2 on-time planes, good seats, visa application on arrival and hotel taxi waiting made for an easy journey. Not what I was expecting. First impressions of Kigali, clean, green and chilled out. People are friendly and softly spoken, with beautiful faces.

Set off on our usual first day foray for local currency and sim cards only to discover that the last Saturday in every month is Umuganda , a day when everyone takes part in cleaning the city and other community projects. The roads and businesses are closed for the morning and everyone is expected to take part.

After lunch we headed off for a sobering trip to the Genocide Memorial. It’s an informative and very visual display which evokes some of the horror of the Rwandan Genocide , in which some 800,000 Rwandan tutsis were murdered by the Hutu army and civilian population. It is  the location of the mass graves for those who were murdered and has a memorial rose garden where local people go to remember their dead family and friends. It was both a grim and moving visit, I think for me the most difficult thing to bear was the childrens’ room where the walls were covered with photos of children and for each one a little write up about them, their favourite games and how they were murdered. You were allowed to take photos but it didn’t feel right. Our taxi driver explained that he was 11 when it happened and lost several family members. After we left I found myself looking at anyone of my age and wondering whether maybe they had macheted their neighbour to death or handed them over to the Interahamwe militia, as well as marvelling at how Rwanda seems to have put itself back together. We had some good family discussions after and it’s a must see if you are staying here.