We left Kigali early in the morning and drove straight to the Ethnographic Museum in Huye District. Although I had been to this museum before, I wanted to refresh my knowledge of the cultural heritage exhibited there. Unfortunately, one notification robbed me that opportunity.
The notification in question was a remainder that I was about to miss the deadline of an important gig. Instead of touring the museum with my travel companions, I sat down near the reception and did what I should have done before the trip.
A visit to the museum was followed by a spin around Huye. I was impressed by the massive facelift Huye town has undergone. For starters, the new bus station, referred to as the Smart Complex Car Park, is a reflection of the new Huye.
New buildings are sprouting up on both sides of RN1 but Hotel Faucon looks like an abandoned ruin of its former self. Whether this iconic property will be renovated or demolished to create space for a bigger project remains to be seen.
The commercial street known as Mu Cyarabu has been rebuilt. Arab settlers, who hadn’t repainted their shops since the 1930s, are finally keeping up with the transformation of Huye.
We drove to the National University of Rwanda and the Arboretum of Ruhande through Hospital Road. A significant portion of corporate Rwanda is a product of this campus.
We had breakfast at Nehemiah’s Best Coffee. This coffee shop is set up within the premises of the Anglican Church. When we were sipping some cappuccino and munching pastries, the Sunday service was going on in the chapel a few yards away. I followed part of the sermon while eating the daily bread God had given me.
Before we proceeded to Nyaruguru, we diverted to the streets of a neighborhood namely Taba. The old dusty and muddy roads of Taba have been upgraded to cobblestone and well paved roadside walkways. If I lived here, I wouldn’t need a gym membership. Jogging on those footpaths would do the trick.
Huye is relatively quiet and laid back. It is easy to run errands in this town. Traffic jam and noise pollution are phrases its residents are not familiar with.
The author is a travel enthusiast on a tour of all 30 districts and 416 sectors of Rwanda. Follow his awe-inspiring journey on Twitter @GeoExposure.
