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Bali Baby☀️🌴💃

Second to my dream of witnessing a Kenya where primary health care is achievable lives a dream of travelling to all the 195 countries on the globe.

In November, 2019 I had the chance to start my #Journeyto195 by ticking 1 country off the list. Yeeei! I got to go to Indonesia for the Asia World Model United Nations III (AWMUN) conference courtesy of my friends and family💕. After the conference, I had the privilege of extending my stay for eight days solo making my stay in Indonesia eleven days long.

I visited Bali, one of the 17,508 islands that make up Indonesia, and here are some tips and information I found useful and would love to share with you:-)

Airline : I used China Southern Air because it had the cheapest rates at the time. I later blessed the heavens when I found out they offer free accommodation/city tour for layovers longer than 8 hours. How cool! They have the best hotels, very comfortable seats and the tour has an English speaking guide. The tour is only available once a day at 8 am so make sure you chose an itinerary that arrives in Guangzhou in the morning😉. It took us a total of 18 hours from Kenya to Bali plus 10 hours for layover. Find more info on free accommodation booking here.

*How cool was my free hotel! Peep the glass walls😍*

Booking your air ticket: It is known that booking tickets months/a year earlier offers better rates. Ensure you book your flight months before to avoid high prices! I booked my tickets trough STA Travels but would advice you to book directly on the airline’s website. It helps in cases of missed flights or lost luggage; story for another day😭.

*My fellow UNHCR Council members 🙂 I’m somewhere on the far left*!

Hair: I made the decision to travel with my natural hair days to the journey. The decision was mainly due to inadequate finances😆 but it ended up being the best decision! Blacks hardly visit Bali so kinky hair is a mystery to them. My bantu knots were everyone’s favorite. It helped me get a discount at the market, start most of my conversations and even had me confused for a model – insert Naomi Campbell here😎. I however had to deal with stares everywhere and people randomly touching my hair👑.

Accommodation: During the conference we were accommodated at the Permata Kuta hotel; a four star hotel that deserves to be a five star!🙌 During my extension I entirely slept in hostels. All the hostels were below 400 Ksh except for Stellar Capsules which was 600 ksh. I booked all my hostels on hostelworld.com ;some prior to the journey and others while in Bali. The hostels I stayed in are: House of D16, Arta Garden hostel, Margarita surf hostel, Pretty girl hostel and Stellar Capsules. I was lucky that all this hostels had swimming pools, were very clean and I met the most amazing roommates🤗.

*Having my floating breakfast at Arta Garden Hostel. The hostel’s kitchen has a floating tray!*

Places visited: The conference was held at Nusa Dua with a one day tour to Uluwatu. After the conference I went ahead and explored Ubud, Canggu, Seminyak and Kuta. While in Kuta I got to go for a night out in Legian and was lucky to find a club playing African music! I really can’t decide which of the towns is my favorite but I wish I got to spend more time in Uluwatu, the place is divine😍

Getting around: I started off my extension with an amazing Ubud tour with a lady called Ana Ana. The 10 hour tour cost 6,000ksh but I with 3 of my friends so we paid 2,000ksh each . The rest of my days were spent exploring the different towns using Google maps, Google Translator and Gojek app for transportation.

Transportation: I entirely used Gojek, an online transport app that allows you to order for GoCar and GoJek (bodas) online. It is something similar to Uber with very affordable rates.

*Enjoying dinner by the beach with my roommates from House of D16💕*

Sim card: I got a Telekomsel sim card from klook.com for roughly seven dollars. The sim card had an amazing package of 8 GB data, 300 minutes for international calls and unlimited international SMS’s. Kindly note that this package is not available for over the counter purchase and you will need to make the order 8 hours before your flight lands at the airport. The data came through big time when using the online apps while solo and for easy communication with my family and friends.

Photos: I entirely used my tripod while solo and asked strangers to take photos where the tripod was not efficient. Tripods for the win!! I bought my tripod here. If you however can, buy a 54 inch one for more efficiency

*One of my favorite tripod shots. Did I add how safe Bali is!*

Food: The street food in Bali is so yummy! Their kibanda is called a Warung and they are so stylish! My favorite meal was Chicken Nasi Goreng; it’s a mix of fried rice and chicken. I also looved the fanta strawberry; so sweet! The prices range between 150 ksh to 600 ksh depending on where you buy from. They also have mini mats on most streets so you can buy snacks to cut on costs.

*Nasi Campur one of Bali’s common delicacies.*

Water: By all means DO NOT drink any tap water as it is widely known that tap water in Bali is not safe. You can easily buy bottled water from any the mini mats. A 1.5 liter bottle goes for 45 ksh depending on the water company.

Souvenirs: This one really had me stressed! I can be quite a spendthrift and having streets filled with cute items really gave me a hard time. There are cute souvenir pieces all over the streets of Bali. As a foreigner make sure you bargain to a third of the quoted price. If you are not good at bargaining you can visit Krisna Oleh Oleh stores in Kuta. Their prices are fixed although slightly higher than the market prices. I also found Kuta market cheaper compared to the famous Ubud market.

*My favorite souvenir purchase was this rattan bag 😍*

Now that I have shared the most important tips, we can get into the different activities and sites I visited and can recommend. My budget for the trip was 24,000 ksh and I made sure everything fit within this budget! Haha, I know you are thinking how on earth did 24k sustain 11 days🤯?? Be back a fortnight from now to get all the juice😋.

*… meanwhile, dream of this smoothie I had at Poke Poke Canggu 😩😋*

Ali Babour Cave Restaurant 🪨🍽

I was recently clearing my older pictures and while at it found several screenshots of Ali Babour Cave Restaurant from 2017. I was a little bit surprised because I hadn’t realised that my wish to visit this beautiful cave restaurant was that long😍.

Incase you are wondering if I am using the word cave symbolically, I’m not. The restaurant is in an actual underground cave. You will literally take stairs down the cave and then sit under an opening that allows you to watch the stars as you dine and drink. Isn’t that magical?

Because I don’t want to bore you with many words let’s get into the details now💃.

Location

The Ali Babour cave restaurant is located along the Diani Beach Road and approximately a 14 minutes drive from the Diani-Ukunda junction.

The property’s sign board is on the right side of the road and huuuuge so you definitely won’t miss it. It is also a three minutes walk from the highway hence accessible if you are using public transport. If using private means, you can use this Google Maps directions. They are accurate to the T!

The Restaurant

Right from the entrance, you will be wowed by everything! As is protocol now, there is a hand wash point and a swahili bed that you can sit on as you either wait for someone or to cool before going down for dinner.

When it comes to the ambience of the space, I’ll let the pictures do the talking🤯🤯

Views of the restaurant at different angles. These pictures were taken at 5pm😍

Views of the restaurant by night😍😍. These pictures were taken between 7 – 8pm

Remember the opening j was talking about? Here is how gorgeous it looks by night. Dining under the stars given a new meaning😍

I also loved the table arrangements and especially how gorgeous it looks with the candles at night.

The Food

Ali babour caters for a majority of the people as they have both vegetarian and non-vegeterian options😋. Because their menu is fully available on their website, I’ll simply include links to them down below:

1. Al Carter menu

2. Vegetarian menu

3. Group set menu

The only thing I’ll say about the food is that it was tastyyyy and while they are not very cheap they certainly are worth the price😉.

For starters we had this garlic bread that sluuuurrrrped😋. Btw this was on the house so if you make an order for food you will definitely get this 👯

For the appetiser we had the Ali’s Drunken Prawns. If you have never had seafood and are not sure if you will like it, this is a good option as the Prawns are soaked in Whisky cream sauce hence are tasty

For the main meal, we had the Catch of the day and the Cheesy Cave Chicken. They were both very yummy and I can definitely recommend 👌👌.

Drinks

Because we didn’t find a drinks menu on the website, we were a little bit scared of the prices. To our surprise, we found that drinks were fairly priced with a glass of juice going for 250/- and a bottle of beer going for 350/-.

Incase you go, you can plan ahead on what cocktail, wine , bear or soft drink you’ll take from the drinks menu below:

Also here is the bar area

Making a reservation

It is highly recommended to make a reservation for your table at Ali Babour since it can get pretty busy. The restaurant is open between 5-8 pm every day of the week.

To make your reservation you can call them on +254 714 456131 or book directly on their website HERE . If you will be staying along the Diani Beach Road, be sure to mention that as they offer free pick up to accommodations/ hotels along the Diani Beach Road.

Dress code

When visiting Ali Babour kindly dress smart and…

1. Do not wear a hat or Beach wear

2. For men, do not wear a vest, shorts or sandals.

We’ve now come to the end of this blog. I have felt so much nostalgia writing this😭 but I really hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog and are looking forward to visiting Ali Babour soon☺.

Thank you so much for reading and exploring with me and as per the usual, see you in two weeks as we enjoy a weekend in Naivasha🤩.

Swahili Beach Spa 🤽‍♀️🏖

I recently turned a year older and celebrated the milestone by taking a trip down to Diani. It was extremely magical🤯 and for this reason here is the start of the Diani series🏖.

To start the series off, today, we are going to enjoy luxury, views, drinks and pampering at the Swahili Spa which is Swahili Beach Resort’s main spa🧞‍♀️.

Location

The Swahili Beach is located right beside the Diani -Ukunda junction. Depending on where you are coming from it will be on your left or right but the sure thing is you won’t miss its grand entrance!

The Space

The Swahili Beach is very beautiful with such beautiful ambiance and ten if not more swimming pools. Because we didn’t explore too much of the hotel, here are a few images and a video of the space.

These images, however, do not even reflect 10% of the beauty that Swahili Beach is🙌.

The reception area, pools, beach and some of the path ways😍. Can you tell the space is truly grand and magnificent?

The Swahili Spa & Gym

When I say I had the most perfect day at this spa I certainly won’t be expressing how much enjoyment, soft life and comfort we actually experienced at the spa🧖‍♀️. Before I blow your minds off with the budget details, let’s take a walk around the spa building 👯.

The changing room complete with a hair dryer and the most amazingly scented body lotion🥵

I know when you hear about Swahili Beach you imagine that it is super expensive. That was what I thought too and so when a friend told me to add it on my to do list for Diani I was a little shocked because with what money 😶. The deal I’m about to share with you, however, made it possible.

So, for 4000/- a person or 6,000 per couple/ two people you get to enjoy all the below between 10am – 6pm. That is literally a full day of enjoyment and relaxation!

For 4000/- a person or 6,000 per couple/ two people you get to enjoy all this between 10am – 6pm.

Incase you’re wondering if it’s worth it here are actual visuals of the things you get access to;

1. A welcome drink. Can be sparkling wine or fruit juice depending on your preference🥂

2. Unlimited snacks from 12 noon to 4 pm.

Here you will enjoy mautamu after mautamu😋😋. For us we had spring rolls, samosas, steak, cashew nuts and fruits. We actually went hungry but left full😅.

3. Unlimited Gin from the beach club’s gin bar🍸

If you are a fan of gin then you will have an even more perfect time as they have a wide range of options that comes complete with chasers. If gin is not your cup of tea, you can request to have cocktails made for you🍹🍹.

4. Full day access to their Infinity pool

This has to be one of the best pools I have laid my eyes on. The direct views to the ocean and the ambience of the pool area make it even more tantalising 🏖

5. A 15 minutes massage

When I tell you that the masseuse understood the assignment, I mean nothing other than that! The massage was so good I was left stagnant for a couple of minutes fighting off sleep 🤣. Because of how relaxing it is, I would recommend you have it as the final step so you can leave as a relaxed and pampered babyghurl/ boy😎.

It is important to note that children are not allowed in this area so this is mostly for some adult relaxation. Also, because the package is valid from 10am – 6pm make sure you are there at 10 for maximum enjoyment 😉.

To reserve a spot, you can reach out to Mary on 0725389092. She was extremely nice to us and ensured we were well taken care of🤩.

As per the usual, see you in two weeks as we have dinner in a cave🍽🥘. Thank yooou for reading and feel free to share with a friend or two😁.

A Watamu Tamu Look book 🌴🛶🌞

You know how they say ‘man make plans but God laughs’. I have a feeling this quote was made specifically for our watamu trip😆. When we left for this trip, I knew I would be back with four blogs worth of content. Somehow, however, I was able to come up with only one🙊.

Luckily, I recently thought of an idea. An idea to summarise our experience in Watamu by sharing our top picks on things to do while in Watamu. For that, here is a short list of things you can do while in Watamu.

1. Stay at Watamu Beach Cottages

With a swimming pool, Direct access to Diani’s White sandy beaches, a fully equipped kitchen, central location and absolute ambience; Watamu Beach Cottages is the ideal choice for you. The thing that makes it the absolute best however is the affordable accommodation prices.

For Ksh 2,000 a night you can sleep in the tents on the property and for Ksh 3,800 you can sleep in the cottages on the property. Both options cater for 2 pax so your actual accommodation isn’t will be half the price of the room. Because of it’s central location and access to a kitchen you will be sure to save costs on transport and food.

Click HERE for Watamu Beach Cottages full blog. And reach Benjamin on 0720771030 to book your stay.

Oh before I forget, while in Watamu, you can reach out to our boda guy Emmanuel on +254717474628 . He was punctual and knew all the nice spots for everything!

2. Dine and enjoy a Canoe ride at Crab Shark Dabaso

Located on the line of the Mida Creek, with a board walk access, beautiful views and tasty plus affordable meals, Crab Shark is a recommended place for your chilled late afternoon in Watamu. You can watch the sunset on a canoe ride followed by a candle lit dinner with views and sounds of the Indian ocean by night.

Canoe rides cost Ksh 500 per person while meals start from Ksh 200 depending on your preference.

Click HERE for Crab Shark’s full blog.

3. Swim and experience a day of luxury at Rock & Sea Watamu

A couple of weeks have passed by since Kyla and I got to experience Rock & Sea but my mind is still as blown away today as it was on that day. From the beautiful pool, unique amenities and rich vibes Rock and Sea is a place you need to experience atleast once in this life.

Swimming for the day will cost you Ksh 1,000 while a glass of wine will be Ksh 600 and a cocktail at the range of Ksh 700. Because you will need to book your Swimming slot in advance, here is the number to call for bookings: 0799 670253 .

Click HERE for the Rock & Sea blog.

4. Experience history at The Gede Ruins

The Gede Ruins comes as a combination of The Ruins, A snake park and a Butterfly sanctuary. The three facilities have different entry fees so you can chose to visit one, two or all of them. For this, make sure you visit while you have time as it is very rich in history with interesting tales about the people who lived in the area in their era.

The entry fees are Ksh 100 for the Ruins, Ksh 100 for the Kipepeo Butterfly sanctuary and ?? for the Snake park.

5. Enjoy a swim, meal, drink and sunset at Lichtaus Watamu

I don’t think there is someone who’s visited Watamu in the last few months and hasn’t passed by or thought of passing by Lichtaus. Yes! That is how popular the place is and incase you’re wondering why, here is why;

This hamock gives some mad tropical island, read Maldives, vibes and is the reason why Litchaus is always packed. For this, make sure you book a spot for when you plan to visit if you are a group of 6 OR make sure ro be there before 4:30pm if you are less than 6 individuals as bookings are only available for groups with a minimum of 6 people..

You can do so by reaching them on Instagram HERE or by reaching them on call or text via +254 740 768412

Do you feel that you are now better prepared to plan for your trip to Watamu? I really hope that you will be. Make sure to share with me when you do visit! Also, if you have any other cool places and idea for Watamu, drop them in the comment section. You might help make someone’s trip better🧚‍♀️.

Thank you for reading😀 and as per the usual, see you in two weeks as we enjoy luxury and vibes at the Swahili Beach Spa.

Rock & Sea Watamu🌊🏜️

Hey you😀. Thank you for coming back, and if you are new here, welcome to our budget family🤩.

Two fortnights ago I experienced paradise. One of the most beautiful, exquisite and unique places I’ve been to. Everything from the ride to the place😂, amenities and accomodation options were mind-blowing. Because I don’t want to preempt too much with my words, let us explore Rock and Sea Watamu – on a budget😉.

Getting there

Have you ever boarded a boda with a second person? Now imagine being on that boda for 2 hours through a very bumpy rough road. Incase you think that is bad enough, visualize the ride on a day so windy that my head wrap was blown away. This is what we went through to reach the place simply because we didn’t inquire about the available transit options 😭.

Because we suffered so that you don’t suffer😝, the simplest and cheaper way to get to Rock and Sea is via their speed boat that offers pick up and drop off services. The speed boat will pick you up from Garoda beach or Litchaus Watamu, takes approximately 20 minutes and costs 500/- only.

Here is Garoda beach where pick up is done. Garoda beach is right next to Temple Point Resort.

In other news, welcome to the magnificent Rock & Sea Watamu🏜️

The space

Kyla, my travel partner and best friend, booked us in for swimming but the staff there were so nice they gave us a tour of the facility and accomodation. For that, I’ll show you the places we saw except for the swimming area and bubble accomodation. Those we will explore a little later.

The Relax area which has some Swahili sofas to sit on and relax. It also has some games which include a pool table, a dart board🎯 and chess.

The massage area with a direct view of the ocean.☘️

Swimming at Rock and Sea

The most affordable way to explore Rock and Sea is by booking a day to enjoy a swim 🏊. The pool area alone gives so much luxury and comfort vibes you will almost experience the full glamour of the place.

Swimming here will cost you Ksh 1,000 for the whole day. Because you must book in advance, here is the number to call for booking: 0799 670253 . As you book, kindly remember to also inquire about pick up📝.

Now that we know this let us explore the swimming area💃

How beautiful is this pool and sun beds😍😍

And this relax area just beside the pool area😍. From this spot, you can enjoy a meal or drink from the pool bar🍹.

And this jacuzzi that gives mad luxury vibes😝.

Accomodation options

If you know of Rock and Sea, you probably know it for it’s bubble suites that are as beautiful in person as they are on the internet 🙌. A night in the bubble for 2 costs approximately Ksh 30,000 on bed and breakfast basis. Before you complain about the price here is what the bubble looks like 🤓

Imagine the stars as your upper view and the ocean your front view😭😍😍

Because the bubbles are often fully booked, remember to make your reservation early enough through 0799 670253.

Drinks

While swimming, we decided to risk and find out how much drinks costs. We were very surprised to find that they are fairly priced. Cocktails range between Ksh500 – Ksh800 while a glass of wine goes for Ksh 600. There definitely are more expensive options, but it was nice to find options for budget travellers😉.

You can also visit their website – https://www.rockandsearesort.com/ – to check out their full food and drinks menu📜.

We’ve now come to the end of this blog and I hope that you are as excited as I am to visit Rock and Sea time and again😎.

As per the usual, see you in two weeks as we explore things you can do on a weekend in Watamu👯‍♀️👯‍♀️. Thank you for reading ♥️.

Twende Sinai🚆🏡

Hey you🤩. Thank you for coming back, and if you are new here, welcome to our budget family❤️.

Two Saturdays ago, thanks to my fellow mentee, I traveled to Taita for our mentors homecoming party at the Sinai Bush Camp. While I thoroughly understood the enjoyment assignment, I totally forgot that I needed to get photos and further details on the beautiful venue to share with you🙈. For this, today I will only be able to share with you Sinai Homes Mwatate – the accomodation we spent the night in.

Getting there

Our means of transport of choice for this trip was SGR. Other than SGR, the other options are driving down to Voi or taking a flight to Mombasa and heading back to Voi.

To get to the SGR terminus at, I took the commuter train from Nairobi Railways stage at the CBD. The train left at 6:30am and arrived at around 7:40am. The ride cost 50/- and leaves right on time. If you want to use it, be sure to have boarded before 6:30am.

The SGR train to Voi cost 700/- and was 4hours 3 minutes long. Upon arriving at Voi station, we took a 7 seater private van to Sinai Bush Camp for 3,500/-. If you wish to use public means the cost will be 100/- on a boda to Voi town, 100/- on a matatu to Mwatate town and 100/- on a boda to Sinai Homes.

Accomodation options

Sinai Homes offers 2 main accomodation options; (1) one bedroom apartment and (2) bedsitters. The one bedroom- with a kitchen, sitting room and bedroom- goes for 3,000/- while the bedsitters go for 2,500/-.

The bed is big enough to comfortably fit two adults, so it is possible to share the cost and pay 1,500/- or 1,250/- each. Let’s take a tour around Sinai homes🤓.

The gate and entry area which serves as a secure parking for 1 car.

The apartment exterior. Notice the grills on the windows. We all loved this security feature.

The bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and corridor. The Bedroom comes with towels and a mosquito net, the bathroom stocked with soap and toilet paper and the kitchen with utensils, drinking water and a microwave.

We really loved the ‘seats’ provided in the sitting area. They were super comfortable and actually double up as swimming floaters.

Sinai Bush Camp Accomodation

Other than the Sinai Homes apartment, while in Mwatate, you can stay at the Sinai Bush Camp. The camp is approximately 25 minutes away from the main road and you therefore get to experience that premium bush experience 😍.

From the reviews by our friends, sleeping in a tent surrounded by Mwatate’s nature is highly recommended. The camp is eco-friendly and has a restaurant and bar on sight so be sure to budget some money for food and drinks as you enjoy the surroundings.

For accommodation, a tent goes for 5,000/- per night on bed & breakfast basis. It comes with a bed, table, toiletries and a washroom within the tent area.

Things to do in Voi

Although we didn’t get a chance to explore much while in Voi, here are some fun activities you can get into while on your visit;

1. Visit Sinai Bush Camp for some tasty nyama.

2. Go for a swim at the Mzima springs.

3. Enjoy a game drive at the Taita Hills lodges Sanctuary

4. Dine at the Salt Lick Safari Lodge

5. Hike the Sinai hills

To book a stay at the Sinai Bush Camp or Sinai Homes, you can shoot a message or call via 0795 977235. The food, customer service and amenities were A1; you’ll be sure to find value for your money.

As per the usual, see you in two weeks as we explore Nairobi Street Kitchen. Thank you for reading ❤️ and see you soon 💃.

Nairobi Street Kitchen 🍹📸

Hey you! Thank you for coming back, and if you are new here, welcome to our budget family🤓.

Last Saturday a new spot in Westlands was launched and opened to the public. It was referred to as Nairobi’s most instagramable place. This reference bore a curiosity in me, and to kill the curiosity, my girl Cheruto and I decided to visit and explore the spot. For this, here is my experience at Nairobi Street Kitchen.

Getting there

Nairobi Street Kitchen (NSK) is strategically located; a short distance from the Naivas Westlands stage. Once you alight,if coming from town, you will cross the road to the supermarket’s side then walk towards the huge fig tree at the start of Mpaka Road. Here you will take a left turn and walk straight ahead before seeing NSK which is directly opposite the MCFrys Distributors.

The Space

I have been racking up my brain for a word that would best describe NSK but I really couldn’t settle on one. That is how diverse and beautiful the space is!

To have a glimpse of what I mean, here is the entry way. This entryway has seats provided for you to sit on as you wait for your company. How thoughtful is that!!

Walking in you will find 11 restaurants and bars within the space. The restaurants cater for a variety of palate so you are sure to find something that matches your taste😋. Some of the options available are: Indian, Mexican, chicken, pizza, burgers, a coffee and milk shop and two bars.

All the restaurant’s are so aesthetically appealing with thoughtful decor touches. My favourite of all was Hopskotch; a restaurant specializing in ice creams🍨.

Some of the other restaurants and bars include; The Nood, Si Senor, Bird Exchange, Desi Loco, Fire & Dough, Spilt Milk, 68 Library, Buttr’d Buns, the NSK Bar and the Roof top bar.

From these images, do you agree that this could actually be the most instagramable place in Nairobi? 🤒

The NSK also has a bar on the ground floor where you can grab some cocktails, mocktails, juice or soft drinks. Here is a glimpse of the bar😍.

Just incase you are curious, except for about 3 spaces, you are allowed to take photos anywhere and everywhere📸. Some of the cute spots include but are not limited to;

Food and drinks

Because of the variety available, making a choice on what to eat may be a little tasking especially if you don’t have a specific preference. For better preparation, here are menus from some of the restaurants at NSK.

During our visit we had bites from The Nood and Bird Exchange and drinks from the NSK bar.

The Muhogo chips, masala chips and Smoked short ribs gyoza. The portions are not very generous but is compensated for by the taste😋😋.

For drinks we had a cocktail juice and the Mbao Mbao kocktail. Cheruto highly recommends the cocktail 😋. As for the juice, I would say it is appropriate for individuals who enjoy a healthier option as it has beetroots, apples and funnel seeds.

Other things to note

1. NSK operates on a No Cash rule! For this, make sure to visit with money loaded on your Mpesa or Visa card as NO payment is made in cash.

2. The operating hours are 7am – 7pm from Monday to Sunday 📆.

Can I also mention how gorgeous their washrooms are? 🙈

We’ve now come to the end of this blog and while I feel like there is so much more to show and tell I really hope that I’ve done this space justice and most importantly that you are excited to now visit and explore NSK.💃💃

As per the usual, see you in two weeks as we explore another beautiful indoor spot 😎. Thank you for reading ❤️ and see you soon 👯.

Bowling at the Village Bowl🎳

Hey you🤩. Thank you for coming back, and if you are new here, welcome to our budget family❤️.

Four years ago, on my first visit to Village Market (VM), I didn’t shut up about how beautiful the mall was. Last weekend I visited Village Market for the second time and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t mind blown! The mall has gotten so much more beautiful with better aesthetics, more functionality and amazing amenities.

Talking of amenities, other than the many sitting areas dotting different spots in the mall, VM has a very big wing filled with endless game options🤸. For this, today you are going to go bowling with me💃.

Getting there

If using public transport, you will board a matatu heading to Banana or Ruaka at the Koja stage🚌. From Nairobi CBD, VM is approximately 15 minutes away and this commute will cost you between 40/- to 100/- depending on the time and choice of matatu.

Here is one of the outdoor sitting areas at VM😍. Such areas make it possible for you to enjoy comfort while waiting for someone or as you enjoy a snack from the supermarket.

The Bowling Arena

Once you get to VM, you will undergo the necessary covid and security measures then proceed to the lifts and go up to the 2nd floor. On the second floor you will very easily spot The Village Bowl.

Upon entry, you will first be provided with appropriate Bowling shoes. Because socks are not provided, kindly make sure you wear or carry socks during your visit📝.

As you get the bowling shoes, your shoes will be stored safely at the reception area so don’t worry about carrying your shoes around 😜. At this point you will now go ahead and pay.

The bowling charges for adults are 500/- for 10 rounds. 1 round equals 2 balls so for the 10 rounds you will have 20 ball throws📝. We had so so much fun during the visit that we didn’t even realize that our 20 throws were over😭. For this, I would recommend that you have 1,000/- during your visit so you can enjoy 40 throws.

A tip for beginners: kindly request the person serving you at the reception to have your rails up. This will save you rounds of offside throws!

After playing you can chose to relax at the bowling’s sitting area👇

The Ball Point Social Club 🏓

Or you can go up to the third floor and enjoy a meal, pool or board games at The Ball Point Social Club🏓.

We had hotdogs, a plate of chips and soda and I can highly recommend this combination. The hotdogs🌭 were so soft and yumm, the chips a lot and the salad amazing too🥗.

For purposes of knowing your options, here are the drinks and food menus.

PS: They have a buy one get one free offer on cocktails every Monday to Thursday from 3 pm to 8pm. Don’t say I didn’t tell you 🤓.

Other than the amazing food and ambiance, you can play a variety of games at Ball Point. Pool is 200/- per game while board games are 1000/- for 3 hours. The price is for both individuals and groups and during the period you can play any of the games listed below.

This might be a wiered thing to mention🙈, but I really loved their washrooms. So colorful and cute😍.

See the mirror on the wall, if you press on the red ring lights switch on and if you press on the blue ring they go off. How cool is that!! 👯

As we come to the end of this post, does bowling and food sound like a good way to spend the day? If it does, be sure to visit VM soon and have an amazing time👯. When you do, feel free to share your experience with me because it makes me super happy to hear that you are enjoying yourselves while on a budget😉.

As per the usual, see you in two weeks as we explore Sinai Homes in Mwatate. Thank you for reading ❤️ and see you soon💃.

Nairobi Pizza Week – 2021🍕

Any pizza lovers in the house? Do you know that 2nd – 11th July is Nairobi Pizza week? If you didn’t know, now you know!

During this NPW, 100 plus restaurants within Nairobi are offering a Buy one Get one free offer or 25% off on all pizzas listed/ available on their menus. The NBW is proudly organized by Eat out Kenya; a page that simply describes itself by the words ‘We love restaurants’!

Because I’m certain you are now ready to explore your options, here is a link listing all the restaurant participating in NPW-2021: https://eatout.co.ke/nairobi-pizza-week/?s=&post_type=place

This years pizza week has a unique way of participating as you need to present a Passport📨 to be eligible for the discount or BOGOF offer. Before you think that getting the passport is hard😂 all you have to do is visit the EatOut KE website HERE and fill in the form with your name and email – as shown below.

Once you submit the details you will recieve an email with your passport. It’s that easy! 💃

As I sign off, have you been to any of the restaurants on the list? If yes, kindly share your review in the comment section, it might be of help to someone 😎.

Thank you for reading and happy eating 😉😉.

Mint & Salt🍔😋

Hey you, thank you for coming back and if you are new here, welcome to our budget family ❤️.

I would love to start by saying that I really missed you’ll. It’s been a long month with lots of restrictions but I’m happy to be back here👯.

With the now lifted restrictions in Nairobae, I thought it good to finally explore a cafe we had been eyeing for a minute. For this, today I will share with you my short but sweet experience at Mint & Salt Bakery and Cafe.

Location

Mint & salt is located at the ground floor of Uchumi House. Uchumi House is located around Aga Khan Walk and off Moi Avenue.

The sure thing though, is that you won’t miss this beauty 😍😍

The Space

Mint & Salt is a very cute intimate space with thoughtful decor and hints of greenery. The tables & chairs available were very comfortable and there was total observation of the social distancing rule.

Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures during the visit as there were quite a number people at the café. However, here are some pictures of the space borrowed from thezururist’s Instagram page.

Food & Drinks

Food served at Mint & Salt range between 300/- to 850/- while drinks served range between 70/- to 400/- depending on your choice.

During our visit, for food, we had Shawarma served with chips and the Classic beef burger. The classic burger was very filling 😋 and would be a good choice when you are really hungry while the shawarma would be ideal for a snack.

For drinks, we had the Classic and Strawberry lemonades.

Operating times

Mint & Salt is open from 8:30am to 8:30pm every Monday to Sunday and they currently offer both delivery and dine in services📝. To make an order for delivery, you can visit their Instagram page or give them a call via 0748 142721.

I really hope that you have fallen in love with this cute cafe as much as I did. I’ll certainly be going back and I hope to bump into you while at it😉.

As we now get back to a bit of normalcy, I’ll see you in two weeks as we explore Bowling at the Village Market 🌧️. Thank you for reading ❤️ and see you soon💃.

Nkasiri Adventure Park 🚵🎯🏓

Hey you🤩. Thank you for coming back, and if you are new here, welcome to our budget family❤️.

I would like to start by saying thank you for all the love you have shown the A Night in a Pod piece. It is super exciting to hear that so many of you would wish to experience that adventure 😉. If you however imagined that the pod was the only thing to experience at Nkasiri, you would be happy to hear that it is just but a tip on the iceberg. Right from the gate, you will find so much to do. From a playing field for your babies, a rope challenge for the adults and indoor and outdoor activities: there is something for everyone!

For this, today, we will explore all the activities you can get into while at Nkasiri. The most exciting part is that more than 90% of these activities are freeeee👯.

1. High ropes

The high ropes has to be the first activity on the list. It looks like so much fun but don’t be fooled, it is not for the faint hearted😅. I heard people screaming as they jumped from one pole or bucket to the other. One thing though is that you will enjoy every single bit of the experience!

The charges for high ropes are 1,500/- for Level 1 and an additional 500/- for Level 2. This price is inclusive of the zipline at the end of the level🏅.

The high rope challenge from different views.

2. Ziplining

Right beside the rope challenge structures is a 100m zipline that you can enjoy if high ropes is not your thing. Ziplining costs 500/- and is recommended for children mostly.

3. Pool table

This is one of the indoor games you can get into as you watch your football match or sip on your drink. If you are lucky you will find other guests willing to play with you. If you do not find any, don’t worry, the staff are quite friendly and if they are free they will certainly play with you.

One round goes for 50/-.

4. Table tennis

Also in the lounge area, the table tennis table provides you with an indoor game to enjoy as you wait for your meal to be served or as you enjoy your drink.

There are no charges for this.

5. Cycling

It had been a very long time since I had last cycled and for that this has to be the activity I indulged in most. There are about 10 bicycles available for use. Two of this are small and meant for the children.

Cycling, like most of the other activities, is free.

6. Ball games

At Nkasiri, you will find a huge and well manicured field where you can play Basketball 🏀, Football⚽ and Volleyball⚾. The balls are available at the property and you don’t need to pay to enjoy these ball games.

The volleyball, football and basketball pitch.

7. Archery + Darts

Surounding the kitchen and lounge area are these two games that can be enjoyed solo. One is darts and the other archery. The archery board is loosely hang on the fence and therefore more enjoyable for beginners.

8. Kids games

For the final sporting activities, I will get into the various games that your babies will enjoy while at the property. If I’m being quite honest, the games are equally enjoyable for adults🙈 so please feel free to indulge!

These games include; Swinging, Trampoline and 2 other equipments that I honestly can’t identify.

Other than this activities, you can also choose to just sit in one of the outdoor sitting areas and enjoy some quite and chill time. Nkasiri certainly has something for everyone! Are you excited to visit now?

Because of the current restrictions due to Covid, I don’t promise to see you in two weeks, but it is my hope that I do. Thank you for reading❤️ and see you soon💃💃.