So I just got home from Burundi. I have to say, it definitely exceeded my expectations. I left Rwanda on Thursday at 10 AM and made the 7.5 hour bus ride (a little longer than normal) to Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. Crossing the border proved very easy, and I did not get hassled or robbed like people would like you to believe. Overall, I had a relatively safe and hassle free trip! But anyways, we arrived in Bujumbura to the most BEAUTIFUL rainbow I have ever seen... and we also could see the beautiful lake, Lake Tanganyika. We went straight to the bus station where I purchased my bus ticket back to Kigali for Sunday at 10 AM. Then went to go find a hotel. We ended up having to pay 30,000 FBR (the equivalent of $15.00 pp). Luckily the next two nights we only spent 15,000 FBR on rooms ($7 pp). Overall, I was concerned about my $$ but we spent relatively little money. After securing the hotel room and meeting up with my roommate, who flew into Bujumbura, we headed to dinner and did a little night sightseeing (even though we couldn't see much). We then met up with some people that she had met on the airplane and hung out with them and their friends for the remainder of the night. They must have been the high rollers in Bujumbura and it was nice to know that we had people whom we could trust. After that, we went home and passed out after a long day. The next morning we woke up and went to Saga Beach. The beach was GORGEOUS and we quickly met people at one of the local spots called Bora Bora. We sat on the beach, tanned, swam, and I made some hemp bracelets. Overall, it was amazing. We didn't have any crocodiles swimming up to us either, which was nice =). I came back in one piece. We basically did the same thing the next day as well, except we also went to an East African Expo where I purchased some gifts (my sister's graduation present and Andrew's birthday presents). Then we visited the French Cultural Center and my roommate bought a Burundi art piece made of wood. That night, we had the chance to stay at a REALLY nice hotel with our Burundian friends. We were shocked when we saw showers with hot water and saunas! It was exquisite. However, the mattresses were pretty hard... but that is life in Africa. We were just happy to have some sort of luxury. It felt amazing.
I saw plastic bags, and noticed a stronger stench while in Burundi. As you may or may not know, Rwanda has banned plastic bags. All you environmental nerds rejoice! It is actually a lot better for the environment here because without a very organized waste management system like in the US, African cities tend to be very dirty with loads of trash on the side of the road. But without plastic bags and with very strict littering laws, Rwanda is one of the cleanest countries in all of Africa. As a matter of fact, now that I've traveled to the capital of Uganda and Burundi, I can see a drastic difference between Kigali and those cities (Kampala and Bujumbura). I am sure much can be said for other cities in Africa as well.
Onto Burundi culture, I was shocked to see more openness there. There were kids openly dancing in public and there were more dreads than I have seen anywhere in Africa thus far. Also I noticed an excessive amount of red, yellow, green, and black bracelets, the Rasta colors. Obviously there is more of a Rasta culture in Burundi than anywhere else I had seen. I was shocked because most of the people that are from Burundi have some kind of connection with Rwanda, however I have not seen it anywhere in Rwanda. Rwandans are EXTREMELY reserved and not very open about expressing their opinions on matters. As a matter of fact, they are oftentimes scared that if someone complains about them at their job, they will get fired (which is more than often the case). They also never eat in public (it is a part of their culture) and NEVER would dare to kiss in public. Even talking about that with Rwandans can make them cringe at the idea. They would rather be beaten to death than have to kiss someone in public. It is just a very very bad thing to do. Very different from the open affection people show in America. Although I didn't see any Burundian kissing in public, I could see it more likely to happen there than in Rwanda. I have still, to this day, never seen a Rwandan kiss in public. I would honestly be shocked at this point if I did.
Anyways, I have attached a few pictures from my trip. Hope you enjoy. I want to hear your feedback about my blog so leave me some comments people!
Rainbow over Bujumbura
Saga Beach
Burundian overlooking the beach
Fishermen
Gathering beach sticks
Eating a banana on Saga Beach
Snake
Us in a boat on Lake Tanganyika