I just got back from Kenya. I learned nothing about the country and I did next to nothing and that’s the way I wanted it to be. I met up with my American friend who lives in Pakistan and his Mexican friend who lives in Afghanistan. Naturally, they were pretty keen to relax and I, having worked almost non-stop for six weeks, seven days a week, 12 hours a day, was happy to oblige.
It’s not often that I go on a pure holiday just to relax but I have to say that doing nothing is underrated. We stayed at Diani Beach, south of Mombasa and got a great deal on a cottage with a porch view of the sea. I spent a lot of time on that porch reading and chatting, seemingly moving only to eat. I certainly felt decadent and it got old after five days, but, for what the holiday was meant to be for, it was perfect.
Ok a part of me did feel a bit guilty for sticking to tourist restaurants with only one foray into the town, but the rest of me was perfectly fine with that. We all went on a very unsuccessful fishing trip, one friend went diving and the other slept about 14 hours per day and rarely left the cottage. I managed to scrape myself off of the couch on the porch and on to Nairobi to join a Masai Mara safari which was well worth the effort. At the time, the task of finding and booking a safari and changing my flights seemed monumental, but with baby steps I escaped my laziness and made things happen.
It’s certainly not a style of travel I’m going to get used to and I found myself getting bored of beach life after a few days, but a trip like this is a fantastic way to recharge the batteries. Being away from the internet always means my head gets stuffed with new ideas so I can’t wait to get back to work and put some serious hours in until the end of October.
What then? I’m not sure but you can bet it won’t involve vegging out on a porch at the beach. I’m thinking I’ll finally head to Uganda and get some volunteer farm work under my belt. Or maybe a couple of weeks checking out Ethiopia. I’m not sure but for the moment I’m really happy to be back in Kigali, welcomed by what I think is the best weather in the world, and eager to get back to work.
Hey Kirsty – this online work is addictive. When you’re working, you keep thinking about some offline time. But as soon as you shut down for a while and get away, you feel like you’re missing something or you can’t turn off your brain. I feel it too. Keep up the right mix of up and down time and you’ll be fine. Besides, you seem to have a really great thing going at the moment.
How is the Olympic site coming? Do you know when (what month) tickets will go on sale yet? I’m dying to start planning for that trip!
I think it’s great to take time off and just go on vacation and be a tourist. We’ve had people look down at us at times when we talk about loving to spend a couple of weeks on a beach in Thailand doing nothing but reading, drinking fruit shakes and catching up on sleep – somehow, this just isn’t “authentic” enough. But, we feel so great after a break like this – we all need that from time to time.
Glad to hear you’re still enjoying Kigali and look forward to hearing what you decide to do next in Uganda and/or Ethiopia. Enjoy!
Glad to see you are taking time out to just relax.. Africa as a destination was not something I had considered before you started your trip. Can see me referring back to this website in the future..
This vacation sounds so relaxing Kristy! I am glad to hear that you had a time to do nothing (for the most part) and enjoy the company of good friends. Would love to take a vacation like that
safe travels, and thanks for sharing.
Ahh, I have the same situation before. While I am having my vacation and relaxation off the internet, ideas will just pop out in and out my head.
Kenya is really a wonderful tourist place. I always wanna visit there.
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I grew up in Kenya, spent 13 years there actually. You probably passed by Narok, a small town on the way to Masai Mara. I also lived in Mombasa for several years. I was a student at boarding school the majority of my time in Kenya, but while we were home with our parents we often went with them on mission trips to the local communities to help with school building projects as well as food and water distribution.
As an SEO and traveller, I am inspired by what you’re doing and hope to learn more from you.