6 days into the trip we visited possibly the poorest area of Kampala; the slums at Katanga. This is a place where many refugees from Rwanda and other surrounding countries have ended up, as well as unfortunate Ugandans who failed to find work in the city.

Walking down the streets is like stepping back in time to working-class Victorian London. The streets are littered, narrow, slicked in sewage, and stifling from the aura of cramped living. Yet these are the places people wash, cook, sell from tiny stalls, and where children play. It really is, from the perspective of an MEDC inhabitant, a piteous existence. Yet, even here there is music, and smiling, and the kids' faces light up when you sneak them some sweets from your pockets. No-one complains, life just goes on. They are fully aware that until the Ugandan government acknowledges the severe state of their living standards, very little can be done in the way of improvement, so for the moment, they carry on.

We were advised not to take people's photograph in the slum unless they gave permission, not for fear of a violent reaction, but because some people may be suspicious about what we would do with the photographs. In which case, I snapped the rooftops of the slums. The sad thing is, I took this photograph from the grounds of Kampala's Mulago Hospital, a place the slum residents desperately need, but cannot afford.



Now, moving on to Kabale; a smaller town about 200 miles south west of Kampala and in the Southern Hemisphere, hence the touristy-ness.





Here was quite the experience! Our arrival to our place of residence for the next three nights was not without complication. A twelve hour minibus journey meant we arrived in the dark, and the weight of people plus suitcases restricted the bus scaling the imposing dirt track up a hill. When we did manage to walk/be dragged to the top, our accomodation was a shell of a building, basically walls, a front door, and some beds. 'Roughing it' is rather appropriate. Yet after a few days, we did learn to love it, pit latrine and all. And later I shall come onto our transformation of the place.

Whilst we were in Kabale, we visited beautiful Lake Bunyoni, the deepest lake in East Africa. This is definitely a prospect for Uganda to set up a tourism base. Unlike more famous Lake Victoria, it's suitable for swimming and boating on, and virtually untouched and unspoilt by mankind.





Lastly on this topic, a few scenes of Queen Elizabeth National Park. I have plenty of wildlife photos taken here coming up later.





The Kazinga Channel, the place where I got my best wildlife snapshots. It's said that the boat trip across its waters is one of the things you must do before you die. Can't disagree with that one.



Sunset in the park is unlike any other. The sky becomes brilliant orange, and ground dusky, and the naked eye can see the sun sinking behind the mountains.



People photos coming up next post.