Enjoying road trips: Part 3: Taking The Trip:

So we’ve asked ourselves the questions, and we’ve made preparations based on the answers we found. Now it’s time for the actual trip. Here’s how to make the next two, six or twelve hours a pleasant experience.

-Dress comfortably: Imagine going four hours with that bit of clothing digging into one’s side. Definitely unpleasant, and it could be downright unhealthy. For the transit, choose loose fitting clothes and shoes. Feet tend to swell when one is seated for an extended period of time so if the shoes are tight, you run a risk of blisters and other complications. Tight jeans are not advisable for the same reason. It usually gets warm in the vehicle, so cool clothing is advised, but have a sweater or shawl handy in case it gets cold.

-Show up on time: If using public means or private means and traveling with a group, being early means you get a seat of your choice. If using private means, you probably do not want to be the one everyone is waiting for.

-Exchange contacts with fellow travellers and driver if in a group and in private means: It could come in handy in case you get separated from your group at a stop.

-Be considerate: Think about your fellow travellers even as you go about enjoying your trip. Using earphones/headphones is considerate; not everyone is interested in listening to your selection of music for the next four hours. Very aromatic foods might not be welcome in the confines of a vehicle, so think about that as you make your selection of travel snacks. I am only 5ft2 so I normally have to give up the front seat or other seats with extra legroom for my taller travel companions.  Part of enjoying your road trip is ensuring that your travel companions are doing the same, as much as it’s in your power to do so.

-Keep hydrated: The heat in the confined space or the airconditioning can cause you to lose excess water without noticing. Have a drink handy to keep hydrated and more comfortable throughout the long journey. 

-Do something: I think what makes road trips such a chore is the endless hours of travel. One can get bored, so it helps to have something to concentrate on besides the road (if you are not the driver). I am blessed to be able to read in a moving vehicle, so I usually use transit time to catch up on novels, reports, blogs and the like. I can also use the time to write (on paper on a smooth road, or type away on my laptop). Another good pastime for the long hours is to pray. Talk to God, listen to Him, just use the hours to connect and receive some divine revelation. You could also use the time to catch up with your travel companions, if they are willing to talk or join in a game of cards, chess or scrabble. You could use the transit time to watch a movie or complete your favourite series, if you have a laptop or other device with a good battery.  Sometimes, I will use the trip to catch up on much needed sleep. There is something very soothing about the rhythmic motion of the car combined with the sound of wind blowing past the window. Sleeping on public means could cost you so practice with caution. 

-Keep your valuables on your person and out of sight: This is a MUST when using public means, and even when in private means it is prudent depending on the company you are in. If I have a handbag, it is constantly looped around my arm. Using a phone while on the move is almost inevitable but keep it far away like in an inner pocket in one’s jacket or sweater. Keep the bulk of your cash away from prying eyes, and only have on hand the change you need to make simple purchases. Travel documents and IDs should be in pockets on your clothes, not in a backpack in the carrier above your seat. If you have to get out at a stop, say to use the rest-room and are not traveling with a trusted colleague, move with your bag(s).

What other things can one do to ensure the actual trip is as enjoyable as possible? Please let me know in the comments below.

Enjoying road trips: Part 2: Preparation:

In Part 1 of this Road Trips series, we saw questions to ask in preparation of a roadtrip. Depending on the answers we’ve got from our many questions before, we can now prepare ourselves for the best road trip ever. 

-Pack in advance: Have a list and tick it off as each item enters the travel bag. You do not want to be running around like a headless chicken on the morning of your trip, remembering that that warm jumper perfect for Kabale was not washed after the last trip. Plan what clothes to carry based on weather and purpose of the trip. Select clothes that need minimal care and possibly that can be used multiple times. For example a white linen shirt might not be a wise choice because it will need to be pressed when it comes out of the luggage and washed after just one wear. Have enough underwear. I prefer to shop my toiletries before I travel, just in case I get to the destination when shops are closed or do not carry the brands I prefer to use.

-Buy or pack snacks and drinks: Hunger and thirst can make a road trip very unpleasant so it is advisable to have some dry snacks and drinks to help with this. Sweet drinks will curb hunger but will make one thirsty so always have some water handy. If you trust your stomach you can go for roadside chicken, goat or gonja. The advantage to packing your own snacks is that you can determine what you want to eat, especially if you have certain nutritional preferences, and not have to be tempted to pick up the nearest unhealthy snack available at the time hunger strikes. If you prepare your own snacks, ensure they are things that can keep fresh till you eat them. You do not want to be making yourself sick with your healthy snacks. 

-Pack an emergency kit: Because you never know. My emergency kit has a strip of painkillers, some antacids, metronidazole, some band-aids, tissue and wet wipes.

-Reading material, or something to keep busy: Few things help the miles fly by like getting lost in some fantasy futuristic world or conquests of ages past. If you are able to read on a moving vehicle, reading material is one of the things you want to pack for your trip. You can get rid of the bulk of books by investing in an e-reader such as a Kindle®.

-Charge devices: The night before you travel, or in the hours leading up to the trip, ensure that all devices you might need are fully charged. For most people this is their mobile phone. You do not want to arrive at your destination and be unable to contact your host or worse still get car or other trouble in the middle of nowhere and be unable to call for help. If it’s a pad or laptop you will need to use during your trip, charge these too prior to traveling. You could also invest in a good power bank or car charger though the latter will probably only help if you’re using private means.

-Plan to be on time: Do not schedule back-to-back programmes ahead of your travel time. They are highly likely to run late, making you late for your trip. This could lead to you getting the worst sit on the bus or taxi, delaying your travel group (making their trip unpleasant in turn) or missing your ride altogether. It’s also very uncomfortable starting your trip with a racing heart and sweaty after having had to run to the meeting point or run after a departing vehicle.

-Prepare the vehicle: If you are using private means, check that the car is roadworthy. A faulty car could at best strand you in the middle of nowhere for hours and at worst could kill you. Check the tyres and top up their pressure if needed. If service is almost due, get it done before you travel rather than after.  Fuel the car, full tank preferably. If along the way it looks like you’re leaving the more built up areas behind, top up on fuel. Fuel stations get fewer and farther apart, and if you’re unprepared you run a risk of having to buy unlabelled bottled fuel of unknown origin and content that might cause more harm than good.

-Have extra cash, or guaranteed access to cash: This is debatable. Moving with large sums of cash on one’s person is a security risk but so is moving with limited cash. The distribution of mobile money services allows one to access money almost anywhere but it helps to have some cash for emergencies such as paying people who have helped pull your car out of the mud.

What other preparations do you think are necessary in preparation for a road trip? Please let me know in the comments below.
In Part 3 we will see how to make the best of the actual road trip.

Enjoying Road Trips: Part 1: Questions to ask

My family has lived in Kampala since I was four months old, so Kampala is where I consider my base to be. However, I did my Medical School in Mbarara, internship in Gulu, and have worked in Tororo, Jinja and Katakwi. I’ve done bus trips for study and pleasure to Nairobi, Moshi, Dar-es-Salaam, Bagamwoyo and  Mombasa. The project I’m currently working on covers 48 districts, most of which I have visited a number of times over the past two years. I therefore consider myself something of a guru in road trips.

With Kampala based companies opening upcountry offices more people are finding themselves in jobs that require frequent upcountry trips, usually by road. For many, the idea of a road trip is still daunting. But worry not; I believe the past 15years on the road have taught me some things, so allow me to share with you tips and tricks to make those upcountry road trips as pleasant as a stroll to the neighbourhood grocery store.  

Like most things in life, preparation is key to an enjoyable road trip. There will be the occasional emergency dash upcountry, but hopefully this is the exception, not the norm. Hopefully you will have early warning of an upcoming trip that allows you ample time to prepare adequately for it.

So, in preparation for our upcoming road trip of which we’ve been informed well in advance, here are some questions to ask ourselves:

-What is the purpose of trip? This might sound like a no-brainer, but you will be surprised. Knowing the purpose of the trip helps you to plan what kind of clothes and non-clothing items to carry. A visit to an upcountry regional site might require formal clothes if there is a ceremony planned or more casual field garb. You might need specific equipment either for a presentation or to replenish or replace field supplies, without which  you will have travelled so far for nothing. 

-What is the weather at my destination? Uganda is beautiful in its diversity. One corner of the country could be blistering hot and another not so far away is freezing. Find out the prevalent weather conditions, and the expected weather for the period that you plan to be there. I’ve seen people shivering for a week in Mbarara simply because they came from Kampala during the dry season. During my last trip to Mbale, I found that I had too many warm clothes since I had packed based on past experience, not checking the expected weather for that week. Some apps like AccuWeather and The Weather Channel are very helpful in this regard.

-What facilities are available at my destination? Find out about guest houses or hotels, and services offered (bed only, meals, bed and breakfast, laundry) eating places, banks, ATMs and anything else that you might need to make your stay comfortable. 

-How far away is my destination and for how long might I be in transit? This helps you plan what time to depart and what you might need during the trip, such as food, water or bathroom breaks. On my part, I prefer to arrive at a place with at least an hour of daylight remaining. That means when traveling to Jinja from Kampala, I am comfortable leaving at 4pm, but traveling to Mbale or Mbarara, I want to leave by midday or latest 2pm. Hand in hand with that, I find it more prudent to allow more travel time to a place I have not been before. If using public means, one needs to factor in the time lost in waiting for the vehicle to fill as well as stops to drop off and pick up passengers.

-For how long am I at that destination? You do not want to run out of clean clothes because you are at this place longer than you had prepared for. I try to have at least one extra change of clothes beyond the number of days planned, just in case. Getting to know the facilities at your destination beforehand can also inform you whether you could access laundry services when needed.

-What is my means of transport? A lot depends on whether you are using public or private means of transport. If using public means, you probably want to travel light, and expect an extended transit period with very little control over stops. If you are using private means you might have more liberty with how much luggage you can carry and more control over the frequency and duration of stops.

-What are my needs? Consider things like: how frequently do you need to eat? How much do you need to drink? How well do you hold your water? How strong is your stomach? Do you get car sick? You do not want to be the one constantly asking for a stop to buy a snack or a drink. If your stomach is on the more sensitive side, you might want to have prepacked snacks and drinks and leave the roadside chicken for those with combined harvester stomachs. An upset stomach definitely makes for the worst road trip experience.

-Who am I traveling with? If you are traveling in a group, it helps to know who your companions are beforehand. I have been on trips before where some 30 minutes into the trip a call is received that someone has been left behind, simply because they didn’t communicate earlier that they were part of the group. It also helps to plan beforehand in case some members of the group need special consideration such as  traveling with a child, needing extra leg room or needing special stops.

-Who do I know at the destination? This could help with things such as pick-up from the taxi/bus park, booking for accommodation, having a meal waiting for you or simply a person to keep track of your journey. You might not know anyone in that area, but you can leverage relational capital to have a friend of a friend be your destination contact. I have done this on several occassions and it makes for very smooth landing.  

What other questions do you think are necessary to ask oneself in preparation for a road trip? Please let me know in the comments below.
In Part 2, we will see what to do with the answers we have got to these many questions. 

You know nothing Jon Snow

I can count the number of television series I follow on one hand and have a couple of fingers left over. There are a number of reasons for this, the top one being that I’d rather read a story than watch it. My favourite series of all time is HBO’s Game of Thrones (GOT). I do not remember the circumstances under which I was introduced to GOT, but I believe I came across it when it was in its second season. I binge watched the two seasons, then started a rabid hunt for the next. That is one of the many reasons why I avoid series; that period of suspense and frustration when one season ends and the next has not yet been released.

As luck would have it, a friend (bless his soul) had soft copies of all five novels of A Song of Ice and Fire, the epic fantasy on which GOT was initially based, and sent these to me. Talk about Happyness! I read the books and enjoyed the ensuing seasons, even when they diverted from the script. I am looking forward to the grand finale that comes out this year, even though I did not watch the entire last season 2 years ago.

So, in GOT, there’s this guy called Jon Snow. The script makes him the kind of guy you’re forced to root for: he’s not the son of his father’s official wife so has no hopes of a name, let alone a house and lands of his own; his father is killed very early in the game, he’s not sure who his mother is, his step mother openly loathes him, and he’s forced to make a decision to join the Nights Watch where he has a chance to be known as someone other than “Ned Stark’s Bastard”. Through it all, we see Jon as a noble – albeit naïve – character who looks up to his father, is respectful to his step-mother, loves his half-siblings, is a valiant fighter, plays by the rules and is generally one of the truly “good guys” in a very twisted series.

Jon’s time in The Watch has him cross to the wilderness north of The Wall, where he falls in love with a wildling, Ygritte. Their forbidden affair spans three seasons, but all I remember was the statement she kept telling him, “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” See, Jon came to The Wall and beyond with all this preconceived knowledge based on what he had been taught and what he had experienced. Ygritte, having grown up in a totally different world from his, kept reminding him that what he knew amounted to nothing in her world where he now found himself.

This phrase stuck with me through the seasons and beyond. This is not surprising considering Ygritte used it at least 18 times across the three seasons. But the bigger reason why it imprinted on my mind is because I could relate with how Ygritte was probably feeling whenever she made the statement. Here was this (in her view) pampered, naïve, enemy-turned-lover half-lord trying to tell her how to live a life in a place he knew nothing about.

I know I’ve been at either end of that phrase quite often; either as Ygritte, telling someone “You know nothing Jon Snow” but more often as Jon Snow, facing a situation where I truly feel like I know nothing. At times like this there’s been a temptation to make either of two errors: 1 - to “fake it till I make it”, guessing my way through the situation and hoping I’m guessing right, or 2- to beat myself up over my ignorance, leading to paralysing despair.

However, I discovered a third response to these situations, and that is to turn them into a learning experience. The thing is, everything we “know” is a product of our upbringing and the things we have been exposed to. More often than not this differs to varying extents between people and many times this variation will be so wide that we are tempted to think the other person “knows nothing”, simply because they do not see or do things our way. But they are probably thinking the same of us at that moment.

The realisation that I am not an expert at whatever is suddenly before me should not be a reason for despair or pretence, but rather a bell signalling yet another learning opportunity that if I embrace I will grow.

So I am learning to lean into these “You know nothing, Jon Snow” moments when I encounter a person’s views that do not align with mine or a situation I am unfamiliar with. So long as I remain willing to learn, there’s a high chance these situations will grow fewer and farther apart.

The things that keep me awake

Time check is 03.10hrs EAT. I really should be asleep right now. Tomorrow (today actually) is a work day and it promises to be a long one.

But I can’t sleep quite yet. See, I just uploaded my first blog article in nearly five years. It’s one of several assignments that I need to do as part of the Leadership Course under Harvest Institute. And I have to do this at least once every fortnight, preferably once every week. Among other assignments. And a day job. And kyeeyo. And… But all that is no cause for insomnia.

What’s really keeping me awake is this: I had managed to open a blogging account on WordPress.com, write something up, and even gone so far as to share the link on a few groups… Then I made the mistake (or followed a Spirit-driven prompting, I’m starting to think) of searching for an old blog on Blogger that I believed I had closed down and guess what, it was still up!! And as I read through a couple of my old posts I realised a sad truth – The one I’ve written today has nothing on the stuff I wrote five years ago!

We’re supposed to get better as we get older, right? Aging like fine wine and all that? Clearly that’s not the case here.

Well, as I once heard someone say (I believe it was Ariho Kamara, God help me I’m not wrong) “Nature will destroy that which you do not nurture”. I let my writing talent lie dormant for five years and it’s really suffered for it.

So, Harvest Institute and your Leadership Course, my inner writer thanks you for finally getting me to pick up the pen again (more literally than we discussed in Saturday’s class) after five years.

I have moved today’s article to the old blog and made a few changes to the blog. I will close down the WordPress account and continue on Blogger.

I will regain and surpass my old skill before this year is up. 

How to make resolutions that work

Hello!! Happy New Year!!

It’s only two weeks into 2019, so permit me to still be talking about New Year’s resolutions. As 2018 drew to a close, I caught a number of discussions over the radio about whether or not there was any point in making new year’s resolutions. Some said yes, some said no, but the general consensus was that hardly anyone ever seemed to get past the first quarter of the year, let alone January with any of those resolutions intact.

A while ago I read around the issue of new year’s resolutions, and one writer suggested that the reason most people failed to fulfil their resolutions was because they were usually simply hopes, nothing more. While hope is all well and good – it keeps the world turning and keeps us putting one foot in front of the other in this journey of life – hopes are not likely to amount to much until they are converted to goals, complete with targets and timelines.

For example, one could say “My resolution is to make more money this year than I did last year.” That does sound like a worthy resolution, but it raises a lot of questions: how much is “more” money? How will you know that you have fulfilled your resolution? And loads of others.

Zig Zigler said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” Without an idea of what you’d like the fulfilment of your resolution to look like, it becomes challenging to move in the correct direction toward fulfilling it.

So how can I make resolutions that work, you ask. Here are a few pointers:

1-   1-  Turn your resolutions into goals: Instead of writing a long list of resolutions, how about writing a list of goals instead? And yes, actually writing these things down helps in a big way. It has been said, “The palest ink is more reliable than the most powerful memory.” One of the first steps in ensuring that our resolutions, now goals, have a chance at becoming reality is by writing them down. In what area of life is a change required? What does that change look like? Lose 10 kg? Make twice as much money? Write it down.

2-    2-Timelines: After the goal(s) has been penned down, set a timeline. Should this goal be met in a year? Half a year? A week? I believe setting a year as a target timeline is prudent since one is likely to cover all the possible seasons that usually play out in that time period.

3-    3- Break the timeline down into little “bite-sized” pieces: If the timeline is a year, it could be broken down into half year, quarter year, monthly, weekly, daily, maybe even hourly timeslots, depending. This helps to set in place mini-targets that are more palatable, less alarming, hence less discouraging or overwhelming to be achieved on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. It also allows one to course correct as they go along as opposed to getting close to the end of the year and suddenly realising they are way off-target. To help with the course-correction, it helps to have say quarterly self-audits to check on how things are going.

4-    4- Accountability: Find someone to hold you accountable to your goal or to walk with you through the journey. It helps a lot, especially when the initial excitement of the journey has worn off and the effort is discouraging.

5-   5- Have a solid reason why: What is the reason behind achieving the goal that has been set? The strength of that reason will determine how hard one is willing to work at achieving the goal.

So there you have it; a way to ensure that the resolutions made actually come to pass.