Around trip from Entebbe, Uganda to Dakar, Senegal via Ethiopia takes approximately ten hours, costing around $483 (about Shs 1.7m).
Compared to the short 45-minute flight from Entebbe to Kenya, which costs a minimum of Shs 1.3m, this seems relatively cheap, but that is where the savings end. Choosing Ethiopian Airlines makes the journey even more taxing, especially due to the six-hour layover at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa.
While Ethiopian Airlines proudly ranks as Africa's most successful airline, its airport leaves much to be desired. It is no surprise that despite handling over 450 flights daily, Bole does not feature among Africa's top five airports. Ethiopia, never having been colonized, operates under its own unique standards.
For an airport managing such a large volume of connecting passengers, you would expect reliable (free) internet like at most other major hubs. Yet at Bole, there is no internet and even your roaming internet is swiftly blocked by state controls. Their so-called duty-free shops are a disappointment, too.
The items there are often more expensive than taxed products elsewhere, making the wait at Bole feel even longer than the actual layover hours. From Bole, the flight to Dakar's Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) takes another 10 hours, with a stop at Mali's Modibo Keita International Airport (BKO).
The descent into Mali is sombre and depressing, as you can visibly see the effects of the ongoing war-damaged infrastructure, broken light poles, blocked drains, abandoned aircraft, and scattered tyres and buckets around the airport.
The sense of stagnation is palpable, even from midair. At Modibo Keita Airport, there is an additional 45-minute wait on the plane for more passengers, before continuing to Senegal. Upon landing in Dakar, you are greeted by the sweltering heatwave as you disembark.
At immigrations, you will need to summon all your basic French to navigate the process, which is handled by the proud, almost arrogant national police officers. Senegal's visa system is three-tiered: Category A, which allows visa-free entry for up to 90 days for citizens of more than 70 countries including Ugandans with diplomatic and service passports.
Most travellers fall into Category B, where a free 90-day visa is issued on arrival, provided you have a return ticket, proof of accommodation or invitation, and a yellow fever certificate. Category C is for refugee document holders.
Unfortunately, the language barrier can make the process even more frustrating, especially if you are unlucky enough to arrive during a shift change for staff, which can take over 30 minutes.
Amazingly, when exiting their country, you are treated with utmost care as if to make you forget about all the wrongs they did when entering. The self-check-in and migrations process at the exit end is so swift that you don't even notice the voluminous number of passengers.
From Blaise Diagne to Dakar's city centre, the journey takes about two hours, exacerbated by frustrating traffic jams. Though road tolls help, Kampalans would reconsider their complaints about traffic jam once faced with Dakar's gridlock.
Of course like Kampala, the taxis always create extra lanes to manoeuvre their way around. At least for Senegalese, the only sirens to give way are from the ambulances and not cabinet ministers rushing to pick up their children from school.
Dakar streets are filled with more cars than people, and strangely, every 200 metres, you will likely see a stalled vehicle with its bonnet up for repairs. French car brands including Renault, Citroën, Aixam and Peugeot dominate in this former French colony, and their "Bush- taxis" seem to be in a perpetual dangerous mechanical condition (DMC).
The city buses, though by contrast, are extremely comfortable and far better maintained than some small aircraft for some airlines. The buses are very spacious and very clean. They also have boda bodas (called taxis Jakarta), and yes, many of them behave and operate exactly like their step-brothers in Kampala.
FOOTBALL AND FAITH DOMINATE DAKAR
Football is everywhere in Dakar, from small parks to packed streets, where the mini-games draw enthusiastic crowds. No wonder, Senegal has produced some of Africa's top football talent, with legends such as El Hadji Diouf (whose image graces airport billboards), Aliou Cissé (now the national coach), Sadio Mané, Édouard Mendy, and Kalidou Koulibaly all inspiring the next generation.
In the evenings, you will spot people jogging with football boots in hand, ready for another game. In the city's upscale areas, well-lit artificial turf fields stay busy well into the night. Given how freely people move about their evening routines, it appears to be a relatively safe city.
Non-French speakers scream 'foreigner' and the prices will suddenly start to shoot through the roof even for second-hand items such as shoes and clothes, which are a mainstay on the streets. Perhaps due to the extreme heat, mobile coffee machines and bread are the dominant street foods and are everywhere.
Billboards across Dakar showcase football stars endorsing products ranging from beverages to telecoms and mobile phones. Where there isn't a football pitch, there is likely a mosque. Islamic sermons echo from the streets and fill the airwaves, making religion as prominent in daily life as the beautiful chaos of football.
Being a semi-desert city, Dakar's streets are sand-dusty, and vehicles are often cleaned right on the street, with the water spilling unchecked onto the roads. The streets are not that clean even for a Ugandan used to Kampala's litter and garbage problems. Housing in Dakar tends toward apartment blocks, with few single-unit or semi-detached houses in sight.
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HIGH COST OF LIVING
Like many West African countries, Senegal uses the West African CFA franc (XOF), a currency also shared by Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo. Though the French colonialists left long ago, their influence remains strong. Supermarkets are packed with imported French goods, from bread and water to yoghurt.
While Uganda also imports similar items from all over, at least the local products here still compete for shelf space, unlike in Senegal. The upside? You can sample some of the finest French wines - of course at very high prices.
A simple bottle of mineral water can cost as much as Shs 24,000 equivalent. I did not dare touch the Biere La Gazelle or Flag Speciale beers in my mini-fridge at the Radisson Blu hotel, Sea Plaza, having already learned my hard lesson after a modest meal of rice and fish cost me an equivalent of Shs 220,000. And no, it wasn't a platter.
Anyway, for rooms that cost more than Shs 1m a night, I could only complain in silence. Moreover, the rooms were as basic as they come, and I had to squeeze into the tiny bathroom where I could hardly turn.
Like other former colonies, Senegal tries to emulate its former colonizer's lifestyle. Fashion is heavily influenced by French and Islamic traditions, with people sporting the traditional boubou and kaftans, but you will also see sharp dressers reminiscent of Congolese Sapeurs, walking the streets of Dakar.
