 maharaja_joe's Bukoba Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | Walking Through No-Man's Land | March, 2007 | |
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| Page Views: 41 Last Visit to Bukoba: March, 2007 | Walking Through No-Man's Land by maharaja_joe - last update: Mar 7, 2007 |
It was a long wait at Masaaka for the bus. I had just come from Kabale, and was waiting at a deserted bus stand. There were small stores, and the families of the store-owners lived in that bus-stand. As I walked through, I could see the food being cooked in aluminum containers placed on burning coal embers. The bus conductor, who was also waiting for the bus, was a friendly guy called Hussain. “Don’t worry, be patient”, he said, sensing my impatience. As we chatted, another guy came along. “Kem Cho” he said, looking at me. “Maja maa”, I replied. Kya Jaye che ? Bukoba. Kem ? Tourism. Oh, farwa ? Ha, I replied. By this time, I was truly curious. Turns out, he was the uncle of the bus conductor. His father was an Ismaili East African Indian, and mother was Ugandan. His gujurati was impeccable, and I was truly amazed at the extent to which the Indian community had built its roots in Uganda. |
The woodlands to the grasslands Soon, the bus came along, and we went on our way to Mutukula, the border crossing with Tanzania. As we moved south, you could see the landscape changing. The plantations started to thin out, the grazing lands began. The brick houses were replaced by mud houses, and finally in some cases, by bandus, the circular mud houses with grass roofs. As Mutukula approached, one could almost sense the start of the Savannah as the trees thinned out and the grass lands began. More and more cattle herds, with their unique long horns. Darkness set in as we reached the border, and one could see the place had no electricity. At the Ugandan border, Hussain beckoned me to get out. |
Uganda to Tanzania After finishing off the paperwork at the Ugandan side, I walked across No man’s land. It’s a weird experience. I was expecting empty land, brightly lit for security reasons, with big gates on either side manned by armed guards. Instead, it was a small village with a road connecting the two immigration offices. There were small stores and even lodges on either side of the road. Touts roamed about enquiring about exchanging currency and arranging for transportation. It was a dark night, and one could only see the flicker of the kerosene lamps on either side of the road. I walked with my backpack toward the Tanzanian side, with four other East Africans. Trucks waited on the other side to begin their entry to Uganda. |
Hello Tanzania The Tanzanian office had electricity, four people with no uniforms, and one uniformed lady who did no work. I looked around, and smiled for the first time on Tanzanian soil: The visa for citizens of all nations was 50 US dollars, except Pakistan and Burundi, for whom they charged 200 US dollars. Tough luck, I thought to myself. They saw my passport, asked me a few questions about my travel plans, and issued the visa. I walked outside the office, toward a waiting taxi that I was sharing with the other East Africans. Before long, we were speeding through the dark night, with the grass lands on either side. Welcome to Tanzania , I told myself, before dozing off. |
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| maharaja_joe's Bukoba Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | Walking Through No-Man's Land | March, 2007 | |
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