Daves Rwanda Trip, 20081009, Thursday, back in Kigali.
We got a good night's rest after our gorilla tour adventure. Then decided to change surroundings. The Sky Hotel was nice, and certainly a good price, but it was also noisy, and off on the edge of town, and the network was sporadic. And we wanted to have more experiences here too rather than stay in the same place the entire time. So after some research online and in the East Africa travel guide Mandy brought from the Ann Arbor Library (go library!), we decided to try the Magnolia Bed & Breakfast across town. (http://magnoliarwanda.biz/)
In order to be able to settle our bill we needed more cash, since most places here don't take Visa or Mastercard. So we changed some more travelers checks at the Bank of Rwanda (since most places don't take those either- it's pretty much cash only here). It was a bit of a pain, about a half an hour of paperwork and waiting, and there was a fee that was $20ish I think. But in the end it worked just fine. And it was interesting to observe a couple of things in the bank - first that we were the only ones converting from American currency to Rwandan, everyone in front of us was walking away with big stacks of $100 bills. Second, there were signs everywhere pushing VISA. I'll bet in 10 years they're converted over to that being the norm. They'll have cell-phone based remote readers like at Art Fair so vendors don't have to have phone lines or data connections. They'll sell those readers for on the order of $50, probably less, so the little store owners can afford it. And at first the prices will be higher for credit card purchases than for cash, to cover the VISA fees. But it's coming. After all, who doesn't want to not have to carry around huge wads of hundreds of thousands of Frw? :-) It's starting here in Kigali, they're the most westernized/highest on the tech curve, but it'll spread from there.
Finding the Magnolia was amusing. We had an address, we looked at the maps and marked it pretty clearly, even got GPS coordinates and looked at Google satellite images. But then we walked past it several times and couldn't find it, because it has absolutely no indication anywhere via sign or others that this is it. And it's too far hidden behind walls and bushes, as are most of the houses and establishments in this ritzy part of town here (the president, Paul Kagame, lives a couple of blocks over- you can tell where because the street has armed guards at the end 24 hours a day). So eventually we asked one security guard standing nearby (most of these places have security on staff, 24/7, though not armed), who kindly went inside and called for us to find out, told us it was down 3 doors, and we still couldn't find it. I busted out the GPS, it told us we were right on top of it, but we still weren't certain. Then we asked at Chez Robert, and again the guy pulled out his cell-phone, called, and then walked us down to the completely non-descript white security door across the driveway, spoke to the guard, and got us inside. Quite the adventure. The GPS etc., were accurate, it just wasn't labeled. But finally we met Rosine the owner, who is very nice and lives upstairs, chose a room out of the 3 available, and rested for a few before heading back to get our stuff.
It was sad to leave the room cleaner Chantel, who was good friends to Mandy during the time she was here alone, and the others there who were also very friendly. Maybe we'll go back to visit some day, perhaps do dinner, perhaps go dancing at hte night club in the basement that kept us awake so many times. :-) Okay, it was really just me being kept awake, Mandy can sleep through anything, and if I had to predict anything that would be the next step in human evolution, that would be it- the ability to sleep through noise, stress, etc.. The bill ended up being less than we thought, it was only $40/night there (20k Frw), versus $75/night here at the Magnolia (didn't even discuss price in Frw). But, it turns out, here we also get breakfast every morning, and they do our laundry, and the router is hanging right outside our room window. :-)
It was also funny moving across town- our stuff barely fit in the taxi. Granted we weren't as carefully packed as we will be at the end, but it's going to be tough to fit all the souvenirs etc., that we've acquired in our bags. May have to buy more bags. Or find some way to ship stuff. I haven't seen any UPS or FedEx type places. There was a DHL in Butare (Butare trip post coming soon), but it was small, and didn't have any packing materials for sale right there. Same with the main post office. I haven't seen anywhere that sells packing materials here- boxes and such. Another luxury I take for granted back home. We'll do some research soon to figure out if that makes sense, maybe at the tourism office they'll be able to tell us. My backup plan is to stuff most of our clothes and un-breakables in a laundry bag I brought along and check that bag on the flight too.
We did some wandering around the city after getting settled. Mandy had finished up what she was currently getting done and asked if I had anything I wanted to do. Thinking about all the interviews I had coming up I decided I should take advantage of one of the many places around here selling suits we had seen. Then having seen the pictures of me during the Gorilla trek, I decided a haircut was in order. Besides, what better way to experience the every day life of the locals than finding some random cheap place and getting a haircut? :-)
I think I chose poorly which place to get the suit, it ended up costing the equivalent of $300ish after some negotiation down from $400, but it is, I have to say, a very nice suit. And they tailored it for me the same day, while we wandered around the city. That and I don't feel bad supporting the local economy by overpaying.
Random note from our wandering, from a hardware store I was drawn into by the picture of solar cells painted on the wall outside - you can buy a 50 W solar panel in a hardware store in the slightly further away from downtown area here for 200,000 Frw ($400ish?). Or rather that was the initial price he told me, the obviously white and therefore rich foreigner who wandered into his tiny hardware store to ask. I'll bet he could have been negotiated down to 100,000. Few things have actual prices on them. But cool to see advanced tech like that mixed in amongst hammers, corrugated steel roofing, and other low tech items. It would be fascinating to study how a third world country adopts first world technology. Then it would be awesome to figure out what education, subsidies, kick starting of industry, etc., would be optimal for helping them to skip past the most environmentally damaging stages that we had to go through.
We did some searching for hair cut places and, similar to the US, saw on almost every other block a "saloon", which I decided based on the pictures etc., wasn't really targeted at men, and that we'd get laughed at if we went in and asked for a haircut for me. It certainly didn't look like the place I'd seen from the bus somewhere with someone getting a buzzcut that everyone here has. So I determinedly passed those and kept looking. And then, suddenly, with no sign or markings outside, I saw exactly what I'd been looking for- a row of chairs with guys getting buzzed. We wandered in, much to their amusement, and quickly I was seated and under the attentions of the one who spoke the most English (I think that's how he was chosen). This buzzcut was the most intense and attentive haircut I've ever gotten. I think perhaps he was trying to impress the foreigner, because I did see others come and go faster, but that man was an artist with the razor. He not only shortened my hair meticulously on top and around the ears, but the also carefully sculpted the lines over my forehead to make them look intentionally rather than the slowly receding balding that they actually are. He also sculpted and sharpened the sharp of my beard, again to sharp lines. Then came the aftershave, which I've never used before, and the hot towel, and some sort of cream or another on top. All this attention, for 5000 Frw, or about $10. I gave him 500 Frw more as a tip. And I feel sharp now. And I'll also be spoiled for any future haircuts I get - hopefully I can remember enough of his razor techniques to try to apply them myself. Refer to the picture above to see what I'm talking about (yah, the suit helps frame it), and then look back at the gorilla picture of me sitting on the hill all sweaty and frizzy. :-)
In honor of my successful day, we dressed up to go next door to Chez Robert, the nice restaurant that also was where we found someone who helped us find this place. Had a very nice fish dish, much to my surprise since the menu was in French and I ordered somewhat randomly. Something about Beau Bonn Femme? I can't even remember what it was called, but it sure was yummy- creamy mushroom sauce, veggies on the sides. I think it was salmon.
Interesting note during dinner, observing other guests, cell phone conversations are detectable as such in any language. The way people modulate their volume, the tone of conversation, the straining to be heard, and of course the one-sided speech. I also note that talking on a cell phone while at a dining table with others seems rude no matter what language you're speaking in either.
Later, our first night here, we discovered that it was impossible to escape dance parties in this town, as it turns out Chez Robert also has a pretty kickin night scene, and the music went until well after midnight, which is unfortunate when you're trying to go to bed at 10 to get up with the light at 6 am. Oh well, the music at least was good. :-)
Another random note- we haven't seen many pets here. The Magnolia has a pet dog, who is very friendly, especially when you're sitting at the table eating. The swishing sound his tail makes when you look in his direction and the wagging gets even more desperate is striking and amusing, and probably means they never have to sweep the deck there. Also there was a tiny tiger-striped kitten sneaking furtively along behind us at Chez Robert. Not sure if it was a pet, or an interloper, and it didn't approach us enough for us to find out. I've heard some dogs in the distance, and once saw one walking down the road, but only seldom. I'm not sure why that is. Less disposable income to support pets? Just a different set of customs? Hmm.
More pictures of the Mangolia are here:
http://www.thecathouse.homeftp.net/Filez/20081009