I arrived Rwanda on August 12th 2011. It was probably my best immigration experience to date. With a pre-entry visa and $50 less than 10 minutes later I had a 30 day visa! The immigration officers were polite, courteous and very curious about my reason of entry. My response: To visit a friend..."Welcome to Rwanda.. Enjoy your stay.I hope you like our beautiful country ".I even learnt how to greet in the local language. "Kinyarwanda"......"...Bitey"..Response: "...Biza...". It turned about to be an activity packed 10 days!!Please don't get me started on the "contritok matter"..lol...I was shocked that the whole country of about 11 million speaks the same language!! The official language was recently changed from French to English. The president decided to align the country with East Africa. Talk about a radical and major change...especially in Education!!If you ask me...it is sort of bilingual!!
During my stay I kept asking....What does Rwanda have? I did not get any convincing answers.."hmmm...a good part of the government's revenue is made from taxes", "Tea, Coffee", " ..hmmm...a bit of Tourism....the mountain Gorrilas..."
What impressed me about Kigali (and Rwanda as a whole!)
The organization & infrastructure: clean streets, good roads, nice buildings. The district with the state/gov't buildings is off the hook to say the least! Plastics bags are not allowed in Rwanda...You get a brown paper bag instead!!That partly explains the cleanliness of the streets!
Bike (aka bend skin, okada) drivers wear a coat with an ID number clearly marked. The bike driver and passenger wear helmets!!!
The building/construction Style...Q: Whats up with Zinc in Cameroon? hahaha! On a serious note though...I loved the building/construction style in Kigali..very modern and some houses still had the "African touch"....
The 3 hr ride to Gisenyi was very scenic..All soo familiar....the landscape....hills, tea plantations, pyramid shaped roff tops etc etc. (Trips to Bamenda, Buea??lol) .I really enjoyed my stay at Lake Kivu Serena Hotel..Customer Service,Check.Rooms,Check. Food, Check. Scenery. Check..Lake Kivu is the sixth largest lake in Africa!Lake big sotey..lol...
I think despite the country's history i.e. the 1994 genocide, it is picking up quite well..atrracting returnees from left right and center, tourists, investors, expatriates..etc. Apparently it is the "Model for Africa" for some organizations..
Here is my picture story..Enjoy!
Kigali
If you are thinking about an East African tour...add Rwanda to your list!!OK..Rwanda's unofficial tourism Ambassador...lol..
Where Next? Kenya? Uganda? Tanzania?
TGIT - Thank God it's Thursday...Have a nice weekend.
Y.M.
IRepCamer
lol! u no dey work demain? u have truly sold Rwanda to me. ur pics tell the story of the land of 1000 hills in more than 1000 words! trust MTN for truly dey "everywhere u go". LOL!
ReplyDeletengum
A shout out to my solid fren Yefon Mainsah for visiting me in Kigali and putting up such a wonderful write-up about a great country. Thanks for your visit gurl - you ROCK!!!!! Shiela
ReplyDeletemerde Rwanda is beautiful! All one ever hears about in reference to the conuntry is civil wars and genocides and rapes and etc.....This is not to belittle or imply that they may not be the case. But damn its refreshing to read/hear/see beauty is all that chaos. I need to start making more of an effort to travel and discover other african countries. I see a new year resolution in my horizon:)
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! Yef, this is an exciting write-up. Abou, I'm on my way ... Yef has sold me Kigali, Rwanda 'n den sum!!! C ya in a couple of months!!! Adele
ReplyDeleteYefon, such a beautiful write up. I visited Rwanda twice; in 1996 and 2000. Even back then, I marvelled at how beautiful, clean and organized the country was. I look forward to going back some day. Cameroon needs to wake up and see what the rest of Africa is doing.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you girl.
Miranda Munzu Etti.
Mu the house is ready for Baby B and yourself - just tell me when you plan to get here, shie
ReplyDeleteMy dearest Abou, you know your position nah. Your room is ready waiting for you..........See you soon dear and we will storm Rwanda. Shie
ReplyDeleteGrandest!
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing article! Such a pleasant read especially of a sister country. Your photos truly capture the essence of it and the positive outlook is very reassuring! Perhaps we need to keep S there long enough for a couple more of us to plan a trip there.
Thanks for sharing Girlie! Love it! Love it! LOVE IT!!! :D
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Beri
www.berinow.com
Guys..I appreciate all the kind words!!
ReplyDelete@ Miranda..Camer needs to seriously take a cue!
@Frennnn......to many more visitors!I hope the rooms are ready..lol!
@Yi....what about an East African Tour? lol.Yeah.. I think we need to focus on the positives of our beloved continent...
@ Ngummies...word..you can trust to find MTN "Everywhere you go"...hahaha
@ Mon petite..2012 resolution it is!!WE need to contribute to conteract the bad PR in mainstream media!!
Rwanda has come a long way and hopefully Camer can be next.
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