I spent 7 days oin Rwanda (Kigali, Kibuye) and what the hell was that???
I mean, my nervous system has never been as calm as it was while I was in Rwanda. Societal shock to say the least!
I come from one of your chaotic neighboring countries (take a guess 😵💫) and for an upcoming celebration, I knew I had to be by water. Algorithmically, the internet pointed me toward a video of a staycation in Kibuye and I was sold. Booked my bus tickets, packed my luggage, got my Francs and embarked on a solo trip to an unknown land.
I’ve never journeyed that far by bus but it wasn’t a bad experience. On arrival, getting a simcard took me 1.5hours yet I was the first person to be worked on😵💫😵💫 and that was my main qualm during my trip. Like why?
Anyway I stayed in Kigali for the weekend, at a nice accom in Kimihurura and met with friends, went out, toured etc. On day 3, it was time to make my way to Kibuye. Went to Nyabugogo, did the thing where I looked lost and someone helped me get a ticket and board the bus to Karongi. But that bus, Yoh! It was PACKED and I got off very fatigued from the journey but the reward…. wow, the reward was Lake Kivu in its beauty 🥹
I like accommodations with character so where I chose to stay was a no brainer. I was stunned. To make the most of it I swam, did the boat cruises, kayaking, hiking, sunset drinks, meeting people, BBQ, got a celebratory bottle of wine from my host, toured hotels… urghhh what an experience!
On the bus back, I met a Belgian who had spent 2 weeks in Rwanda on a solo trip and we chatted the entire ride about our experience (given we were the only English speakers). I was having it bad with language barrier and being in a new land, but he was having it worse 😂😂 so I helped him get his bus ticket back to my chaotic country where his flight back home was. He definitely has a story for the books.
It was not an easy experience at all but I figured everything out as I went and I had a memorable time 🤍