My 2nd time in Uganda, the first time i ventured out from the hotel. Was determined to walk the african streets this time to see the colors close up. Got a drawn map from the hotel, woke up early the next day for my exploration. It was a really nice and interesting walk with sights and smells unlike most destinations i've been to so far. I remember sharing with a fellow crew member on my flight that somehow i find the colors in africa to be really bright and cheery. It seems that the light coming from the african skies have a good tendency to really bring out the colors more and magnify the amplitude of the hue-contrasts. Armed with my camera, me and an aussie mate i met on that flight put on our walking shoes , brought along our 84,000 of ugandian money and went for a walk in the muddy roads. Motor-cyclists whizzed by with ugandians cladded with bright clothings, birds of an extraodinary sizes swopped overhead and sometimes towards us. They were huge. Take my word for it. To me they were very much like dinosaurs birds or giant eagles. Your heart'll definitely skip a beat when they come flying at you!. Well, mine did! I must admit it was a little intimidating for us as they werent that many tourists on the roads and we passed what appears to be an african militant with a big AK 47 ( it looks like it) but maybe some other rifle type i dont know of. But looks like we made it safe to the craft village on an adjacent road couple of streets down from our hotel. On the way, we walked passed men on bicycles carrying fresh fruits to the market, ladies with baskets of food or fruits balanced on their head. The ugandians have a really gentle and friendly demeanor. Everywhere we went people greeted us with friendly smiles.

Im in love with this city. imagine beautiful sumptous marble statues and carvings and gorgeous gothic architecture bathed in the warm orange glow of the setting sun, in the background the resounding classical gong of the church bells bouncing off the cobbled streets and the quaint alleys.

This music capital of the world not only oozes romance and old world charms; it brings back the lustre of the past with its cobbled streets, old 'Jugendstil' style architecture, horse drawn carriages and imperial palaces. As a student of music eons ago before i've forsaken my music scores and started my whirlwind world tour i was taught like any other music student, the music of the great masters. Vienna is the city where many of these masters, Mozart, Strauss, Handel etc lived, worked and played their great music.

There are just too many things to do in this city and only 24 hrs! Vienna is made up mainly of the innerstadt and greater vienna. Since i only have one day i started my exploration in the inner stadt ( inner ring), armed with a checklist of places i needed to check out. Ripped off the internet of course, recommendations from others whos been there before me.

First thing on my list. The stephansdom ,built in 1147 AD the tall landmark of the city of vienna, an old church that stands right in the middle of the city. Went into the church too, much the same as quite as many european old churches , what sets this one apart though is the intricate carvings of art nouveau style where organic forms of sinous lines and elongation of floral forms tend to dominate the decorations of pillars, stair-wells and even the tinest of details in the wrought iron gates. the work of man for his faith can be so beautiful its awe-inspiring on its own. I learned later from an online source that it is in this church that mozart is married and later where his funeral was held.


leading from stephansdom square is the famous 'graben' street. At the end if the street is a memorandium statue made for those who perished in the plague. (The Pestsaue, or Plague Column, is a Baroque sculpture given to the city by Leopold I. He gave this during the Great Plague of 1679)


H&M store opening hours encased in pretty victorial style frame and glass. Even mass consumption can look this good in vienna imagine how the others look! classy classical defines almost everything in this city!



my walk through the tunnel seperating the hofburg palace from the rest of the inner stadt was a true feast for the senses. The visual impressions of the classical architectural dome and figurines was accompanied by classical music echoing in the tunnel. on the other end of the portal was the prettiest sight i've seen yet. The prettiest square with branchy trees stripped bare of leaves lined neatly in rows and a field of perfectly trimmed glass. i couldnt resist sitting down on the huge grassy patch along with some random students and admire the tranquil and cool surroundings. the setting sun form the perfect backdrop rendering a orangey silver lining to the scatter of plushy clouds in the evening sky.