END OF SEASON 2, LIFE UPDATES AND MY SAFARI IN KENYA

Friends, hit the pause button on your hectic lives and join me, your host Hannah Garner, as we reminisce on the rollercoaster ride that was Season 2 of the Empower Thyself podcast. Remember the enlightening discussion we had with the incredible Africa Brooke on cancel culture and finding our voices? Relive moments like these, as well as insights on mindset, self-development, entrepreneurship, holistic health, wellness, spirituality and manifestation. If you haven't yet, subscribe to ensure you don't miss what's next. For interactive content, connect with me on Instagram at Hannah Kate Garner.

Let's dig into the whirl of life updates that have kept me on my toes - from the hunt for a new apartment to starting a fresh job in central London, and planning a thrilling holiday trip to Kenya. Transitions can be chaotic; they demand prioritisation and a delicate balance between juggling responsibilities and savouring the joys of hard work. Have a peek into my world as I share how I've manoeuvred this tricky terrain.

Now, who is up for an adventure? Embark on a virtual safari as I recount my escapade of planning a trip to Kenya. Listen as I share nuggets of wisdom from the complexities of booking train tickets, to choosing the perfect tour operator.  As we wrap up this incredible season, gear up for Season 3 of the Empower Thyself podcast. If there's something specific you'd like to see covered next season, drop me a line!

Email - empowerthyselfacademy@gmail.com or jump into my DM's on instagram here

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:25

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to the final episode of Season 2 of Impile Thyself podcast. If you're new here, I'm your host, hannah Garner, and this probably isn't the episode to be tuning into, unless you're here to hear about my trip to Kenya and you want to find out more about that, or just generally like a chatty episode, because this is going to be some life updates, some season 3 plans, kenya and a few other bits chucked in there because, as I said, this is the last season episode of the season. So if you are new here, you might want to go back and listen to all the other amazing episodes about 83 of them in total from the last two seasons and there is a variety of mindsets self-development, entrepreneurship, holistic health and wellness, spirituality and manifestation so you can go and binge a large number of amazing episodes with fantastic guests. So Season 2 has been amazing and I'm so grateful for all of you who have been regularly listening. In this episode, as I mentioned, I'm going to give you a life update, talk about Kenya and the next season, but what I would really love for you to do is a couple of things. First of all, if you haven't already subscribed, please do so to the show because when we go live in the new year, you will be the first to get a notification that a new episode has dropped and I would absolutely hate for you to miss it. Now I am over on Instagram at Hannah Kate Garner as well, so you can follow me there because I'm actually going to be turning that page into a specific podcast only page where I'm going to be doing behind the scenes polls, getting you guys involved, sharing really cool stuff and making it really interactive and fun and somewhere that you want to kind of look at and tap into in the social space for that kind of motivation, uplifting kind of part of social media. So follow me over there. It's not going to happen immediately For now it's just my personal account with some kind of I mean, I've got a lot of reels and helpful stuff and lives and things over on there, but that will all be going eventually and the podcast update and countdown etc is all going to be on there. So definitely do connect over there as well.

Speaker 1: 3:53

Now, before I dive into live updates in Kenya, season two was amazing. We had some amazing guests. We had a highlight of me interviewing Africa Brooke. That is still one of my favorite favorite episodes, not only because Africa Brooke was one of my dream podcast guests that I have always wanted to have on the podcast. That I realized much sooner than I expected.

Speaker 1: 4:17

I also absolutely adored the topic around cancel culture and using your voice, despite kind of it maybe not being the status quo, and it's just a really, really important conversation. I think now more than ever it still is so important to listen, to think about dissect, go away and see how maybe you're falling in the trap of potentially joining the kind of like woke areas of Instagram you know we've all been guilty of it like tempted to like jump in and like virtue signal about things when actually we should be saying hold on a minute, no, don't agree with this, this isn't in line with my truths or my values. So definitely check out that episode because it is still so fucking relevant and, as I said, every time on social media, I kind of sometimes just look at comments or the conversations that are going on just more for kind of seeing what the vibe is right now and some of the stuff just makes me want to smack my head against the wall. If I'm being totally honest, like the way people like respond to things so personally that clearly are not about them is beyond belief, and that was one of my favorite things that Africa said in the episode was that, like, how entitled are we to think that somebody goes onto their personal Instagram account or business or whatever it is, and creates a post that is specifically targeted us? Because in the reality, it really isn't, and actually we need to take things with a pinch of salt. And when things don't resonate, it doesn't always mean we don't have to agree to realize that hold on, that person actually might be intelligent, that person might have valid points, that person might be an important figurehead, even if they believe differently or have different truths. You know like I'm seeing it all over the internet still. So, 100%, if there's one episode this season, you go back and check out. If you haven't already, go and check that one out. And even if you have listened to it, go listen to it fresh ears, because I always find when you go back and listen to a conversation with a new awareness, you pick up new things, right. So, yeah, that was definitely a highlight of the season. Now, I had so many amazing guests on here and I'm so excited.

Speaker 1: 6:39

However, I will say that my intention for season two was going to be bigger and bolder, and I know I referenced it and mentioned it in a couple of my episodes over the season. However, as I've mentioned before, doing podcasting is a big commitment, especially when you're doing everything, like I am myself. It's a big commitment even when you have a team, but it's an even bigger commitment when you don't Editing, finding guests, emailing guests, booking coffee charts, going through back and forth about what we're going to cover the topic on recording, editing, creating content, sharing it, doing all the things. That's a lot, particularly when I'm working as well and this isn't my full-time gig, you know. If it was my full-time gig, you know, of course it would be something I could really focus on.

Speaker 1: 7:29

But I had big plans. I wanted to bring you visuals, but I had a few hiccups along the way, and so I didn't want to rush it and make it terrible, because I really love listening to podcasts, but I also have times where I really love watching podcasts, so I want to bring that to YouTube. That's a goal for season three. And also, you know how, then, I'm going to do it when the guests are remotely, and how I'm going to video that and still show you something that is enjoyable to watch. Also, I had some plans to have a little bit more of a regular feature of certain episodes, and also I'd mentioned about bringing some astrology series. Now that is still happening. But because I know that we're going to deep-dive in that quite regularly, I didn't want to bring you one episode to like tickle you and tease you and then have a couple of months break.

Speaker 1: 8:19

I thought you know what this one? I want it to be visual, I want people to watch it as well, and I also want to be able to, with my guest, be able to create some downloadables for it, just for you to like benefit even more. So I decided to put a pause on that and bring it back properly in season three. So if you've been holding on to that, it is coming, I promise you. I just wanted to do it right. So I think that kind of sums up season two. It was amazing. I had some great interviews. I loved all the guests Again, couldn't have asked for better, but there were definitely things that I just did not have the capacity to do.

Speaker 1: 8:55

Now I'm hoping for season three. I'm going to invest in some more equipment, I'm going to potentially get a bit more help, because I'm going to be even busier than I am already, which you'll hear about in the life of day, but I have big plans and goals and I also want to restructure it so that there's a few things I want to do that basically bring more community and opportunity to actually take the podcast from just listening to potentially like events and bringing like-minded people together, because, again, I'll mention it shortly but finding the like, getting in the right rooms, is so powerful for your self-development and just to nourish your soul. So I really want to do that because that's like the long-term goal here is to bring people together and build that community space where people can connect and things. And I also have a few other things at my sleeve. But, with that being said, I would really love, if you are a regular listener, if you had any things that you would love to see from a podcast that you're not currently seeing. It doesn't have to be about mind, just generally speaking. If you're like, oh, I'd really love like to tune into this or have the opportunity to watch it this way or listen to it this way or whatever, or join a space here where we can talk about the episode or have a Q&A, like whatever you're thinking. It doesn't matter whether it's been done or not. I would love to hear your thoughts, feelings and also anything else that you think would really like take this podcast to the next level, because that's my intention for season three. So I will make sure that there is an email in the show notes for you just to click and you can send me an email just with any feedback, thoughts, ways you would, what you would love to see. And, as I said, it might not be happening anywhere right now, that doesn't matter. Let me know, because I'm happy to be the pioneer with an idea, if there's something that people want. So I would really appreciate that. If you could do that, or you can drop me a DM on Instagram, one or the other, I would be so, so grateful. And then, yeah, we're going to go to New Heights for season three.

Speaker 1: 11:11

Now we are going to be off for a couple of months into the new year. I've not got an exact date of start because it just depends, as I said, on a few of the things. I want to make sure that I get involved, but I will make. That's why I said subscribe, so you get that notification when we go live and follow the Instagram, but I will make sure that it's with you in the new year. But I need some time off from doing everything myself, because right now we enter the busiest season in my work role, and not only that, I actually have secured a new job. So let's go to life updates.

Speaker 1: 11:50

So I feel like this year has gone so quick. I don't know about you, but I was sitting here the other day and like how the heck are we at the end of September already? Like I thought I had a good few more weeks until the last season and last episode of the season was even needed, and then I realized, oh no, it's this week. Like what the heck? So I feel like this year has gone really quickly and I feel like it has just been one of those years and I don't know about you where did a lot but did nothing, if that makes sense. It was kind of like a year of growth, but like there was nothing crazy happening, but then there was a lot going on. I didn't feel like there was much progress personally, but then when I look back I'm like actually I did grow a lot personally.

Speaker 1: 12:33

So it was just a bit of like, I guess, a steady year but a crazy year at the same time, and I had, throughout the year a few curveballs thrown in. We had a big family tragedy earlier in the year which consumed a lot of more time and space and emotion than obviously was planned, so things like that. And so, yeah, everything just didn't go to plan in terms of what I wanted. Not only that, I decided to upheave my whole life again. So I have moved.

Speaker 1: 13:04

I'm still in London, but moving, as you know, takes up a lot of time, a lot of stress and, especially in London, it's just a ball egg. Like moving out of an apartment on the third floor, like by yourself is just, and so that took up a lot of time and a lot of more organization, and just like getting the flat ready so that you get your deposit back and just general life admin with that. So, yeah, and on top of that, can we just talk about how crazy the rent prices are at the moment? I know like people are having to remortgage and that's been crazy as well, like with the interest rates, costs and things. But fuck me, the rent prices in London have gone through the roof, like my landlord that I was leaving. So my tenancy was up in August anyway and I was in planning on moving anyway but probably was going to renew my tenancy agreement for a few months and then find a replacement in the new year. So I didn't have to, kind of like, move twice. But my landlord wanted a 900 pound increase per month. That was a 65% overall increase of rent price since I moved in just two years ago. Right, and do you know how crazy that is? Like 900 pound per month, 900 pound per month.

Speaker 1: 14:29

Now I was in a position whereby I wasn't. It was annoying and it's a pain and it means I'm gonna have to move again in the new year because I haven't had an opportunity to find the place that I wanna be. However, from that perspective, I'm lucky because I don't have a family. I'm not like a single mother or I'm not a family. I could move in with people that I know. I didn't have to, just like you know, have that extra stress and pressure and the worst thing about it was for me, and the reason it really bugged me is I understand that in some instances people had mortgage increases. Our landlord did not, because originally he had agreed to 150 or 200 pound increase. Right Then, when some other estate agent came up to him and said, oh, by the way, we are gonna put another flat up in this area for this price and we think you could get this, even though it had not yet been proven, he was like greedy, greedy, greedy, and wanted the money 900 pound per month.

Speaker 1: 15:24

I don't care if I had 10,000 pounds extra month to spend on an apartment. I'm not getting 900 pounds worth more of value, because it's gonna be exactly the same as what I was living in before. They weren't gonna refurbish it, they weren't gonna freshen it up with paint, we weren't gonna get new savers, we weren't gonna get any more luxury or benefit from it. So that really pissed me off and that was a whole, as I said, saga. So it means that I've had to move and then I'll be moving again in the new year when we find somewhere that we wanna live a little bit more centrally. So there's just been so much going on and obviously these things take time. So you know they're gonna happen, but it's a few months down the line. So you're constantly thinking about it, getting things organized towards it, but then things didn't. They don't come to an end or get done until like later down the line. And so that's all done. That was done in August, a couple of weeks before I was due to go on holiday. So obviously I had to be really organized for the holiday as well, which, as I said, we'll talk about Kenya in a minute.

Speaker 1: 16:25

And then, on top of that, I decided to get a new job, and it was an opportunity that was too good to miss, and it was actually via a client of my current work and it's a whole new role. It's gonna be a massive learning curve. It's in central London, which I'm really excited about, because I'm gonna be in Liverpool Street, which is really cool. I've kind of wanted to work at the moment I'm kind of traveling out Kempway, where I'm based, but now I'm gonna be in central London so I can finally get into the London vibe, go to more classes, meet more people, because I've still not really made many friends in London just because where do you find people when you're never in central London or in the hobbies? So I'm really looking forward to that.

Speaker 1: 17:10

So this is all really good stuff, but again it's back and forth, handing in your notice, doing stuff with HR, getting organized, all of the things, and so, again, this was something that I knew was coming and it was kind of in the works but hadn't come to fruition until literally again just before I went on holiday. And then I'm still finalizing, or have just finalized, a few things after I've got back from holiday, like official leave day and because I was asking to leave early from my notice period and all of these things. So I just feel like this year has just been a bit of a waiting game for all these big things to kind of fall into place. And I will say that I seem to like doing everything at once. But I've promised myself that in the new year I'm gonna get into use this winter to get in this time off from the podcast and just generally like from doing too much, just to get into a really good routine with my health fitness and find a new gym in central London that I can really like, which is exciting as well because it means I can get one with a sauna and it's just gonna be a bit nicer and all of that. So getting a really good routine.

Speaker 1: 18:22

And then I've said for the next year or two, once everything's like in place and settled and final, I'm just going to enjoy where I am. I don't always need to be striving for more and more and up, level, up, level, up, level, because I just feel like I've been changing so much in my life constantly all of the time that I'm just tired, like it would be quite nice to enjoy it, really settle into it. Don't get me wrong. Give me a year or two and I'll upheaval everything again. It's just the nature of who I am. But I don't need to do it so quickly. I can kind of sit and enjoy the fruits of my labor. So that's what I'm gonna do and that's then gonna give me more opportunity as well to do the podcast for season three.

Speaker 1: 19:07

Now I am actually going to work full time. I'm not working full time at the moment so I could do work and business stuff, do things for the podcast. I'm gonna be working full time because this role just was, as I said, completely new and I just felt that I couldn't do this role part time and do it justice and with the potential. Everything that I do in my life is very strategic, depending on what I'm trying to aim for, and as much as building my business, building my podcast and doing things like that is really important to me and is something that I'm gonna do, as I've shared in one of my other previous podcast episodes about doing things that is right for you and not listening to what everybody else is the season that I'm going into and the things that I want to achieve. This felt the right decision.

Speaker 1: 19:53

Now, does that mean I'm gonna be in the nine to five forever? Probably not, but right now, with what I wanna do, the opportunity that presented itself, it felt too good not to do it. So, whilst I'm gonna have less time to record because at the moment I do a lot of my recording on Mondays and Fridays when I'm off I'm gonna have to just do some more on the weekend, some more in the evenings. So it's gonna take a little bit more planning and effort. Which is why I wanna get also really scheduled with how I'm doing the podcast in terms of, okay, this day I'm gonna book out a studio or I'm gonna set myself up and record a few in that day, and then I'm gonna. Hopefully then because I'm obviously gonna be on significant more money than I am at the moment as well, that will give me the opportunity to be able to actually outsource some stuff. So, whilst I'm not gonna have as much time, I'm also gonna try and get some help in to help ensure the podcast is as good as it can be, take it in the right direction, whilst also not giving me so much on my plate. So that's all that's been happening and it's been amazing, but, as I said, it's all good things in the long run.

Speaker 1: 21:07

But it's just been a lot all at once and it just made me realise that Women are crazy, like mum. Women who are mums are like crazy next level superhumans. Because I'm trying to be over here, because I'm doing extra work at the main man in this busy season before I start my new role, and I'm trying to food prep and food shop and get the gym done in the morning and make sure I'm able to do my work and then do all of this stuff and then get home. I cannot imagine trying to do this and then care for another child or two or three or four. Like I understand, looking at how things are structured, why you had a breadwinner and you had a stay at home person, I get it. I get it and I haven't even experienced it yet. I've witnessed my friends doing it. But like I really get it now, because I just had this realisation in the day and I was like fuck me.

Speaker 1: 22:17

And it also made me realise that, whilst, yes, women can have it all in the sense of we can be boss like amazing bosses, we can be amazing mothers we can have it all in that sense, we don't need to do it all, and I think what has happened is because we've been able to have all these opportunities presented to us whilst also still having to try and uphold the whole, doing everything as a mother as well, and often, as we know, not in all cases, but often taking on way more emotional labour and organisation and general kind of looking after of the children, as well as working and like the household and stuff that has we've like fucked ourselves over, basically because we're seeing online all these people doing all these things and actually we think that we need to be doing all those things or like we're not good enough if we're not, when actually most people are drowning, struggling or about to burn out. So if you're listening to this in your parents, definitely think about giving yourself a break because, first of all, you're amazing if you're doing even just raising a child and putting your energy into a child and then managing anything else and your job around it. But also, even though we can do everything, we do we. If I really am of the mindset now, when the time comes that that happens for me, that I'm going to prioritise doing the things that are really important to me and everything else, as best I can, I'm going to outsource or I'm just going to let it go. I'm just going to let it go. I cannot do everything and I will not do everything, and I will not burn myself out to the point where I'm resentful of other people around me because I don't feel supported, or like burn out because I'm just trying to do too much and like spread myself to thin, like okay, my child wants to be my focus, because I want to pour in love and enjoy doing that kind of like teaching them to be the human little human that like I hope they're going to be.

Speaker 1: 24:15

And you know, work might at that point have to take a step back and although, yes, that doesn't mean I'm not going to, you know, be a boss, babe If it means that I just have to do the bare minimum, so be it, whilst I'm putting my priorities elsewhere. And if it means my health's important to me and I allocate time aside to the gym, then maybe I need to get a cleaner or whatever. You know what I mean. So, although that's a little bit of a tangent, this is just a reminder that you shouldn't, just because you're seeing it everywhere, you don't need to be doing it all and we're doing ourselves a disservice. Like, choose the things that are really important to you and then let it go or find a way to outsource it. We shouldn't be doing it all Like we like that's too much for any human. That's not how you're going to find enjoyment in life. You're going to get burnt out. So that's all really, really exciting and, as I said, it's all finally coming together, but it just feels like this year's been crazy.

Speaker 1: 25:10

So, on top of that, I then turned 30, which has so far been amazing, because I guess, going into my 30s, I've really achieved quite a lot in a short space of time. But I definitely think that I myself need to go back, because I did the episode like the kind of things, the green flags, the things that I'm taking into my 30s, and I gave like a list of the things that, like, I'm not going to, no longer going to stand for or things that I'm going to introduce, and I've 1 million percent been doing a lot of them, but there's still a few whereby I'm letting myself down a little bit. So even I am going to go away and re listen to that episode and just think about where I need to like tighten up the energy leaks, see if there's things whereby I'm maybe not upholding my boundaries or letting myself down a little bit, because they were really important to me and I really think like they are going to allow me to live the most harmonious, joyful, happy life, whilst maintaining good relationships, good boundaries and really like stepping into my power, and I definitely think I can do that a little bit more. So definitely check out that episode if you're interested in hearing. But 30 so far has been amazing. But it's so funny because I literally keep thinking to myself like when am I going to feel like an adult? It's so weird because I feel as though I have so much wisdom and have so much experience, because I've been working as well since I was 18. And like I know a lot for my age, but then, at the same time, on the flip side of that, I'm still so young in mind and still keep thinking like when am I going to be like an adult and how? When does this like change happen? And although 30 I definitely think was kind of, as I said, a flip of a switch of maturity in that episode, it still feels like I don't feel like I'm 30 and I mean people don't think I look 30. But the flip side of that is also I'm kind of at an age now where people think I'm so much younger than I am.

Speaker 1: 27:14

Like I got IDed. Through the irony, I gave up drinking after my 30th for a year is a little challenge to myself and obviously. So I haven't had a drink since the 31st of July and like. So I've just been buying some or trying some alternatives, you know, like different flavors, sparkling waters, just things for the weekend, really not during the week, because I just generally drink water and coffee, but just to try things on a weekend instead of like having a glass of wine or whatever. And I got IDed for a CBD drink, like, and I didn't even know you had to get IDed for that and the guy just would not believe that I was 30 and I was like that's great, but I do think that has, like it's downfalls as well, because, although it can be like a superpower, because people probably expect less of you in terms of you know, wisdom, maturity, knowledge, etc. So then when you are more than they expect, they're like surprise, which can be good.

Speaker 1: 28:12

I also do think that like people still don't take me as seriously as they might take other people because they think I'm like you know, 21 years old, oh, you're still young. Like I had some guy like kept saying to me young lady, young lady, and like don't get me wrong, he might think people under 40 are young. I'm not saying that, but the way it was was a little bit patronizing. I felt like saying to him but just because it really was not a big deal, but I just feel like it's a bit annoying. So I'm kind of like how do I make myself Like I still want to look young, I still want to feel young, because that's like the key to like longevity right Feeling young, looking young but at the same time, be taken seriously as a more mature person, someone going into their 30s, someone who's been adulting for a long time. Do you know what I mean? And I don't know how to do that. How do we do that? Does anybody have an answer, because I would love to know. So I'm just thinking about that and navigating that as well. So yeah, this is just general thoughts in my brain. So that's all happened.

Speaker 1: 29:21

And then we get to Kenya. So for my 30th, I decided this year I was going to book a really special trip, and so at the start of the year, decided that we'd go to Kenya, do a safari and like, visit the area and whatnot. Now Africa has been on my list forever. I've only ever been to Cape Verde, which is off the West Coast of Africa, but Africa itself has been on my list to visit as a place. I'm very fortunate that I'm quite well traveled and have visited quite a lot of continents and obviously different countries within those continents, but never Africa, and it's always been on the list. But to be honest, I thought it was kind of like out of reach generally at this point in time. And then when I realized that you could kind of do safaris at a fairly reasonable cost don't get me wrong, it's a privilege to be able to go on holiday, and so I'm not going to try and deny that it doesn't cost money. It does. But if you are in the market for an amazing holiday and you can afford, generally you know, a decent holiday each year, then actually a safari. You should add it to your list immediately. So it did take quite a lot of organization. I'm not going to lie to you, because you do have to get visas and I would mention. So let me just actually to give this a bit more structure before I dive into the actual holiday itself.

Speaker 1: 30:42

When I was planning it, obviously I knew I wanted to go on a safari. I wanted because obviously you're dealing with so there are only about two hours ahead, time, wise, so they, like people, can respond fairly quickly. But because you're dealing with, like, different banking systems and things online, when booking the safari, I just wanted to make sure that you know I wasn't booking anything that was potentially like a scam or bogus or anything. So I did some research and I found a safari booking website that came supposedly from trusted advisors, where safari providers can like, basically add themselves to this website and then they get checked out by a list of experts, so, and then you can get quotes from loads of different ones, and that's exactly what I did. But even though it was on this website, I still ended up when I, because you have to pay a deposit but you don't pay the final balance to you there. So that kind of gave me a little bit of comfort.

Speaker 1: 31:42

But still I was thinking, oh gosh, what if we like, buy these flights, go on holiday, get there, and then it's like a scam and you know, like we've got this whole time on holiday and then we've actually not got a safari for seven days to go on. So once I got the hotels well, like the booking of the accommodation as part of the travel included, I actually emailed the hotels and said by the way, have you worked with these providers before? And I think four out of five of them responded yes, we have, and I think the fifth one was probably because we did upgrade our accommodation, so it wasn't the usual accommodation used by this provider on their standard package. So, again, just being a little bit smart and doing your due diligence, because it is worth it, but that required a bit of organization. But I will say I did see when people arrived in Kenya there's literally like almost safari booking, like stalls when you can book something. So if you were to get there and you hadn't got anything or something went wrong, you have got options, although I don't know if it would have been as good as what we had. So that was all booked.

Speaker 1: 32:48

You have to do visas. Again, I will say from my research, because I'm one of those people that likes to dig in make sure that like everything sounds as it should be, do some reading. I don't just like blindly follow. And again, that paid off because I nearly booked some visas through a third party. Turns out when I did a bit more reading, you have to book your visas through the specific government Kenyan government website. Otherwise it's not valid and it actually is cheaper. So not only do the providers add like a wedge of money on, it ends up being cheaper. So make sure you do that. It's online, it's pretty straightforward and they do turn it around pretty quickly. But I just made sure I did it about a month before we went to make sure. I think they turned it around within a couple of days, but I just wanted to make sure because I didn't know. You know you hear these horror stories about visas taking ages. It's not really like that, but just be mindful of it.

Speaker 1: 33:44

Also, checking vaccination status. Again, I'm not somebody who takes unnecessary medications, but when I'm going on a safari, things like malaria tablets. Kenya also certain areas have times where they have yellow fever outbreaks and there's a requirement to have a yellow fever certificate Not always, but again we got it just to make sure that there was no issues so worth checking. And, for example, I had a tetanus update. I hadn't had one for a very long time and I thought, you know, for in the middle of nowhere and something happens, then it's you know, I'd rather just be safe than sorry.

Speaker 1: 34:21

So those are kind of the considerations you have to think about and like kind of budget into what you're going to spend, because that again is not cheap. But just basically, if you want to any advice on anything that I talk about, message me and I'll go into more detail. I'm not going to go into loads of detail here, but just a few things to consider up front. Also, booking your flights well in advance keeps them cheapest, because Africa, traveling to Africa, can get very, very expensive the longer you leave it, because, yeah, a lot of people travel home and things. So I saw our flights like almost double a few months later. So the early you can do it, the better.

Speaker 1: 35:02

Finally, if you are going to travel in Kenya, two other little tips before we go into it is they have a train line that runs so you can fly into the capital, but if you want to get out to like the sea side, which is where we went to after the safari in Mombasa, there is a train, connecting train that you can use Now because there's only two trains a day. You have to book in advance. And I didn't realise this because I thought, oh, let me just like leave a few things and be chill about a few things, because normally I'm like so anal about booking everything. I thought, oh, let's just like wait until we're there. When we got there, luckily, our safari providers who was super eagles just if you want to know, super eagles they the guy was talking to us and was like, oh, there's only two trains a day, they get really fully booked up and so you need to book it now. So we obviously had seven days safari and he was like, if you don't book it in the next day or two, like tickets will be gone by the time you go next or try to go next week. And we already had accommodation booked in the beach area. So again, just to think about ahead.

Speaker 1: 36:14

Now the catch is they actually, they actually only take. So there's a pay system that they have whereby you kind of have, like you get like allocated this special code associated to your bank in Kenya and the train tickets to book online only accept it's called an M passe number. So we had to use, we had to request that. Our and person at Super Eagles are what's it called, I can't even think. I guess like the organizer of our tour, we used them to buy our tickets for us and then invoice us for them. Now they're not expensive, they're only like $20 or whatever each for the journey. But you can't do it yourself. The only way you can do it is either through online, using that number, or if you go into the train station and buy them and book them yourselves and pay for them either in cash or with your card there. So you have to be mindful of that. So I would suggest, if you are booking a safari and you plan to go to other places in advance, request that they book you trains, because you have to give details like the time of the train details, etc. And then they can pay for it for you and then invoice you and then you can collect the tickets Again, collecting tickets.

Speaker 1: 37:51

Nairobi, in particular, and Mombasa are the major, major major cities in Kenya and because there's only a few trains a day, you have a lot of security. You have to check your bags, you have to get collect your tickets, so you need to give yourself a good hour or two. It's not like in England where you can just turn up, you know a few minutes before, collect your tickets and go, like it can take a long time, so you do have to factor in a few hours of before time. So when we actually travelled to Mombasa, we were able to actually get our tickets for return in advance and that saved us a bit of time. So if you can collect them before, in some instances you can do that. If you have time, then it's worth doing. So. That's just another little quirk to think about.

Speaker 1: 38:38

Also, I'd highly recommend going first class over economy. Economy just was just so busy, so hot and just very uncomfortable, particularly because obviously we had really big cases with us as well. But it was our only choice because on the way there, on the way back, we managed to get first class and the difference was just so much better and neither of them are that expensive. It was just because, as I said, the first class tickets were fully booked by the time we went to go and book our train down there. So we had to go economy. It wasn't the end of the world. So if you're doing it on a budget trip, you can do it. But given that it's like a four and a half hour train journey, if you want air-con, because it gets hot, it gets very hot, and if you want a little bit of personal space because nobody really cares about personal space on the train and you just want a little bit more comfort, then it's worth it for the extra $20 or something that it is. As I said, it was just because we had no choice that we did that. So again, just a little tip. So that was just a few things, but let me tell you, kenya was amazing.

Speaker 1: 39:43

We, as I said, were so lucky with the provider. They were absolutely excellent. They answered all my queries. They helped us when we got there If there were things that needed organizing. We did have a little change of trip after the safari, which they helped us with as well, just to save a bit of travel time. We couldn't have asked for a better setup. Our tour guide was absolutely phenomenal. He was just so knowledgeable, so chill, and so, yeah, just made the experience that much better and so, yeah, we couldn't have asked for more.

Speaker 1: 40:28

So we booked a group tour because I definitely thought you know, it's more fun and I think I was right in doing so it's more fun to have a few of you in your vehicle looking out for the animals than just like, because there's more eyes to spot things. And it definitely paid off because we got again so lucky with our group. So there was between four and six extra people with us at any one time, because some people they do, some people do shop and change, because they might only be doing a three day or seven day or whatever. So, yeah, basically we did have a few different amounts of people, but they were all the same group overall in the seven days, but everyone was so nice. We had two really cool Chinese friends and dudes and they had, like, all the best cameras, the binoculars and everything. We had a real nice lady from Uganda who was traveling on her own. We had another lady, who's from India but living in Qatar, who was traveling and I'm doing this fire on her own, and then we had a mum and son Juo, who joined us for a bit of the trip, who are like traveling for like seven months and like going on to see so much other stuff. But it was just so amazing because everyone was so friendly, so chill and like if we shared, like they would let us share binoculars, we take pictures. We've got like a Google Drive where we've shared pictures and things like that. So it just really made the whole experience like everybody together.

Speaker 1: 41:51

And I'm so glad we upgraded our accommodation because it did make the world of difference. Like I don't mind, I would say, when doing a safari, seeing what everybody else had on the budget don't get me wrong was more than enough. But because I wanted this to feel like a like more of a luxury holiday, because it was a tree, the difference of paying a little, a few hundred pound more or whatever in over the time we were at each accommodation made such a difference to the level of food service, everything and like, obviously, what your rooms were like. So for me I think, especially because they are long days, you're getting up early in the morning, you're out six, seven hours also, and I'm glad I didn't know this in advance because it then didn't lead me to any expectations. But because we did seven days, we traveled around Kenya. Now in my head I knew we'd go to different places. So we went to Masamara like reserve, national reserve. It's like the most famous reserve in Kenya and it also is on the border with the Serengeti, which is Tanzania, and so we went there and we also then did Nekoru Lake, navisha, and we did Ambaselli National Park. Now I knew we were going to different places for every few days. I assume they were within a couple of hours with each other.

Speaker 1: 43:17

Sometimes you are driving like four or five hours a day in the vehicle and so definitely be prepared for that travel. But you kind of get used to it but it kind of makes the trip. It's kind of like you know you stop off at random spots and like you go to lunch in these random places and you get to see the locals and you get to see new places and things like that. But it's a lot of traveling and so that's why I'm like it was amazing. But I'm so glad that I added up, I did some beach chill time afterwards because it was a lot.

Speaker 1: 43:48

The food was amazing out there as long as you're not a fosita like the food is great. They had a great variety of stuff fresh fruits, obviously all the like best fruits, really nice stews, loads of different rice dishes and because in Kenya there's quite a lot of blended backgrounds, you see influences from everywhere, so there's quite a lot of Asian influences as well, from there's, quite like obviously, like historically, a lot of Indians and things came over and were now kind of part integrated into Kenya and obviously African, but you know, historically their background would have been from India and Asia and so you will see things like curries and rotis and those kind of things intertwined with the food, which was amazing because it's all the things that I love. So the food was amazing. Obviously, the animals were insane. We got so lucky because we literally saw everything.

Speaker 1: 44:54

Now they call it the big five that like people go to see and sometimes people have to go on a few trips in order to see that. But to give you an idea, we saw lionesses lionesses chasing and killing a baby wildebeest, like yes, it's sad, but like seeing the circle of life and like David Attenborough style, stuff was incredible. We saw male lions, who literally are the king of the jungle. They just did not give a fuck about anything. They weren't scared of the vehicles, they just marched right through, whereas some animals would. They're not scared of the vehicles, but they would like avoid going around it, whereas they would just like walk right through it. We saw sleeping cheetahs. They are very hard to see because they're often they're not tunnel animals, so seeing them is like very tricky. We saw a cheetah, we saw baby tiger cubs, we saw rhino, we saw elephants, we saw baby elephants, we saw giraffes, we saw wildebeest.

Speaker 1: 45:51

Obviously, during this time as well, there's the big migration, so we saw loads of zebras. Zebras were like rats of Kenya. The amount of zebras that there were was crazy. It was like you almost got used to them, but because of the great migration where they traveled to the watering holes and stuff, there were lines and lines and miles and miles of wildebeest and zebras. In certain parts we saw flamingos, loads of crazy wild birds. We saw little pumbas.

Speaker 1: 46:20

So the what are they called? Not warthogs, or is it warthogs? Yeah, warthogs, yeah. Two different types of giraffes, buffalo and just all of the things, and truly nature is like awe-inspiring, like jaw-droppingly amazing and the scenery and everything.

Speaker 1: 46:49

Just I didn't know what to expect. And there's a lot of desert, but then there's a lot of lush areas as well and it was just. I've never experienced anything like it and, as I said, you have to do it. If you're able to, if you're into travel and you're able to afford holidays, put it on your list. I'll also say that everybody was absolutely amazing. Everyone was so friendly, so helpful and like anywhere I know there can be a lot of, there can be a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresentation of places in Africa by the media, 1 million percent, and I'm aware of that.

Speaker 1: 47:32

But I would go as far to say that sometimes they make it out as though it's just one big, dangerous place and you shouldn't go and it's poverty-stricken and it's terrible and it's just not that. Of course there are. There is corruption in the government, like in a lot of places in the world. Of course there is areas of poverty, but people are so happy, people love living there. People are not. Of course there are areas where you're suggested not to go, for example in Nairobi, and there's certain areas. But you would do the same in England. You wouldn't just go and walk through an estate that you know is like notoriously bad for knife crime and gun crime, for example. You just wouldn't do that. It's exactly the same principle, but then that what happens is people then tend to think that everywhere is just dangerous, whereas on the safari there was women travelling on their own. So it really opened my eyes to the fact that I'm a very big fan of travelling and being open anyway, but it really just showed that actually a lot of what we see and what is portrayed is not true and we need to go find out for ourselves. So, yes, you have to take necessary precautions and do your normal due diligence and just be sensible like you would be.

Speaker 1: 48:48

But Africa was amazing, kenya was amazing and, as I said, we had a mum and son, jiria, who joined us, who were moving on to different places, and they were going down to Namibia, zimbabwe, south Africa and I was talking to them and seeing some of the places that they went, and even just seeing Namibia so metropolitan, so clean, so high tech, so different and it just made me realise so many different places in Africa have so many different things to offer and it just made me want to go back and explore more areas, and so that was absolutely amazing. We got so lucky and I'm definitely going to print off some pictures and share some more, because it was just truly like blew my mind. And then we went down to the beach in Mombasa and we went down to a little bit of a drive down to a really beach and again, kenya has the landscape that's so varied it has more desert and dry and then it has really luscious and green and then it has these beautiful beaches and, because it's the Indian Ocean, the sand is so white, the sea is so clear and we went to an amazing hotel where, again, we had the best service. Everybody was so friendly, the food was amazing and the value was amazing. You really do get which you've done the initial outlay of an expensive flight and things, the accommodation and the value for the food and everything is just unbelievable and it just blew my mind. So you can really do a lot with not as much money as you think and so, yeah, super grateful to go 100% recommend, 100% suggest exploring other areas of Africa if you're interested, I would say, as I said, it is helpful for sure to have a contact or somebody you can help with booking things when you're out there, who is from that area, which can be through like a guide or a tour or something.

Speaker 1: 50:48

But, for example, if I wasn't doing a safari and travelling elsewhere, I'd probably book a activity or something out there and then use that person as like a to ask questions and say, oh, would you mind helping me with this, would you mind helping me with that? Because even just things like organising taxis, it was so easy to do, because then the tour people used a specific taxi driver and then we just got his number and then, what's apt him, when we were travelling after the safari to be like, oh, could you take us back to the airport, could you pick us up from here? And that just paid off. So that is a little round up of Kenya.

Speaker 1: 51:29

As I said, if you have any specific questions, I'm more than happy to answer in the DMs. So I think I'm going to end it here, because I've spoke more than I wanted to and I really, really am grateful for you all tuning in coming and just now I am going to have a couple of months off and I cannot wait to come back and bring you so much more next season. So, as mentioned at the start, don't forget to drop me any messages or feedback on things you would love to see or things that you just haven't seen elsewhere being done that you would love as part of listening and watching a podcast. Have a wonderful rest of the year and go binge the rest of the episodes in the meanwhile.