One thing that -in my opinion,
some upstart moguls tend to miss out in their businesses is the need to do
publicity for their products. On Monday last
week at a workshop in Moroto, an effect of this blooper by business people came
out. John Engwau one of the participants in the workshop was asked to give a
description of how he would leave the location of the training and go Hotel D’Andrias.
Engwau extemporaneously had this to say: “you mean there is another hotel in
Moroto called D’andrias?” A quarter of the room broke into laughter, the other three
quarters did not know why the laughter. Great hotel, not advertised! People do
not know it.
Hotel D’Andrias is one
new guesthouse in Moroto. It is located in Camp Swahili along that road leaving
the bus stop upwards to the UN/KALIP offices. Well, the environment of its
location is the only thing that can disturb your sniffing organ. The market
borders it from the south, but the northern neighbourhood is the one that I and
most customers to this brand new piece of heaven might feel -needs upgrade,
from the current ‘pupu-land’ to something else. Something better. Something ‘pupuless’
or’ pupufree’.
The last time I was at
D’Andrias was fortnight ago. This hotel’s air of superiority should come from its
design –planning. Most services you will get under one roof. There is a shop
and a bar. Also, a restaurant and posh accommodation, –lodges. All credit
definitely should go to Andrew, the proprietor of this simple paradise, but let
me not exclude the serious imperfections there in. The menu cards are not there
or are not exposed to customers –unless you ask for it. Thus, either you eat
first, then ask the price of what you’ve already swallowed or ask first -
depending on who you are pocket-wise. I
believe hotel dealers ought to realise that a well exposed menu sheet/cards
helps a customer to take decisions as we are obviously different economically. The
restaurant ceiling also, is already smoldered off. Smoke from the kitchen is continuing to eat
up this top part and I thought someone in charge should sort this out.
The bottom-line: Hotel
D’Andrias is new, cool and deserves to be discovered by you adventurous
friends. Although, -unless some changes have been effected (which is probable)
I still carry this horrible image of a lunch service given to your blogger two
weeks back from this palace. I was served by this young, dirty –‘sticky’,
poorly dressed-‘unknowledgeable’ girl. She brought food. I lost appetite… but I
cannot lose the hope that the place could have become better. More credit is also
affordable for the creatively spent at the restrooms. Here; however married or
wedded you are, the comfort available can make you easily score smooth goals at
an away game.
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The year 2012 started
for me on a sad note and closed on an equally difficult way. There is no way I
can forget the scene of armed men whom I could knock to death with a Japanese -two wheeled Crap. In trying to ‘knock to
kill’, I possibly saved my dear life. This is towards January of the 2012. I
also encountered another upsetting experience that somewhat was becoming a
blessing in disguise as the world up to the overseas level got to dial my
‘Kabiriti-enclosed’ line. However, I later felt blessed, felt prophetic as a ‘prove
it all’ situation later happened…
More pain of the year
came my way towards the end, in December; I survived a motor accident on Kotido-
Abim road. Due to this poverty of transport means for Karamoja, I used a
trailer to make it to Morulem where my people live. Until tomorrow next, I
cannot forget the cry of fellow country people who thought we were gone by the
time Umar the careless driver overturned the MP’s trailer with us inside at
Alerek. This accident took place 18th of the last month of 2012.
After this incident, I suffered another serious psychological beating before
making it to 2013.
My advice to you reader
is to dump off any temptation to prefer a free thing against what digs a
latrine in your pocket. On my humble return from a rough journey to village – I
chose passing health services in Mbale to check up if am not dead internally.
Simon was lucky to take another quick decision the moment this excited district
driver told us to wait a half hour to travel to Moroto. Had I followed Nangiro
to the Limestone truck option, I wouldn’t have spent two wasteful days in
Mbale.
The cunning machine
wheel controller packed my luggage on the JMC crap and disappeared after taking
ordinary 20,000/- from the blogger. Although it’s true that I might possess
more sense, sensibility than this corn-man, he tossed me until my blood level
completely came down. He was a winner in his own way, me a real loser. The last
thing God did to me was to make him accept to come and try to deceive me again
that we would take off immediately. I simply carried off my poor luggage and
opted for the only genuine public transport; the Somali manned Gateway bus.
Finally, I had the ‘wash
it off’ moment at Hotel Leslona on the last day of the year. Despite the money
making boredom of Mzee Gee and the crew, I managed to rub off the pictures of
wrongs of 2012. Now am on the case of this 2013 with all tools needed. People
make New Year’s resolutions but they procrastinate a lot along the way and lose
focus at the end of the day. No resolution for me after failing to fulfil the
one I made in 2011…I needed to read the Holy book from page one at Genesis to
page last at Revolutions. The deal failed for me but the lesson was learnt,
don’t pronounce a resolution –just do it like the Americans! I say so.
