Monday 20 July 2009

Travelling with a Kenyan Passport

Last week while I was at work, my boss told me that it was time I took leave. I could not believe my ears. I normally have fought to take leave in previous jobs. I know that she is worried,as I have a lot of leave, and the rule is you can take a maximum of two weeks at a time. They have made exceptions for me, and said that I can take three weeks to go home. The rule annoys me, as before in other jobs, I could take however many days I had at a time.

So, I was thinking of planning a short break, and not doing the long haul trip home, yet. I don't like travelling during high season, as it is the most expensive time to travel, and I don't like the crowds everywhere. It is hard for parents to travel with school children here, outside of school times, as they get penalised.

I have browsed on the net for places to go, and finding places that I can travel to that are shorthaul, without the visa hassle is a challenge. In my search I wondered which countries Kenyan passport holders can travel to without having to apply for a visa. This is what I came up with, although I am not sure how accurate it is. If anyone has any other information, let me know. I could have applied for a British passport years ago,but have held onto my Kenyan one. I am waiting to see what will happen in 2012, and also what they do about the whole dual citizenship thing. This is when having a British passport makes travelling easier.

I like to travel, but don't like flying. My anxiety levels are pretty high after 9/11. I don't relax until I get to my destination. So reading about airlines flying to Nairobi hiring private guards, scares me. The last time I was in Nairobi, checking in with British Airways, I went through a number of security checks, and have to say I found it excessive, and hope that noone can bypass the systems. I was just puzzled that the checks in London travelling to Nairobi, were nothing like what I experienced in Nairobi.

It looks like the only place I can go to without a visa in Europe is Kosovo, and am not keen to go there. Everything else is longhaul, in which case I may as well go home, or join the long visa queues.

8 comments:

Siena said...

You'd be surprised. Kosovo is a beautiful, welcoming and inexpensive country! I'd jump at the chance to go back.

Tamtam said...

Thanks for stopping by Siena. I will look into it again, and see. Come to think of it, I worked with someone from Kosovo, and may give her a call to give me some tips. Who knows?

S said...

So, have you settled for a place to go to?

Tamtam said...

Sibbie,

Thanks for stopping by. I haven't settled on anywhere yet. It has to be a beach with sandy beaches. So far, it looks like I will need to join the visa queues. I am looking for hot deals after the school hols. Have been spending hours browsing travel sites.

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holy land tours said...

Hey there, Siena is right - Cosovo is a very interesting place. Sometimes we get to places we didn't plan on going to, and they end up being most fascinating. :)

Kenyan said...

I am Kenyan and I often have problems travelling. I often ened up[ tarvelling within my own country to avoid these issues.