The latest travel trend has left Ugandans both baffled and amused. It’s called ‘rawdogging’ flights, and it’s not what you might think. No, it’s not a new “Mutwe Tondo” (headbutt) maneuver, but rather an odd way of traveling where men brave long flights without any entertainment, snacks, or even sleep. Yes, you read that right—no movies, no music, no water. Just pure, unfiltered silence and the hypnotic hum of the airplane engine.
Imagine this: instead of watching the latest blockbuster or nodding off to sleep, these ‘rawdoggers’ stare at the flight map for hours, tracking the plane’s journey inch by inch. The trend, which has somehow gone viral, has these men sharing their ‘rawdogging experiences’ online as if it’s the latest achievement since the invention of Rolex (not the watch, but our beloved Ugandan street snack).
The Rawdogging Champions
Take TikTok user @oiwudini, for instance. He proudly posted a video with the caption: “Just rawdogged a 7 hour flight (new personal best). No headphones, no movie, no water, nothing. Incredible. The power of my mind knows no bounds.”
Another TikTok user, @westwashere, garnered almost 300,000 likes for his video, where he spent seven hours watching the flight map. When asked why he embraced this bizarre trend, West told GQ magazine that he got tired of watching the same old movies on flights. For him, ‘rawdogging’ a flight is akin to meditation. “Visually, you are kind of impaired. You only get to look at the seat in front of you, to your right or left if you’re at the window. All you hear is that drumming sound of the engine. It’s just white noise,” he explained.
Ugandan Reactions
Of course, this concept of sitting in silence for hours with nothing to do has left many Ugandans scratching their heads. One person on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “I can’t think of anything worse than rawdogging a flight. Give me the booze, put on the movie, bring the snacks, I’ll put on the pod.” Clearly, this person knows the importance of enjoying a good Blue Band and bread sandwich during a flight.
Another added, “To me this is just wasting time. You could sleep or do a whole host of activities to catch up on work, life, etc.” Indeed, imagine all the drafts of your Matooke farming business plan you could finalize instead!
However, not everyone is against the trend. One enlightened soul shared, “I’ve done this quite often actually, especially when I travel alone. I enjoy the low distraction environment to organize my thoughts/work through ideas without the expectation of black & white output.” Perhaps they’re on to something—after all, didn’t Kabaka Muteesa I famously spend hours contemplating the Kingdom’s future in serene silence?
The Rawdogging Phenomenon
| Aspect | Rawdogging Experience |
|---|---|
| Entertainment | None (No movies, music, or books) |
| Activities | Watching real-time flight map |
| Duration | Entire flight duration |
| Purpose | Meditation, thought organization |
| Popularity | Viral trend on social media |
Whether you find it meditative or maddening, ‘rawdogging’ a flight is here to challenge the way we think about air travel. Who knows, maybe the next time you fly to Kampala from Entebbe (in your car), you’ll try it out. But for now, let’s keep our headphones on and enjoy that latest Chameleone hit, because Ugandans know that every journey should have a soundtrack.
