14 for 14: Pack your bags and just go...with Wanderlust #Lara.

I think you should look out the window more often. 

Find a good picture window that gives you an unrestricted view, and throw aside the blinds or curtains. The higher up your vantage point, the better. On a sunny saturday morning, or a gentle wednesday night...lean your elbows against the window sill, drop your chin into your cupped wrists and allow your mind fleeter away...just like #Lara.

I reckon the idea sounds natural for the typical starry-eyed wanderlusts. If otherwise, you might maybe ask, 'Now what'?

Indulge the stillness for a moment and wonder where you would rather be right now. A friend of mine spent his summer lounging away on the beaches of Mexico with an easy cocktail in hand. So i've been daydreaming lately of getting lost in a Mexican folk festival. Ah....with the local Mariachi band and their women dancing away in those vibrant escaramuza colors.

Photo Source: Wiki

 The question now is, where would you rather be right now...even if just for a day or few?

Don't quickly discard the thought as idealistic or unrealistic, listing the twenty hurdles that easily seperate us from our window sill and that dreamy horizon. If you're anything like me, the older I get, the more real the hustle becomes. There are only a million and ten things that drive me crazy every single day but this post is not about entertaining those annoyances. I think that there are challenges for every living creatures - some more than others. And i think this is particurlarly so, if you happen to be bucketed into a certain category known as 'Nigerian'. But that is a different discussion altogether.

So, my soul begs for life outside of the usual struggle. To wake up in the morning somewhere different and walk a different route that isn't into nine-to-five traffic throng. To think, but not about the bills,  deadlines, and the usual survival needs. To take a break from life, in order to live life. And I thoroughly appreciate that life cannot be a holiday every day. But sometimes, somedays, my soul begs me to just pack my bags and literally just go away. And i'm wondering if there aren't many like myself...

Walking away from that window sill and coming back to real life is the sensible question of:

'How and why should i want to indulge this idea of taking a frequent break from #life'?

Lara's blog is one of my favourite Nigerian travel enthusisat's blog, and it kind of point you in the right direcction in answering some of those questions. For the simple reason, that it doesn't portrat a glossy Thomas cook holiday brochure to entice your already groaning bank account. Instead, she keeps it simple and suggests you to almost, #Keep calm, be Nigerian and Travel.

So, taking a cue from Labyrinths of Lahrah: A Nigerian travel and photography enthusiast's blog,

Here are my own simple reasons for packing up my bags ever so often:

•  I think it's important not to get drowned in life's hustle.
• I think it's healthy to take time out away from the noise and just #be.
• Time-out gives me a fresh breath of direction.
• Time-out helps me remember the few things that really matter.
• Travelling enlightens me and gives the impression that i'm learned ;)
• Time-out envigorates my spiritual life.
• Travelling expands your network easily.

Here are also my own simple tips on how to make it happen:

• I maintain a direct debit saving account for indulging my wanderlusts.
• I used an airline credit card to rack up air-miles on everyday shopping (every little helps).
• I frequently idle away on trip advisor to feed my lusts and get sensible traveller's tips.
• When i can't afford an international travel, i take a local break.
• I cut costs sometimes by lounging at a friend's place when I travel.
• Don't travel alone. Build experiences with someone special.
• Travel safe - it's a crazy world these days.
• Have a good camera and maintain a physical travel photo album.
• A video camera is also very useful to relive those experiences when i'm back home on a rainty tuesday evening. 

 I think that there is something beautific about letting your feet loose and getting lost amidst a throng of foreigners. Becoming a stranger and being fascinated all over again by the sounds of your own real dialect, and being known in a brand new sort of way.

I've only tried to sum up experiences that Lara tells better all over her blog. So, all that said, my 14-for-14 for this month, is...naturally re-introducing you to Lara's blog over here.

If Lara's blog were a book, i'd title it as 'the girl who looked out of the window'.

Have a fantastic day all...and thanks for stopping by.


*I have not properly edited this, so excuse my errors*

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Intro: The 14-for-14 challange by Janyl. (Click here to familiarize yourelf with the '14 for 14 challenge'). I recently accepted this challenge to go on a quest searching for brand new blogs...with the bull-headed conviction that all creativty is not lost within the nigeria-blogsphere. And also desperate to prove that, contrary to recently popular opinion, not all of the new blog pages are uninteresting (to put it mildly). This is my eighth post into that journey.