#41: Special Edition: Trip to Kenya Part 2
The wedding and some days spent at the ocean
Hakuna Matata, my friends,
I’m coming back to you with new details about my Kenya trip (and photos, of course).
Last week, I told you about how I got there and the days I spent on the safari.
This week, I will tell you about the ones we spent near the ocean.
We arrived at the Temple Point Resort on the Indian Ocean coast on Friday, and things were a lot different.
First of all, there were not so many mosquitoes and bugs.
Second, we had a large and cozy room with an air conditioner.
For those of you who know me, you know I can’t stand the heat. Both locations in the safari had fans instead of AC.
Those fans made more noise than Metallica fans (haha, I’m so funny), so I had to shut it down during the night. Which meant I didn’t sleep very well for the first two days.
But things changed with the new accommodations. With the AC on, I slept like a baby.
The resort is big and has a couple of restaurants, a couple of pools, and, more importantly, an outside gym.
They would have high-intensity type classes and yoga classes at the gym, and as I had packed sports clothes, I went there every day.
I know some of you will say I’m crazy for going to the gym while on vacation. And maybe I am, but after years and years of working out daily, I no longer see it as a nuisance but as a great way to spend my time.
Saturday was the wedding day, and it started with an emotional ceremony on the beach and continued with a great party in a beautiful location overlooking the ocean.
We had a lot of fun; we danced, we drank, and we laughed.
And I ate a lobster that was so tasty that it’s probably in my top 3 foods I've ever eaten.
It was a day wedding, and in the past few years, I’ve started enjoying them a lot more than the typical Romanian all-nighters, as I can wake up Sunday morning and have my whole day in front of me.
Sunday was a chill day until the afternoon, when I went for my first kite-surfing lesson.
I have some friends who are doing it, and I always thought it was such a cool sport. But I’ve never planned to learn it.
On the first night of the safari, one of my friends from the group told me he booked beginner’s kite lessons for him and his wife, so I said, “Why not?”.
So Sunday I was on a beach, putting on my gear, and trying to keep the kite up.
It was a lot more difficult than I would have thought. But most things in life generally are.
I had 3 days of lessons, 2 hours each, and I can’t say I’ve progressed too much, but at least I got the "bug,” and I will try it again soon (hopefully this summer and for more than 6 hours).
On Monday, we moved to the last accommodation, “Kobe Resort,” where we would spend the last couple of nights. This resort was even better than the last one. It has amazing rooms, and it’s on the beach, so we spent a couple of relaxing days there before heading back to Europe.
On Wednesday, we flew back to Romania. I was fortunate to get extra legroom tickets, so the trip was quite enjoyable. It was also during the day, so I didn’t have to lose too much sleep.
We arrived in Bucharest in the evening; it was freezing. It’s not easy coming from +37 degrees C to 0 or something like that.
The trip to Kenya was great, and here are some thoughts and conclusions about it:
The people are so welcoming and kind; it reminded me of Bali
They have a more relaxed and slow lifestyle; that’s why their favorite sayings are “Hakuna Matata,” which means “take it slowly,” and “pole pole,” which means “slowly slowly.” This meant we would often have to ask 2-3 times for a drink at the bar. But once you get used to this attitude, you start enjoying it too
The country is very poor; aside from the resorts and other facilities created for tourists, people are living in very tough conditions. This made me grateful again for the chance to be born where I was born.
The safari is nice, but it’s a gamble. You could see a lot of animals in a short period of time or go on for hours without seeing anything else but impalas. We did it for 3 days, but I think 2 full days would be enough.
There are a lot of insects on the Safari, so if you are really afraid of them, you might want to check a different season or skip it altogether. Some of the people from the group were disgusted by the situation and could not enjoy the evenings on the safari at all
Cash is king. It’s still a country where you need to take money from the machine to pay in many places
Prices for accommodation in resorts are similar to what you find in Europe. Prices for food, drinks, and most services are lower than in Romania. For example, a beer at the bar is about 3 EUR, and a massage is 20–25 EUR.
Because they are so poor, they will try to rip you off and ask for higher prices for goods or a taxi. You can negotiate, of course. Or you can just pay that price, as it’s still cheap and they need the money a lot more
The beaches are great, with white, soft sand. There are not many places with sunbeds, though; at least I haven’t seen them
I felt the place was quite safe, but we didn’t walk around that much, to be honest, and usually during the day
All in all, it was a very nice vacation in a new and exotic place.
Another thing that I liked was the fact that there was a large group, like 30 people or so. Which meant you were never alone.
If you wanted to go to the gym, you would find some people willing to come too. If you wanted to get a beer, some people would be at the bar already. And if you wanted to chill, you could do it on your own or with friends.
I knew some of the people there already, and I met some new and amazing ones: Romanians, Italians, Greeks, Swiss, and Spanish (I’ve probably forgotten some nationalities, and I’m sorry).
It was a lovely group, and I made some new friends.
I want to thank the bride and groom for putting it all together. We had to organize a 3-day wedding in Romania, and it was quite challenging. I can’t imagine how challenging it was to organize a 1+ week trip to another continent.
So kudos to them!
I hope you liked this vacation edition of the newsletter, and I’ll be back next week with my regular one, where I give you tips to become a better leader and grow your career.
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Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked something in particular in this newsletter.
Until next time,
Leo
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