My maiden flight to London

There was going to be something to write home about being on the plane for the first time. It was my first time to fly from Entebbe via Nairobi and Amsterdam, my final destination being London. Everything seemed fine and exciting till moments into the skies when the plane started “hitting” clouds that it seemed like driving through Kampala’s potholed roads. Besides the disappointment about potholes in the skies, I did not want to remember any recent plane crash. I dreaded the thought of how it would be reported in the newspapers, “first time flyer dies in plane crash” really? It would be so unfortunate.

Up in the skies
That nevertheless did not take away my inner joy, the joy of flying in the skies. In front of me was a self-operated video screen that gives the location of the plane as it soars into the air. It was interesting to know at a particular time of my flight I was, say, above the Mediterranean.
Seen from above, River Nile that flows from Uganda to the Mediterranean Sea appears like a village path snaking through the Savanna grassland. Beside it is the Sahara Desert. What makes the Sahara beautiful and pleasant to the eye is because there is nothing beautiful about it. It is an expanse of blown sand that seems to inhabit no human life. Across the Mediterranean into Europe, however, the highly populated Amsterdam ridges extending into the North Sea are a magnificent scenery.
Transiting in Amsterdam was quick and fast. “World, here I come” read a big signpost at Amsterdam Airport. It was great reflection on my UK experience that would begin at Heathrow Airport in London.

The city of London
From Westminster Abbey, County Hall to St Andrews Cathedral, the city of London is gifted with wonderful architecture. Rail lines and a well paved network of roads, tunnels and flyovers are stunning. Unlike in Kampala where the rich or those who have some money drive big vehicles, in the UK on the roads are mainly small but very posh cars; Bentley, Volvo, Ford, Benz, Audi, name it.
In the city centre, most streets are narrow, in fact narrower than many streets in Kampala except the Motor Ways that have as many as four carrier lanes.
The city of London has numerous green parks. Trees have pale-green leaves though, not like the deep green tree leaves in Uganda. One of the parks is Surrey Quays where every Saturday, persons from various parts of the world, from Brazil to India, Nigeria to Canada converge for leisure.
Football is quite popular here. You will find one-day competitions stages like a ‘world cup’ where ‘nations’ (individuals from respective countries) ‘represent’ their countries in football matches. Uganda is represented too. About 40 Ugandans calling themselves the London Simba are permanent visitors to the park every Saturday afternoon.

Upscale London suburbs
London is not like New York for example which is characterised with very high skyscrapers. The buildings are not that tall and apartments in the city centre are mainly small and medium sized. So where are the big mansions I have always seen on TV since childhood? Well, not until you drive away from the centre do you see big mansions standing, on large agricultural farms. As you drive further, roads sneak through what seems like thickets finally ushering you into clustered well-organised residential areas separated by clearly-marked lanes and trees.
Some places appeared like car parks of Limousines, Volvo, Benz, Bentley, very expensive cars, yet it is just peoples’ cars parked beside their houses. I reflected on the life of people in areas like Katanga and Kimombasa back in Kampala and was tempted to think God is unfair, for how can some people be so well off while others so badly off! But then I realised life is often not about comparisons and God is all knowing anyway.
Yet development in the UK is not in buildings and cars but in efficient systems such as transport, education, health and the police. When you see how for example the Uganda Police often treat criminal suspects or demonstrators, you wonder if such officers are professionals or it is the system that betrays them. Until one travels, they may hold but an abstract picture of a developed country. Now I know!

Great sights
Enjoy a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, an identical reconstruction of the original 16th Century open-air playhouse in which Shakespeare directed his world-famous plays. Set on the banks of the River Thames, it’s one of London’s most iconic buildings and a must-see
Tower of London remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in London. Visitors can take enjoy entertaining tours by Yeomen Warders (aka beefeaters) and learn about the tales and tragedies of this historic royal place.