Thursday 14th

Oh how I love an early start to the day! Four am is really not so gruelling when it marks the start of an adventure! Our bus left Nyabugogo at 7.30 am, and I needed time to pack, bucket shower and pick up Mike from his house.

We have been hoping to stay with Faith's family in Uganda but so far have not been able to get hold of her. Hopefully this will change in the next few hours.

We inspected six bus companies this past week in order to find the plushest, most comfortable way to travel. Eight hours is after all, quite a long way to go. We finally decided on Akamba, new to Rwanda but long established in East Africa. The bus we checked out had soft, armchair like seats with working power sockets and big windows. Perfect.

The bus we boarded on Thursday morning was considerably less comfortable but still perfectly adequate. It was dirty and wreaked of BO; the seats were torn and there was no power, but despite all this I couldn't help but feel it was better than anything a UK bus service could offer.

Well stocked with pastries, fresh fruit and crisps we started our eight hour journey to Kampala.

The ride was much bumpier than I had previously considered possible, but I think that's mostly down to shot suspension rather than a poor quality of road. Our aim was to watch 24 the whole way, but after 30 minutes we both had to take travel sickness pills and focus on not throwing up everywhere.

We reached the border within a few hours and crossed on foot into Uganda. It was pissing down with rain and we were before long soaked through to our underwear. The next three hours were cold and wet. The rain came through the closed windows and neither Mike nor I had thought to bring an extra jumper.

Having not heard from Faith, we booked on arrival into Excellent Hotel in Kampala city centre, just inches away from the Walk to Work protests. Our rooms were on the seventh floor and there was no lift. Excellent, I thought to myself. The rooms were clean and comfortable but it was hardly the Hilton. Had I been the one to name the it I would have called it 'Adequate but not Great Hotel'.