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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 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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Reasons I like Manchester:⁣
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1) People think my accent is cool.⁣
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2) You can strike a conversation with anyone. ⁣
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People are friendly and open to chat, whether it's on the tram or you are picking up a coffee. It's a very friendly city. ⁣
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3) You can walk everywhere.⁣
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I can get to anywhere within 30 minutes walking, which I love. Even if the city is small, there is still diversity in the neighborhoods - hipster, posh, gay - you choose!⁣
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4) City is filled with street art.⁣
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5) They try to empower the homeless. ⁣
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I've only been here for a week, but I've seen several programs where they try to help the homeless. (BTW - I was not looking for these programs). One is called "Invisible Cities" which provides walking tours by guides who have experienced homelessness. Another is called "Change Please" where homeless people are trained to become baristas. ⁣
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🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 Tonight is my last night in Manchester, but loved my week here. I also lucked out with the weather because it didn't even rain! Thanks @galiana___ for hosting. ⁣
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Have you been to the UK? Do you share similar sentiments?⁣
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Off to Dublin tomorrow!⁣
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#followthefroUK⁣
#followthefroManchester⁣
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I fooled you. Just because I put up my "Farewell TYW" post, you thought you'd be done seeing posts about it? Well, guess what! I still have photos to share!!⁣
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But they aren't my typical partying shots or lounging in a bikini. That's because this year I took advantage of exploring the islands. ⁣
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I've worked in Croatia for the past 5 summers, but this was one of the first times I took the time to explore the islands TYW goes to. ⁣
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(Before you pass judgment, know that time management can be hard when you are cooking breakfast, lunch, etc. and trying to organize drunk guests)⁣
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So this is Bol! @theyachtweek added Bol to the itinerary last year, and it's the perfect day to either relax or make an adventure. I didn't have to cook dinner this day, so I rented an ATV with some guests and drove around for 3 hours. Pictured here is famous lookout point.⁣
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My favorite part of the day was off-roading (even though I couldn't stop screaming since I thought I would fall off the cliff) and ending up in a small, isolated town. All the places TYW visits have a lot of tourists, so it was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle and see a different type of Croatia. ⁣
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What's the coolest thing you've found when you've gone off-roading? ⁣
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#followthefrocroatia⁣
#followthefrotyw

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