Amazing Rwanda

Rwanda with her verdant hills

For the holidays, I chose to visit Rwanda because it had the cheapest visa fee at USD30 compared to USD50 of other East African countries... and visa application can

City centre:  no litter

be done online and

Bus terminal:  no litter

obtained within 3 days.  While Rwanda is poorer than Uganda (GDP rank #209 and #203, respectively), she is richer in so many ways to the eyes of a visitor.  Kigali, the capital is a super clean city (and so are the environs).  Use of plastic shopping bags is illegal.  Every last Saturday of each month is a national cleaning day from 7am to 12noon.  Buses don't ply until 12noon on that day.   

Helmets:  a must

Drivers of commuter motorcycles (called boda-bodas in Uganda) wear protective helmets and carry a spare for the passenger.  Policemen are visible in almost every corner of Kigali, and I understand that crime rate is very low.  Rwandans speak French more than English and drive on the right side of the road (Ugandans on the left side).  Traveling around Rwanda sheds no blood, sweat and tears as buses are clean, leave on time, are located in one central station in Kigali - and there are no potholes.

with Josefa (standing) - a Twa pygmy

Rwanda has a beautiful and well-curated National Museum in Butare.  It was awesome to see the men, women and children in

Off to the fields

rural Rwanda walk to the fields before sunrise, carrying their farm implements.  Every arable land seems to be planted with crops.  With a population of 11 million, small can indeed be beautiful.   Go visit Rwanda - her landscape is a great feast to behold.

Lake Kivu