Lagos Again!

Yes! Lagos again! Another quick stop over!  I actually tried somewhere new this time, it was called the 7th Heaven cafe - very nice!!  Good food, nice fresh/clean decor and ambience.

I also had a wonderful time at my baby shower, organised by my sister and friend.  So much fun! thanks guys! mwah! :-)

Lagos - Easter Egg Hunt!

Another quick stop over in Lagos! It was nice to spend Easter in Lagos with family.  Also had a fun time at the Woobee's Easter Egg Hunt!

Woobee's Easter Egg Hunt

Lagos

Finally back in Lagos! well briefly anyway. It was nice to catch up with family and friends :-)  Visited a new hotel called The Wheatbaker hotel, part of the Legacy hotel group from South Africa.  I had lunch at their Cafe/Restaurant next to the pool which was a buffet.  It was a simple clean decor.  A nice hotel overall.

Whispering Palms

A day trip to Whispering Palms in Badagry, Lagos which was my second attempt. I was stuck in traffic for hours on my first attempt and just gave up and turned back. My second attempt however was very successful (even though we got lost several times but the road leading there was awful).

I was very impressed with Whispering Palms. It's a beautiful resort that lies on the Lagoon and typifies the beauty of the area-cool, Atlantic breeze, sillica sands, palm trees and chirping birds. It has rooms, a swimming pool, tennis court, a mini zoo, bars, restaurants, volleyball court, a mini museum, a basketball, pedal boats and other activities and facilities.

Highlight of the trip was the amazing mosaic in the resort. Low point was the horrendous road leading to the resort :-(

La Campagne Tropicana

La Campagne Tropicana is a beach resort in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State. It's a lovely hour's drive from Victoria Island along the Lekki/Epe Expressway, preferbaly early in the morning.

La Campagne wasn't exactly what I expected. I had heard so much about it so I was expecting something truly amazing. We had to pay about N2500 (£10) at the entrance to get in. It has rooms, a swimming pool, a play area for children, some other outdoor activities but not very much else. It is along a clean white sandy beach front, which is a plus but it was extremely windy and cold on the day of the visit hence not very nice. We did have lunch in the restaurant next to the beach - basic food nothing fancy but fab chapman cocktail drink! There was also some amazing music provided courtesy of an ipod belonging to the family next to us - groovy 80s and 90s tracks! woohoo!

Contact details: www.lacampagneng.com (+2341-4536832, +2348050434168, +2348068648091)

Lagos My Pride.....

....(Koro's campaign line..)

(typical sunset in Lagos - magnifique!)

After my North American tour I ended up in Lagos in July 2006. It was supposed to be a short trip for 6 weeks but it ended up been 7 months! (i'm also there every year, does that count???)

Lagos (which means 'Island' in Portuguese) is in the south of Nigeria (on the Bight of Benin) , it used to be the capital of Nigeria (an Oil producing country in West Africa, colonised by the British, and liberated in 1960) but Abuja is now the capital (very beautiful, made several trips there), so Lagos is now classified as the Financial Capital/District - in other words - that's where the money is! Lagos used to be very beautiful because of its many beaches and parks, but with all the money in Lagos, none of it can be seen anywhere anymore, I wonder why.......

We all know that Nigeria has been classified as a developing country, and like many other countries it has it's list of issues namely, okadas (taxi motorbikes), NEPA (electricity for those of you who don't know), water, corrupt police (corrupt government AND corrupt people), bad roads, outdated infrastructure, horrendous traffic, no rules, security, robbers (every other person you meet, see or know), aviation safety, poor levels of education, poverty, fraud, dysfunctional families, sexism, infidelity issues, laziness, unnecessary stress, overpopulation, politics, religion , tribalism, vudu/juju, etc, i could go on and on.....

But I have to add, it also has a major plus point, 'The People!' - makes all the difference! Believe it or not Nigerians are very unique! As bad as things are in Nigeria and as much as we moan and complain at every opportunity we get to huddle together (not that we do anything else about the situation), we know how to have fun, how to laugh, love to dance, love to conjugate, love money (hoarding and spending), love to show off, love fashion, have huge families, love people around us, love gisting (other people's gist that is), love food, love to complain, understand only ourselves and yet don't at the same time, love to exaggerate, love to tell urban tales/stories (true or false) , know each other, love boasting, love parties and weddings, wear the same fabric to the parties and weddings (solidarity it's called), pray a lot, practice tough love, have a lot of pride, complain its sunny all year round (?), and can be found in every corner of the earth - literally!

Nigeria is not perfect but it has a lot of potential and there are many opportunities (if you persevere and are male). It is only 46 years old and has a lot of room to grow.....

My motto for surviving in Nigeria is: "....expect the unexpected..." :)

p.s. Highlight of my trip was working with Linkachild (http://www.linkachild.org/)


Beyonce at a Linkchild charity event in October 2006

classic tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Et0JuLMZc

Llanis

Some wonderful photos taken for Llanis Couture in Lagos