Zim was unique. At that point, I already spent almost two months in East Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi), and my entrance (into Harare) was an eye-opener. A saw white people. Not tourists or the occasional white person, but actual residents. Lots of them. They had nice cars and went into nice stores. Good luck finding stores in East Africa.
Technically, my first stop in Zim was the Chimanimani Mountains. Lovely day hike. But it was on the border with Mozambique (I only traveled through Moz) so it felt the same.
Harare was a nice enough capital. I was amazed that the national museum was actually selling the art it was showing. Amazing pieces for great prices. If I was not traveling for months (and I actually had a home), I would have purchased some art. Amazing sculptures. Zim had the best sculptures, Malawi the best wood cravers. Went to a jazz club, more first show in Africa.
I did not do any safaris in Zim (did them in Uganda, Tanzania and Namibia), but I went to a place called Antelope Park. I had mixed feelings about it.
The great Zim ruins were interesting because it is the oldest manmade structure in sub-Saharan Africa. Nothing else of its kind on the entire southern half of Africa.
Took an overnight train from Bulawayo to Vic Falls. Slow. Decripit. Beer was $1 (cheaper than a supermarket) and we finished their entire stock. Plus our liquor. They called ahead to get more at another stop and we finished that as well. Fun fun times.
Victoria Falls of course was amazing.
I highly suggest going to Africa for vacation. I dream about going back. Was more of a fan of Southern Africa over East Africa.
Overall I felt safe in Zimbabwe. Better than Cape Town and forget about Jo'burg.
Indeed, you will find very few that would argue with that. Also, there are clear economic and social benefits to little/no corruption. However, Rwanda's good fortune in fighting corruption in a sea of systemically corrupt countries (the neighboring DRC and Burundi are notoriously corrupt, but that still pales in comparison to Kenya, a country that hosts numerous Rwandan nationals) stems almost purely from the political will of one man- Paul Kagame. Without the political authority and moral mandate that he wields, these anti-corruption policies would be no more effective than they are in countries across East Africa (Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi, DRC, Uganda, and Kenya are among SSA's most corrupt countries, and all are within 3-hour flights from Kigali; this shared geography also means that East African countries have shared political, social, and economic fortunes/identity. For instance, numerous Rwandan citizens see Kenya/Uganda as a second home. For example, my childhood pastor was Rwandan and so were many of those that I went to primary school with. I say this to emphasize the fact that Rwanda is not uniquely tooled to fight corruption, just uniquely ruled).
>find a proper black middle class
I doubt Rwanda is the only EA country with a proper middle class. I also doubt that any such middle case would (entirely) owe its very existence to anti-corruption policies. A far, far larger percentage of Kenyans fall within the ADB's classification of middle income than their Rwandan counterparts. Kenya is a significant (if not the most significant) source of foreign direct investment to Rwanda. In addition, Kenya also has the highest per capita car ownership anywhere in this part of the world. I am really not trashing Rwanda, just saying that when put in perspective, the country still has a long way to go.
You did not mention the genocide or the country's attempts to recover from it. Perhaps there is something to be said of the matter. Over 100,000 people lost their lives in 100 days at the hands of neighbors, students/teachers, relatives, etc. The shock of the genocide is something that,as a Kenyan, I can relate to. Not too long ago (2008-09), over 1,000 people lost their lives to post-election violence. In the aftermath, a coalition government was formed, a new and superlatively progressive constitution promulgated, land reform enacted, and former adversaries became formidable political partners. A lot has yet to change, but the impact of those clashes can still be felt to this day. Rwanda rebounded by centralizing power in an evidently aggressive and autocratic political leadership: 'contrarians' were exiled and speech constrained/censored. For instance, it is anathema to explore the role that Kagame's Rwanda Patriotic Front played in the '94 genocide. The revisionism of the present government has become an important concern, but only for those outside the country's borders (or reach). This response is somewhat comparable to China's efforts at enforcing a sanctioned narrative around the Tiananmen protests and killings and is not a sustainable path to enduring peace. Surprisingly, this is something that I am seeing more of in Kenya, where two of the chief adversaries in the post-election violence are now political incumbents. That said, Rwanda has made an impressive social and economic recovery from the unimaginable tragedy that it suffered two decades ago. Regardless, it is far from becoming the sought of tech hub that CNN and others would like us to believe.
The difference between Rwanda and Uganda/Tanzania as an outsider is immense. The roads are in good condition and there are no speed bumps because the drivers are not reckless. Bodaboda drivers will give you helmets! (granted, they probably are so old that offer no protection). Little trash on the streets. Uganda/Tanzania are filthy filthy countries.
I briefly mentioned that genocide and only because of the context of economics. Rwanda derives a fair amount of money from the UN and other international grants post-genocide. I met a fair amount of volunteers because of these programs. I found that the current government has down a decent amount to recognize the genocide. There are memorials at most mass burial cites. The genocide museum is very well done. It is not the Rwanda genocide museum, but simply a genocide museum. It covers all the genocides in recent history. Ultimately, there was little to do in Rwanda (a 4 hour nature hike was $50!), so I left after 6-7 days. Spent most of it relaxing by Lake Kivu.
I have grown up in Dar es salaam, Tanzania and have travelled a lot in the East African countries and I am quite surprised by that statement.
I am guessing it had more to do with the areas you went to/lived in. There are definitely filthy places and slum areas but there is also the good parts of town with good roads in Dar / Arusha and other cities. In that sense, even San Francisco and other cities that I have lived in in the US have filthy areas. Of course, it's more pronounced in these African countries but I wouldn't associate these countries with filthiness.
If it's the villages and small towns you were referring to, I think these are more or less similar in the way they are all across the area.
On a side note, I have recently been visiting Kenya more often (my dad works in Nairobi) and I would recommend anyone planning a trip to this side of the continent to consider Kenya + Tanzania trip(Masai mara + Serengeti, Ngorongoro). Especially if you're a nature and wildlife lover. It will change your life.
I spent very little time in Dar. It basically was the gateway to Zanzibar. Because of its reputation for crime and not wanting to be in cities but in nature, we only spent two nights there. As a music lover, I really wanted to visit places such as the ones described here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/travel/where-tanzania-taps... I was there at the wrong time (Sunday nights) and the venues were far from my hotel. Would have loved to go if I knew someone.
I had better safaris elsewhere, but Ngorongoro itself is magical.
Yes, this has been my experience. It is simply hilarious.
>Konyagi
Yeah, ain't that a sight. By "bags" you surely meant plastic bottles, no?
I only saw them in East Africa. The streets were littered with them. Very cheap and poor tasting. Basically ethanol and flavoring. Konyagi & juice. Disgusting, but I wish I was back on the beaches of Zanibar having a few.
I have had little opportunity to travel to other countries myself, but I imagine that infrastructure quality is something that sticks out almost immediately. If you do come to Kenya (Nairobi in particular), the 20 km journey from the airport to the city center peels away a lot about the country: the notoriously in-your-face drivers, the defiantly corrupt traffic police officers, and the unforgettably poignant stenches (along certain stretches of the road) to say nothing of the potholes.
>Little trash on the streets. Uganda/Tanzania are filthy filthy countries
I have heard people express the same sentiment about Rwanda and frankly, yet I cannot bring myself to picture it. You see, there is a lot of filth in Nairobi, so much so that the government spends millions (of shillings) trying to re-educate people. But things used to be a lot, lot worse. Up until 15 years ago, Nairobi's central business district was unimaginably littered, men urinated when and as they liked/pleased, street urchins filled the back alleys (with both their excrement and presence), and nobody seemed to care. A lot of these things still happen to this day. But it is in the 'suburbs' that things are really out of hand. Recently, Madonna shared a picture that, in essence, summarizes the state of Kenya's 'suburbia' [https://www.instagram.com/p/BHZ6gW6h-95/?taken-by=madonna]. That picture is not an outlier, and I can personally confirm that this is the case in many places, including places that I frequent regularly. Kenya too has many such filthy places. This is not an elitist view, just the sad truth.
>genocide museum
I do not know how I would react in such a place. I abhor violence and would probably come away from the experience deeply traumatized. It is a complete shock that humanity is capable of such heinous crimes. What is even more shocking is that these sort of crimes never stop: every human generation has lived through similar genocidal events: Genocides in history [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocides_in_history]; Genocide of indigenous peoples [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_of_indigenous_peoples... Category:Lists of massacres by country [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Lists_of_massacres_by... List of events named massacres [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_events_named_massacres].
>Ultimately, there was little to do in Rwanda
Aha, the hype is busted! Just kidding. Planning to take a trip later this or next year so I am going to have to find something to do, won't I.
PS: Any key take-aways: spots, activities, food?
I have heard similar things said about the country. During the 2010 Football/Soccer World Cup held in South Africa, a number of Kenyans (and expatriates) took several road-trips and came back with news of just how cool some of those places were. Malawi was always mentioned as this 'virgin' and exotic hinterland- and this coming from fellow Africans. But $750 for Gorilla viewing is maybe a little pricey. Here in Kenya, the Giraffe Manor charges upwards of $500/12-hour stay for the boarding experience and the intimate interaction with on-site Rothchild giraffes [1]. Of course, these prices are way beyond what the average Kenyan [2; 3] could afford and I suspect the $750 asking price for gorilla tours in Rwanda is equally limiting for residents there. Although prices are usually lower for natives/residents/citizens compared to tourists, most of the former rarely get to enjoy their own natural heritage and history (parks, historical sites, etc.). For instance, park entry fees at the famous Kenyan Maasai Mara National Reserve is $10 for citizens and $70 for non-residents. Add that to a $4 charge for vehicles and $100 for campsite reservation [4], the logic of going for such a trip quickly crumbles. Furthermore, this is in a country where the average hourly income (for those that are employed) is about a dollar. That said, the novelty of seeing animals in the wild can be lost to people that live near these parks: where is the point of paying to see an elephant when they routinely savage your farms and drink your alcohol [5; 6]. [1] http://www.thesafaricollection.com/properties/giraffe-manor/ [2] Here is a fairly accurate picture of what it costs to live in Nairobi: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country... [3] Here is an equally accurate estimate of minimum wages across Kenya: http://www.wageindicator.org/main/salary/minimum-wage/kenya [4] http://www.maasaimara.com/entries/park-fees-2 *USD 1= Kshs. 100 [5] http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Sh18-4m-released-for-animal-att... [6] http://www.livescience.com/24678-is-every-single-elephant-a-...
I have traveled through ten sub-Saharan countries and Rwanda does stick out. While many countries, especially in East Africa, have terrible infrastructure, Rwanda is "civilized". Working traffic lights, street lights even on minor roads in towns, decent roads. It was the only country in East Africa where I was able to easily find a proper black middle class. I did ask locals why this is the case, and they all point to the anti-corruption initiative. It is true that much money comes from the UN post-genocide and from methane gas, but this money does make it's way to society.
That said, I have a far better time in Mugabe's Zimbabwe and Zuma's South Africa. :) Corruption on that level is so blatant and destructive.