Come with me on a budget!

The Kitchen that unleashes your Cravings😆😋

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

Close to my love for matters primary health care, nature and travel lives a huge huge love for food. It is one of those things that just make me feel happy. Eating it, seeing pictures of it, hearing stories about good food; it all makes me happy 🤩. So much so that three of my friends sent me this meme a few weeks back😓.

Now, onto the agenda of the day, today I will share with you one of these places that bring me happiness. I will share with you CRAVE KITCHEN. Crave Kitchen is a beautiful, calm and extremely creatively designed restaurant located in Kikuyu town – which is about 40 minutes from Nairobi CBD. To get to Kikuyu you will board a number 105 mini-bus. There are a couple of stages for these buses around Archives. Once you board, sit tight and relax as you will alight at the final stop which is Kikuyu stage. Once you alight, walk straight forward into the town until you see this Shell petrol station on your left.

Keep walking straight forward until you see this on your left👇

Now take the left rough road and keep straight. After a 2 minutes walk you will see the Crave Kitchen entrance as shown below 👇

If you go in the evening, during the golden hour, you can take some sun-kissed photos and selfies with your eating buddy as you enjoy the sweet aroma from the kitchen🤤🤤.

My eating buddy, on my most recent visit, was my brother Alvin👫.

When you are done with the photos and walk in, you’ll be met with too many cute sitting spots so much so that you’ll have a hard time choosing where to sit😍. Here are some of the spots you can choose from👇

We chose to seat at a cute little corner near the outside kitchen. It is currently my favorite spot as we were able to enjoy the sunset as we ate and laughed the evening away🤩

Now on to the food 😋. When we asked for the menu we were informed that the menus were written on the wall. How cool! For you not to miss them when you go, the menus are on the black boards at the entrance and after the spot with books.☝️

Here is a glimpse of the two menus. They serve more dishes than what is written on the menus so please ask your waiter for their other options.

I am a huge chicken lover and for this reason I’ve always had chicken. Both crispy and roasted. The roasted chicken is very filling as it’s Ksh 550 for half a chicken, kachumbari and ugali. The crispy chicken goes for KSh 460 and is ideal for days when you are not so hungry. The amazing thing however is that their soda goes for only 50 bob!!!! Affordable right?

Other than the amazing amazing food served here they have a bakery with some tasty tasty cake and pastries😋😋. They even have a rainbow cake🌈.

Crave Kitchen also hosts some amazing and fun events often. This include things like morning yoga, singing nights and weekend thrifts. You can follow them on Instagram @cravekitchen to see the other delicacies they serve and to also stay up to date on these events . This link will also take you directly to their Instagram page😉.

Let’s take some few shots as we leave our food haven📸🤗

*The kitchen where all the roasting magic happens🍽️🐓*

I hope you enjoyed this read and that you’ll find it useful when making the decision to visit Crave😍. When you do, kindly share your experience with me.💃

As per the usual, see you next as we discover a hidden cottage in Eldoret. Thank you for reading and see you soon.❤️❤️

Saa Nane Island National Park 🛥️🦁

Hey you! Thank you for coming back and if you are new here; Welcome to our budget family🤗🤗.

When you hear the name Saa Nane what comes to mind? Time? Similar location coordinates to that of 2 pm on the clock? A reflection of the best time to visit the park? What came to your mind first? For me I was too confused with the all above options bombarding my mind😂. I later learnt that the island was previously owned by a European settler called Sir Enein. Because of the name’s difficult pronunciation the Tanzanian’s found it hard to correctly pronounce his name. So, they began referring to him as ‘Saa Nane’ -the Swahili word that sounds closest to that pronunciantion- and that’s how the name came to be😆.

Saa Nane is a ‘man-made’ park located ten minutes away from Mwanza CBD. I say that it is a man made park because the animals living in the park are brought in from different parks in and outside TZ. Because of this, there are not so many animals on the park. Some of the animals currently present are three zebras, gazelles, one lion, monkeys, peackocks and some big big monitor lizards.

*Some of the animals in the pack. Mr. Lion is missing as he was asleep.*

To access the park and museum you will part with KES 2,500 which caters for entrance fee, boat ride fee and boat parking fee. It is however cheaper to go as a group📝as you will be able to share the boat ride charge which is Ksh 1,750. For example; because I had a travel buddy we each paid KES 1,450 which included transaction fees. The transaction fees came about because the only mode of payment acceptable at the park’s entrance is Mobile and Electronic payment.📝 So forget about carrying cash and carry your Visa card 😉.

Once you pay, you will be introduced to your tour guide for the day. You will then choose between starting from the museum or from the park. We chose to start from the park but if I can recommend, kindly start with the museum because once you experience the beauty of the park you will not be so interested in the museum🙊.

We will now proceed to the boat that will ferry us to the park.

*I introduce to you MV Saa Nane.* 🎤*Before boarding kindly wear your life jacket because you will need to hold onto your life to survive this beauty😂*

Upon arrival here is the beautiful view you will be met with 😍😍

*Welcome to Saa Nane Island National Park 😍😍*

Among the many things that you will enjoy at the park, there are five main points that are a must see. I will start with these five and then proceed to share some images including captioned details. Enjoy💃

1. Secret corner

The reason why it is a secret corner is that it is believed that when a couple, who have disagreed, meet in this corner all their problems get solved. It has the secret power of reconciliation 😆😆

2. Girrafe tree

3. Sunset view

This is the spot where 6 pm should find you so that you can enjoy the sun setting and reflecting on the water of beautiful Tanganyika.

4. Jumping Stone

This is a spot at the top most part of the island. While jumping from the stone downward, it gives an illusion that you are jumping into the lake.😍 It is however unfortunate that we were not able to get to the point because it started to drizzle😭

5. Picnic site

I forgot to take pictures of this spot🙊. You are however allowed to carry your own snacks or eat the parks hotel. If you are a fan of camping you will also get ample grounds complete with electricity and running water.

*Enjoy the views of L. Tanganyika as you move around and remember to carry the memories through pictures📸*

*And when you have had enough of the views say goodbye to the beautiful place 😢*

Now that we are back to the mainland let’s get a glimpse of the museum shortly as we say goodbye💃

As you exit you can opt to have a meal at the parks canteen. We had some rice and maini and it wass so tasty, came with a beautiful beautiful view of the lake and relatively cheap!! The plate cost us Ksh 150.

This marks the end of today’s blog and the Mwanza series as well. From the last three posts, are you convinced that you really need to add and tick Mwanza off your bucket list? Let me know in the comment section 😉

And as per the usual see you in two weeks as I share with you a food haven in Kikuyu😋. Thank you for reading ❤️.

It’s a Mwanza Look book👯📸

Hey you! Thank you for coming back and if you are new here; Welcome to our budget family🤗🤗. For all my camera lovers this post for you😉. And although I do not promise you picture perfect shots; I am certainly assuring you that you will fall in love with the beauty of Mwanza before you are done reading this post! Haha that was a hard sentence to write!

First thing I have to mention is that I never imagined how exhausting fifteen hours on the road would be😓. We arrived and all we wanted to do was have a good meal, shower and rest. It didn’t help that Mwanza was supper sunny and hot! Because of this all the plans we had for Saturday afternoon kunywad maji🤣. Other than relaxing we took time to plan our next two and a half days since the corona situation had altered our original plan.

*This is the face of a well fed and rested human ready to explore🤓*

This trip was not intense and fast as Bali was. It was a mixture of exploring and relaxing🛀. Below is a highlight of the places we explored over the remaining days. I’ll also leave the important details that will come in handy as you plan your visit. Enjoy💃

NB: The prices mentioned are in Kenyan Shillings (Kes) and are converted from Tanzanian Shillings (Tsh) in the rate 1Kes = 20 Tsh.

Sukuma Bujore Museum

For 400/= (4 USD) you will have your entrance and tour guide fee sorted. The tour guide, Richard, is very knowledgeable on the beautiful culture of the Sukuma people. The fact that he has worked in the museum for 38 years explains why. It took us around 2 hours to explore every single part of the museum plus another 30 minutes to take pictures🙊.

Saa Nane Island Park

We often hear of beautiful places and then we get to experience this places. When I tell you that Saa Nane is breathtaking I do no justice describing the place 🙌. The park is located on an island! It is a ‘man-made’ park since animals were transported to the island. Some of the animals on the island include zebras, waterbucks, a lion, antelopes, monkeys and some huuge monitor lizards. The cost for park fee, a tour guide and a boat ride- to and fro the island- is 1,450/= (15 USD). Here are some pictures to try describe the place but stay tuned for the next blog because we will get into details about this gem😉

Bismark Rock

Because Mwanza is the city of rocks, our trip could not come to an end before visiting one of the many rock parks. We were unlucky that the rain poured as soon as we got to the park so all we did was sit and enjoy the view of the lake. The entrance fee is 50/= and the cost to swim is 150/= (2 USD). The place is perfect if you are looking to have a chilled time as you enjoy the beautiful sunset and views😍😍

Tunza Beach

If you know me, you know that water and sand are my love languages🙊. For that, I was super excited to take a dip in a fresh water lake during this trip. When the initial itinerary plan changed I had to quickly find a beach to explore while in Mwanza. I stumbled on Tunza Beach from rheenruby’s story and that’s how we discovered this beautiful resort😍. It cost us 100/= (1 USD) for the entrance fee.

*Best part about KwaTunza is that it is both adult and child friendly 😍😍*

This marks the end of the Mwanza look book😊. I hope you will find it useful when deciding on the places to visit during your trip😉. Also, from the details I’ve just shared, what is your favorite spot? Comment down and let me know; it might be my fav spot too💃.

As usual, see you in two weeks as we get into all the details of the gem that is Saa Nane Island Park👯. Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks❤️

See you soon🤗🤗

Mwanza Baby! 🌅🧗

This post was meant to go up as I enjoyed the beauty of Lake Kivu but as Corona would have it I am home winding up my day😭. This therefore means that the plan to tick 3 countries off my list didn’t come to fruition. I was however able to shortly explore one country before the Covid-19 situation became alarming💔. For that, today I will share with you all about Mwanza.💃

*While in Mwanza, you will see many many beautiful rocks everywhere😍. I learnt that it is also known as Rock City.*

Mwanza is a town located in the western part of Tanzania and 16 hours, by road, from Nairobi🚌. It is a very beautiful and safe town with amazing amazing people and a spectacular sunrise🌅. I got to spend 3 nights and 4 days there and here are the tips I picked during my time there. Enjoy😉😉

Mwanza Sunrise in her glory 😻😻

NB: The prices mentioned are in Kenyan Shillings (Kes) and are converted from Tanzanian Shillings (Tsh) in the rate 1Kes = 20 Tsh.

Transport

I used Modern Coast for my departure and return journey. It cost me 3,150/= in total; 1,000/= to and 2,150/= from. I can recommend one to use them as they kept time and had very good customer service. You should however be careful during booking not to fall prey to the lie that only VIP seats are available!

*During our immigration stop over at the Isebania border.*

Border requirements

The two main things you will need while crossing over is a Yellow fever card and a Passport or Temporary permit.📝 It is important to note that while crossing the Kenya – TZ border, you will need to get stamps from both sides.

Accommodation

What I am about to share with you is a gem😭. Upon arrival in Mwanza, we left our bags at the Modern Coast booking office and went to hunt for a place to sleep. Rock City Lodge was the first lodge we checked out and it was absolutely love at first sight😆. Being only a four minute walk to the Buzurunga stage it was very clean, affordable, had free breakfast and a beautiful ambience😍🙌. We settled for a double room because in TZ people of the same sex are not allowed to share a room with one bed🤕. The double room went for 2,000 bob; I paid 1,000/= a night.

Sim-cards

Because internet connectivity is importanter😜we bought a Sim card immediately after securing a place to sleep. We got an Airtel simcard for 150/= and 2.5GB data at 100/=. The network connectivity was spectacular but what surprised me was that they take your fingerprints during sim registration🧐.

Sim card registration stand. Source : rheenruby.

Money

In regard to money, the first thing is to atleast change some of your Ksh to Tsh before the journey📝. Because Kenyan money is not recognized in TZ you may be unable to even get some water when need be.

On changing currency’s, the modern coast office had a good rate of 1 Ksh = 20 Tsh. You can change your money here. I however had to wait for Monday to change mine as I had unfortunately changed mine to dollars (USD) before the journey. The rate for USD was really good but if you will be arriving on a weekend kindly just carry your money in Ksh.📝

*Us playing bao trying to win some imaginary shillings 😂. Is it true to say that bao was an African way of gambling?*

Fooood!

If you are a foodie Mwanza is the place for you😂. You will eat, snack and eat again without feeling an effect on your budget🙌. The cheapest meal, that wehad, was a plate of rice and beans at 50/= and the most expensive was a plate of rice and fish at 600/=. At this point, I will let the pictures do the talking.

Getting around

Figuring out places while in Mwanza was quite easy. I think this is because we stayed close to the stage and that their transport system is quite similar to what we have here; only cheaper. We entirely used Matatus and Daladalas🏍️. The seating arrangement on their matatus is very funny so just make sure you don’t pick the seat behind the driver; you will fall🤣. Also, Google maps was not very accurate but the locals were very willing to direct us and even escort us to where we were going.

*Since I do not have a matatu or daladala picture on my phone🙊 here is our ride to the Saa Nane Island park. Water? Animal park? Haha do not worry. I’ll have a whole blog dedicated to this gem😉*

Budget

Saving the best for last😉. I wanted to keep this trip under 10,000/= and I’m happy to announce that a sister was able to achieve this!🤑 The TravelSpend app, mentioned on my previous blog, really came through as I easily keyed in the expense type and amount with two simple clicks! Here is the expense breakdown!🤓

Return journey transport – 2,150

Accommodation – 3,000

Food and Water – 1,065

Sight seeing + Guide tips – 2,250

Transport and Airtime – 820

Incase you are wondering why I haven’t included the transport cost from Nairobi to Mwanza; it is because I booked the ticket in January during the 999/= offer Modern Coast had.

My total spend ended up being 9,285/=. I even ended up changing 250/= back to Ksh😎 after buying some shoes and a globe as souvenirs. For 3 nights and 4 days, do you think I hacked this budget thing? Let me know below in the comment section💬

As per the usual 😉 see you in two weeks as I share with you a Mwanza look book highlight the activities we got into👯. Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks❤️.

Before you go, I would like to introduce to you my bestie and travel buddy Kyla as you will see lots of her on the next post🧑‍🤝‍🧑.

See you soon🤗🤗

What’s in my Bag?

In about 56 hours I’ll be leaving for my first trip in 2020🎉. This is about to be a big step for me as I’ll be ticking three countries off my #Journeyto195🌐 list.💃Can you guess where I will be going? As you think through where I might be going kindly join me in my packing excitement.🙊

First things first is a disclaimer.😆 I am not one of those people who can survive two weeks on a small back pack. I love to pack everything I may need because, in my opinion, drip is part of the experience.😅 Because of this, I got this amaaaazing 60 litre back pack from Chillead store during Black Friday. It’s big capacity, very good quality and amazing color are some of the reasons I love it some more.😍 You can order it here.

Other than this back pack I will carry a smaller tote and sling bag with me. They are what I will be carrying around as I explore 📝. Now that you know what bags I will use let me get into what will be in the bag. I will start with the essentials then move to the negotiable things that are important to me.🤓

Enjoy💃

The most important thing in this trip, other than money, 😂 is the passport and yellow fever card.

On my phone are these essential apps that help me book accomodation, figure out directions and manage the challenge of language barrier. I also recently found Travel spend that helps in tracking 💰 spent.

These are the shoes I will live on during the two weeks. The plastic sandals are an essential for the beach😎

An essential bag with oil, sanitary products, hair stuff, polish, sunscreen and some threads and needle because tear happens!

My mini tripod and lenses because camera shy Naomi only agrees to freely come to life in front of a tripod.😝 You can order yours here.

We’ll also have this extendable tripod 😍. It belongs to my travel buddy but I really can’t wait to efficiently take shots with it😭

A universal adaptor because Bali taught me that not everyone uses our kind of sockets🤒

My favorite neck pillow because dogs are looove!🙊

Some notebooks because a girl loves to journal 💭

My current read. I’ve really struggled finishing this one but I hope to finally finish it over the long bus rides🤗

A water bottle, spoon, fork, tin and plastic straw. The thought of carrying spoons around takes me back to high school😂

Some green loving from my sling bag😍. What destination hint can you pick from this photo?😝

And this hat that’s as big as my excitement 😂🌴🌄

In addition to the above mentioned things I’ll add some soap, snacks and souvenir pieces for a friend who’ll host me👭. Is there any important thing you think I should pack and haven’t? Comment down and let me know🥰

I hope you will find this useful as you pack for your next trip🤗. See you in two weeks as I share, with you, my experience on our first destination 💃

Also, here is our trip itinerary because my travel buddy is extra like that 😅. See you soon😍

Kitengela Glass☘️🧺

As you read this, I can guess that you are wearing one of your favorite clothes😝. That katrouser, that no matter how many new ones you buy, you must sneak into the week’s outfits. Kitengela glass is that clothe for me😆. I have been to the place three times already and honestly speaking I still plan to go again🙊. I also try to take as many of my friends as I can but since I now live a little far away I want to share it with you, my newly found friends🥰

*Our first time in 2018 with this girl friends of mi*ne😍😍

I’ll start with the directions to the place. From town, board a matatu to Rongai at the Railways 🚌 station. It will cost you between 40 to 100 bob depending on the time. Definitely start your journey before 11am to get there early📝. You will then alight at Maasai Lodge. On the side which you will alight are a number of tuktuks and motor bikes (bodas). You can chose to take a boda to Rolf’s Place at 150 bob per person or take a tuktuk for 300 bob. If you are with friends, a tuktuk is a perfect option as it can carry up to 4 people and it will also be cheaper as you will share costs🤑

*All you will be sorounded with is lots and lots of calming natur*e 🌵🌳😍

The reason why you are alighting at Rolf’s Place is that the two places are a short walk apart and we are also all about maximising our experience 😉! When you get to Rolf’s Place you will be met with this amazing view;

The walk through the rope bridge is always a fav! Nothing is as beautiful as scare and bliss mixed in one💃. Once you cross over the bridge you will find Rolf’s beautiful restaurant. I have never eaten there so I sadly can’t give a review of the place😞. It is however very beautiful to look at! You can also take a few pictures here as we did before starting the 15 minutes walk.

*The rope bridge view and the view after the bridge😍*

The walk will be up some stone stairs and then on to an expansive field that hosts a number of outdoor activities. Walk past the field and then past a safari rally field and you will be about eight minutes away. Don’t worry about having a boring walk since there are many beautiful houses and views beside the path🥺. Entry to both Rolf’s and Kitengela Glass is free!

*Rolf’s Place in her glory🌝 This was my second tim*e there with this beau!

When you get to Kitengela glass you better be ready to be wowed by the many beautiful-unique glass pieces!! There is a workshop where you can see the glass smiths at work and two display shops where you can buy the glass products. If you are lucky enough you will get a chance to join the glass smiths at work and create something of your own😉! Now that we are done with the workshop and display shops let’s roam around 🤩

*Outside the glass heaven!!!!! You will find so many* glass decor ideas🙌

*Picture session as we took a rest after the walk. This is right next to the smaller workshop.*

*Having our ‘picnic lunch’. You are allowed to carry food and drinks from outside 🍹🥟🥧*

*After lunch we smileeee😝😋*. Also how beautiful are the seats and tables made from glass 😍

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all 🎶. Youuu 💁

Swing with an amaaaaaazing view!! This is a hidden spot behind an upstairs shop. The secret is to roam as much as you can!! The perfect spots are always hidden😂

Another one very spectacular view is the swimming pool. The pictures I have don’t do it any justice😭 but next time I go I’ll be sure to take some. It costs 500 bob per person to swim here and it is totally worth the price!

Interior and exterior swimming pool views😍

Kitengela glass is a very ideal picnic and chill spot as there are many spots to chose from👯. It is even better that you can bring snacks from outside. Carrying food is always a good idea if you are on a budget📝. Who’s now excited to take their squad, bae or family for a picnic in Kitengela Glass?💃💃

I hope you enjoyed this read and found it useful🤗. See you in two weeks as we pack together for my next big trip🤓.

16 Hours in Guangzhou⏰🎎

Any one of you love surprises as much as I do?🤩 Guangzhou was definitely one pleasant surprise for me! I had the chance to explore Guangzhou, for 16 hours, thanks to my layover with China Southern Air ( CSAir). Long layovers are definitely for the win!💃💃 Because most of what I did was catered for by the airline this is going to be a short and sweet post😋. Here is a summary of both tips and activities I got into during the 16 hours.

First things first is a reminder to kindly book your ticket as early as you can afford to. This will help you get a better rate as we are all about minimizing the 💸 spent.😉 As you book with CSAir, also remember to chose a layover longer than 8 hours as this is the requirement for free accomodation/ tour. Now that I have covered the most important part in the process let’s get into the different tips;

*Bumped into this beautiful play area as I roamed the streets of uptown Guangzhou 🎡*

Timing: When booking your flight chose an itinerary that arrives in Guangzhou before 7am and one that leaves Guangzhou at 12 midnight for the return journey. I chose this so that I could experience the city during the day and at night. I ended up enjoying my night time more than the day😅. Chinese people really know how to have a good time👯.

*View of downtown Guanzhou from a flyover*

24- hours permit: Because China is not Visa free for Kenyans, you will need to apply for the 24 hour free permit upon arrival. It is not a hectic process; something between 10 to 30 minutes depending on the number of people in line. Besides the counter where you will get the boarding pass for your outbound flight is the permit application desk. Have all your factual details with you as they are a little bit strict. Once you successfully get the permit you can proceed to immigration and then to the CSAir desk.

*A map of the directions to the CSAir Accomodation desk*

Accomodation: CSAir are the OG’s when it comes to their free accomodation 🙌. Once I got to the desk I was bombarded with options 🤣. All their hotels are 5 and 4 stars and are located in very different settings so you can chose whichever environment you want to be in. On my departure journey I chose the Oubon Hotel that is right in the city. I did this because it was near the tour location’s and I also wanted to explore the up town malls. On my return journey, I chose the Boya Hotel which is in ‘down town’ Guangzhou. I chose this because I wanted to explore the market streets but ended up enjoying more because China gets quite busy at night 😆.

Internet: I entirely used the airport and hotel WiFi. What surprised me was that in China, you need a VPN to be able to use most of the apps. On WhatsApp I was unable to send pictures and voice notes since I did not have the VPN. If you have family like mine kindly alert them of this😅 you do not want to promise them pictures that will not come😆.

Language: This was a huge challenge even translator couldn’t solve for me😭. Except for hotel and airport staff very few people knew English. I think that’s how Chinese people, who don’t know English, feel when trying to get directions in Kenya😅. Also remember to download Chinese offline on translator 📝

*Google Translator in work. It is an absolute saver!!*

Money: During my return layover I chose to stay in a hotel close to the city center so I could explore the markets. I had to change my money and made the mistake of changing at the hotel 😭. The rates were bad. Make sure to change at the airport for better rates as their ATMs also don’t recognize our ATMs; it didn’t recognize my Visa card.

*The Yuan notes used in China. Source: Reverie Chaser*

Shopping: If you chose to roam the streets and get something please practise self control😆. Everything in Guangzhou is affordable and you don’t want to be in a situation with less money in a foreign country🤣. Clothes, hand bags, accessories, shoes, phone accessories and anything you can think of is there at affordable prices. You can also avoid using up all the money in your other destination; I wished I hadn’t.

Now that I’ve shared my few tips let’s get into the exciting things I did during my layover💃;

Stay at Boy HolidayHotel: We arrived at this hotel for breakfast before going out for the tour. I recognized nothing on the menu😅 other than some small things that could pass for mini-sausages. The hotel is very beautiful 😍with amazing staff. My room was equally amazing; I can dare say it superseded my expectations 🙌. The hotel’s location is also perfect as it’s close to the bus station, lots of hotels, a bank and a twenty minutes walk from a beautiful street lined with malls.

City tour: For about 4 hours, we got into exploring the streets and two museum’s. The museum’s were Guangdong Folk Arts Museum and The Museum of the Nanyue King of Western Han Dynasty. We also got to see an electric car refill station. It was so exciting to also find out the bus we were riding on was electric⚡!!! Technology is really cool. Here are some few tickets I took as souvenirs 🙈

Roam the streets of Uptown Guangzhou: After my nap I decided to walk around as I waited for my airport transfer. I was trying to find a shop selling Lenovo phone covers because it’s been a sport getting one here😭. I didn’t find any but got to enjoy the metro buses and get into one of their huuuuuge and beautiful mall😍. The metro card was given by the airline and gave me free metro bus rides for 24hours🚌.

Stay at Oubon International Hotel: If you thought the first hotel was cool wait till you see the second hotel. The biggest highlight for me was the bathrooms glass walls 🙌. I spent almost 40 minutes marveling, soaking in the hot water and enjoying the room and sunset view. I had literally never seen anything of the sort👻.

Roam the streets of downtown Guangzhou: It greatly helped that the Oubon hotel was right next to everything. I walked less than five minutes and found a whole street with affordable shops🏯. I bought a couple of cute little pieces and then roamed around to look for food🍝. After covering a bit of a distance I decided to just eat in the KFC next to the hotel. After dinner, I watched a street show with a crazy guy passing fire over his skin🔥. I don’t how he did it but he even put fire into his mouth for a couple of minutes and removed the piece of wood still on fire🙆.

After watching the beautiful show, I went had my long shower 🧖 and napped as I waited for pick up. The ride to the airport was fairly sad as I had to report to work three hours after landing 😫. I however comforted myself since atleast I had some beautiful memories to fantasize on😆.

I hope you enjoyed this read. It is the last of my dream come true Indonesia trip💃. It is also a favorite since I had a bonus country ticked off my #Journeyto159 list.😝 See you in two weeks as I share with you one of my favorite spots in Rongai💕.

*Enjoy this sunset view as I landed back home… see you soon*🤗

Bali Must Do☀️🌴💃

Between feasting on cabbage this Njanuary😓 and my only travels being the commute to and from work😵; this has been a tough post to write! It was like reliving a perfect moment in time and then getting tossed back to reality😂. All in all here is the post summarizing my Bali experience💃.

*Ever heard of the tasty Luwak coffee? This is the Luwak animal that produces the coffee beans☕.*

As stated on the previous blog post my budget for the trip was 24k! 😲 (Haha, I know! And yes, it really was 24k😉) To navigate this budget I made sure to: avoid touristy places, stay in hostels and learn the tricks on how to move around and experience more while spending less😉. Extensive research helped greatly with the planning. I left home with a detailed itinerary of the places I would visit having a time allowance of five hours a day. The allowance catered for any interesting activities I would discover while in Bali or for the lazy days when i would just need to slow down and rest.

When doing my research, I paid extra attention to the prices and location of each activity. This largely helped in deciding the number of days for extension as I had a rough idea of how much I would spend in a day. Budget travel requires keen planning on the 💸💸. Once I had this, I created a word document and saved it on my drive. I always referred to it in the evenings as I planned and separated money for the following day. I’ll cover the activities in the order in which I explored them. It’s about to be a long detailed read so grab your cup of cofee and enjoy😉

*Perfect rice terrace view on the hanging swing🌾🌴😍*

NUSA DUA: If you are thinking laid back, chill and crazy architecture😍, Nusa Dua should be the first place on your list☀️🏖️. Approximately 15minutes from Denpasar airport, Nusa Dua is lined with one of the most amazing shore line and even more spectacular sunsets🌥️. The conference was held at Nusa Dua Conventional Center; a center whose architecture will leave mouth agape😲! After the conference, I spent one more day in Nusa enjoying the sunsets and exploring the beaches. Here are Nusa Dua highlights;

Afternoon swim at Jimbaran beach ~ Kes 110 for Gingerale🍸
Nusa Dua Convention Center for the conference🏢
House of D16 hostel ~ Kes 394 a night
Sunsets at Nusa Dua beach🌅 ~ their is no entry fee to the beach but you can buy a soda at kes 70 and get a seat.
Dinner at Baliku on Jimbaran beach ~ Kes 670 per plate. It was amazing to eat delish food while watching the night ocean tides 🌬️

UBUD TOUR: Our tour guide Ana picked us up from Nusa Dua and took us to Ubud for the tour. The pick up and tour cost Kes 6,000. Ana was super friendly, polite and funny😍. She made the tour worth the while with the most amazing spots that were not too crowded💃. Here are the places we explored during the one day tour;

Aloha Ubud swing ~ this is a swing and nest heaven💯! My friend paid a total of 3,700 ksh for a package of 12 swings and nests, photography and a long flowy dress. I wasn’t willing to pay the amount so I paid 700 ksh to access the area and take pictures on their boat and some nests⛵.
Telalang Rice terrace ~ if you would love to enjoy therapeutic views this is the place to be🌾🌴. The field is quite extensive so be ready to walk and climb terraces all through the field🧗. The entrance fee is 110ksh with small donations to farmers around the terrace .
Swing ~ of all the things I did in Bali this is the one thing everyone keeps asking about😅. Bali is known for it’s scenic high swings and I went knowing that I had to experience it. It was worth the 300ksh I paid🤩. The 300 caters for a 10 minute swing. For safety, you will have a harness tying you to the sit.
Cantika Zest Health and Beauty ~ if you are a coffee lover this is the place for you. We were taken through the coffee making process and then tasted twelve types of coffee🙌. It is too bad that I don’t like coffee. Entrance is free but you can support the center by buying their products😉.
Bali Banana Cacao park ~ we stumbled upon this place on our way to the waterfall. It is a simple banana and cocoa plantation🌰. We paid 400ksh for the entrance but had I known I would have skipped it as there was nothing special about the place considering I see 🍌 plants everywhere in Kenya. I however got the amazing nest picture above and a tasty banana and cocoa cake🥧 on the house.
Tegenungang waterfall ~ first thing first is make sure you take a jump into the waterfall for a cold refreshing swim🤽. I wasn’t able to do the swim during the tour but did on my third day😉. Definitely go in the morning before 11 am to avoid the crowds. Entrance fee to the waterfall is 150ksh.
Drop off to Arta Garden Hostel ~ after the amazing tour Ana went ahead and dropped me off at Arta Garden where I paid 322 ksh a night 🌃.

UBUD : After the drop off at Arta Garden Hostel I spent 2 days and 2 nights exploring Ubud. Everything in Ubud is breathtaking. From the culture, sites, people and views it will all wow you🙌. I explored using gojek for transport and Google maps for directions between the different sites. It helped that most sites are all close to each other. I also used Translator whenever I needed help and language was a barrier. Always remember to download the reference language for offline use📝. Here are the activities I got into during the two days;

Flower bath at Sedona spa ~ imagine a bathtub filled with warm water, covered with flower petals and in the middle of greenery😎. That’s what I got for 430ksh. I was also served with biscuit and tea like the 👑 I am😝.
Floating breakfast at Arta Garden ~ you don’t want to know how excited I was to see the floating tray in the hostels kitchen😅. I really wanted to experience the floating breakfast but had given up since they tend to be expensive😓. Finding that tray was a huge relief! I went ahead and bought bananas and some snacks at the mini mart and had my breakfast at about 130ksh🤓.
Royal palace ~ this is a small cute historic palace for the people of Bali🌇. It’s right in the middle of the center so you can visit it after exploring the market. Ensure to get to the last point because that’s where the perfect picture point is👒. Entrance is free.
Saraswati temple ~ across the palace is this beautiful temple that is known for it’s evening Kecak dance✨. I wasn’t able to get into the temple but got an amazing view from the Lotus cafe☘️. Entrance is free!
Pura Dalem temple ~ as I roamed looking for food I stumbled upon this temple whose entrance is huge and scenic🤩. I paid a donation of 70 ksh and got to take pictures with my sarong on💁.
Ice cream at a cute Warung ~ for about 150 ksh I got to enjoy the comfort of a cute cute warung as I had three scoops of vanilla ice cream🍧.
Breakfast at Clear Cafe ~ this one needs an honorable mention🎊. It is difficult to explain how beautiful this cafe is so kindly click on this link to see for yourself. You remove your shoes at the entrance then chose to either sit next to a fish pond or on seats on the floor. I chose to seat upstairs and walked up a staircase lined with flower petals🌼🌻. I had chocolate cake and a banana milkshake for about 450ksh😋.
Monkey Forest ~ if you have studied at MMU please skip the monkey forest🤣! I was so disappointed to have paid an entrance fee of 500 ksh only to see many 🐒. I somehow expected to find other animals🙊. If you however enjoy monkeys and forests definitely have it on your list!

CANGGU: If you are about the party life Canggu should be your first stop!🎠 From streets lined with bars to skating arenas open till late you will not be disappointed. If you want me to prove this, I will tell you about my hostel experience 😆. I decided to have dinner in town and when I got back to the hostel, at around 9, I was all alone😮. To confirm what was wrong I went and asked the receptionist where the others were and was informed that they had all gone to party😅. She then went ahead to ask if I wanted one of them to come pick me up and I said yes😂. I ended up having the best night comprising three firsts; riding a scooter🛵, being in a skating arena and dancing in a club right on the beach😅. What did I do in Canggu over my one night stay?

Afternoon swim at the Margarita surf hostel ~ all the people in this hostel were super friendly so l I opted to spend my only afternoon in Canggu 🏊 and interacting with them over a cold fanta strawberry. It cost me 450 ksh for the night🛌.
Dinner at Dues ex Machina ~ this gothic cafe is for all rock music fans and motorbike lovers🏍️. It is beautiful, has tasty foods and a pretty souvenir shop on site. I had a plate of tacos and ginger ale for 810 ksh.
Stroll on Canggu streets ~ having walked from my hostel to the city center I got to enjoy the rice paddy views lining every corner of Canggu. I also got to see a huuge climb bouldering gym, some pretty cafes & warungs and the amazingly lit Bazzar market🌌.
Old mans bar ~ I had never imagined how freeing and fun it is to dance with the feel of sand on your feet🦋. The diverse choice in music and awesome company made the experience even better.
Skate arena ~ I really don’t know how to put the skate experience to words. One of my favorite things however were the cocktails served in those metal cups used to serve mursik. If you know you know😜.
Poke poke Canggu ~ I stumbled upon this cute cafe as I took a walk to the beach⛱️. The plan was to only take photos but in the process I saw a couple having a very eye catching smoothie and thought why not🙊. All the healthy flavors dancing in my mouth made me grateful to the couple. The smoothie, served on a coconut shell, cost me 325 ksh🥥.
Echo beach ~ the hot sands sent me away from this beach too fast but from the few minutes I spent there, I fell in love with the deep blue water🌅.

SEMINYAK: Being a 30 minutes drive from Canggu, Seminyak is pretty similar to Canggu. It is filled with beautiful beaches, exotic beach clubs🌅 and cute warungs and cafes. My main agenda in Seminyak was to dine at Kynd Community and be close to the airport as I had a morning ✈️. What I didn’t consider was the traffic from Stellar Capsules to the airport. While I went to Kynd Community I discovered their creamery🍦 and it was every slice of heaven. This is what I was up to during my afternoon in Seminyak;

Stay at Stellar Capsules hostel ~ of all the hostels I stayed this was my favorite🙌. It was so chic,stylish, had amazing amenities and was a walking distance from everything I wanted🤸. I paid 729 ksh for the night.
Kynd Community ~ this is one of the most Instagram worthy cafes in Bali🍯. I specifically went there for the ‘hello sunshine’ swing and wasn’t disappointed. I had a 🍿caramel freak shake for 500 ksh.
Kynd Creamery ~ adjacent to Kynd Community is an ice cream heaven I was too excited to find🍭. I wanted everything on the display but settled for a pimped cone at 405 ksh. I’ll let the picture do the talking.🍨
Hotel mexicola ~ if you want to experience Mexico this is the place to be🏤. Perfect vibes, affordable drinks and we were lucky to find an amazing crowd. From the few hours I spent there I honestly can’t wait to experience 🇲🇽!
Krisna Ole Ole store in Kuta ~ if you are in a rush and want to avoid the hustle of haggling and walking around looking for souvenirs this is the store to check out. I especially loved their clothes👌. It was a bonus that they allowed me to take pictures so my family were able to pick what they loved most🤗!

ULUWATU: This was a bonus to my trip as I had not planned to visit the Uluwatu area💃. After visiting I regreted not adding it to my list because it was divine. To say beautiful would be an understatement🙌! Because we visited as part of the Conference’s city tour we were only able to visit two sites. An advice to you would be to kindly add Uluwatu to your list. It is pretty unpopular but worth every second😍. Where did we go?

Waterblow beach ~ this is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! With extremely white sand, clear blue water and small cliffs all over😍. Go during high ocean tide to experience its full glory🌊!
Uluwatu temple ~ as in any temple in Bali you will need to wear a sarong. Kindly be careful around the cheeky monkeys🐒 and be sure to go and watch the Kecak fire dance🧚.

KUTA: The best possible way to describe Kuta would be that it is a town of comfort and healing🖤. It’s soothing silence, perfect sunset and affordable food stalls healed my disappointed heart following my missed flight🤧. I had to extend for three days as that was when my new flight was scheduled for. Kuta was my first choice as it is quite affordable and minutes from the airport. I spent the first day crying in my hostel room😅 and the other two enjoying Kuta’s beauty. Looking back I wish I hadn’t wasted that one day☺️. Here are the things I did;

Stay at Pretty Girl hostel ~ I paid 440 ksh a night. This came with access to the swimming pool and unlimited free pancakes whenever I wanted😍. They also had a very heavenly chocolate syrup😋 to go with the pancakes.
Eat at Munchies ~ this is one of the cutest warung’s ever🍲! I ate chicken Nasi Goreng everyday at 185 ksh a plate.
Ice cream at Risorante Tempio II ~ I had two scoops of gelato at 330 ksh
Sunset and swim at Kuta beach ~ one of the most amazing sunsets. I went to swim during high tide and it was a beautiful high🧜.
Horse ride by night ~I did this with my roommate and paid 90 ksh each for a ride round the city square🏇.

LEGIAN: As mentioned on last week’s post, Legian’s highlight was the club playing African music👯. I wasn’t able to take a photo of it’s building but I’ll share photos of some interesting art and phrases I found on some of their walls😅

Walking around helped me greatly with cutting down costs. It further helped that most attractions are close to each other! What is your favorite activity and town on the list? Tell me in the comment section😉

I hope you found this useful🤗! If you have any questions or need any clarifications feel free to leave a comment📥; I’ll be happy to respond. See you in two weeks for everything Guangzhou😉!

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😋.