“People can do that?”

Hi Reader!

I was taking a quiet break in a hotel lounge when a woman walked up, greeted me warmly and introduced herself. She was from Namibia. I was pleasantly surprised and as I introduced myself, I told her I was from Kenya and had family in Namibia.

She smiled graciously, then saying she had something for me to look, handed me a brochure. As we exchanged pleasantries, she asked if I was staying at the hotel and whether I'd be around that evening.

I said, “Yes” to both.

She encouraged me to have a look at the brochure, and as she walked away, said she'd catch up with me later.

I didn't need to read it to know what this was all about.

Sure enough when I glanced: health products... Network marketing.

I put the brochure down and went back to my WhatsApp.

Two days later, I ran into her at breakfast. I was leaving, while she had just began to dig into the spread on her plate.

She looked up and recognising me said, “Oh, you're leaving today!”

“Yes.”

She immediately reached for her phone to take my number.

Opting to be direct, I smiled warmly and said, “I don't do network marketing.”

She graciously put her phone down.

Then, genuinely curious, she asked: “So, what do you do?”

“I'm a Travel Coach. I help women travel.”

She paused thoughtfully. “You help people travel…”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“And what brought you here?” she went on, picking up her cutlery to continue with her meal.

“To enjoy myself.”

She stopped mid-meal, and looked back at me.

“To… enjoy yourself?”

“Yes.”

She then looked off into the distance.

“People can do that?”

A pause.

“I've never heard of that," she said staring at me again, "This is the first time I've heard of this...”

I giggled then asked her, “What about you? What brought you here?”

“Business. It's been a busy 4 weeks and I have two more to go.”

Six weeks!

I was momentarily surprised by that, before reminding myself: Of course. People do that.

But what stayed with me was her genuine amazement that someone could travel somewhere simply to enjoy herself.

And suddenly I realised: perhaps I take this for granted.

So many of us travel for a reason that sounds acceptable:

Work.
Business.
A conference.
A wedding.
Visiting family.
A special occasion.

But what if “I wanted to enjoy myself” was reason enough?

By the time we finished our conversation (and she was out of her daze), I'd actually asked for her number. I knew that the next time I'm in Namibia, I'd love to look her up.

Perhaps we could continue our conversation about this strange concept of travelling simply to enjoy yourself. 😉

Her reaction has stayed with me since, making me wonder:

How many women can afford to travel, do travel, even have the opportunity to travel but have never considered travelling simply to ENJOY themselves?

Do you know any?

If you could take a trip purely for yourself, as in: no work, no visiting family, no special occasion... where would you go? Hit reply and tell me.

Warmly,

Your Travel Lifestyle Coach,

Maria Kamau (aka Mkay)

Travel Enthusiast | Bodacious Adventurer |Travel Writer

I help women over 40 travel confidently, affordably and on their own terms, without relying on tour agents or on others to realise their dreams.