A few weeks ago, I saw an advert in Daily Monitor from Shell talking about doing more with ‘Fuel Save’. The curious cat in me immediately sprung right up since the advert sung praises for ‘Fuel Save’ that were simply hard to believe.
On sharing the story with my friends, we agreed that our weekend plot should be proving or disproving these claims from Shell. Fortunately we had a planned to trip to Jinja. And what better way to test the power of Shell Fuel Save than a road trip to the city of adventure, Jinja?
Before we hit the road on Friday morning, we dropped by Shell Ntinda and filled up our car, using Shell Fuel Save. “Let’s put a full tank. I am too fly to be seen carrying a jerry can searching for the nearest fuel pump in case our fuel runs out,” one colleague joked.
I silently said a prayer that Shell Fuel Save does not embarrass me by running out.
We then made our last minute checks to ensure that we had all we needed for our trip, like sweaters to eliminate chances of getting cold, extra pairs of shoes to prevent our feet from developing blisters if we stayed in boots too long. Last but not least we stocked enough snacks and then set off.
The journey had started well until we got stuck in that unshifting Jinja road traffic jam. I could see many drivers looking frustrated probably because they were wasting fuel being stuck here but not me. I had learnt some fuel saving tips that I used to save on the car’s fuel consumption. They were simple tips – like limited use of Air Conditioning (AC), avoiding over idling and harsh braking – but they made all the difference. My car was also under good service and the car was not over loaded since we didn’t carry a lot of luggage.
Anyway, we made our way out of the traffic jam and connected to the smooth Jinja – Kampala highway. We I maintained a constant speed as we cracked jokes with my friends. It was surely a good start to the journey since we were really having a blast!
We reached Jinja and did a quick tour around the town before finding a place to spend the night. To my surprise, Jinja has changed much since the last time I was there two years ago.
I constantly checked the fuel gauge and was left in astonishment each time because our fuel seemed unused.
“I wish I could do this every weekend. This is awesome and rejuvenating! I already feel refreshed and relaxed.” said my friend Brenda as we drove around the town.
Looking for plot for the night, we decided to drive to some of Jinja’s famous clubs like Sombreros, Nile Casino, Laftaz and Queen’s Palace. I won’t divulge the details of what happened there since our Team code is “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” but I can assure you it was worthwhile.
On the next day we drove around checking out different tourism sites like the Source of the Nile, one of the most visited destinations in Jinja. We also checked out white water rafting, the Snake Park and former Bujagali falls.
Finally we got done with our road trip on Sunday and drove back to Kampala. We of course made stop overs to buy some food stuff for home since they are cheaper than in Kampala. Not to forget the unforgettable delicious well marinated charcoal-roasted chicken at Namawojolo.
Some of the most memorable moments are seeing the ever-green vegetation along the road, the hospitality that the people in Jinja accorded us, the cheap food and my favorite, eating that delicious roasted maize sold by the roadsides.
We reached Mukono quite late at sunset. By the time we got to Lugazi my team mates were fast asleep. We were caught in the Seeta-Bweyogerere jam but we diverted and used the Sonde shortcut which saved us the excruciating traffic jam wait.
We finally arrived home safe and I admit that Shell FuelSave saved from spending more on fuel for our Spacio. Need I say that a full tank of Shell FuelSave can take you to and from Jinja.
This article is sponsored by Vivo Energy Uganda
