Hotel Review: Home Inn Musanze

Over the weekend I got to travel to Musanze and spent several hours there. For the most part of it I was waiting for what had taken me there but the other was spent taking in all it has to offer.

I got lucky to find, through a colleague of mine, a gem in the middle of uncertainty named Home Inn.

Home Inn is a two-star hotel in the heart of Musanze but if you ask me, I'd add a star for the service it offers. (The receptionist told me the reason they are two-star is the lack of a swimming pool)

We got there a little late owing to the fact that we left Kigali later in the evening. It takes two hours to drive there if you use public transport but if travelling privately it could be an hour give or take a few minutes.

By good luck Home Inn wasn't fully booked. Although it's good to know that their peak season is in July so you are better off booking early.

I loved everything there so I asked for a tour around the place just to take it all in.

All kidding aside,  I would recommend any person wanting to visit Musanze to check that spot if you can.
Their amenities are: 17 rooms in total consisting of single rooms, twin bedrooms, and an apartment; restaurant and a lounging area. For approximately 70 USD you could stay in their rooms depending on your preference.

The room I got had a balcony and so are most of them. Anything for a good view amairite?
FYI, this is not a paid post. I just liked the vibe and ambiance the place offered as well as the proximity to where I needed to be.

 Check out the images I took and trust me your eyes will itch to want to take the first there.

Beautiful colors in one shot... Behold Home Inn!

The Lawn

Having reached there late at night, I woke up at 6 am to capture the beautiful views outside.

If you know me well, you know flowers and beautiful green plants make me happy.

Amazing colors

Isn't it just beautiful?

All smiles with man's distant cousins

To the garden

Early Morning Views

Selfie O'Clock

Centerpiece Art

The garden

Hope you enjoyed the brief pictorial. I'll share the rest on my Wordpress account www.denisetuyi.wordpress.com as this site is taking time to load 

City Guide: 5 ways to find your way around Kigali

Hi there lovely people.
I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last wrote on here.
So to compensate it here are some of the tips I have learnt throughout the year on how to go about knowing places around Kigali.

You can bond over your favorite cup of coffee or tea if you like.

1. Find locals and befriend them

It's no secret that in order to familiarize yourself it's wise to have a local take you around.
This might be tricky if you don't know people at first. But if you meet someone who you feel comfortable with don't hesitate to talk to them because you might learn a lot from them in your to understand the place. I must confess, the most places I have come to love and frequent is because of friends who directed me there or went with me to the particular place.

As hilly as it looks walking on foot can give you a better perspective of places.

2. Get walking

Walking has proven to be my most go-to solution when I am trying to know a place. First I do it for fitness, to distress and also to see things at slow pace when I am unhurried. Weekends for me sound just about right. I can squeeze in enough time and walk as far as my legs can take me on an aimless whim for sheer discovery or just purposefully walk to a new place I heard about.
Don't be fooled by the hills, I was surprised to find how short distances can be if only I give it a try.
A solo walk can help you learn about places in a longer time so sometimes if you have friends around the walk can be much more faster and less stressful if you intend to go further.

Get walking but keep your feet warm especially on cold days. This was taken on a hot lazy day. Comfy walking shoes would be an added advantage.

3. Online platforms help a lot sometimes

To be honest getting around is a lot easier when using social media. In the sense that when you ask using a hashtag such as #RWOT on Twitter you could get a substantially reasonable response or you could try Facebook. My best bet however on getting around using online is this website Living in Kigali. Honestly there is a chock-full of information going on there and if you are in a hurry and not planning a long stay in Kigali that could help you familiarize yourself with as many info you would need in one seating. However, you could go to a library or bookstore and read about places around although I am not sure if there is a lot out there written about Kigali so that's why I chose to stick with the online title as a safe bet. But hey, it's better to try and found out than just rule it out as if it were nonexistent.

Bus rides that are guided are a great way to learn deeper histories of a places.

4. Find out about guided tours

Another way I recently found out was going on community tours which are primarily based on walking. The tour guide gives you some history about the place, shows you places of that area and its environs for a fee. You could also use bus rides if you are running out of time and need to maximize and internalize as much as you would love to get. Guided tours are a great option if you want to learn facts and not miss out on the most obvious spots out there.

This view is so majestic! Also, it wasn't meant to be here but I just loved it and decided it should grace this blog.

5. Make use of Google Maps

When all else fails, although I doubt that could happen, give Google Maps a try. In all honesty, that trusty application has really made my life easier. Especially when directing someone gets a little too hard and the nitty-gritty details can be missed without an aide such as G-maps!

Of course there are other ways to traverse your way through this oh-so beautiful city but I chose these five quick ones I have learnt in just about a year of living here. Feel free to add other ideas you have learnt to find your way around the city.

That's it for now, until next time,
XO


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Ps: Pictures and words by me unless stated otherwise.

High View

I really want to fly,
But meanwhile as I can't I will just share with you some of my high views... And by this, I mean pictures I took while standing atop buildings around the Kigali ville. 

Raindrops, after the rain shower that left the city squeaky clean.

Diner is about to be served as this magnificent view savored by the mind beckons so loudly yet so subtle you can't afford to miss it.

The magnificent clouds and the peek of the Sun's rays are a sight to behold.

Snapchat picture atop of Eco Bank, Kigali. That view of hills is magnificent.

There is beauty all around us, or all below us... Go seek it!

Squeaky clean... No hazy airspace... If you can spot the Amahoro Stadium you must have good knowledge of Kigali.

Raindrops on the window. Heavenly!

The Drive

  I am officially a semi nocturnal and day traveler, in that I don't mind if it is day or night when I get to travel. Unless, and I mean unless I have a terrible experience along the journey from my beginning to the destination and in between the journey. So this time round, I was supposed to take a bus that departed at around 8 pm and I being a last minute packer and planner I almost had things botched up.

  A typical late packer eventually has some travel benefits or not when they get in a bus, because they tend to pack light or pack things that don't need to be packed hence the bags become too cumbersome. I will go with the packing less advantage and let you guys know that if I were to spend a week prior packing I would end up paying for seats for my bags! And I am not joking. So I basically thank heaven for my last minute packing because without that I would have ended up late for my bus or just miss my travel altogether. See, even at the border as I was from Kigali to Nairobi, my transit was tireless. I literally zoomed past the borders. No hustle.

Well, enough of my travel descriptions, let me give you a pictorial of my travel to and fro and hope you like it. A few captions here and there shall suffice. Comment below, share and like. I will totally appreciate it. 

All smiles ready for departure

Rural Uganda- TuyiDee Photography

Huts and woman doing her chores- TuyiDee Photography

Green vegetation- TuyiDee Photography

Blues skies beat anything on earth! So lovely, don't mind the dry maize(corn) field

Window peek. Stony hill. Glorious, just glorious!- TuyiDee Photography

Blurred view. Zoom past the road- TuyiDee Photography

Moon view- TuyiDee Photography

I ended up arriving home so late. Bus hitches, delays and what nots. Thankful my family was as warm as usual so by the end of my two or so week stay I wasn't ready to leave them. Sob. Sob.

Another sob worthy incident was as I was coming back to Kigali I had so many phone calls that the only time I got to take the photos was when the phone wasn't going off the hook. In other words the photos were not sufficient to crown my journey. Sigh. But next time, I promise to do what normal people do in such journeys. Wait for it...... Snap the journey away! Ahaha! I know, I know... Normal is sometimes overrated. Well here goes part two:

 

Bridge driveby with scenic view of topography and the rain about to fall- TuyiDee Photography

Tiny animal grazing in the vast terrain- TuyiDee Photography

Dry land... - TuyiDee Photography

...Minutes later- TuyiDee Photography

SnapChatting moments away- TuyiDee Photography

At the Rwandan border- TuyiDee Photography

Back to clean city with lots of foliage. Thank God! - TuyiDee Photography

So basically that is what my little escapade contained. I believe that traveling heals the soul so I would urge any of you seeking contentment to travel at least once when you can afford it, just to clear your mind and find rest-something your soul will thank you for.

OK, I am off and hope to see you soon with a new adventure of course. Peace. Love and Light to you friends.