I finished my final exam for my Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree on 14th December 2022. I remember very clearly that it was a Wednesday. Four days later, on Saturday 17th December at about 5:55 am, I boarded Tahmeed from Nairobi to Dar-es-Salaam, and about one-fifth of my trip began.

As is customary whenever I do my little road trips, my mom saw me off at the bus station. As we were hugging I almost didn't let go because despite being excited, I was scared of being alone and crossing three new countries by myself. The trip to Dar-es-Salaam was without any hiccups. On the contrary, the seats on the Tahmeed bus had me sleeping so much I lost so many bits of my journey.

We got to Dar-es-Salaam at midnight after which I got a taxi to the Classic bus stop( I had booked a direct trip from Nairobi to Lusaka through the Classic Bus service. The trip was ksh. 15,500). During my trip from Nairobi to Dar-es-Salaam I met a fellow Kenyan who was travelling from Nairobi to Lusaka. Anyone who's gone on a long road trip alone knows just how relieving it is to meet someone taking the same trip you're making. Anyway, fast track to Sunday morning a few minutes past midnight, Pastor Joshua and I got to the Classic Bus booking office(While at Nairobi, I was told that I didn't need to book a motel to sleep at in Dar-es-Salaam as I could easily sleep at the booking office which was what I planned to do because I was traveling on a budget) only to find the booking office full of luggage from other passengers.

My next resort was to look for a motel as suggested by the attendant we found at the Classic booking office. However, when Pastor Joshua said he'd wait at the office; the only person I knew in this country, you know I set my bag down and looked for a place to camp for the night. This turned out to be a plastic chair where I was huddled with my comforter and was clutching to my laptop bag which had my laptop inside, like my life depended on it. (The Classic booking office is located in Kariakor which at 1 am was full of drunkards and weirdly tall and skinny cats).

This was just the beginning of what would be a longer-than-intended stay at Dar es Salaam. The bus was supposed to get there at 6 am Sunday but due to a lot of time taken to conduct proper maintenance, the bus got to the office at 6:30 pm. By the time they were done packing the bus, it was already 10 pm. Another note to self not to travel during the holidays. Almost 24 hours after I arrived in Dar es Salaam, we started the journey to Lusaka.

The journey from Dar to Lusaka was a truly long one. Being on the road for such a long time I'd wake up from my nap and take some time to remember what day it was. Long story short guys, Tanzania is so huge, but also very beautiful. It was humbling getting to experience the beauty of the country. Having to stop for a family of giraffes to cross the road early in the morning and experience such beautiful sunsets and sunrises(you know the ones that make you stop and just think about how beautiful this life can be despite the ups and downs).

We got to Tunduma at 3 am Tuesday and after getting my passport stamped and exchanging currency, we were on the way again. Immediately we crossed over into Zambia, you could tell we were in a different country. The roads in Tanzania were smooth and the ride was very comfortable. The roads right next to the border of Zambia were not as comfortable. We got to the Lusaka bus stop that same day at about 5 pm and it was time to figure out the next steps; how to get from Lusaka to Windhoek.

Sometimes God sends you angels in people that you meet. I made a friend while we were traveling as she was also going to Namibia. Her name is Alisa and we went through this amazing adventure together. On getting to Lusaka, we found out that buses from Lusaka to Windhoek only travel on Thursday mornings and we would have to wait till then. From Tuesday evening to Thursday morning in Lusaka, with my just-out-of-school savings.

Alisa had a friend who traveled the route a lot and on finding a cyber cafe where we got some WiFi, her friend advised us to get to Livingstone then from there we would get multiple buses to Windhoek. We eventually got one that charged us 350 kwacha which on asking when we got to Windhoek was pretty steep as the normal price is 25o kwacha- again a reminder not to travel during the festive season people.

We got to Livingstone a few minutes past 5 am, tired from the uncomfortable ride since we came in a Noah and the seats are not in any way suitable for sleeping. Luck was really shining on us because immediately we alighted the Noah, we saw a van that was headed to Windhoek that same day. Due to the flat tire they were repairing we would leave in an hour or two, which worked for us because we hadn't freshened up in two days.

We found a gas station washroom where we freshened up and walked around Livingstone for a few hours buying snacks and getting WiFi to talk to our families. Mind you this was the first time I was getting connection since Saturday morning when we were at Namanga. My parents had been surprisingly calmer than expected.

By 8 am, the van was all ready and we were set to go after paying our transport fee which was 1000 kwacha. Dear reader, you will think I'm assuming about the nature of the road from a few kilometers past Livingstone to the border of Namibia because when my cousin told me about it I thought he was being dramatic. The road was a murram one, filled with potholes, meaning you couldn't sleep, one of the passengers was traveling with some blocks of wood that kept falling off the courier and the bus broke down twice on the eight-hour journey.

Be mentally prepared for that road because it will take a lot from you. Our goal was to get to the border before 6 pm which is when it closes down but we got to Sesheke(the border town) at about 9 pm so we had to sleep in the van after having our dinner in a nearby restaurant. The next morning we were up early and by 8 am we were at the border. That morning I got to see the Zambezi river which was breathtaking. Maybe it wasn't all that bad that we didn't make it to the border by 6 pm the previous day because I'd have missed that amazing view.

Passport stamped at the border, we were all set to get into Namibia. Immediately I got there, one of my aunt's friends who works at the border town Katima met me and handed me a sim card with minutes and internet already purchased so for the first time in six days I was able to be online and remain online.

The views in Namibia were beautiful. One time we were in the van with a khoi khoi family and they'd gone into town to get ready for Christmas festivities which was a great reminder because 6 days on the road I'd completely forgotten that Christmas was in the next three days. The beauty of everything kept dawning on me with time; the fact that I was here living a very big goal, that I had met people on the way who showed me such kindness was surreal, and that I got to cross three countries and experience their beauty.

I got to Otjiwarongo at about 11 am Friday where another one of my aunt's friends picked me up and took me to her place to freshen up and sleep before she took me to my aunt's place in Swakopmund the following day.

That, in the most nutshell way I could put it, was how I took about seven days on the road from Nairobi- Kenya to Swakopmund-Namibia to spend Christmas with my aunty, Faith.