Kampala is a beautiful city, built on 7 hills. The people are genuinely friendly and cordial. As mentioned earlier, our decision to come to Uganda was facilitated by a wonderful Ugandan man, Isaac, whom we met in Nairobi. Thanks to fate, the 3 of us were waiting for an internet cafe to open. We told him that we would be off to either Malawi or Uganda. With utmost sincerity, he invited us to Uganda and offerred to pick us up on arrival and help us find a hotel. The impression of his offer was so strong that it tipped the scale in favour of Uganda.

Unlike most other places that we visited on this trip, Kampala had a night life. Patios, restaurants and bars were open. People smiled as they walked about, not worried about getting mugged. There was joi de vivre in the air!

Earth bricked St. Paul's Cathedral stands on top of one of the hills,

The Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral stands on top of an adjacent hill. Pictured at right is one of the many magnificent stained glass windows.

In 1945, Stanley Kitaka, a son of an old ruler in the then Kingdom of Buganda, while returning from a political exile in Seychelles, brought with him three tortoise which had been given to him by his friends as send away gifts. It is reported that at the time these tortoise were given to Stanley, they were over 200 years old. Pictured at left is one of the 3 that survive to this day!

We left Uganda from the famous Entebbe Airport, 40 km south of Kampala. The 1976 hijacking site is now occupied by a Uganda Air Force Base. The new international airport is located adjacent to the AFB.

We arrived at Entebbe the day before our flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and spent the afternoon visiting the Entebbe Botannical Gardens. Here and following are some of the highlights.

This is called the crockodile tree because of its roots.

This is a rubber tree. Many of us have owned one at some point in our lives. The one pictured here is the biggest that we've seen.

We are told that the 1930s & 1940s Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films were shot here in Entebbe.

Experts have identified the creature swinging from the vines at right as Modern Day Tarzan (Many vehemently argue that it looks more like Cheeta though!). Note the high tech clothing - quick-dri shirt and trousers, breathable footwear, knap sack with waist belt and pouch for water! We've come a long way from the loin cloth.

This monitor lizard lives on the shore of Lake Victoria (Entebbe lies on the north shore)

These 2 birds are eating seafood. Although Lake Victoria supplies plenty of tilapia, these guys are looking for smaller treats.

We've also seen the egret living in symbiosis with cattle - they pick flies and ticks off. In the Caribbean, they're called cow birds.

Sorry, no hammer cop stories.

There are plenty of dragon spiders in a greenhouse at the botannical gardens. Spider lovers enjoy walking beneath the webs.

These fishermen were casting a net for tilapia off the shore of the botannical garden.

Remember Laugh In!?

Can't remember what kind of flower this is, but it sure is pretty. Too bad that the scratch and sniff technology has not made it to the internet yet.