Kigali - Rwanda

After lunch, I checked out of the Auberge do Gisenyi and went to catch my 1.30pm bus. I went with Virunga Ponctel, a company that is a bit more expensive but their medium sized buses are very comfortable and they don't stop much. I had 2 seats to myself for a while and my large backpack on was the floor under a neat near me so I could keep an eye on it. I was on my way to Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda and my last stop before going to Tanzania. The road to Kigali backtracked to Ruhengeri and rained most of the way. In Ruhengeri we picked up more passengers and they bus was now full but not cramped. 2 hours from Ruhengeri and we reached Kigali. As side from a few potholes, the road was in great condition and there were never ending views of clouds and culitvated hills.
There was a bit of traffic as we entered Kigali but it tapered off as I got further away from the bus station. I took a motor taxi to the Gloria hotel, even though it wasn't far, I didn't feel like walking the hilly streets with all my stuff. Before going getting a room at Gloria I checked out 2 local dives for a really cheap room. They both offered tiny, dank, windowless cells with smelly shared facilities for about $8. I thought I would check out the better Gloria after seeing what was on offer for cheapest of the cheap. The room at Gloria was slightly larger, on the second floor with 2 big windows and an attatched bath. The guy was asking too much for them but I asked for a discount and got the room for just over $10. It wasn't even worth that but I wasn't going to find anything else decent for this price. The place had been neglected for a while, there was no longer running water and the light in the bathroom didn't work, but it would do for 2 nights and was in the center of the city.
I took a cold bucket shower and headed out to find food. I treated myself to channa masala, rice and a large Mutzig beer at the Ice and Spice restuarant. It was a tasty meal, though expensive. I was supposedly in the center of town but was surprised at how calm it was. Hardly any traffic and people walking the streets. Maybe it's just because it was the evening, I thought.
I just relaxed in my room for the evening.

Sunday morning I woke up at 8.30am and had to search while for a place to find breakfast. After breakfast I went to check the city's best bookshop and then some places for souvenirs. The bookshop was open and I didn't buy anything but wrote down a few titles to look for later. This being sunday, all the souvenir shops were closed as was mostly everything else. I walked up and down the streets of the center. Kigali is the least busiest of any capital city I've ever seen. I liked it. No traffic, no pollution, no crowds and hardly any litter on the streets. I went by the famous Hotel Des Milles Collines, the real Hotel Rwanda, though most of the movie was filmed in South Africa.
In the afternoon I went to the Kigali Memorial Center, dedicated to the Rwandan genocide and genocide around the world. It was a sad but informative place. It started with all about the Rwandan genocide and then genocides around the world and ended with life size photos of massacred children and their favourite food and toys. Very depressing stuff but everyone should see it so nothing like this happens again. Anyone unfamiliar with the genocide should at least watch Hotel Rwanda and Shake Hands With The Devil to get an idea of the madness that unfolded there for 100 days in 1994.
I didn't do much the rest of the afternoon since nothing was open. I liked just walking around the city. Tomorrow I have to begin the long journey to Arusha, Tanzania. From there I'm going to arrange a safari. After that I go back to Nairobi and come home in 10 days.