Waking up in a new city, town or village brings a sense of excitement and anticipation. It was no different here in Kigali and I was looking forward to exploring whatever there is to see here.
But before heading out on shank’s mare I spent a while trying to organise a gorilla trekking permit. I wanted to do it in one day, regardless of how early I had to start, and, after veering down a few cul-de-sacs, I got lucky. They couldn’t take me until Monday so I postponed my departure from Kigali by a day and signed up.
Without exception, Kigali is perhaps the safest and cleanest city I have yet to visit in any country in Africa. There isn’t that feeling of mayhem, tainted with the whiff of oil scented pollution that you get almost everywhere else. Traffic is calm and well controlled, with traffic lights that show second countdowns on both red and green. More importantly, these controls are adhered to. The police are very visible but not in an “in your face” or aggressive way. So people are free to get on with their lives in a relaxed yet busy atmosphere.
The way this small country has turned itself around in twenty four years is little short of a miracle, and I don’t have the words to describe how different it is, in my experience, to any of it’s neighbours.
It’s new and modern buildings provide the space that a country like Rwanda needs to offer in order to entice the global corporate world to come in and do business. And you don’t feel that these people will not be suckered by Wall Street or Frankfurt sharks.
I had read, and perhaps you already knew, that the Rwandan government version of Bord Failte have sponsored Arsenal F.C. and, from being here even so briefly, I can see how clever a tourism marketing strategy this is. Hats off to them for their ingenuity and I hope that it works.
Overall it was a pleasant and interesting day. I came back to eat at the hotel and planned to visit the Genocide Memorial the next day which, no doubt, would evoke a very different kind of emotion…..
ZIGZAGGING AFRICA BY MOTORBIKE 