Best of 2017...Scrap that...What do I want from 2018?

2016 was the year of getting my ass out of the comfort zone
2017 is the year of stretching myself and stretch myself I did all through the year.


2017 has been a crazy, good and great year.

Instead of using the word "bad", I choose to use the word "Crazy", because to be honest, the year was not as bad as I expected.

I did some pretty stupid things, that I am even ashamed to talk about and then I went on to do great things I am proud of.

First up, I had my postgraduate degree graduation in January and my graduation gift to myself was the trip to South Africa and Kenya.  I only showed up at the venue because my mum insisted on coming and wanted to take pictures with me. She was trying to make up for missing my undergraduate graduation. No form of studying happened this year and that was intentional.

Friendship: I am a sucker for friendship, people who know me well know how I go through the highs and lows for anyone I call a friend. Respect and loyalty are key for me. I got a rude awakening this year and had to define the relationship with most of the people I call friends. One key lesson is that you can only be friends with people who see you as their friends. 

Don't go making an acquaintance a friend.

With friendship, I learned forgiveness. I relearned the value to beautiful friendships both old and new.

Travel took the focal point of the year. My first post of the year highlighted my 2017 travel goals. In the post, I mentioned plans to go on a West African adventure, visit some states in Nigeria and ring in the new year in the New York.

Lake Kivu, Rwanda

I got to visit 5 out of all 11 destinations I listed.

I can't complain because even though I listed 11 destinations, I ended up visiting 19 destinations in total.  If I count Ile-Ife and Nairobi which I visited twice within the same year then that sums up 21 destinations. Switched the West African adventure for the East African experience.

I got to explore 4 new countries (South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda)  and visited 6 in total ( revisited Benin Republic and Togo).  Locally I visited,  Osun state (Ile-Ife, Osogbo), Ogun state (Abeokuta),  Bauchi state (Bauchi, Yankari), Plateau state (Jos) and Kwara (Offa, Owa-Kajola (Owu Waterfall).

Away from Travel, I finally launched my travel and HR Consultancy businesses so I would say this year was the testing phase. The HR Consultancy suffered the most because at some point I was unable to find a balance between both opposing businesses and my 9-5. I joined an entrepreneurship support group and I would say that has been one of my best decisions in 2017. My biggest business shock was realizing the fact that some friends will not support the business or should I use the word patronize your business. They are used to having it for free and would rather pay someone else than pay you for the services.

Books: I did read quite a number of books but I, unfortunately, was unable to read as much as I wanted. I am currently in some sort of reading rut, I can't seem to pay enough attention to complete a book.

I was able to save enough money this year but I spent a lot of it on travel. I am not even sad about it nor regret spending money on any of the experience. I will be spending more next year.

December has been a pretty hectic month. I returned from my trip on the 19th of November and dived straight into work. Right now I am suffering the worst burnout ever in my life and I am physically and mentally exhausted.

I made the decision to spend the holiday with family. All I have been doing in the past days is sleep, eat and sleep again.

I didn't get the year that I planned but I got the best year life had to give me


Away from 2017 and on to what I want from 2018.

So the goal for 2018 is intentional and productive living.
There has been a lot of introspection and plannings.

I will be picking up the books and hopefully get my HR certifications. My certifications come at a cost so it will affect how much I will spend on travel.

I will cut back on personal international travels and do more of domestic travels. The plan is to visit at least 3 new countries.

My travel plans, for now, are Côte d'Ivoire (no fixed date) and Tanzania (April 24 to May 1, 2018) for my birthday.

Zanzibar

Europe is also on my bucket list for the year. Belguim, France, Sweden and Lithuania are top on the list.

Locally, I plan to explore the Eastern part of the country starting from Enugu.

Arinta waterfall in Ekiti is top on my list for 2018. I also plan to visit my mum in Abuja. New York is also on my radar, this is majorly dependent on when I get the US Visa. 

Where do you plan to visit in 2018?
What are your goals for 2018?

♥Lara

16 Days, 3 countries: My East African Experience

My travel goals for the year changed the moment I decided to switch the West African Experience for the East African Experience. If you follow me on Instagram this is stale news to you as this was documented live while on the trip.

Last month, I  spent 16  days in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. I made up my mind on the East African trip following the win of a rebated ticket from Kenya Airways and the choice of Rwanda as the destination by my friends and I. I said to myself, why visit only one country when I can visit all three on one Visa.

Why Rwanda? my mum asked when I told her about my intended trip, to be honest for most times I have no reason for wanting to visit destinations, I just want to visit because that is the place on my mind at that moment. Let me just confess now, I am yet to watch the popular movie "Hotel Rwanda"

Visiting Rwanda has been on my bucket list since 2015, I actually told all my team members then in Jumia that I would be visiting that year. After seeing insta-stories and pictures of my favourite travel bloggers such as Brenna of This Battered Suitcase and Folaswaka, I knew there was no way I would be passing up Rwanda this year.

I got the East African visa at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi for $100 which allowed me multiple entries into Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.

I didn't head into Rwanda to track gorillas which is one of the most popular touristy things to do. I don't have $1500 to be chasing gorillas, that price is more or less the sum total of my budget in all three countries minus flight fee. I was curious and wanted to experience the beauty, cleanliness, orderliness, and safety of the country for myself.

Belgian Peacekeepers Memorial, Kigali

Uganda was a reunion trip. I missed my friend Bena's wedding last year and made up my mind to visit Uganda when next I visit East Africa. I got to visit Kampala and Jinja.

Source of the Nile, Jinja

Kenya came on the list majorly because of the airline I was flying with. By the time arrived in Nairobi, I was exhausted and had to catch up with work. I didn't get to explore much and only visited the Karura forest and The National Museum.

Waterfall in Karura Forest, Nairobi

I plan to write individual posts on each country before the year ends, last last finish the story by January.

2017 is slowing coming to an end and I must say the year unfolded way beyond my expectations. I am grateful for it all.

Until my next post

♥Lara

Independence Weekend in Grand Popo

For the weekend of Nigeria's 57th birthday, Sandra and I decided to explore the beach town of Grand Popo, Benin Republic.

The destination choice was for only one reason, I wanted to rest.

This is our third visit to the Benin Republic, we visited for the first time in 2014 when we visited Cotonou and Porto Novo and 2015 when we visited Ouidah but this is our first time visiting Grand Popo.

We breezed through the Seme border in less than 30 minutes. I learned one big lesson to always check my passport to be sure it got stamped. The officer who was busy trying to make a side deal forgot to stamp my passport out of all the passports in his hand. He did enter me into the system but did not stamp me out.

I thought the beach in Ouidah was beautiful but the beach in Grand Popo takes it all. Maybe because the town is less populated. The beach is blue, the picture above is straight from the camera, no edit. The town is sleepy or maybe it is the side of town we were located.

The accommodation was a residence I found on Jumia Travel, but it is also listed on Airbnb. I booked a studio apartment which had it's own kitchen and door leading to the swimming pool and straight to the beach.

The goal of the trip was rest, so we spent the days on the beach, in the pool and watched the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy and How to get away with Murder. The only time we stepped out of the apartment was to get dinner on both nights and when we checked out to return to Lagos.

Food we ate

Language barrier was an issue here, we found it difficult communicating what we wanted. We ordered blindly and thank God we did not end with food we could not eat. I survived 2 nights with no pepper.  

I intend to embrace more of this type of trips. It is not every time somebody will be roaming about in the name of travel. Sometimes just relax and sip juice.


So my breakdown of travel to the Benin Republic is this, for business and City life, Cotonou is the best destination. For tourist things, Ouidah and Porto Novo it is and for the beach life, Grand Popo is the destination.

Where did you spend your independence holiday?

Have you been to Benin Republic? If yes, which town? Please share your experience

♥Lara

How I afford to travel

I am no trust fund baby, neither is there one rich Alhaji funding the travel lifestyle. I also do not work with an organization where business traveling is possible.

This year my travel frequency has increased from previous years. I have visited 3 international destinations this year and 4 more are to come before the year ends.

But here is my life, I don't pay rent, pay utility bills or have car maintenance bills yet.

Even though I do not have adulting bills to pay, I also don't have plenty free income to play with. As we all know, travel is not cheap.

For every 1 Naira spent on traveling, is money I could use to fund another need. So the opportunity cost for my choice of travel are the rents, car maintenance bill and every other adulting bill that I do not have yet.

Although some travelers will tell you to cut out on unnecessary spending and stick to spending on basic needs, it does not mean I am not able to live a good life outside of travel. I still buy restaurant food, hang out with friends, go see movies, buy shoes and every other thing I want in this life.


The major source of my travel funds is the monthly salary I earn from my 9-5 as HR manager. My 9-5 offers me a fine income and the time to achieve this expensive hobby of mine. Up until this year, my salary has been the only source but this year I have curated 2 group tours for Travel KOTRoom which have contributed small change to the travel funds.

So here is how I do it:

The traveling life actually kicked off when I lived and worked abroad. So while I lived in India, I was able to explore the incredible nation and also visit Malaysia and the UAE. Living in Germany, I was able to visit Italy and Belguim.

So even though I am not into that budgeting life, I have a savings lifestyle. I save a percentage of my salary which is specifically for travel and every other emergency that might happen. I save this in an account that I do not have access to except I visit a banking hall which I hate doing.

I plan in advance. I am going on an East African tour in November and I got my flight ticket which is the most expensive purchase of the trip as far back as June. That way I was able to get my ticket at a cheaper rate even before the airlines increased the exchange rate they use for dollars conversion which has led to the recent increase in flight fares.

I avoid traveling during destinations peak period, and if I ever have to, the trip would have been planned in advance.

I travel off the beaten paths. So instead of visiting Milan or Rome, I visited Bergamo. I am currently traveling Africa because the flight fare for  Asian and European countries right now is the total cost of a trip to an African destination.

For accommodation, I stay with friends or  Airbnb (which is always cheaper than hotels) or stay in 2/3 star hotels. Couch surfing is also another way to save cost on accommodation, I tried it for 1 night in Nairobi.  I use sites like Jumia Travel and Booking.com  to get discounted room rates, I am yet to pay actual price for hotel rooms ever.

I love solo travel, but traveling with a travel partner keeps cost especially accommodation and car hire down.

And there you have it, the secret to how I am able to afford traveling all the time. The ability to travel is actually a lifestyle choice because there are people who can afford to and who have the time to who just will not travel.

So if travel is really what you want, make the decision, commit and be determined to make it happen.

Are you a traveler, how do you afford to travel? If interested in traveling, what is stopping you?

Let's talk in comment

♥Lara

Weekend Road Trip: Osogbo and Ile-Ife

Osogbo and Ile-ife were the destinations for the month of May.

So this is my second time visiting Ile-Ife this year. I visited Osogbo along with 2 others and it was a fun trip.

We hired a car at the Ojota new garage and headed straight to Osogbo.

The journey took about 3 hours, the first stop was the Osun-Osogbo Grove.

The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a sacred forest along the banks of the Osun river in Osogbo, Osun state. Founded over 400 years ago, the grove which is the largest of the sacred groves that have survived to the present is dedicated to Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility. The Grove is a place of worship, and it is the site of the annual Osun-Osogbo festival.

Entrance fee is 200 Naira and 1000 Naira for cameras.

We moved on to the residence of Susanne Wenger, the Austrian artist to be later known as "Adunni Olorisha". Sussanne became a priestess of Osun following years of studying the deepest mysteries of Yoruba traditional beliefs. 

I have seen a fair share of "Ebo-Sacrifice" on the streets of Lagos, but the amount I saw in this house was just too much. If you are deeply religious (Christianity or Islam), you might want to pass on visiting this house. 

So we got lost trying to find Nike gallery in Osogbo, the person who gave us direction sent us on one long journey that we ended up in Ede trying to locate the gallery. 

We found the gallery sha after about 1 hour of driving around. Actually, we found the hotel from which we were taken to the gallery.

We stopped briefly at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogobo.

We went to Ile-ife that night, got a hotel, had dinner and went to bed.

The next morning, we got up bright and early to explore Ife town. First stop was the Ori Olokun statue.

Next was the Palace of the Ooni of Ife and the Moremi Statue. We got a guide this time who told us the history of the Palace, Ile-ife and Moremi.

We were exhausted after the Moremi statue and skipped the visit to Opa Oranmiyan. We got back to Lagos around 4PM. 

Osun State is a must-see for anyone with an interest in Yoruba history, art, culture, and religion. 

Photos were taken with my mobile phone 
Pictures of me were taken by travel partner, Idoko


Until my next trip
♥Lara

Discovering the North- Plateau and Bauchi State

When I drew up my travel goals for the year, the north was not anywhere on the list. That list needs an edit because I have visited at least 3 places, and I intend to visit 2 new countries also not on the list.

The only thing I knew for sure at the beginning of the year was that I would take some days off my annual leave for my birthday. The destination was not fixed, I thought of doing a European tour to visit at least Belguim, Germany, and Lithuania. Up until the moment I changed my mind,  I was so sure I would take the West African road trip for my birthday. Then I went to Togo for Easter which was about 10 days before my birthday, so the list was down to Grand Popo in the Benin Republic. I can't say for sure the moment Bauchi and Jos came into my head. All I know was that I started researching, flights and routes.

I got in touch with my friend Lilian, who I have not seen since she left Bonn for Nigeria. She currently lives and works in Jos, so I knew there was no way I would go that far without meeting her.

I flew into Abuja on 25 April and got on a Plateau express Sienna car to Jos. I was told the distance is about 3 hours but I spent 5 good hours on the road. The car drove through Kaduna state into Jos.

For this trip, I had no itinerary. Especially for Jos, I only wanted to relax, catch up with my friend and see sights whenever I can. For Bauchi, the Yankari Games Reserve was the destination.

In Jos, I visited the Jos Museum and Wildlife Park. Lilian took me out to a club which was pretty decent but empty on my last night.

I spent a night in Bauchi, Yankari was a disappointment and not worth the money I spent on transportation traveling all the way from Bauchi. Because Yankari is not a regular transport route, I had to rent a private cab to drive me down there and back. I spent eleven thousand Naira on cab alone, one thousand five hundred Naira entry fee from the first gate to find out that there was no room available at the resort. I was happy I refused to go on the safari because I would have cried to pay Six thousand Naira just to see Antelopes, Baboons, and Warthogs.

The Wikki Warm Spring which I had to pay Five hundred Naira for the only attraction that made sense. Unfortunately, Miss Red was in town so I could not take a dip. There is a Museum in the Resort which is the only free attraction.

Wikki Warm Spring

I visited the tomb of Nigeria's first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The tomb is beautiful and worth a visit if you are ever in Bauchi. I returned to Jos immediately after I left the tomb.

Exterior of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Tomb

Jos to Bauchi is two hours by cab. On my way to Bauchi, I was the only female in the cab and I remember my mom calling on the way telling me to make sure I am not the only female in the cab. I just smiled told her "Mo ti gbo"

Just like in Lagos where everyone is assumed to understand Yoruba, a lot of people spoke Hausa to me, especially in Jos.

I found out Boko Haram actually started in Bauchi state before moving on to Borno state.

There are a lot of Military check points, made me feel like I was in a war zone. But with the understanding of the Northern situation, I was not really bothered.

I was relatively safe while up North, except for when passing through Kaduna state on my way to Jos. The language was a problem but I was always able to find someone who understands English small. On my way back, the car went through Nasarawa state.

I did enjoy the trip asides from the Yankari adventure.

I would most likely go back to Plateau state again; this time around for the waterfalls and rock formations. Bauchi not sure I will be visiting again.

Have you been to Jos or Bauchi? What was your experience like? Would you recommend it or visit again?

♥Lara