Mon 13th..A good start with breakfast and a 10 minute walk to the bus stand.  Immediately climbed into a bus and by 08:40 we were off.
Huge hills along the way; such a feature of Rwanda. A long section of road breaking up badly. Another section being upgraded to 4 lanes apparently. As a result it was 5hrs to Nyabadogo (I was expecting about 3-4), the Kigali main bus stand. Checked buses to Mwanza….  32,000Rwf (£21)..leaving 3 a.m. Kaizen Htl check in; very good for its proximity to the bus stand. Got a discounted room with a little balcony for 25,000…down from 30,000.
Bought water and went across the road for a couple of Virungas. Talked to a guy called Patrick then back across road for a nice chapati. I would’ve had beans but they were all out. Had one beer in the hotel bar then went to bed.

Tues 14th. Got the 08:00 reception call asking if I wanted breakfast in my room. I politely declined. I wasn’t going to get into how problematical it is to eat food on your bed when you don’t have a table or chair in your room.
I did a money count and found that I had enough for the hotel (25,000) and the bus to Mwanza (32,000) and 16,000 left over. So I had £10 to see me through my last day in Rwanda…plenty.

Walked to the business district as an activity; the mission being to find somewhere to have a coffee. I arrived very sweaty after a long uphill climb and having to make use of my umbrella again. Found a café but not very nice coffee and more expensive than I was expecting. The rain didn’t last too long.

I called in at Kandt House museum on the way back down the hill ; he was the German Administrator at the time of the German colonial rule in about 1907. The entrance fee was 8,000 and I only had about 12,000Rwf on me, so that was an easy decision, and I wasn’t that interested anyway.

The sun was shining so I washed my shirt and relaxed on my balcony. There was some back and forth regarding a lack of hot water…it was never resolved. A cold shower didn’t feel quite so cold on a hot day and in mid afternoon. I went across the road to New Orleans where I had agreed to meet Patrick. We had one drink then went just a few minutes up the road where I really had to taste the popular snack of baked potato. It looks like, that after boiling, the potato is cut in half and fried with herbs/spices. Really delicious.  Back to New Orleans for a drink, then I said goodbye to Patrick; I went across the road and bought a yummy chapati (I had eaten them from there before) which I ate on my way to the hotel. Had one drink and retired to my room to try to get enough sleep before my alarms went off at 2 a.m. so I could leave for the bus stand by 2:30 to catch my 3 a.m. bus to Mwanza. So, full circle back to Kigali to round off my interesting 2 weeks in Rwanda. Of course I felt much more comfortable the second time around in Kigali as I knew its layout.

Some of the main differences between Rwanda and the rest of E Africa :-

They drive on the right.
Zebra crossings are safe as drivers observe the rule to ‘stop’..!!
Bikes..seem to be in condition good & have gears. Necessary for the hills !!
Cleaning/clearing/weeding constantly.
2 max people on bodas. Helmet worn by passenger as well…the law.
Electric motorbikes…shops where charged up batteries exchanged for empties.
All roads all over the country have street lights about every 40 mtrs. Feels safe.
No music (or low volume) in the coasters.
Genocide Memorials in most towns. The past is not forgotten, but Rwanda is a unified country building for the future.
It seems like 95% of vehicles areToyotas.
Planting trees/bushes/flowers…on most pavements/central reservations
Pillars/columns in front of most buildings.
Swahili & English spoken..makes it easy.