I admit I have failed to update my blog during the last 10 days of my trip. And the truth is, I don't care.
After my forth week in East Africa I felt at home and in control of my surroundings. It was like I reached my third world threshold of comfort: picking my nose in front of people, passing gas in the dorms, ceasing ambitions I have back home, and of course, not showering for days while not giving a rat's ass.
Liberation can feel so dirty and yet rewarding. This stage is the epitome of confidence, and confidence is sexy.
During my final days I continued on with my typical travel itinerary: wake up, eat, walk around, take a nap, talk,eat so more, laugh, booze, then pass out. And of course, I did my photography.
My final days were so mellow. I had lost the sense of urgency.
It didn't seem real to be on a continent, knowing that I will fly over the Atlantic Ocean in a matter of days. Being on African time takes away the foreboding feeling of returning back home to normality, otherwise know as lackluster and monotony.
The lack of urgency can make one lazy in commitments, like updating a simple travel blog. The life of an improvised traveler can make one - ahem, lazy.
So here's the recap of my final days:
I spent my last week in Zanzibar. My luggage is still stuck in Nairobi. The incompetency of the airport workers makes the outlook of getting my luggage hopeless.
I spent 3 nights in the historic Stone Town, one night in Nungwi, and 2 nights in Kendwa. My favorite night was the last the night of Kendwa where I met some incredible people who I will never forget.
Now I'm back to life at home and find myself in daily solitude, a stark contrast to my life back in Africa: always finding people to talk to. Now that I am back home I have to actively search for inspiration because I rarely find it in the people here. Life without inspiration is sad. But one must strive on and be positive no matter how gloomy things look.
Fortunately I'm not depressed, at least not yet. How I cope with loneliness is perspective: knowing that there's a reason for this solitude. I'm sure there's a reason the universe has blessed me with such solitude. One being is that it has made traveling easier.
As much as I adored my short time in Africa, I'm happy to return to the comforts of home: a foam-top bed, my new car, my cats, great food, my own kitchen, flushing toilets, and most of all, warm showers.
Africa is the roughest place I've been to in terms of lack of efficient infrastructure. I was nervous that this aspect would complicate my trip. But on the flip side it didn't. Sure it made transit less comfortable, but people were helpful in getting me to where I wanted to go, and I got the hang of getting around various means of transport.
I will definitely return to Africa and explore the rest of the vast continent. I learned so much about this sheltered continent, that most Americans don't even care to know. I also learned that a lot of NGO's that serve Africa are a big joke whose main mission is to glorify themselves at the exploit of someone else's plight. There are some great NGO's in Africa, but a lot of them are established for sake of making money than helping.
On another note, I feel more at home when I'm traveling then I do back home in Orange County. I will always feel that way. I am already planning my next trip which will be Eastern Europe. Hope to see you there!
After my forth week in East Africa I felt at home and in control of my surroundings. It was like I reached my third world threshold of comfort: picking my nose in front of people, passing gas in the dorms, ceasing ambitions I have back home, and of course, not showering for days while not giving a rat's ass.
Liberation can feel so dirty and yet rewarding. This stage is the epitome of confidence, and confidence is sexy.
During my final days I continued on with my typical travel itinerary: wake up, eat, walk around, take a nap, talk,eat so more, laugh, booze, then pass out. And of course, I did my photography.
My final days were so mellow. I had lost the sense of urgency.
It didn't seem real to be on a continent, knowing that I will fly over the Atlantic Ocean in a matter of days. Being on African time takes away the foreboding feeling of returning back home to normality, otherwise know as lackluster and monotony.
The lack of urgency can make one lazy in commitments, like updating a simple travel blog. The life of an improvised traveler can make one - ahem, lazy.
So here's the recap of my final days:
I spent my last week in Zanzibar. My luggage is still stuck in Nairobi. The incompetency of the airport workers makes the outlook of getting my luggage hopeless.
I spent 3 nights in the historic Stone Town, one night in Nungwi, and 2 nights in Kendwa. My favorite night was the last the night of Kendwa where I met some incredible people who I will never forget.
Now I'm back to life at home and find myself in daily solitude, a stark contrast to my life back in Africa: always finding people to talk to. Now that I am back home I have to actively search for inspiration because I rarely find it in the people here. Life without inspiration is sad. But one must strive on and be positive no matter how gloomy things look.
Fortunately I'm not depressed, at least not yet. How I cope with loneliness is perspective: knowing that there's a reason for this solitude. I'm sure there's a reason the universe has blessed me with such solitude. One being is that it has made traveling easier.
As much as I adored my short time in Africa, I'm happy to return to the comforts of home: a foam-top bed, my new car, my cats, great food, my own kitchen, flushing toilets, and most of all, warm showers.
Africa is the roughest place I've been to in terms of lack of efficient infrastructure. I was nervous that this aspect would complicate my trip. But on the flip side it didn't. Sure it made transit less comfortable, but people were helpful in getting me to where I wanted to go, and I got the hang of getting around various means of transport.
I will definitely return to Africa and explore the rest of the vast continent. I learned so much about this sheltered continent, that most Americans don't even care to know. I also learned that a lot of NGO's that serve Africa are a big joke whose main mission is to glorify themselves at the exploit of someone else's plight. There are some great NGO's in Africa, but a lot of them are established for sake of making money than helping.
On another note, I feel more at home when I'm traveling then I do back home in Orange County. I will always feel that way. I am already planning my next trip which will be Eastern Europe. Hope to see you there!
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