Accomodations

We've stayed at two places now. Actually we've checked into 3. The one in Kampala was nice with 2 beds, vinyl floor, a bathroom and a stand fan that rotates - mosquito nets for each bed. Laura and I shared a room with two twin beds at the first place. Like I said earlier, no air conditioning in Uganda - lots of windows and high ceilings so the hot air can rise.
The second place was the place with the gecko. When we came back from Syssii Falls we decided not to stay. Many people didn't have running water. Our fan didn't work and when we came in the windows were wide open with no screens inviting bugs off all sorts in. Enough people found problems with their rooms that we decided to leave.
The next place was in the heart of downtown. Laura and I are sharing a bed and we have a nice corner room. The bathroom in this place is interesting. We have a sink, then a shower - no curtain, square place to catch the water. Right next to that, the toilet. So, basically you take a shower and the whole room gets wet. There is a big puddle of water at the lowest place in the room that stays there until the next day when the maids come to clean. Flip Flops are a must. Don't really get that. Today we ran totally out of water. First Laura turned the shower on and it all came out brown - then eventually stopped all together. Luckily we had showered the night before and only needed to get our hair wet so it wouldn't look all bed tossed. We asked for some water and they came in with a HUGE jug of water - probably 30 lbs worth. I asked Laura to pour some water over my head. So here was her mother, bent over without a shirt on, begging for her to pour water on her. She first of all didn't think she could lift the jug, then she got a big case of the giggles - I'm sure it was a funny sight. Eventually she poured water on my head and then ran out of the room to throw herself on the floor and laugh her head off - glad I can be so entertaining for her!
I don't think I mentioned that the last hotel we got in M'Bale had no elevators. I don't know if there are elevators here. Anyway, I got my room key and it said 121. I was a little bummed because in general I don't like being on the first floor of hotels and usually if it's in the 100s then you are on the first floor. As it turned out I had to take my 42 lb. bag up 80 steps! Yes, I counted them because we went up and down them several times a day. The restaurant was on the 40th step mark. At one point a bell boy was taking me up the stairs and I informed him there were 80 steps. I told him that was why he was in such great shape. He asked if that was unusual in the US. I told him we had elevators and explained what that was. His face lit up and said "I've seen that in movies!"
As you can imagine, futbol is a big deal here and so the World Cup is being played as much as it is on. Sunday night Ghana won and there was celebration outside our window until 4:30 in the morning. We use to be African country fans - now we secretly cheer against them so we can get some good sleep!