Well i have been a little negligent on my postings but it is because I have been busy :-). For the past 2 days I have been out and about around Lekki and Victoria Island which are all a part of Lagos. I have been fortunate to get out a lot more than I thought I would, and the roads are much better than I expected, so I am seeing a lot. It also helps that there is a car and driver who has been letting me tag along.
Things that I have noticed here or make me go "only in Nigeria":
No one smokes except expats and seeing it is very rare
It is illegal to talk on your cell phone when driving here and it is rare to see someone doing it. Texting while on the back of a motorcycle as a passenger, not so rare!
I think that the only reason cars have signal lights here is because they are imported and come with the car. Pretty sure most people don't even know how tom turn them on! I would say that when it comes to driving, most people stick to their lane, except if you want to pass, you honk to saying I am coming, honk to say move the hell over and honk to say I am more important so move! Nope, no signaling.
Where I am staying is just off the Lekki freeway which also happens to be Nigeria's first toll road complete with toll booths at each end and people that work in the toll booths. Only thing is, they don't collect any tolls, however you still have to stop, wait for the light to turn green and the arm to raise. Why? Not sure. Maybe this is practice for the day when they start paying tolls (which will probably be never!)
Yesterday Carley and I went out with Samuel, her driver to the "mall" - yes there is a mall here and it wasn't too bad. It even has a multiple theatre movie theatre with current movies including the Smurfs. There was even a Nike Store and a KFC in the mall. We popped into the grocery store to pick up some baby cereal and I got a good peak around. I have to say that they had some of the best faced shelves I have ever seen - precision straight.
In the afternoon David had to go to some meetings so I went with him and Samuel and while David was at his meeting, Samuel entertained me. :-). He took me to an artisans shop where there were different vendors. Lucky for me, Samuel did most of my bartering. There I bought a painting. After shopping he drove me around Victoria Island and we went to the beach/malecon and we walked and chatted and Samuel humored me as I asked a lot of questions about living in Nigeria. Some guy there wanted us to pay to walk along the malecon - um, no. But where they can make money, they try!
Once again, saw lots of guys peeing on walls - even guys in suits! I guess public washrooms are pretty much non-existent here!
Until my next post . . . Living la Vidal Lagos!
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