My Solo Trip

African jungles hold many secrets within them, many in-depth secrets. It made me want to go there. I wanted to feel the pleasure of being alone once again, the happiness of being solo. The pleasure of being identified as a stranger, of not being recognized as Malissa Garner.

On this note, many of you now will deem me as an idiot. An idiot enough to go to an unknown place all alone and missing out on all the fun and joy of a family trip. Honestly, I also love going on long trips with family and friends. I mean, who doesn't? When the thought of travelling solo had first crossed my mind I had got goosebumps, erect enough to get anyone pricked.

The idea of travelling to a place like Africa came with a will to take revenge for having been put on hold, for having had to leave automated messages whenever I was unavailable, for having been found easily as and when people wished to meet me or for having been exploited with all the thrill and excitement snatched out of my life.

The feeling of aloneness is often a source of woe to solo travellers because it forces them to face their fears, both internally and externally.

Honestly, before taking off on this adventure the world had never felt so close, thanks to technology.

I took up Maasai Mara as my adventurous destination and adventure hub. It is a National Reserve in an area of preserved Savannah wilderness in South Western Kenya, along the Tanzanian border.

The place came with a complete package of going solo, notwithstanding the guide cum driver. Maasai Mara is an open National Reserve which is very different from the National Reserves here where you can witness the borders of the Reserve at a distance. It is a large Game Reserve, the area nearby dotted with Enkangs (villages of Maasai people). This allowed me to explore the culture and lifestyle of the people inhabiting there. Usually, it becomes difficult to interact with the local people due to the language differences but amazingly I got along with them pretty well. They knew a good amount of English. I was surprised to know this and so I asked them that how they knew such good Quantum of English. They revealed that they were given English language tips by the lodge people and also since they meet tourists like me every hour on a daily basis. They exchange their language (Kiswahili) words with the English men and in return, they get to learn English. 

Maasai Mara is very famous because of its culture and wildlife at the most. You get to see a variety of animals live (with your own eyes) and their open lifestyles. You can get to see lions sitting and roaming just outside the window of your Safari Van and surprisingly they don't react because they have got accustomed with the tourists and viewers and also they know that they are safe and no harm will be caused to them. Also, you can be lucky enough to get to witness an entire lion family with 4-5 cubs playing and running around their parents.

There was a machine fitted in every Safari Van where the driver and the guide will be informed of any animals nearby and then all the vans would rush to that particular spot.

The Safari Vans would pick their respective tourists at 5:30 am and return to the lodge by sunset. It was a complete day out so all the tourists would get their lunch packed having had the breakfast at the Sarova Mara Game Camp (hotel name).

But the Safari just didn't end there. The Game Lodge had a beautiful scenic place set up with the input of Flora and Fauna within its premises only. The place had a high raised wood plank furnished path running around a deep marshy pond at the centre of the circular path below. The pond seemed smaller compared to the big sizes that lived there. The pond was inhabited by about 25 Hippos. The Hippos had a completely different world of their own away from the hotel rush. The pond was surrounded by bamboo trees and many other tree and plant species. There were beautiful butterflies of various species flying overhead. It was a surreal experience after all that travelling and chase run throughout the National Reserve.

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