I had the pleasure and honor to meet the men and women of Sabuj Battalion or Nepbatt 15 who were ending their deployment as peace keepers in Congo. Last time I met similar contigent of peacekeepers was in Haiti in Dec 2009. I feel such a sense of pride and patriotism to be able to spent 5 days with these brave men and women. They represent our nation with pride and excellence. My humble grattitude to them. From as far as Lebanon, Haiti, and spread throughout countries in Africa, the work they perform as UN peacekeepers is heroic. Their service of pursuing peace, creating a more peaceful, stable, and secure place for people to live is an inspiration for me.
On the 6th of January, I left Kampala to start my journey towards Democratic Republic of Congo. I took the route via Masaka. Tomorrow, the 11th of January, I am hoping to enter Congo via the border of Kasindi from the border of Uganda, Bwera. Right now I am staying with a Nepali man, Mr. Indra Bhat at Kasese, my last stop in Uganda.
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The Nile is pretty much heard about from every angle and from everyone. I have been cycling via the Nile pretty much everywhere I have been in the last few months. The Blue Nile or the White Nile, I have cycled it through. The river Nile is a vital part of many countries in Africa and is source of community identity and pride. The river is like a vein in our body providing many people in the continent with drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, economic benefits for local communities and the nations.
Year 2011 has been a wonderful year and I could not have asked for more to end my tour with a visit to a newly born nation, South Sudan. It was lovely six days visit and I would like to thank the few people in Juba for making me feel so comfortable. With the organization of Siddhartha Shrestha, I had several interviews with the local media. I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for being more than just a good friend; he was helping me since the moment I stepped into the border of South Sudan, Nimule. I would like to thank Alpana Pradhan Amatya for her assistance in every way she knew she could give her support and lastly, I would like to give a big thank you to Ram Prasad Padhya for letting me stay at his house and being a great host.
I will be entering South Sudan later this evening via Uganda border town Bibia and town Nimule on South Sudan side. The country recently gained independence on a historic day for the South Sudanese, 9th July 2011, becoming the 193rd country recognised by the UN. With a population of just over 9 million and new powers, the country is still boiling with rowdy crowds so I have been advised by many people to enter the country via a public transport instead of cycling up the 300 kilometres journey up. Despite their advice, I have decided to journey the entire distance and enter South Sudan using my bike.
I do not like to dwell on the negative experiences encountered during my tour or let it damper my spirit. I am always overwhelmed by people’s generosity, loving, kindness and these are what is ingrained in my mind. However, by sharing my not so good experiences, I hope my readers and fellow travellers will learn to avoid some of the pitfalls of international travels.
source: Conservation International
From Nairobi, I have travelled via Limuru, Naivasha, Nakuru, Timboroa, Nandi Hills,Kisumu, Bumala to reach the border in between Kenya and Uganda, Busia. On the 30th November, I cycled the last distance in and entered my 76th country Uganda. Till today, I have already cycled 812 kilometres from Nairobi to Jinja, Uganda, still a long distance to the capital city. It took me exactly 9 days to come this far.
My journey towards Uganda got delayed by a day because I got into a small accident at the roundabout around Nairobi University. The accident left the back wheel of my bicycle which supports the 100kg of weight I care, bended out of shape. I have had such accidents in Venezuela, Philippines, in Bangladesh with a rickshaw and most recently in Cairo.
I am on my way to Uganda, Kampala from Nairobi, Kenya. It is going to take about 10 days to cover the distance of some 700 kilometres of road travel to reach Kampala. I am a little sad to leave behind the friends I met and made in Nairobi. After New York, meeting Nepalese people along the way has been tougher than I imagined it to be but here in Nairobi, our country’s people have made a nice little fortress, a little Kathmandu in the heart of the globalising city and it feels like home.
Nairobi, home to some three million people, extensive wildlife and United Nations Environment Programme, it has been pleasant.
Currently I am staying with a Nepali family and I am cherishing each second of it before I leave for Uganda soon. After a long stretch of not eating Nepali food and talking Nepal, this is a little touch of heaven. Despite saying that, more than Nepalese, I am more dependent on the country’s native people who will tell me anything and everything I need to know and they will help in everyway they can.