Getting ready to rumble

It is the eve of my last day of full time employment. This has to be the craziest thing i have ever had to do, quit a job without another lined up. I have had my life planned to the T for the longest of time and in December while in Windhoek, Namibia, it hit me. I was tired from a long year of hard work but as I reflected i was actually tired of the busy scheduled life. I remember thinking that I had been to paradise but never to me and i thought it was time that i went to "me". And this is where the journey to self-discovery starts.

I am at my happiest and relaxed when i am traveling. True story! What better way to "rest" than traveling. And for the first time in a while i am traveling on budget. I can't be splurging my savings on first class travel. Easier said than done. My first test was booking my flights to Mombasa and back from Zanzibar. I chose these two because 1Time flies there. Now ordinarily i wouldn't even step anywhere close to the mean red machine but for the first time in December last year i used to it fly back from Livingstone. I was pleasantly surprised that it was as awesome as it was.

So when i read that 1Time is now flying to Mombasa i got excited and knew that i will take my East African trip using them. In all honesty South African Airways and British Airways are charging some mad prices. Even when i was not traveling budget in December i found it hard to justify paying double the price to get a box of plane food that is nowhere near the premium paid. Here is an example SAA is charging ZAR 8 327 for a one way flight to Mombasa with a stop over in Nairobi. BA is another story, ZAR 18 000 to Nairobi for 34 hours going to London first and i would still need to connect to Mombasa at an extra cost. All that 1Time charged me was ZAR 2 477. Case closed. No debate there.

The next milestone is to find low cost accommodation in Mombasa and Zanzibar. Ideally would have liked to have the entire trip on low cost but a 4 star in Nairobi and Kampala won't hurt my budget much. I am already seeing prices as much as US$250 per night for a 4 star i would ordinarily pay US$110 for in South Africa.

I am looking forward to this. I will keep you posted.