Days 2 & 3: A Whole New World

Arrival at Doha airport was a breath of fresh, hot air. Janis described stepping out of the plane like stepping under a hairdryer at full power. In the seconds that we transited between the plane and the passenger bus, and then from the passenger bus into the airport terminal, we were baked by the full elements that Qatar has to offer. That is no surprise though, for as we glided into a descend at Hamad International Airport, we also descended upon a glistening city center which sat amongst vast stretches of dry desert sand in all directions.

Easily enough, we found ourselves ushered to the arrival terminal. We slid into the queue among other flight passengers hailing from all corners of the world, excited as we were to experience what Qatar’s capital has to offer.

Seven of us met up with Javid, our guide during our night in Doha and made our way to the Museum of Qatar. We admired the unique architecture of the museum even though it was closed when we got there. We checked into our hotel and then made our way back out to see the old Souq. Most things were also closed here but it was still great walking around the market area. We were surprised by the bird section in the market! They had birds, bunnies, and other little animals that people commonly have as pets here. Later on in the evening, we learned that there would be a falcon festival in Doha soon! Falcons are kept as pets as well. We walked past the royal camels in the market - the royal family dresses in traditional wear and makes rounds with the camels twice every Thursday at the Souq.

We got up bright and early the next morning. As we turned in our room keys to the glamorous DoubleTree hotel at Oldtown, the two Ubers we booked rolled into the hotel’s driveway. The ride back to Doha airport was pretty uneventful. We each looked out the car’s windows, taking in all that is left in our remaining time with Doha. “Hey, that’s the museum we went to,” Sunny pointed out - re-examining the cryptic structure that was the Museum of Qatar with a renewed sense of wonder now that daylight has taken over the moonlight from last night.

Back in the airport we reunited with Sam, who had trouble getting through immigration the night before. While she missed the night of exploration of Doha city, she made do with an experience at the Platinum lounge where she was able to enjoy a free-flow selection of food. We also linked up with Dr. Acharya and Radha, who caught a later flight and were bound for Kampala on the same flight. Once we ate our fill at the foodcourt and counted our ‘sheeps’, we headed for gate D18. At the gate, we took a group photo to capture our memories together in Doha before we boarded our 5.5hr flight to Kampala..

We arrived in Kampala after a rather turbulent descent. A fellow passenger whom we know to be from Germany had to throw up in his paper bag. The immigration process was rather long, and it took more than an hour for all of us to finally clear the border security. Once we did, however, we were greeted with a refreshing welcome by Justine, Daniel, and Ignatius. A tall Cola bottle stood towering over the airport exit, seemingly welcoming our arrival. Interestingly, as we headed towards the carpark where our vans were waiting, another sign proclaimed “This is Pepsi country”.

We were jolted awake by an ambulance’s siren as it made a turn into a corner in our van’s rearview mirror. “Mulago hospital”, was the sign I caught as the rear bumper of the ambulance slid out of view. We were close.

Minutes later, our van climbed a steep slope, briefly greeted by a security guard on duty who immediately recognized our driver, Ignatius. The van rolled to a halt outside Shield Cafe, still succumbing to the backward pull of the slope. We carefully unloaded our luggage by the side of the road, careful to keep it from rolling out of our reach. Once again we were welcomed by our hosts. We got settled into our rooms at the Mulago Guest House and then gathered for a group dinner with the VectorCam team and our faculty advisors. It was a delicious meal complete with cups on cups on cups of African tea - not forgetting the mugs of Brown sugar and ginger syrup that added to its authentic taste. After dinner, we each headed to our beds – carefully draped with mosquito nets lest our blood became dinner for the local mosquitoes...