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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. Quit Wall Street to see the world
4.5+ years
60+ countries
Authentic.LongTerm.Travel
👩🏽‍🍳:@iamnot.a.chef
👩🏽‍💻:@journeytobeatravelblogger

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Would you ever feed a wild hyena?⁣
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After I crossed the Danakil Depression off my bucketlist, I needed to decide where to go next in Ethiopia. I heard through the grapevine that there's a city where you could feed wild hyenas, and immediately knew that would be my next destination.⁣
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I hired a private driver to go from Addis Ababa to Harar (took 10 hours), and I had one thing on my mind the entire ride, which was I CANT WAIT TO FEED HYENAS!!⁣
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My knowledge of hyenas is solely based on the movie The Lion King. When I told people in Addis Ababa about my strong desire to feed hyenas they looked at me weird. They said hyenas are gross animals and that I shouldn't want to be close to one.⁣
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We arrived in Harar right at 6 pm and our driver asked around for the feeding spot. We pulled to the edge of the walled city and behind a dumpster we saw a man with a box of raw meat and knew we were in the right spot. We tipped the hyena man and then it was feeding time!⁣
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Feeding the hyenas was not scary. I know they are wild animals and have a mind of their own, but it was easier to feed a hyena then it was to feed a bird (you can see in my post yesterday). Plus, I think they are kind of adorable.⁣
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And yes...hyenas do laugh like they did in The Lion King!⁣
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How did feeding hyenas start in Harar? Well the hyena men wanted to stop hyenas from eating their livestock so they started bringing meat to feed the hyenas. Then they realized tourists would be interested in this and bam! ⁣
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Feeding a hyena wasn't as cool as I expected (I needed more adrenaline), but at least I have street cred.⁣
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Also, Harar is a beautiful city, which I'll take about in another post. ⁣
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#followtheFroEthiopia

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𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐀: Kesi, The Bird Whisperer⁣ ⁣⁣⁣
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𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐁: How I really felt - why did I think feeding hawks with giant claws and wings was a good idea?!⁣⁣
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𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐂: Behind the scenes⁣⁣⁣
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Not going to lie, feeding Kites at the meat market in Harar, Ethiopia was not as easy as it looks. ⁣⁣⁣
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I was terrified! I mean haven't you seen Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds?!⁣⁣⁣
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But heart-pumping activities like this are what I enjoy most. I need to make sure that I'm still living. ⁣⁣⁣
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I love that I can walk up to a meat market, tip a guy $1, and feed a big bird! ⁣⁣⁣
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I think I looked pretty confident feeding the kites on my 3rd attempt. 😏 What do you think? Am I a bird whisperer? Would you want to feed them?⁣⁣⁣
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#followthefroEthiopia⁣⁣⁣
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#Harar #Ethiopia ⁣⁣⁣
#kitefeeding ⁣⁣⁣
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#teamkaptainkenny #visitafrica #visitethiopia #thisisafrica #discoverunder10k #travelbloggers #passportcollective #womenwhotravel #sheisnotlost #blackgirlsblogtoo #iamtb #girlslovetravel #blackbloggersclub #creatorsofcolor #blacktravelclub #blackgirlstraveltoo #girlaroundtheworld #solotravelgirl #femaletravelbloggers #blacktravelgram #femmetravel #backpackerstory

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Do you think staring is ⁣
... A compliment? ⁣
... Rude? ⁣
... Curiosity?⁣
...A sign you're doing something wrong?⁣
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For once I'm sharing a photo that doesn't have me in it. (Instagram can be vain, eh?)⁣
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I do not remember this man's name, but he made an impression on me. ⁣
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His stare in this photo is familiar, because he would not stop staring at me. On the drive over to Dallol, this guy was sitting in the front seat and I was sitting behind him. The car was full with 5 people total and I was the only tourist. I swear for 80% of the 2 hour drive this guy was staring at me from the front seat like he is in this photo. ⁣
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I don't know why he was staring.⁣
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I also didn't know exactly how to react. ⁣
Sometimes I would smile.⁣
Other times I would pretend I didn't see him.⁣
I would look at my tour guide next to me and ask via body language "why is this guy staring at me?!)⁣
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My guide thought it was a bit funny and mentioned that he was staring because he thought I was attractive. ⁣
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I didn't mind the staring, but it was a bit awkward. He literally would just stare with no facial expression, no smile or anything. ⁣
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I thought that maybe I dressed inappropriately? We were visiting the hottest place in the world so I wore a crop top. I could've surprised him with how much skin was out. (I put on a jacket during the car ride once the excessive staring started) ⁣
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Background: He did not speak English. He is from the local tribe, and showed us the way to Dallol. He let us know where it was safe to drive and walk. ⁣
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P.S - I love how he's a natural model. His stare works perfectly in this photo and I'm happy to share it along with the Mars-like landscape. ⁣
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In the comments let me know:⁣
◾your thoughts on staring ⁣
◾any stories about uncomfortable stares ⁣
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#followthefroEthiopia ⁣
#dallol ⁣
#DanakilDepression ⁣
#ethiopia ⁣
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#exploreethiopia #discoverearth #discoverethiopia #discoverafrica #solofemaletraveler #thisisafrica #africa_beauty #ig_africa #beautifuldestinations #passionpassport #iexplore #travelanddestinations #blacktraveljourney #femaletravelbloggers #iamatraveler #cntraveler #traveldudes

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Am I a budget backpacker? Yes.⁣
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Do I think paying $300+ for a tour is too expensive? No.⁣
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I received some comments about the price tag I paid for the Danakil Depression tour. ⁣
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Backpacking in East Africa is different than South East Asia or Central America. Activities tend to be expensive.⁣
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I paid $450 for an overnight hike to Nyiragongo Volcano in the DRC. It was worth it!⁣ (Look at #followthefroDRC for the photos)⁣
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I paid $150 to go whitewater rafting at the source of the Nile in Uganda. Worth it!⁣
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I paid $150 for a one day Safari in Tanzania. (This one wasn't worth it because we had a unlucky day with animals. Hence why you should always book a multi-day safari). ⁣
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I've been able to travel around the world for 4.5 years since I am frugal. I typically spend $700 a month. East Africa is my favorite part of the world, I don't care if it costs more because it's worth it! ⁣
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Although I live on a budget, I still think it is very important to spend money and support the local economy when I travel.⁣
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When I first started backpacking I used to always find the cheapest or free way to do things by bypassing any tour groups and doing things on my own. But now I will happily pay money for a tour because I like to support the communities I travel in, especially when I'm in Africa. ⁣
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If I can't afford a $300 tour for something like the Danakil Depression, then I need to reevaluate my priorities and get a job.⁣
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$300 is a fair price since:⁣
◾Money helps support the local Afar communities. In this photo there's the guard (he let me hold his gun), and local guide (he gives directions to the driver)⁣
◾ it's a 3 day tour with food, drinks, etc. (My previous posts talk about what the tour includes)⁣
◾a 4WD car is required for the different terrains⁣
◾The drives are extremely long so someone has to pay the gas⁣
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Do you think the Danakil Depression tour is worth the price tag?⁣
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#followthefroEthiopia⁣
#thisisafrica ⁣
#ethiopia #dallol #DanakilDepression

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I've never been to another planet, but it felt like I wasn't on Earth when I visited Dallol⁣
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When I was a little kid I used to tell people I wasn't from Earth. I was from Pluto and that my alien mother put me in my Earth mother's belly. ⁣
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Note: I looked around for my alien mother and did not find her.⁣
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Practical Note: Wear a good pair of shoes that you don't mind ruining. The walking surface is very sharp and the minerals can stain your shoes. I only own two pairs of shoes and unwisely wore my flats, which now have a big hole and are no longer black. ⁣ ⁣
#thisisafrica⁣
#followthefroEthiopia⁣
#followthefroafrica⁣
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#wearetravelgirls #teamkaptainkenny #ig_ethiopia #travelethiopia #exploreethiopia #journeysofgirls #femaletravelbloggers #passionpassport #damestravel #ladiesgoneglobal #blackgirlstraveltoo #blacktravelfeed #visitafrica #dallol #girlslovetravel #girlsborntravel #beautifuldestinations #blackvoyageurs #travelnoire #travelinladies #thetravelwomen #darlingescapes #traveldreamseekers

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