​My first trip to the African continent was to Uganda affectionately nicknamed “The Pearl of Africa” by Sir Winston Churchill and upon landing, I could see why. The land is richly fertile as evidenced by the beautiful copper colored soil. I was entranced by it’s beauty (who knew dirt could have that effect).

Uganda is bordered by South Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Tanzania and Rwanda to the south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. The capital city, Kampala, where I stayed, is built around seven hills not far from the shores of Lake Victoria, which forms part of the frontier with Kenya and Tanzania.

My three day business trip was too short to do many “tourist” activities such as visiting Lake Victoria, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Kabale or Queen Elizabeth Park to see some Gorillas but I was able to visit the equator.

The equator passes through 13 countries, 7 of which are in Africa so it was only right that I woke up around dusk just to make the one and a half hour trek for some pictures. It was around 7:30am so the souvenir shops were not yet open but was able to beat traffic on the way there. Heading back, once we hit Kampala it was a totally different story.

The traffic in Kampala was reminiscent of the traffic in India although I must say fortunately not as bad, it was still bad compared to NYC driving standards. Cars, bodabodas (motorbike taxis) lined the streets going every which way. Crossing these roads require luck and running skills with hardly a traffic light in sight (not that they matter anyway).

It was an incredible feeling being in the land of my ancestors and looking around and everyone looks like me. And can I just say that the food is amazing! My work colleagues treated me to a traditional African lunch of stewed chicken, matoke (mashed green bananas), mixed vegetables, salad, rice, sweet banana aka plantain (because Uganda is popularly known as a banana republic) and some fresh pineapple juice to wash it all down.

I cannot wait to return to Uganda to explore some more, this time for a much longer stay.

Rice, plaintains, pumpkin and stewed chicken. 😋

Matoke. Mashed green bananas. So good