Home away from home

Home away from home

Rwanda---Kicukiro Street 329 House Number 12

An Airbnb experience to die for, yes... this beautiful house is
an Airbnb place you cannot miss to stay in whenever you go to Rwanda.✈
I am a very meticulous person when it comes to setting up things. This seven bedroom house seemed like the best option for my gang of 13 people.
I love people but this person; the host of this place is just on a whole new level. I made Didonc's acquittance sometime in July as I was looking for a place to stay in Rwanda to attend a conference in November.
We discussed details of our stay and commute to the conference area all the way to the Marriot Hotel in Kigali. I trusted in him and him in I throughout the process but of-course it takes some great friends who kept to their promise for showing up.

13 people became 17 and we had to add a second house to this mix which was literally just 2-3minutes walk.

Didonc arranged for airport pick up and drop off, he had transport arranged to and fro the Marriot Hotel which was 20 minutes drive from where we were staying.
The house staff was great and the security of this place is just 😍; the kind you leave your room unlocked and all is well.

When the rooms look exactly like the pictures.
Have you ever wondered as you were admiring the pictures of the place you were going and you tell yourself, "well, I better have my hopes down on the low low so that I don't get disappointed."

I had a no freaking way moment 😱😍 when I got there.

We wanted a BBQ party and he made that happened. All we needed to do was order all we ever needed.
Nothing as great as going to a foreign place and making it feel as homely as possible.

Surely the name of this place resonances how it truly feels, "a home away from home."
😍
Looking forward to Rwanda 2.0, this time a little exploration with Mother Nature would do.

Unplugged

Unplugged from it all, up in the Northern part of Tanzania in a place called Magoroto Forest, Muheza-Tanga. 

October 26th - 28th, 2018

Imagine waking up to such a view, we arrived around 1930hrs after a 5 hours drive from Dar es salaam. For those of us who just want to enjoy the road and let someone else take control then "UnzipTanzania" is your go to place.

Arriving to tents that are ready for you, with a warm blanket and  a towel. UnzipTanzania made the experience even more greater, added on a Maasai wrap around and torches for each of the happy campers under their care.

Don't worry about where you get your shower cause that's taken care of, if you want some warm water to go with, you got it.

Talk about being spoiled;😊 pick up from work, stop over at Mlimani city for some "whatever shopping" you want, working seat belts, driver who keeps to his road rules and hell did I mention who they sent from UnzipTz to make sure you are well cared for.

Easy to the eyes, humour to last an eternity, professional photographer, tour guide, entertainer, lifeguard; which actually reminds me of an incident, that's pretty hilarious right now but not at that moment😂.....Geez what are you not "Fahad Fuad."

Two nights of no network with great company is all the reasons to enjoy bonfire talks, darts for a target practice or should i say not target practice for those who kept going beyond the dart's board...😅

Choosing a trail to hike to was fun, to reach to the view point was the target but that's not for the faint hearted. We made it and celebrated our victory, funny how our return back felt like we were going to yet another view point, more up hill and the right recipe to giving up easily. If you got a good team that pushes you, takes your back pack just so you are lighter, pours some water to make sure that heat stroke doesn't get to you.

If you haven't been there, you are missing out. Go see Magoroto for yourself, take a dip in that cool water, relax and enjoy yourself.

Pack up some great company, lots of fun ideas, hiking shoes or not cause well you can go barefoot.

A Salzburg Experience

A Salzburg Experience

Paediatric Emergency Medicine Seminar

by

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia 

 21st - 27th January, 2018

Schloss Arenberg, Arenbergstrasse 10, 5020 Salzburg Austria

It took a flight from Dar to Zurich to Munich, a total of 11 hours before taking a shuttle to Salzburg.

If there is something I love, it is staying in transit. For a fleeting moment to experience what a new place feels like, its beautiful skies and the architecture of the airports at every stop.

A minimum of 3 hours layover is always the safest😉 to timely enjoy transit in any airport and if you want to explore...well make it 5 then.

The sight at 0930hours as we were taking our shuttle ride to Salzburg. 

No boots or winter coats and at this moment I thought...yap this is it, I am finally getting myself a winter coat or a cold.

My travel motto is; go light come back heavy and   I mean luggages so you can definitely imagine how I had some sweat-shirts, scarfs, gloves and left the rest to the power of socks😂

The only person I knew at this very moment was Gibonce, my fellow countryman and there is always that first time jitters to meet knew people so you are somewhat inclined to keep with the pack you know.
That evening while waiting for the introductory dinner, the corridor was packed with echos of at least 31 fellows for this seminar, 5 faculty and our host Stephanie. Little did I know that the first people that came up and started talking to me, the very people I first sat with at my dinning table would be the very people that would make this one week experience filled with sheer excitement.👌

This was my all time gang, from left; Gibonce, Spaska, Bereket, me, Yalchin and Tsolomon. 
We took down streets, discovered new heights.
If only you could see us as we marched down the streets like we owned them, in reality we were all very new to this place. We didn't leave pebbles on the way just a keen eye for every street we turned.
From deciding we would go see Home to the sound of music and Mirabellgarten to detouring for an afternoon of shopping at Europark.
Nothing beats the laughter we had, some memories locked in and ignited by a mere sight of an old picture or recollection of a memory.
Bereket and how he would say, "Girls" 
Bereket and Yalchin tales of No Head
This here is a friendship in the making and future places to visit.
Be it day or night.
Bulgaria, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan or Tanzania

"Love Locks Bridge"

"Salzach River  by Night"

"Salzburg view from Hohensalzburg Fortress"

In a fleeting moment, there is so much in life to be appreciated, friendships to build, knowledge gained and the American Austrian Foundation made all this possible.
I met a diversity of worlds but learned there is only the need to meet humanity with the service to others.

Kisses to life
For every passing day is a taste of new flavour.

Beginners Luck

We hear a lot; Eat Pray Love, Work Travel Save Repeat, Good Food Good Mood and the list goes on.

Like a rule whenever i was asked what my hobbies were i would blurt out things like; reading novels, swimming, traveling, playing soccer just to mention a few and it was all on speed dial.

Life as I have lived it got me to appreciate so much more.

Comes in all servings you could think of with it's many colours.

Art remains to be the one thing that is to be appreciated in its many forms, be it music, food, scenery, travel.

Cheers to the art of Living.