Kampala from above

Arms spread out, hair flying, wind rushing over my face, screams escaping from my mouth as the adrenaline pumps through my system and behold an expanse of a beautiful city below me. Valleys, hills, sky scrapers, residential homes, lakes and any amazing scenery you can imagine of a backdrop painted by God. That is my idea of killing two birds with one stone- daring to sky dive and seeing the beautiful world from above. The first still has its spot neatly on my bucket list, albeit unmarked off, while gladly, the second came to pass recently atop the terrace of one of the new hotels in the city.

Game of lights
By night, Kampala, from the terrace of Naguru Skyz Hotel opens like a symphony of lights. Parallel lines of running red and orange lights create the illusion of a burning snake at a distance. Little twilights, a mix of orange, yellow in some places scattered, in others as if competing for the space, fill the dark cold night. That evening, the skies, bore no stars, so there was no distraction from admiring Kampala by night from the hill of Naguru, as my friend Charlotte and I indulged in sumptuous Asian cuisine inside the Chapter Two restaurant. After dinner, taking time to stare long and hard at the world below from the Aruba terrace in front of the restaurant, leaves you charmed. It feels like the world is buzzing with activity under your feet as you watch in reflection. But I bet to the couple who had their engagement party on the Skyz terrace just above, popular for weddings, it was the perfect stage for romance.

Night of bliss
For the artiste in me, lying on the larger than ordinary balcony of my room later that night and looking blank in space, set my imagination rolling. It would have been a great place to write a book but well, that just was not the night.
Besides, a getaway even within the city leaves you quite lazy with nothing on your mind but spending ages in the fancy bathroom. In this case, walking around the large room and later sinking under the feather duvet on the soft large bed. At this place, it looks like size matters I must say. All the 141 rooms have similarly large balconies.

Sights
For all the awe feelings of the night, day time on top of the city is to reckon with. The sun brightens up the day like only it would in Africa, no wonder all those art pieces depicting Africa are never devoid of the orange sun especially behind a couple of trees. The remarkable thing is that the vantage point here leaves no trees to distract one as they feast their eyes. Knowing Kampala is the city of seven hills makes one almost naturally start their count of the hills that though distant, are quite visible green heaps with red roof tops of buildings here and there.
On one side we spotted Muyenga, Kololo, Nakasero, Mulago, and Namirembe and at another side of the hotel, one could see as far as Namboole and Munyonyo. The slums cannot be missed and these will definitely bring a frown on your face, and you won’t help grumble about the need for better city planning. Nonetheless, it was fun pointing out the distinct buildings of the city, whose mark on the skyline was laid by either colour, height or shape.

Ambience and service
The scenic view aside, the cool air is something else, pity one cannot capture this in a selfie and send their Instagram followers green with envy. My advice, if you are there for business, you simply have to steal some moments to delight in the pleasure of seeing Kampala’s beauty from above. I learnt from the general Manager Jan-Willem that the hotel has two conference rooms. But if you ask me, there would be a stiff competition for my attention if you put business and pleasure on one plate while standing at the top of one of Kampala’s hills and being waited upon by exceptionally hospitable personnel. Pure serenity, fresh air from the hectic city life.