FEATURED TRAVELERS

#Featured Traveller: The fashionista that loves travelling

Meet Sharize Odongo, a Kenyan student that finds joy in travelling. She is in her final year of school, runs a business and also manages to create time to travel. All i ever did while in uni was binge study ..err.. I mean binge drink. It’s why her travels inspire me. If I could, I’d go to back to Njoro and do better. Jk! Seriously though. If you are in college and you love traveling, it can be done.

Here’s a little bit of her travel journey to inspire you.

Sharize in Dubai
Sharize in Dubai

Why do you travel?

Travelling is my hobby , it is one of the things that gives me joy. I  love the feeling of always moving around.

How do you balance your career and travelling?

Currently I am a student at USIU and luckily we get to choose our own class schedule this has enabled me to balance school work and travelling. Mostly from Thursday to Monday I’m free and I can get to travel or focus on my business.

Sharize in Netherlands

How do you fund your travels?

I have a business which funds most of my travelling plus a little savings.

You have any saving tip that has helped you save for travel?

One thing that  has helped me is having a travelling savings account. This enables me to prioritize cause I also have other needs like investing , paying bills or shopping.Hence, I  have one account that is strictly for travelling.After catering for all my needs the remaining cash I send it to my travelling account. I also ensure that every week I have to deposit some cash no matter how little it is.

Morocco-Rabat
Morocco-Rabat

How do you choose your next destination?

To be honest , I’m an economist so my next destination depends on the  amount I can save or have.

Booking.com is my best friend as well , if I get a good hotel deal then the location in which the hotel is based becomes my next destination.

What’s your favorite travel tip?

Be open minded and be ready for good times and tough times.

Malindi-Sandies Tropical Village
Malindi-Sandies Tropical Village

Advice to anyone who wants to start traveling?

Don’t be afraid , just start planning travelling is all on the mind and its not expensive. With effective planning you can travel often.Try and do everything for yourself as well as opposed to using tour groups.

Favorite African country?

Morocco is just on another level and of course Kenya.

Sharize in Morocco-Tour De Hassan
Sharize in Morocco-Tour De Hassan

Challenging thing about traveling?

You need money to stay in a hotel , enter parks , give out tips and of course  transport.

What do you use to take your pictures?

I use my phone and I edit my photos using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Malindi -Public beach (1)
Malindi -Public beach

Do you travel alone? Who takes your pictures?

For countries outside Kenya I’ve mostly travelled alone or with a group of friends. Within Kenya I either travel with my family or partner.

Hence , whoever I get to travel with ends up taking my photos. If I travel alone I ask random people.

Where are you going next?

Rwanda and Tanzania if God wills.

Sharize at Mamba Village
Sharize at Mamba Village

Have you ever experienced any racism while on the road? 

There is a time in Morocco I was strolling with my friend and some young men were riding their bicycles. It was in the evening like at 4:00 p.m people were relaxing in the neighborhood. One of the riders hit me and rode off so quickly. No one did a thing apart from my friend who tried shouting in Arabic. Other people just looked at me like I was statue and continued doing their own things.

In Dubai I was shopping with my friend and we entered a certain shop.One of the attendants kept on following us plus looking at us suspiciously as if we were planning on robbing the shop.

In Kenya every time I go to Coast, since I’m a budget traveller. I prefer using motorbikes as opposed to taxis. Whenever I’m  going to a four star or five star hotel the guards always treat me harshly. One instance I was told to stay outside the gate as the guard let a foreigner who was in a taxi enter first then the he had to call the hotel and confirm my booking

Want to catch up with Sharize’s travels for inspiration?

READ HER BLOG: Malishaj Travels 

Find her on instagram : sharize_odongo

 

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