By Tope Adubi
My first solo travel and it wasn’t super smooth. Thankfully, I learnt from my mistakes.
First was my decision to travel. I didn’t plan for this trip and made a last minute purchase. I bought my ticket a day before the trip. This means I spent a lot more than I should have!
Luckily for me, I found a low-cost hotel which helped. Here’s a chance to learn from my mistakes.
Book your flight on time
Plan, plan, plan! It’s key! Last minute decisions can sometimes be painful! *insert numerous voices of professional wailers*
Never visit a local market without a guide!
You can ask the hotel’s receptionist for help. Believe me, it’ll save you some money.
I thought my Naija blood would help. I negotiated items like we learn growing up in Nigeria. Took off 70% of the cost for some items and guess what, I was still cheated. I returned to the hotel and was super glad to show the receptionist (who I was friends with already) all I got. He asked the cost and I almost cried! I got a scarf for 700 Kenyan Shillings after negotiating from 1,400. Turns out they sell to locals for 140KS. This was nothing but pain, true pain.
On the bright side, I met some Maasai people at the Market. They didn’t want pictures so I had to find a way to get the pictures. Safe to say I bought all the jewellery + more in the picture below (asides the spear of course)
Visit the Carnivore!
If you are not a vegetarian, you should definitely go to the Carnivore. You have all types of exotic meat. From Ostrich to Crocodile. I got there pretty late and could only try the ostrich. *Whispers* it tasted like regular meatballs.
I really wanted to try the Crocodile but sigh! Some other time, I’m sure.
Go on a Safari Tour! This is a must
I went on a Safari tour at the National Park and it was super! The whole tour took about 7 hours. You have to set out on time if you want to see the wild animals. The first animal I saw was the giraffe which was pretty close to the gate. I saw some more- Ostriches, Buffalos, Antelopes, Lions, Rhinos, 1 Hippo just 1 (it was under the water the whole time and I sure wasn’t going to find out if it wanted a selfie) and Zebrassss.
Before this trip, I had never seen a lion up close so, as you can imagine, I was super thrilled!
