanta here) is made by Bralirwa a Heineken company.
Under their best beer brand, Mutzig, they organised a bierfest. It reflected the local culture in many ways:
- It was in Jurupark. A very vague useless map, but still everybody can find it.
- There was a parking attendent, but he did his job very badly.
- There was plenty of food, but you had to fight for it.
- A mix of whites and rich (often overdressed) rwandans.
- A good performance of rwandan band (until they started improvising), an average band of whites with a overconfident singer and an average sound system.
- There was even a VIP Dutchy, but hardly anyone noticed or knew.
Typically Hazel knew that the Bralirwa commercial director was married to someone named Opstelten, but I never knew, until I saw a familiar face being introduced as father of, it took me a while to make the connection. Unfortunately for the man there are always people who like to feel important and have to talk to him. I on the otherhand am above that all, even though he was a VVD major in Utrecht while I was an active young socialist; instead we both drunk beer, seperately.
So after sending a man to find the last softdrink, we went, we had seen the highlights and it was getting cold.
In short it was an enjoyable evening, the best you can get in Rwanda.
Snert
My mum would be proud.
Hazel doesn't want a Dutch passport, but she does deserve one. She made perfect snert. Of course not like mum makes, but still perfect.
Who would have guesed, snert made in Rwanda, and it is the weather to eat it!
Sorry for the non Dutch, they probably have no idea why I am so excited.
Hazel doesn't want a Dutch passport, but she does deserve one. She made perfect snert. Of course not like mum makes, but still perfect.
Who would have guesed, snert made in Rwanda, and it is the weather to eat it!
Sorry for the non Dutch, they probably have no idea why I am so excited.
Saturday 19 September 2009
Bujumbura
Lon's colleague Jaco moved from Rwanda last year to neighbouring Burundi as part of the Embassy Office there. He requested that Lon come down for a few days to do some financial verifications etc and since I hadn't yet been to Burundi I came too.
We were driven down by an Embassy chauffeur on Saturday morning, stopping in Butare for a coffee, before heading to the border. The chauffeur took care of all the formalities (what a luxury!) and we stayed sitting in the air-conditioned car!
The route through Burundi to Bujumbura saw us passing unterrassed hills, and towns which were subtly different from Rwanda, we also decreased altitude from 1500m to 775m which meant a huge change in temperature - so despite it being as hot as it ever is in Kigali now, we really noticed the difference.
We spent the remains of Saturday hanging out at Jaco and Leontines, and watched the sunset at a local bar (theoretically over Lake Tanganyika but it is so overcast at the moment that the lake remained invisible)
Sunday we brunched, took a tour of Bujumbura, and then went to hang out at Bora Bora - a very chilled place on the beach (note the pool - its not safe to swim in the lake because of the hippos and crocodiles) - we really had the feeling that we were a long way from Kigali.
Roundabout (why are European ones always so boring??)
Traffic police who have recently been trained by the Dutch
street life
There is a park in the centre of town, with swings, trees and plants, and is very popular for healthy Burundians working out in the shade.
On Monday Lon went to work, and I went on a tour of Bujumbura with Leontine. Firstly we changed money at a forex and Leo almost got into the wrong chauffeur driven silver Suzuki (as it was parked in front) and to the supermarkets and the coffee shop before the guys came home for lunch.
In Bujumbura there are some habits which differ from ours in Rwanda. Most people have a cook, and so eat the main meal at lunch time, and since the cook has to justify his existence lunch is a delicious three course affair involving sauces and finely chopped vegetables (our cook ((me)) just chops things haphazardly!)
We went to visit the Grand Marche in the afternoon, a big market in the centre of town. Again for me it was about making comparisons to Kigali's main market - in this case the roof is much higher, which means is has an airier feel. Celeste the driver came with us to help us navigate, I was hoping to find some of the local material, but didn't succeed - but we did of course search the whole market, only to go back to the first stall to buy something!
On Tuesday we went with Ellen as well (another NL partner who has relocated to Burundi) to the Rusizi national park which is just on the edge of the town. We were accompanied by an armed policeman instead of a ranger since there wasn't enough space for both in the car. We saw lots of birds and many hippo families.
hippo print
Then we went for coffee in the local coffee shop Aroma, which is a hang out for wireless internet users, and coffee drinkers.
Before lunch we went to the Congolese market and enjoyed haggling for treasures - much emboldened by each others presence and better at haggling for it too, and then spent the remains of the afternoon cooling off in the pool at Ellen’s since Jaco and Leontines was empty for repairs.
In the evening, waiting for Lon and Jaco to return from the Embassy Office (not Embassy as they are under the wing of Kigali) I heard fireworks..or so I thought, and was about to say so when I realised it was unlikely. There was an extended exchange of (automatic) fire on a hill in the distance (10km away)...the guards explanation of thieves seemed unlikely, but it was a stark reminder that life in Burundi is different - there is a curfew with roadblocks round the city at night, and its not safe to go off to the countryside for a drive as we do here. Another example is the tea plantation where Jaco used to take the dog for a walk on a Sunday is now no-go as there are armed rebels camping there.
Wednesday we went speed shopping at a local Christian cooperative which has a large selection of items, chickens and chicken feeders, milk and yoghurt, school bags and wooden furniture, and beautiful glazed pottery. We had to hurry as we had appointments at the Buj spa - a place with Thai massage ladies and a sauna. It was clean, and professional, and I had a full body massage given by a miniature Thai lady using hands and elbows which was both wonderful and painful.
We just had time after lunch to go to the marvellous greek run butchers which wouldn't be out of place in any European town, and finish the money buying chorizo and ham before catching the 45 minute plane back home.
We were driven down by an Embassy chauffeur on Saturday morning, stopping in Butare for a coffee, before heading to the border. The chauffeur took care of all the formalities (what a luxury!) and we stayed sitting in the air-conditioned car!
The route through Burundi to Bujumbura saw us passing unterrassed hills, and towns which were subtly different from Rwanda, we also decreased altitude from 1500m to 775m which meant a huge change in temperature - so despite it being as hot as it ever is in Kigali now, we really noticed the difference.
We spent the remains of Saturday hanging out at Jaco and Leontines, and watched the sunset at a local bar (theoretically over Lake Tanganyika but it is so overcast at the moment that the lake remained invisible)
Sunday we brunched, took a tour of Bujumbura, and then went to hang out at Bora Bora - a very chilled place on the beach (note the pool - its not safe to swim in the lake because of the hippos and crocodiles) - we really had the feeling that we were a long way from Kigali.
Roundabout (why are European ones always so boring??)
Traffic police who have recently been trained by the Dutch
street life
There is a park in the centre of town, with swings, trees and plants, and is very popular for healthy Burundians working out in the shade.
On Monday Lon went to work, and I went on a tour of Bujumbura with Leontine. Firstly we changed money at a forex and Leo almost got into the wrong chauffeur driven silver Suzuki (as it was parked in front) and to the supermarkets and the coffee shop before the guys came home for lunch.
In Bujumbura there are some habits which differ from ours in Rwanda. Most people have a cook, and so eat the main meal at lunch time, and since the cook has to justify his existence lunch is a delicious three course affair involving sauces and finely chopped vegetables (our cook ((me)) just chops things haphazardly!)
We went to visit the Grand Marche in the afternoon, a big market in the centre of town. Again for me it was about making comparisons to Kigali's main market - in this case the roof is much higher, which means is has an airier feel. Celeste the driver came with us to help us navigate, I was hoping to find some of the local material, but didn't succeed - but we did of course search the whole market, only to go back to the first stall to buy something!
On Tuesday we went with Ellen as well (another NL partner who has relocated to Burundi) to the Rusizi national park which is just on the edge of the town. We were accompanied by an armed policeman instead of a ranger since there wasn't enough space for both in the car. We saw lots of birds and many hippo families.
hippo print
Then we went for coffee in the local coffee shop Aroma, which is a hang out for wireless internet users, and coffee drinkers.
Before lunch we went to the Congolese market and enjoyed haggling for treasures - much emboldened by each others presence and better at haggling for it too, and then spent the remains of the afternoon cooling off in the pool at Ellen’s since Jaco and Leontines was empty for repairs.
In the evening, waiting for Lon and Jaco to return from the Embassy Office (not Embassy as they are under the wing of Kigali) I heard fireworks..or so I thought, and was about to say so when I realised it was unlikely. There was an extended exchange of (automatic) fire on a hill in the distance (10km away)...the guards explanation of thieves seemed unlikely, but it was a stark reminder that life in Burundi is different - there is a curfew with roadblocks round the city at night, and its not safe to go off to the countryside for a drive as we do here. Another example is the tea plantation where Jaco used to take the dog for a walk on a Sunday is now no-go as there are armed rebels camping there.
Wednesday we went speed shopping at a local Christian cooperative which has a large selection of items, chickens and chicken feeders, milk and yoghurt, school bags and wooden furniture, and beautiful glazed pottery. We had to hurry as we had appointments at the Buj spa - a place with Thai massage ladies and a sauna. It was clean, and professional, and I had a full body massage given by a miniature Thai lady using hands and elbows which was both wonderful and painful.
We just had time after lunch to go to the marvellous greek run butchers which wouldn't be out of place in any European town, and finish the money buying chorizo and ham before catching the 45 minute plane back home.
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Dobby
We didn't put it in our holiday report, because we didn't want to spoil it.
While we were in France we had some bad news from home. One of our cats had had an accident. Dobby (the female) was found not far from our house, clearly hit by a car. She must have died instantly.
We asked my colleague Jojan to be the guardian of our cats while we were away, just in case. She has a cat and a dog and knows what to do. Jojan got a panic call on her way to work on a Monday morning. She made sure that no immediate actions was needed, did some things at work and came to the house a.s.a.p. Evariste and Clarisse were busy discussing together with our Monday guard. Jojan handled the situation brilliantly. She sent her gardener of to find a box to put Dobby in. Clarisse got one of her favorite blankets. Evarist went to look for some plants and a stone. Jojan asked to paint Dobby's name on a piece of wood, but apperantly in Rwanda you use a stone.
It was hard for Clarisse, she was more attached to the cats than she realised and she somehow felt guilty this happened during our holidays. Jojan came by several time to check on her, it took her a while to get over it.
We knew that Dobby went over the wall, so it was possible she could be hit one day. But still it came as a shock. Neville was still a bit confused when we came back, but it could also be all the suitcases. Anyway, it looks he is getting used to being alone. He only does not want to sleep in the basket. They used to share it as kittens, but at some point Dobby kicked him out, now he still feels he is not allowed in it. He loves all the extra attention he gets now.
Red tape
Hopefully we can go this weekend to Bujumbura.
A couple of weeks ago my colleague in Bujumbura asked for some help, and I (and Hazel) would like to go there for a few day. So...
It turned out that our visas for Rwanda just expired, so we had to get new ones in order to be allowed back. So on Monday we filled in the form and gave 8 photos each, just in case. It should take a week. So I made very clear, we need it in a week, so should just work.
During the week it became clear this was not going to happen. This Tuesday I got the forms back with the comment that the photo was not correct. Somehow it was OK for the ministry, but now the immigration office needed one with a white background, not grey. The Dutch photos always need a grey background and we specially had some extra made in The Netherlands in order to have some quality. So we should get our passports back this Thursday, so we can leave on Saturday. Let's hope we get our Burundi visas at the border, we have no time to get those here.
The good news regarding red tape: Rwanda jumped 76 places on the 'Doing bussiness index'. This is surprising and very welcome. The country is developing and is very dependent from (foreign) investors. They cut the time to register by 255 days, imagine what it used to be.
A couple of weeks ago my colleague in Bujumbura asked for some help, and I (and Hazel) would like to go there for a few day. So...
It turned out that our visas for Rwanda just expired, so we had to get new ones in order to be allowed back. So on Monday we filled in the form and gave 8 photos each, just in case. It should take a week. So I made very clear, we need it in a week, so should just work.
During the week it became clear this was not going to happen. This Tuesday I got the forms back with the comment that the photo was not correct. Somehow it was OK for the ministry, but now the immigration office needed one with a white background, not grey. The Dutch photos always need a grey background and we specially had some extra made in The Netherlands in order to have some quality. So we should get our passports back this Thursday, so we can leave on Saturday. Let's hope we get our Burundi visas at the border, we have no time to get those here.
The good news regarding red tape: Rwanda jumped 76 places on the 'Doing bussiness index'. This is surprising and very welcome. The country is developing and is very dependent from (foreign) investors. They cut the time to register by 255 days, imagine what it used to be.
Tuesday 1 September 2009
Last week of holidays
Before we went to Pukkelpop we needed to be sure the luggage was not too heavy. We had an allowance of two pieces of 32 kg each and 2 pieces of handluggage of 8 and 10 kg. Should not be a problem you would think.
Surprise, we were 20 kg under! Only problem was, the suitcases turned out to be too small. (no dad not the new ones, they are perfect). So decision is already made to purchase huge suitcases next year. In the end we ended op posting a big but light bag through the ministerial post, not cheap but much cheaper than a fine from KLM.
Pukkelpop was great.
The day before we picked up Gem and Greg in Leuven and spent a few hours there. Nice town, but it was warm. We drove to Hasselt to get our entry bracelet so we didn't have to queue the first day. Then off to Genk where we booked a hotel. We decided we have become to old to stay at a campsite full of dirty and noisy teenagers and possibly mud.
Day one was a long day, we wanted to see some bands that were programmed early, as well as some that were programmed late. IT WAS HOT. In fact it was the hottest day ever recorded in Limburg (Belgium province). 38 C. I know that my family in USA might laugh at this, but for us it is hot. So we (and 50.000 others) hopped from shade to shade seeking beer and good music. And we did find it. At around 21.00 a big shower came, this was a releif as the temperature dropped, it didn't even last long. The ground absorbed all the rain and there wasn't even mud. OK maybe this is wrong for a pop festival, but we did like the fact there was no mud, we are old.
Day two we stayed a bit longer in bed, party because we wanted to see the last band, Kraftwerk. Maybe we shouldn't have. It turned out that they put there 1970 video on and pressed play on the CD player. We did see four men (assume the right ones) standing behind motionless behind keyboard, I am still puzzled how that can be a performance. As I said; a bit of a disappointment. In all honesty I must say I was very please to hear Das Model. We all know the (worse) English version, but I never heard Kraftwerk play the German one. The best version remains the one from Rammstein. For those who disagree: you're wrong. DAD quote: I like to share your point of view, as long as it's my view too.
Day three my beloved wife decided it was my birthday a day early. We woke up reasonbly late, had some breakfast in the hotelroom and opened pressies, my favorite part. As punishment for being old (it's not my fault!!) I had to wear a hat and some flags around me saying 40. Somehow I did not look out of place amongst the youth and only a few people congratulated me, of course surprised at the number on the flag. Anyway I am 2 x 20 not 40! If you want photographic evidence, please contact the wife, I have the right to remain silent.
(Evidence added by the wife!)
The trip to The Hague was uneventful except for a trafficjam at Rotterdam which added nearly two hours to our journey. The checking at Schiphol was fine, we just had to pretend our handluggage weighed 8 kg instead of 20.
We did enjoy our holidays, and as most people, are glad to be home, but want a holiday!
Neville, our cat, was very exited to see us and we are happy to see him and sad that his sister is gone. We just know we will spoil him even more.
So back at work.
Good news: probably both off to Bujumbura for a few days next week. We will let you know.
Surprise, we were 20 kg under! Only problem was, the suitcases turned out to be too small. (no dad not the new ones, they are perfect). So decision is already made to purchase huge suitcases next year. In the end we ended op posting a big but light bag through the ministerial post, not cheap but much cheaper than a fine from KLM.
Pukkelpop was great.
The day before we picked up Gem and Greg in Leuven and spent a few hours there. Nice town, but it was warm. We drove to Hasselt to get our entry bracelet so we didn't have to queue the first day. Then off to Genk where we booked a hotel. We decided we have become to old to stay at a campsite full of dirty and noisy teenagers and possibly mud.
Day one was a long day, we wanted to see some bands that were programmed early, as well as some that were programmed late. IT WAS HOT. In fact it was the hottest day ever recorded in Limburg (Belgium province). 38 C. I know that my family in USA might laugh at this, but for us it is hot. So we (and 50.000 others) hopped from shade to shade seeking beer and good music. And we did find it. At around 21.00 a big shower came, this was a releif as the temperature dropped, it didn't even last long. The ground absorbed all the rain and there wasn't even mud. OK maybe this is wrong for a pop festival, but we did like the fact there was no mud, we are old.
Day two we stayed a bit longer in bed, party because we wanted to see the last band, Kraftwerk. Maybe we shouldn't have. It turned out that they put there 1970 video on and pressed play on the CD player. We did see four men (assume the right ones) standing behind motionless behind keyboard, I am still puzzled how that can be a performance. As I said; a bit of a disappointment. In all honesty I must say I was very please to hear Das Model. We all know the (worse) English version, but I never heard Kraftwerk play the German one. The best version remains the one from Rammstein. For those who disagree: you're wrong. DAD quote: I like to share your point of view, as long as it's my view too.
Day three my beloved wife decided it was my birthday a day early. We woke up reasonbly late, had some breakfast in the hotelroom and opened pressies, my favorite part. As punishment for being old (it's not my fault!!) I had to wear a hat and some flags around me saying 40. Somehow I did not look out of place amongst the youth and only a few people congratulated me, of course surprised at the number on the flag. Anyway I am 2 x 20 not 40! If you want photographic evidence, please contact the wife, I have the right to remain silent.
(Evidence added by the wife!)The trip to The Hague was uneventful except for a trafficjam at Rotterdam which added nearly two hours to our journey. The checking at Schiphol was fine, we just had to pretend our handluggage weighed 8 kg instead of 20.
We did enjoy our holidays, and as most people, are glad to be home, but want a holiday!
Neville, our cat, was very exited to see us and we are happy to see him and sad that his sister is gone. We just know we will spoil him even more.
So back at work.
Good news: probably both off to Bujumbura for a few days next week. We will let you know.
France
Week 3
We agreed to meet our friends Emma and Andrew in france. We thought they are in France, we are in France, good idea. What we didn't realise at the time is that France is a big place. We were in Britanny and they in the south-east next to the spanish border. It couldn't be further apart.
Anyway we did it. It took us two days to get there. We had a lovely time, they have this nice small family house in a little village, very pitoresque. We drank some wine, walked throught the village and spent some time on the beach and drank some wine. Nice.
On the way back we dropped by a school friend of Hazels just north of Paris. They seem to enjoy the French life. A small village, yet close to Paris, ideal.
Now (12 Aug) we are squatting in the home of Emma and Andrew in The Hague. A nice arrangement, we take care of the cat and in return we can stay here. We feel remarkably at home in The Hague. Did a lot of shopping and eating Dutch things including the obligatory fish at Simonis and sausage at Hema.
We agreed to meet our friends Emma and Andrew in france. We thought they are in France, we are in France, good idea. What we didn't realise at the time is that France is a big place. We were in Britanny and they in the south-east next to the spanish border. It couldn't be further apart.
Anyway we did it. It took us two days to get there. We had a lovely time, they have this nice small family house in a little village, very pitoresque. We drank some wine, walked throught the village and spent some time on the beach and drank some wine. Nice.
On the way back we dropped by a school friend of Hazels just north of Paris. They seem to enjoy the French life. A small village, yet close to Paris, ideal.
Now (12 Aug) we are squatting in the home of Emma and Andrew in The Hague. A nice arrangement, we take care of the cat and in return we can stay here. We feel remarkably at home in The Hague. Did a lot of shopping and eating Dutch things including the obligatory fish at Simonis and sausage at Hema.
Visit Lons family
We (the family) rented a house in France for a week to see each other. My brother lives in Ireland, we live in Rwanda and my sister and parents in the east (hardly Netherlands). So this seemed a good solution.
The house we rented
The ferry landed around 18.30 in France and we had at least 3 hours drive ahead of us. So a quick meal at a french Mac. Donalds like place and of we went. It turned out that we had the route discription for the place but neglected to print out the actual address. oops. We found the road at around midnight and looked closely at the houses for signs of messy children, Dutch cars and lights left on. None of the above. So we finally decided the go back to the highway and stay in a roadside hotel. There were 4. Number 1 (formula 1) was full, number 2 did not like our card, not our bankcard, nor our master or English Visa. Stupid machine. The computer of number three showed three kinds of room, and only one sort available, so I pressed that button, after entering more data it decided the sort of room I choose was not available. I started to feel like all computers needed to be burnt on a stake together with their programmers. Hotel 4 seemed closed, with a big gate. Desparately I tried the little sidegate and could get in. The computer even worked and gave me a key and code for the gate; the computers are saved (not sure yet about the programmers).
After all this we had a lovely week with all the family. The highlight was a visit to the Astrix park where the kids could play a lot of games, very inventive. Fighting of and with 7 nieces and nephews was very exhausting though. Unfortunately my sister and family had to return a day early; Wouters father was taken to hospital with heavy bleeding, a scary situation, but he pulled through.
The house we rented
The ferry landed around 18.30 in France and we had at least 3 hours drive ahead of us. So a quick meal at a french Mac. Donalds like place and of we went. It turned out that we had the route discription for the place but neglected to print out the actual address. oops. We found the road at around midnight and looked closely at the houses for signs of messy children, Dutch cars and lights left on. None of the above. So we finally decided the go back to the highway and stay in a roadside hotel. There were 4. Number 1 (formula 1) was full, number 2 did not like our card, not our bankcard, nor our master or English Visa. Stupid machine. The computer of number three showed three kinds of room, and only one sort available, so I pressed that button, after entering more data it decided the sort of room I choose was not available. I started to feel like all computers needed to be burnt on a stake together with their programmers. Hotel 4 seemed closed, with a big gate. Desparately I tried the little sidegate and could get in. The computer even worked and gave me a key and code for the gate; the computers are saved (not sure yet about the programmers).
After all this we had a lovely week with all the family. The highlight was a visit to the Astrix park where the kids could play a lot of games, very inventive. Fighting of and with 7 nieces and nephews was very exhausting though. Unfortunately my sister and family had to return a day early; Wouters father was taken to hospital with heavy bleeding, a scary situation, but he pulled through.
Visit Hazels family
The first week of the hollidays consisted of visiting various member of Hazels family. This included some travelling, but all short distances. We loved seeing Gem and Gregs new house and enjoyed our stay there. Needless to say we also did some shopping.
We ended the week by a short visit to Hazels good friend Claire. A short but good visit.
I know I should be writing a lot more here. But people involved know and others are probably not interested. I do wish to thank everyone for there nice warm welcome, we really enjoyed it.
We ended the week by a short visit to Hazels good friend Claire. A short but good visit.
I know I should be writing a lot more here. But people involved know and others are probably not interested. I do wish to thank everyone for there nice warm welcome, we really enjoyed it.
Holidays
It has been a while since our last post, therefore hereby an update.
The first leg of the trip was comical (as often on this route). We checked in and noticed the chairs were not next to each other, so had it changed. After we were behind customs we noticed that they changed the seat from 2a and 3b to 2a and 6b, this would be the first plane that has seats 2a and 6b next to each other. At investigation the romulan looking lady said the flight was fully booked and change therefore impossible. At boarding the plane it became apparent that our handluggage was too large and had to be put in the hold, luckily we anticipated this and there were no breakables in it. It turned out to be free seating and we had two places next to each other. The plane was very bus-like. We had the backbench, the only thing missing was the back window. Had a conversation/interview with an american who each year used his 10 days holiday to visit projects in Rwanda and South Africa, but still didn't know much about Rwanda. Poor bloke had to fly via Amsterdam to the USA, a 20 hour trip.
As usual a lady was awaiting us at Entebbe. Communication was not her strong point. 'How many pieces?'. Pieces of what? Luggage, handluggage? Checked in? Including the handluggage taken off us? It turned out we had to take the handluggage of the luggage band ourselves, this included going past customs without a passport, but nobody seemed to care. The she asked how much weight. We found this a very personal question and the Swedish fellow traveller nearly flipped. We calmed her by telling this is normal and we never failed to get the Amsterdam flight. We knew the weight of our check in luggage still, but others had to guess. (how would they check anyway?). The ultimum question was how many peices in total, by which she meant how many peices of check in luggage all 7 of us had in total. As we were all individuals (I'm not) none of us knew anything of the rest. But luckily the lady figured out that the total can be calculated by adding all the individual ones. So up the never working escalators and the usual disappearing of the lady with our tickets and passports and unknown period of waiting. We finally boarded and all was well.
The flight was fine, although staff was slightly less attentive as last time, even misplaced Hazels breakfast order, without any excuses. Of course little sleep as the flight is 8 hours, so after drinks and dinner and before breakfast we could sleep for some 4 hours.
Arrival at Amsterdam before schedule at around 5.45. We got our rental car and headed straight off. We made it to Breda (last town before Belgium) before 8 and waiting in front of the AH to buy some snacks and a Dutch simcard, as Hazels simcard didn't work anymore. A long uneventful drive to Dunkerque. Got the 14.00 ferry and drove at the other end straight to Farnham.
The holiday could start.
The first leg of the trip was comical (as often on this route). We checked in and noticed the chairs were not next to each other, so had it changed. After we were behind customs we noticed that they changed the seat from 2a and 3b to 2a and 6b, this would be the first plane that has seats 2a and 6b next to each other. At investigation the romulan looking lady said the flight was fully booked and change therefore impossible. At boarding the plane it became apparent that our handluggage was too large and had to be put in the hold, luckily we anticipated this and there were no breakables in it. It turned out to be free seating and we had two places next to each other. The plane was very bus-like. We had the backbench, the only thing missing was the back window. Had a conversation/interview with an american who each year used his 10 days holiday to visit projects in Rwanda and South Africa, but still didn't know much about Rwanda. Poor bloke had to fly via Amsterdam to the USA, a 20 hour trip.
As usual a lady was awaiting us at Entebbe. Communication was not her strong point. 'How many pieces?'. Pieces of what? Luggage, handluggage? Checked in? Including the handluggage taken off us? It turned out we had to take the handluggage of the luggage band ourselves, this included going past customs without a passport, but nobody seemed to care. The she asked how much weight. We found this a very personal question and the Swedish fellow traveller nearly flipped. We calmed her by telling this is normal and we never failed to get the Amsterdam flight. We knew the weight of our check in luggage still, but others had to guess. (how would they check anyway?). The ultimum question was how many peices in total, by which she meant how many peices of check in luggage all 7 of us had in total. As we were all individuals (I'm not) none of us knew anything of the rest. But luckily the lady figured out that the total can be calculated by adding all the individual ones. So up the never working escalators and the usual disappearing of the lady with our tickets and passports and unknown period of waiting. We finally boarded and all was well.
The flight was fine, although staff was slightly less attentive as last time, even misplaced Hazels breakfast order, without any excuses. Of course little sleep as the flight is 8 hours, so after drinks and dinner and before breakfast we could sleep for some 4 hours.
Arrival at Amsterdam before schedule at around 5.45. We got our rental car and headed straight off. We made it to Breda (last town before Belgium) before 8 and waiting in front of the AH to buy some snacks and a Dutch simcard, as Hazels simcard didn't work anymore. A long uneventful drive to Dunkerque. Got the 14.00 ferry and drove at the other end straight to Farnham.
The holiday could start.
I went to prison
I went with two of my colleagues and the project manager of the ministry to see Rwandas top prison: Mpanga prison. The Netherlands is financing the build of the new part where the 'top dogs', who are now in Arusha or Sierra Leone, can be housed. This building has to meet international requirements and is relatively very spacious.
For those interested Mpanga is 1,5 hours drive from Kigali. In Nyanza you take a newly laid road a bit further et voila. The fairly big grounds is surrounded by a wall with barbed wire and watchtowers as you would expect. The grounds hold four main buildings: A building for men genocidairs, a womens prison, a building for 'normal' men prisoners (mostly rapists). This prison is meant to hold all prisoners who have a life sentence. We had a good look at the building in progress which is delayed due to the lengthy tender procedures in Rwanda. This building has two floors and in total 27 rooms, 20 square meters each with own toilet, shower and washbasin. Downstairs holds a kitchen and canteen and upstairs a TV room with kitchenette. The court is huge for only 27 prisoners. The will be let out to play on the soccer and/or basketball fields at separate times from the other prisoners.
The court yard for airing.
The project manager asked me what I thought of the difference between these prisoners, who probably have a better life than an average Rwandese, and other prisoners. I answered that I did agree with him it is not fair, however these are highly political cases.
The building in front is the kitchen, behind that the new building for 'VIP Prisoners'. Photo taken from the football field.
We got a tour around all the buildings. So we casually ask how many prisoners there are; 300, 400...? No, about 5000 Genocidairs and 6000 other, and I forget the number of women, less though. So back to the question, no the difference is not fair; 5000 people in a place not even double the size of the for 27!! We went into the genocidairs building, a square building, open courtyard in the middle, dormitories all around. I counted about 10 doors, therefor about 500 men sleeping together. We didn't look where they slept, but I have a feeling I don't want to. It was a bit weird. thousands of eyes staring at you, but in a peacefull and very passive way. A few things struck me and probably will stay with me. It was very quiet and did NOT smell. Most men were just hanging around, a few were playing a game, one drew my attention, he seemed to be spending a lot of time to put his rag on the right spot for drying, it was a ruglike thing badly patched and in my view not even useful as cleaning cloth, maybe it was more about his 'turf'. There seem to be a well working hyarchy system. Some men with yellow hats were in charge of the order, they kept a straight line in the middle for us to walk through.
The womens prison was much smaller. A lot of women were also working out on the field. When we came in the women were kindly asked all to go to the middle, and they did, again in a very peacefull and obidient way. It was a bit embarrassing. The gave use each a handmade bastket, at least they seem to keep themselves busy. All the doors of all buildings are just open, but I have a feeling if you step outside without permission you might be shot.
All prisoners have an orange suit and if they leave the prison for example for work in the field, they are obliged to wear it. Within the prison most wear something else, specially because they only got one orange suit, no more.
In short an interesting en memorable visit, but glad it took a few hours, couldn't stand spending days or years there.
Friday 3 July 2009
Yet another visit
I went with my colleague to visit the buildings of the Supreme court, which we finance. Two in Kigali, of which one was already in use and one in Byumba near the Ugandan border. There are more around the country, but these are the ones we could visit within a day.
The buildings seem to be all exact copys of each other. Two court rooms, several offices, toilettes on each ends of the coridor. Maybe stating the obvious, but on the picture you see is the front of the building. Visitors are welcomed through the front door and can wait in the hall. The two courtrooms are just behind the hall in the middle of the building, therefor not on the picture. The judge enters the courtroom from the inside (hall) but the 'normal' people enter from the outside, so they have to walk around the building.
left to right: Sebantu (high up court official at the ministry), Quirine (colleague who is cold because this building is on the hill at 2200 meter; it is only 21 Celcius), Me, Local building supervisor.
The buildings seem to be all exact copys of each other. Two court rooms, several offices, toilettes on each ends of the coridor. Maybe stating the obvious, but on the picture you see is the front of the building. Visitors are welcomed through the front door and can wait in the hall. The two courtrooms are just behind the hall in the middle of the building, therefor not on the picture. The judge enters the courtroom from the inside (hall) but the 'normal' people enter from the outside, so they have to walk around the building.
left to right: Sebantu (high up court official at the ministry), Quirine (colleague who is cold because this building is on the hill at 2200 meter; it is only 21 Celcius), Me, Local building supervisor.
Thursday 2 July 2009
Field/road visit
I went on a three day field visit to watch some roads.
I left Monday with a colleague and somebody from the Canadian CIDA who co-finances the programme, and of course the driver. We drove to Butare, further to Nyungwe forest and near the end of the forest we stopped to meet our developing partner Helpage who build the roads, and our escort consisting of a police man and a military Colonel (high up). We drove an interesting road south to stop next to the border where the district office is. An district official (forgot who he is) did the official speech of things we all already knew. We had a quick look at the small bridge dividing the two countries. Because the roads in Rwanda are in a worse state than the Burundian ones, people from that vilage drive via Burundi to Cyangugu, the districts main town bordering Congos Bukavu.
Over the three days we ended op mainly driving various kinds of roads, ranging from bumpy and stony to muddy to flat gravel and asphalt with holes in. The reason for all this is to show us why roads are bad, what is being done at the moment and what the finished roads look like. Why we exactly had to drive the full length of these roads to see this is a bit beyond me. It was tiring, but I did enjoy it.
We stayed in Cyangugu with a view towards the river and Bukavu. The town differs in many ways from Kigali. It seems more african, or should I say Congolese. There are more people on the street, a mix between congolese and rwandans. Some houses are made of wood, as a forest gives wood and there is relatively less clay to build bricks.
Four of us stayed at the hotels, so we ordered a 'breakfast fool'. The full breakfast was bread, omelette and coffee or tea. The coffee was a bit weak. I ordered a spanish omelette instead of a normal one and my Rwandan colleague from CIDA order an onion omelette. The onion omelette looked rather full of vegies, and when my omelette arrived it turned out I got the onion omelette and my friend got mine, as it was already half eaten, we left it as it was. So day two a second change. We ordered four breakfast, noting special. 'Do you want a spanish omelette?' 'No thanks just plain.' '?' 'plain, simple' '?' 'blank, nothing on it' intervention from Kinyarwanda speaking partner 'butros butros gali!' 'Oh'.
So out came three normal omlettes and .... a spanish omlette for the guy who aet mine the day before, we just laughed and continued.
The trip gave us some food for thought. The road we built less then two years ago was in need of repairs, the district claims lack of money. It did not seem relevant we made clear appointments about this a few years ago. He did (want to) understand our question how the financing of road via taxes works in Rwanda. He saw a solution, he will make a plan of all that is needed and then ask different donors for money. The first part we like, the second part not. I seriously doubt if we need to finance roads which are not being maintained.
We did see progress in an other part of the project. They planted lots of trees, beside the road and on the border of the forest. The first to protect the ground from erosion and the other to protect the forest like a buffers zone. There are another 990.000 plants in the nursery to be planted in a few weeks time.
The roads are build in a so called HIMO fashion, intensive manual hand work. A few hundred people are working on different bits of the road and bridges at any given time. 60% are women. Most are jobless, so any job is welcome, they get 1 dollar a day, not much but more then nothing and more than a farmer makes.
Day two we had five minutes of rain, it rains a lot more in this region. The rain happened to fall at the moment we were on a muddy road, resulting in a sliding car, see photo. The mud is sticky (around the wheels) and slippery an ideal combination for disasters.
Apparantly this is how you hold a saw. Not just him, they all do it. The result is amazing, very straight.
Bridge waiting for the concrete to harden.
Nursery
Making the ditch beside the road. This is very hard soil, therefor hard work.
Oops, meant to go straight.
I left Monday with a colleague and somebody from the Canadian CIDA who co-finances the programme, and of course the driver. We drove to Butare, further to Nyungwe forest and near the end of the forest we stopped to meet our developing partner Helpage who build the roads, and our escort consisting of a police man and a military Colonel (high up). We drove an interesting road south to stop next to the border where the district office is. An district official (forgot who he is) did the official speech of things we all already knew. We had a quick look at the small bridge dividing the two countries. Because the roads in Rwanda are in a worse state than the Burundian ones, people from that vilage drive via Burundi to Cyangugu, the districts main town bordering Congos Bukavu.
Over the three days we ended op mainly driving various kinds of roads, ranging from bumpy and stony to muddy to flat gravel and asphalt with holes in. The reason for all this is to show us why roads are bad, what is being done at the moment and what the finished roads look like. Why we exactly had to drive the full length of these roads to see this is a bit beyond me. It was tiring, but I did enjoy it.
We stayed in Cyangugu with a view towards the river and Bukavu. The town differs in many ways from Kigali. It seems more african, or should I say Congolese. There are more people on the street, a mix between congolese and rwandans. Some houses are made of wood, as a forest gives wood and there is relatively less clay to build bricks.
Four of us stayed at the hotels, so we ordered a 'breakfast fool'. The full breakfast was bread, omelette and coffee or tea. The coffee was a bit weak. I ordered a spanish omelette instead of a normal one and my Rwandan colleague from CIDA order an onion omelette. The onion omelette looked rather full of vegies, and when my omelette arrived it turned out I got the onion omelette and my friend got mine, as it was already half eaten, we left it as it was. So day two a second change. We ordered four breakfast, noting special. 'Do you want a spanish omelette?' 'No thanks just plain.' '?' 'plain, simple' '?' 'blank, nothing on it' intervention from Kinyarwanda speaking partner 'butros butros gali!' 'Oh'.
So out came three normal omlettes and .... a spanish omlette for the guy who aet mine the day before, we just laughed and continued.
The trip gave us some food for thought. The road we built less then two years ago was in need of repairs, the district claims lack of money. It did not seem relevant we made clear appointments about this a few years ago. He did (want to) understand our question how the financing of road via taxes works in Rwanda. He saw a solution, he will make a plan of all that is needed and then ask different donors for money. The first part we like, the second part not. I seriously doubt if we need to finance roads which are not being maintained.
We did see progress in an other part of the project. They planted lots of trees, beside the road and on the border of the forest. The first to protect the ground from erosion and the other to protect the forest like a buffers zone. There are another 990.000 plants in the nursery to be planted in a few weeks time.
The roads are build in a so called HIMO fashion, intensive manual hand work. A few hundred people are working on different bits of the road and bridges at any given time. 60% are women. Most are jobless, so any job is welcome, they get 1 dollar a day, not much but more then nothing and more than a farmer makes.
Day two we had five minutes of rain, it rains a lot more in this region. The rain happened to fall at the moment we were on a muddy road, resulting in a sliding car, see photo. The mud is sticky (around the wheels) and slippery an ideal combination for disasters.
Apparantly this is how you hold a saw. Not just him, they all do it. The result is amazing, very straight.
Bridge waiting for the concrete to harden.
Nursery
Making the ditch beside the road. This is very hard soil, therefor hard work.
Oops, meant to go straight.
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