Gulu

If you have heard about the rebel Kony, then you have certainly heard about Gulu. By the way it is pronounced as "GU LOU."  it is located in the northern part of Uganda, about 5 hours drive from Kampala. The road is good all the way. Good here meaning it is turmac all the way. The traffic is not heavy at all especially after you leave Kampala.

I made my first ever trip to Gulu about 12 weeks ago. I was motivated by the fact that the people of Gulu have gone through a very difficult time of war until 5 years ago. For a period of about 20 years, all we heard about Gulu was: war, child soilders, camps, abduction, suffering, name it. Can you imagine being born, growing up and all you have known is war! terrible.

Gulu town

The town is now back to normal and has become a tourist destination. Infact you find more tourists in Gulu town than the natives. As a result the cost of living in Gulu town is higher than in Kampala. Alot of organisations especially NGOs and banks have branches in Gulu town. You will mostly find stuff to get by only that it will be more costly. In the supermarkets, items cost between ugx500 and ugx 1000 more.

uchumi supermarket

I also discovered a bakery that makes nice confectionery right opposite the taxi park. I was able to buy a freshly made muffin to munch on my way back to Kampala.
Accomodation;
Depending on how much you are willing to spend,there are the high end hotels and then the shoe string kind of places. I noticed coronation street having lots of the affordable but relatively good places. Do not be deceived by the outside, please get in and actually look at the rooms before you pay. I noticed that the good places were not exactly very attractive from the outside. Talk about not all that glitters.
Customer experience;
If you have been to other places around Uganda, don't expect too much care in Gulu please. Customer care is not their thing, they will seemingly shout at you, but  thats just them. My worst experience was when I enquired about a service that I was not satisfied with and the attendant turned to a colleague and complained that I was bad. Ofcourse they said that in the local dialect but I happen to know that particular word. Well, they ended up not attending to my issue anyway. It is not a rare occurence to be involved in bitter exchanges with the staff in places. I noticed the staff of Acholi inn are however very polite.

places....

These are the Karuma falls, found along river Nile. Very beautiful . This is on your way to Gulu town.

the people

Perhaps one of the most motivating thing about travelling on the bus is the possibility of meeting new people. Meeting new people does not equal to good. Sometimes you meet the most nasty people.  Take for instance this guy.

He said he was going to arrest me for taking a picture of the bus park. imagine!
 well, i told him i had deleted his picture( well, i did but i didn't realize they were many pictures i had taken)

then there are the nice ones like this sweet girl I met in Gulu town. She runs a restuarant just next to the park where the other "wicked" man is. She is so friendly, offered to look for a charger to have me charge my phone. She let us sit in her restuarant with all the luggage while we waited for the bus. This was close to 80 minutes of waiting. She also communicated with the bus men in the local language and established that the bus was actually on its way. Earlier own we had been decieved by those very men that there was no bus!

The hills are lined....

One of the things I enjoy on my bus journeys is the scenery!

The Bus

I always try to take a comfortable seat on the bus. Not  so near the back of the bus, not so much to the front and not in line with the wheels. It has to be by the window, but the window must be able to open and shut. 

                                           i missed the window seat by a whisker

Aboard a typical bus in Uganda you will find different categories of people: the school children, the business men, the white tourists, the corporate guy and then the bus staff merely called staff. If it is in the morning like I like to travel, the bus interior will be clean and you may see afew wet seats. Most buses have a dvd player so that you are entertained with local videos throughout the trip. Mostly they will be in luganda and if the bus conductor is styled up, he will also have movies. But I must warn you that these are translated and have been voiced over in luganda. Never mind that the destination of the bus most times is to some non luganda speaking town.

Well, I don't like the local videos and neither do the translated movies excite me. i enjoy my bus trip never the less. 

I always make sure I am armed with a camera, a book, a newspaper, music. That way, im good to go.  along the way, the bus will stop at atleast one small town, usually half way the journey or not quite where you can be able to buy something to eat and some water too. 

I always carry a bottle of water though and cookies! if you are like me, you may want to avoid drinking much on your way or before because the toilets are either very dirty or non existant. On my trip to soroti, I was surprised when the bus stopped at a certain corner, i noticed it was all bushy and one by one passengers got off the bus and used the bus as a universal toilet. it was funny because, being that the bus is raised, on the bus you can see over the bushes!!  other places i have travelled to actually had decent places to use as toilets. It would mostly be at a petrol station or a bus park!

The bus mostly moves at 80Km/hr but i have sat in quite faster ones. the bus ride is comfortable when the driver is not over speeding but when he decides to, its such a bumpy ride and if you ask me, not nice at all!