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Kesi To and Fro

Local. Off the Beaten Track. Long Term Travel.

Years of Saving Money for A RTW Trip

Years Traveling the World

Countries visited

Continents. ONLY AnTarctica LEFT

Who is Kesi To and Fro?

Kesi is an Ivy League grad who quit her NYC, finance job in 2015 to travel the world. She left behind her Soho apartment, and started a life of unknown adventure. The mission of this blog is to teach nomads how to sustain long term travel, inspire people to travel to less frequented destinations, and to connect travelers with local people and experiences. Come along for the ride and #FollowTheFro

More About My Story

Recent Adventures

Read about my favorite travels below and find more destinations here.

Gorilla Trekking in DRC

Largest Lava Lake in the World in the Congo

Homestay at a Maasai Village in Tanzania

Instagram Feed

Follow @KesiToandFro on Instagram for current travel adventures

kesitoandfro

Ivy grad. Ex-finance. Long Term Travel. Local Travel
Gone 4+ years
60+ countries
#followthefro
👩🏽‍🍳: @iamnot.a.chef

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What's your favorite volcano experience?⁣
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I was not aware that I would see a volcano when I randomly signed up for a 3-day tour. ⁣
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Was the Erta Ale Volcano worth the 9 hour drive plus 30 minute walk? No. I've seen better volcanoes. ⁣
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Even if the volcano was lackluster, I still enjoyed the whole experience of getting there. ⁣
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For example, our driver kept pulling to the side of a road when he saw a goat, because he wanted to buy a small goat to feed us for dinner. When he was talking to the goat owner, we would play with the kids. It's small moments like these which make traveling enjoyable. ⁣
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The last photo shows our beds for the night. It was as simple as can be, but honestly didn't need anything else. ⁣
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If I were to rewind, I would've only booked a 2 day tour, but I still enjoyed my time visiting the volcano. ⁣
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#followthefroAfrica⁣
#followthefroEthiopia ⁣
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#travelethiopia #teamkaptainkenny #ig_ethiopia #erta #ertaale #ethiopia #blacktravelfeed #girlywanderlust #gltlove #sheisnotlost #passionpassport #girlsaroundtheworld #blacktraveljunkies #blacktraveljourney

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Have you ever signed up for a tour and not look up the itinerary?⁣
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I blindly booked a tour while I was in Ethiopia and this photo sums up my sentiments: ⁣
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Although I didn't know what was ahead of me, I was excited to be a part of an adventure. (Isn't that what traveling is about?)⁣
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Backstory: A friend invited me to join them in Ethiopia. I was like, "Dope! New country! Also, they can plan everything!" Well turns out my friend "forgot" to buy their flight, so when I landed in Ethiopia at 9 pm, I was solo and had zero ideas what I wanted to do. ⁣
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After a night's sleep, I decided I wanted to see the Danakil Depression after seeing a photo of it. My usual protocol is to scour TripAdvisor and blog posts, so I understand the best tours/cheapest way to get there. ⁣
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But since I had limited time, I skipped my usual protocol and didn't look anything up. The next morning I headed to the airport, booked a flight to Mek'ele, and went to the first guesthouse I could find. I talked to the guy at reception and told him I wanted to go to the Danakil Depression, and he signed me up for a 3-day tour. ⁣
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I didn't question why the tour was 3 days; I was just happy that I would see the Danakil Depression.⁣
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The next morning I woke up and I realized I had no idea what I signed up for. What was the name of the tour group? Will there be food? Where will I sleep? Will anyone else join me? Why was it for 3 days??⁣
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A driver, who spoke little English, picked me up and we started to drive. After 1.5 hours, I switched to another car that had 3 other tourists. I excitedly introduced myself and immediately asked what the plan for the day was. They told me we were on our way to a volcano...Hmm...ok. Volcanos can be cool. Let's do it! ⁣ ⁣
We drove some more and then pulled over to take this photo. ⁣
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I'll be sharing photos over the next couple of days to uncover the rest of the tour. ⁣
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#followthefroEthiopia ⁣
#followthefroAfrica ⁣
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#instagood10k #teamkaptainkenny #wearetravelgirls #travelfeatured #iamtb #tkkafrica #ethiopia #travelethiopia #ig_ethiopia #africanbeauty #thisisafrica #gltlove #blacktraveljourney #iexplore

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What's your favorite African country?⁣ ⁣⁣
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There is something about backpacking in Africa; I love it! Ethiopia is the 11th African country I've been to, and immediately once I landed, I was excited to explore the country. ⁣⁣
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I only had 9 days in Ethiopia, which is not nearly enough, since the country is big (two times the size of Texas).⁣⁣
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I made sure to make use of my limited time in Ethiopia and have lots of photos to share from my experience.⁣⁣
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Ethiopia Quick Facts:⁣⁣
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🔺Amharic is the official language and is one of the oldest languages in the world.⁣ ⁣
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🔺 After 9 days, I still don't know how to say "thank you" in Amharic. I swear it is the hardest "thank you" to remember...it's "ameseginalew." Try repeating that 5 times fast⁣. ⁣
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🔺Ethiopia is the mecca for history...the oldest human bones were found in the country from 3.2 million years ago?!⁣ ⁣
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🔺It's the second-most populous country in Africa⁣ ⁣
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🔺Ethiopians have the reputation of being attractive⁣ ⁣
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🔺Compared to other African countries, it is easy to travel in. There are good roads and reputable tour groups⁣. ⁣
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🔺 If you fly into the country, use Ethiopian airlines because then you get a 50% discount on internal flights!⁣ ⁣
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🔺Ethiopians are more conservative, especially in Muslim areas, so dress appropriately! The dress I'm wearing in this photo was too scandalous since it was "short" and too low-cut. (I thought my dress was conservative since I used to wear it in the office when I had a corporate job in NYC)⁣⁣
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I'll be spamming my feed with Ethiopia pictures. You've been warned. ⁣⁣
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I was obsessed with this tree, hence why I took a photo. Unfortunately, this tree was un-climbable. ⁣⁣
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#followthefroEthiopia⁣⁣
#followthefroAfrica⁣
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#travelethiopia⁣
#ethiopia #exploreethiopia #ig_ethiopia #thisisafrica #africa_vacations #africanature #harar #exploreafrica #travelafrica #teamkaptainkenny #tkkafrica #tkkethiopia #wearetravelgirls #wegotoo #blacktraveljunkies #starttheadventure #africantravel #iexplore #gltlove

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Friend: "But wait...Kesi, how did you get Manchester United seats in the 4th row for $25?"⁣
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Me: "I know the right people. 😏"⁣
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I wasn't trying to be a smart-ass when I replied to my friend. I was just being honest.⁣
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The only reason I have been able to sustain my travel lifestyle for over 4 years is because of the connections I've made on the way. ⁣
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I remember when I worked in the corporate world I hated the word "networking". I felt like I would put on a fake facade whenever I went to networking events.⁣
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Yet, "networking" while traveling has become very natural for me. I'm addicted to meeting new people and hearing their stories.⁣
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I like to stay connected with people and hate losing someone's contact. (I am still one of those people that prefer connecting on Facebook because it's easier to keep track of my friends).⁣
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Networking while traveling is easy, because I can be unapologetically me and make true connections with people. ⁣
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My travel network is global and I feel lucky that people still like me enough to invite me to their homes and show me around. ⁣
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I'm not a huge soccer fan, but it was still a lot of fun to watch Manchester United play. ⁣
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#followthefroManchester⁣
#followthefroUK⁣
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Why is NYC called the Big Apple? I grew up 40 minutes outside NYC and had my first internship at 16 in the city... Yet, I still don't know how NYC got this nickname. I guess I was never curious enough to Google the answer. ⁣
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While I was in Manchester, there was no way I was leaving the city without understanding why there were bees everywhere. One afternoon I decided to walk around and take random snaps of all the bees I found. I found bees on street art, people's skin (tattoos), trash cans, decorations in cafes, stickers...honestly, I couldn't go anywhere without seeing a bee.⁣
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So why is the bee such a prominent symbol for Manchester? ⁣
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The bee represents the working bee and signifies Manchester's hardworking past in the industrial revolution. The bee has remained a symbol of the city and has evolved to mean more. Following the Manchester arena shooting (w. Ariana Grande) the working bee symbolized Unity. There was a tribute mural with 22 bees, signifying the 22 innocent people who lost their lives. ⁣
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I already liked Manchester, but I also approve of the city's symbol - hard workers and defiance in hard times. ⁣
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Now, can anyone tell me the meaning of the NYC apple? Or mention any other interesting symbols from other cities?⁣
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P.S - this first photo is my best impression of imitating a bee. ⁣
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#followthefro⁣
#followthefroManchester ⁣
#followthefroUK ⁣
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#teamkaptainkenny #tkkengland #tkkuk #manchester #manchesterfinest #manchesterbee #exploremanchester #travelmanchester #discovermanchester #exploreengland #travelengland #blacktravelfeed #blacktraveljourney #travelnoire #wetraveltoo #passionpassport #darlingescapes #starttheadventure #soultravel #iamtb #sidewalkerdaily #femaletravelbloggers #blacktravelbloggers

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