Author: Felixie Kipngetich

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.”

— Anthony Bourdain

I hadn’t exactly planned a trip down to Rwanda until Sam mentioned that he’d wanted to head on there although I’d been in Kampala for a while at the time. I reached out to Lucy and in a couple of days they’d both arrived and ready to explore ‘The Land of a Thousand Hills.’

It only took us an overnight trip from Kampala to Kigali without any complications along the way.

Culinary Adventures

I got lucky to have been part of Lucy’s ‘A Foodies Collective‘ experiences which was new to me considering how I normally eat on-the-go without giving much thought to it whenever I travel. This time however, I had such a wide range of wholesome diets for my palate. I recall exclaiming that I’d probably gain a couples of kilograms by the time we were leaving.

Injora rooftop cafe

A favourite especially because of it’s location. It happened to be our first stop since we wanted to have breakfast before checking into our Airbnb. You would initially end up in a bookshop before getting to the cafe area with panoramic views of the city from Kyaciru. It’s simplicity and authentically minimal design made me fall in love with it. I was also really looking forward to having a taste of Rwandan coffee which surpassed my expectations.

Millenium Bar

If you’re familiar with ‘nyama choma locals‘ in Kenya then you’d love Millenium, only that it seemed fancier to me compared to the ones we have here. Which was a great thing for us, although it took a while before we got a patron who could speak English or Swahili. The service was quite impressive as were the brochettes really tasty.

Pili Pili Lounge

Sundowners are ideal for this location since you get to see the expanse of Kigali towards the CBD as well as the sunset with it gorgeous glows. We opted for the upstairs area since we could have some privacy and comfort with a better view. The downstairs is great if you’re a group of people. You also get a variety of meals from the menu.

Lake Kivu

The best part about being around Lake Kivu is you have access to fish whenever you’d like; Lucy had just the ideal place in mind. I never really expected it & I thought we’d head back to our hostel only to end up in the midst of fishmongers. She made the order and we witnessed it being prepared according to her preference.

Creative Scene in Kigali

We were lucky enough to be in Kigali during Ubumuntu Arts festival which is an annual event held in Kigali at the Genocide Memorial grounds.

The creative community in Kigali is quite active and you can always find events in different parts of the city depending on your preference.

Daily Life

The essence of hardwork was portrayed all around as we moved to different parts just by seeing how people went about their daily errands and interacted with each other.

Gisenyi – Lake Kivu

Being a Pisces; I almost couldn’t tell the difference between the ocean and Lake Kivu, only that this time it’s fresh water and with little or no waves. Life in Gisenyi is quite different from that of Kigali. The people are so vibrant. We stayed at Discover Rwanda Gisenyi which seems to have been one of those colonial era mansions converted to a boutique hostel & with just a couple of meters from the sandy Gisenyi beach. Their accommodation package includes a sumptuous breakfast & the food from the menu is mostly from the Rwandese cuisine which was an advantage on my end as I was looking forward to having a taste of that.

The hues at sunrise and a cold swim at dawn is ideal as the sun warms your body as it rises with rays reflecting on the water with tiny ripples. You can’t miss a couple of people fetching water from the shores of collecting any litter that might be on Gisenyi’s white sandy beach.

In the evening the sunset is so beautiful, even made better by the swimmers from the jetty. It’s a whole mashup of activities showing the joys of being a local. Heck I wanted to move there just so I could always have fun and enjoy with friends by the lake in the evening.

Kigali Genocide memorial

The memorial was the most emotional part of my visit to Rwanda. Having learnt all about the genocide from primary school and seeing, reading and hearing stories from the archives of Kigali Genocide memorial really gave me a clear perspective of how it all happened and the effect as well as progression of the people who were victims. After taking the tour, we didn’t really talk to each other for close to thirty minutes since everyone had alot to process.

Picture by Sam

Travel has always had a direct impact on me and my initial point in life. At the time I was in Rwanda I was going through a huge shift in my life and having all these experiences really helped. The people I met along the journey have since become like family to me. I stared in awe at the beauty and abundance in the location and this brought gratitude and contentment. I live for spontaneous plans full of challenges and the eventual adventure in between full of peace, clarity, love and joy.

Things to note:

‘Motos’ – motorbikes are very convenient to get around Kigali.

It helps if you have links with a local if you’re from an English-speaking country and don’t understand Kinyarwanda or French.

There’s so much to Rwanda and a stay of more than one week is ideal to explore the country fully.

You have a lot of options for accommodation but Airbnb or a backpackers is preferred as opposed to staying at a hotel if you’re on a budget.

You can take a bus from Kigali to Gisenyi. There re several options available but I’d recommend ‘Ritco’ for convenience purposes.

Huge thanks to Nadine Ndayisaba for the link up and taking the time to ensure our stay in Rwanda was worthwhile.

Pictures taken using iPhone 6.

Have you been to Rwanda before? Be sure to share your experience with us.