I recently bumped into an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long while. We had a little chat right by the side of the road. Since it was an impromptu meeting, and there was a premier league coming up that very evening, we couldn’t talk much. My friend is a big-time football fanatic and I could see he was eager to go catch the pre-match analysis. The match kickoff was a mere one hour away. So, I suggested we link up pretty soon to catch up on lost time. “Maybe over the coming weekend,” I said.
“I don’t know if that will be possible. I will be in Kalangala on that weekend.”
I learned that my homeboy and a few of his friends were putting together a little fun retreat to that island. And even the weekend after that, he’d be hitting the road to Mbale for a road trip. The travel bug had hit my friend good.
Interestingly though, he is not alone in this state. There’s been a big surge in the number of travel excursions organized lately. Travel aficionados are arranging travel gigs faster than we can keep count.
The COVID-19 effect
Several travels are at the forefront of this new phenomenon with their tours around the country. They have organized trips to Eastern Uganda as well as their most recent to Western Uganda. Individual travel lovers also haven’t been left out on this.
In the recent past, traveling abroad for fun was exclusively a preserve of the affluent. But that has changed because of the current COVID-19 travel restrictions and complications.
A good time to refresh
It has been said time and time again that traveling is one of the best ways to enjoy life. And I couldn’t agree more. Not only is it good for unwinding after a long stretch of work, but also ideal for freshening up both the body as well as the soul. Many times, we get so entangled with work, family, stress, and other cares of the world that we even forget to spare time for ourselves. Traveling to new places would aptly remedy this.
Meet potential customers and new friends
The trend is slowly but steadily fading out as more and more people realize that traveling is a great way to network and meet potential new clients, and of course, have fun. Such memories last for a lifetime.
Keith a budding photographer says he attends travel gigs because of the new people he gets to meet. “Last year alone, I met three established photographers when we had a trip to western Uganda,” he says. “These have mentored me and I have greatly improved my art.” He further says one of these even asked him to stand in and cover a wedding he had been approached to do since he was tightly engaged shooting for an organization doing work in Northern Uganda. “So, it has not been a waste of time or money for me.”
Simon, a lawyer I met, on a fun trip to Rwanda’s Capital, a new client who turned out to be a big hit. “I met Fred when we were traveling to Kigali,” Simon shares. “His father was locked in a big land battle.” When Fred learned that Simon is a lawyer, he poured his heart out on the matter. And that was Simon got to represent Fred’s dad in that land issue.
Others have from such trips picked inspiration to pursue certain endeavors. For Liz, a graduate of Food and Nutrition technology, it was a trip to South Africa that served as an eye-opener for her. “I realized I could start my café serving fruit smoothies instead of working my nails off at a juice factory in Kayunga,” Liz shares. With help from her family, she started a Juice & Smoothies business. It has since grown to employ five people who serve at her premises.
On the flip side though, many bemoan the highly-priced tickets to most fancy destinations not only outside Uganda but even within the country. However, when you look at it from a perspective that one is spending their money on a lifetime experience, it is a good bargain.
Try new travel clubs
Some of the most upcoming enthusiastic travelers I know like Travel Maniacs Uganda, do it real cheap. Road trips are a not so costly way of traveling. Money to cater for fuel, food, and bed are collectively pooled. And also, you could rent a car or borrow a friend’s car for such a pursuit. As a plus, it is even more fun that way.
Alternatively, one could save up for any travel plans they may have. It is extremely hard to foot travel bills on a whim. But saving up seemingly little monies month after month, or even week after week makes any such plans to travel attainable. This would be a good idea especially for those planned tours known a while in advance – especially those that happen at the end of the year.
This year, make it a point to treat yourself to a trip somewhere. It’s not about the money; it’s about the experience and the things you can achieve. Trust me, you will thank me later.
