Late last year after resining from my previous employment and serving out my three-month notice period, I decided to “cool-off” before resuming in my current employment with a 12-day trip to Rwanda. The decision as to which country to go to took less than 4hours to decide. I had always wanted to go to Rwanda again after making my first trip there penultimate year. Rwanda also known as the “land of a thousand hills” is a landlocked tiny country in east Africa.
One good thing about Rwanda for me was that I do not need visa to travel to the country. I quickly got my ticket and good enough, we have a direct flight from Lagos to Kigali – the capital of Rwanda and the flight was about 4.5hours. The fact that I have been there before make the second journey quite easy, I had booked an apartment before I left Lagos and also arranged for pickup cab at the airport. Journey from Lagos to Kigali was quite smooth, airport protocol was quite easy as I do not need any documentation at the airport.
We got to Kigali around 8pm local time and was quite easy locating my pickup taxi. The journey from Kigali international airport to the apartment took about 20minutes. We arrived at an area called Kagarama in the Kicukiro district. The first think I noticed was that Rwandans are obsessed with letter “K”. If not “Kagarama”, it is “Kicukiro” or “Kanserege”. Even the naming of the street usually starts with “KK”. I never bother to ask why though.
The following day, I decided to explore the city and get some foodstuff from the local market. I decided to visit the largest local market in Kigali called “Kimironko” market. In the market, I bought all that I needed to make my stay memorable. I just wanted to sleep, eat and read so I can refresh for the next task ahead. I also planned to do some sight seeing but what was paramount in my mind was just the seclusion part.
One thing about Kigali is that, unlike Lagos, the city is well laid out with clearly identifiable street signs. The city is very neat and orderly. People queue to board mass transit busses at designated bus stops. One amazing thing about their transportation methods is that they also use bicycle for means of transportation. On further enquiry, I was told it’s the cheapest means of transportation and that they are restricted to inner roads. How can one be riding bicycle on a hilly road with passenger at the back? But I guess the citizens are already used to it.
If you have been to Kigali and you did not visit the Kigali Convention Centre, then you have not visited Kigali. The centre is has hosted notable events like the Commonwealth Head of Government meeting and African Union Summit. The centre has 4 major components, there is the 5-star hotel, the conference centre itself, Kigali information technology park and the museum. The centre is a beauty to behold at night.
Security in Kigali is top notch. I moved around at night with ease. It does look to me that the city does not sleep.
to be continued……
SGD
Healthy Living