Ah, I found my little taste of heaven again today. This yummy grilled cheese sandwich is crunchy, salty, buttery heaven all toasted at the Borough Market in London. I tried to go back to this place in August but they were gone :-(. But maybe it was because they knew I was back in town they decided to reappear - yah okay. Seriously though, I love this sandwich and if we weren't going to The Ledbury this evening for dinner, I would have had 2!
Now to get to the market we decided to ride bikes there. London has this great thing called "Boris bikes", which are essentially these bike racks throughout the city where you rent a bike for a small fee. And cycle it to where you want to go and then drop it in the rack - they are awesome. And who would have guessed that London is so bikeable - I know that I didn't. It took me a moment to figure out where to ride (the other side of the street) but after that, people are very accommodating to cyclists. I only had one minor crash as we were traveling down a lane with some construction where I caught my handlebar on the fence and crashed. I have a few good bruises but other than that I was fine. I got an amazing tour of the City this way as the Mayor's Parade was on today in the city and we had to navigate our way around that. Still, it was a fantastic way to see London - who knew?!
So in case you are wondering why I am here, there is no reason other than the last 7 weeks at work have been insane and I figured that I needed a little treat. I knew that this hell was coming, so in mid-sept when there was a seat sales took advantage and booked a good fare over here. So no reason other than I love London (and to have a good grilled cheese :-))
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Good bye UK
Well, I am still behind on my posts - I have one last one to do for Nigeria and then one for the wedding, however you all know how much I hate typing on my iPad, so that has held me back. Now I am sitting in the London Lounge at the Hell they Call Heathrow waiting for my flight, so I am taking the opportunity to use a real computer with a real keyboard to do my last posting of this trip, but not my last post - if that makes sense. (I am comitted to my other 2 posts)
I got back to London yesterday afternoon after a quiet train ride back from Newcastle. I do believe that we all had had a good time and needed the 3 hour train ride to regroup before we hit London again. Unfortunately the aircon was down in the car that we were riding in - ugh! Once we got to London, Nick & Susan headed back to his aunts and Judy (these are my friends I was with this weekend) and I took the tube together to my stop, where I got off and she changed trains. Keep in mind that by now I am now dragging around a 25kg suitbase, 1 carry-on, a pillow and a purse - so I am sight to be hold as I navigate the tube and the streets! :-) I was booked into the Sheraton Park Lane, which is a lovely old art deco building built in the 1920s facing Green Park and right by Buckingham Palace. Luckily my patronage with the Starwoods group has paid off and they upgraded me to an executive room, which was quite nice. Unfortunately the Queen wasn't home or I would have popped by for a visit!
When I was in Nigeria, I got a note from an old friend from uni who invited me out on my way through London, so I took him up on the offer. He was having a few people over for a bbq yesterday, so when I got to town, I checked in and headed over to his place. Luckily, it was a bunch of Canadians, so I thought that my liver would be a little safer than the weekend I had just spend with the Northern Irish. I was wrong. On my way over to Greg's, I stopped at a wine store to pick up a bottle and the fellow there assured me that it wasn't swill, however when I got to Greg's, I immediately saw that he was a huge wine lover, as evidenced by the 2 large wine coolers in the kitchen and immediately knew that my wine was probably swill - I hope that he just binned it! In any event, I had a lovely evening catching up with him and getting to know his friends - one was from outside of TO, one from Manitoba and one from NE BC. We managed to drink a bottle or 6 of wine and had a lovely meal. Today I am feeling much better than anticipated, however my body is looking forward to detox. 3 days of consumming for me, is probably more than I have drank in the past year! I love hearing about their London lives and how they are going to pop over to France for the weekend, or head to the weekend place in Switzerland. Yah, I get to go to Fort McMurray. Something just doesn't seem right here. Speaking of which, I am heading there nice bright and early tomorrow morning - the travel never ends!
For those of you who know me well and know my travel habits, you will be shocked to hear that this princess is riding at the back of the bus for this flight home. I am low on upgrade credits and unless the gate agent feels sorry for me when I board, I will be sitting in economy. Shocker I know. I have known this for a while, so I am mentally prepared :-) Plus, since it is a day flight and I don't need to sleep, I figure that it won't be too bad. The good thing is, is that with my Elite status, I still get to board the plane early and get all settled, without having to jostle with the commoners as they board the plane :-)
So this is probably my last great adventure for the year - I think. I am heading to Hawaii for a couple of weeks at Christmas but I am not so certain as that qualifies for an adventure or it's own posts but we shall see. What I am continually reminded of as I globetrott this world, is that it is an amazing world full of amazing and beautiful things and people to see and how so very lucky I am to be able to do so!
I got back to London yesterday afternoon after a quiet train ride back from Newcastle. I do believe that we all had had a good time and needed the 3 hour train ride to regroup before we hit London again. Unfortunately the aircon was down in the car that we were riding in - ugh! Once we got to London, Nick & Susan headed back to his aunts and Judy (these are my friends I was with this weekend) and I took the tube together to my stop, where I got off and she changed trains. Keep in mind that by now I am now dragging around a 25kg suitbase, 1 carry-on, a pillow and a purse - so I am sight to be hold as I navigate the tube and the streets! :-) I was booked into the Sheraton Park Lane, which is a lovely old art deco building built in the 1920s facing Green Park and right by Buckingham Palace. Luckily my patronage with the Starwoods group has paid off and they upgraded me to an executive room, which was quite nice. Unfortunately the Queen wasn't home or I would have popped by for a visit!
When I was in Nigeria, I got a note from an old friend from uni who invited me out on my way through London, so I took him up on the offer. He was having a few people over for a bbq yesterday, so when I got to town, I checked in and headed over to his place. Luckily, it was a bunch of Canadians, so I thought that my liver would be a little safer than the weekend I had just spend with the Northern Irish. I was wrong. On my way over to Greg's, I stopped at a wine store to pick up a bottle and the fellow there assured me that it wasn't swill, however when I got to Greg's, I immediately saw that he was a huge wine lover, as evidenced by the 2 large wine coolers in the kitchen and immediately knew that my wine was probably swill - I hope that he just binned it! In any event, I had a lovely evening catching up with him and getting to know his friends - one was from outside of TO, one from Manitoba and one from NE BC. We managed to drink a bottle or 6 of wine and had a lovely meal. Today I am feeling much better than anticipated, however my body is looking forward to detox. 3 days of consumming for me, is probably more than I have drank in the past year! I love hearing about their London lives and how they are going to pop over to France for the weekend, or head to the weekend place in Switzerland. Yah, I get to go to Fort McMurray. Something just doesn't seem right here. Speaking of which, I am heading there nice bright and early tomorrow morning - the travel never ends!
For those of you who know me well and know my travel habits, you will be shocked to hear that this princess is riding at the back of the bus for this flight home. I am low on upgrade credits and unless the gate agent feels sorry for me when I board, I will be sitting in economy. Shocker I know. I have known this for a while, so I am mentally prepared :-) Plus, since it is a day flight and I don't need to sleep, I figure that it won't be too bad. The good thing is, is that with my Elite status, I still get to board the plane early and get all settled, without having to jostle with the commoners as they board the plane :-)
So this is probably my last great adventure for the year - I think. I am heading to Hawaii for a couple of weeks at Christmas but I am not so certain as that qualifies for an adventure or it's own posts but we shall see. What I am continually reminded of as I globetrott this world, is that it is an amazing world full of amazing and beautiful things and people to see and how so very lucky I am to be able to do so!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Poulard?
What is poulard? Twice now I have been offered it on Lufthansa and when I said I would have chicken, in was told, no, it is poulard. I asked if it was turkey and was told kind of. So if you know what poulard is, please tell me. To be honest, it was like a dry chicken breast. Oh the joys of mystery meat coupled with airline food.
Overall, Lufthansa isn't bad to fly with. They have really good blankets and pillows - probably the best I have ha so far. I mean who has feather pillows? And I am not talking about upfront either, I am talking back in economy - yes we have feather pillows and yes I do fly economy. :-). Their lounge in Lagos leaves a little to be desired. It is 3 floors with the 3rd floor being an enclosed smoking room, however the smoke still managed to waft down to the main - ick! It was still a much better place to hang out rather than in the terminal since I had 3 1/2 hours to wait from when i arrived at the airport. Then when I was walking to my gate, I went past the BA lounge and it looked pretty posh - Lufthansa definitely has the ghetto lounge! They have also cheaped out on their E90 - no seat back TVs - what gives?!
So my flight was leaving at 9:50pm and I left a good 7 hours before - crazy I know, considering i am the girl who likes to show up just as the plane is boarding! Not here i didn't! However in Lagos you never know what traffic is going to be like and today it took us about 3 hours to get there. Traffic was a little crazy but I guess it can be worse. Then when you get to the airport it is like a quasi-organized chaos. First you get your bag weighed, then you get your passport and ticket checked and once you have done that you go up to the counter, all whilst moving in and amongst a maze of people and different boxed off lanes. You don't decide where to go yourself, someone tells you and there are people everywhere.
At the boarding gate you go through another round of security. I am telling you that the security here is more stringent than at Heathrow or anywhere in the US. After another round of ticket and passport checks, they search your carry- on again and then you get a full pat down and when I say full, I mean full! She patted down the girls and lady bits! Only felt slightly violated. :-). Nope, can't say that in was hiding anything there.
Our flight was almost an hour delayed leaving Lagos - something to do with luggage. Fortunately I have my iPad and was able to keep on watching the last season of the Deadliest Catch, which I had started earlier in the evening in the lounge. I really don't know how people travel without one. I managed to get about 21/2 hours of not good sleep on my flight to Frankfurt and we only landed 15 minutes late, which was good considering. I then caught a 6:45am flight into London City Centre which I much prefer to the he'll that they call Heathrow, although the immigration lady sure was not chipper at 730 in the morning and had a lot of questions. Remember lady, I am from one of your former colonies, we have the same queen!
I have a wedding up in Newcastle on the week, the whole reason behind the trip and the plan was to take the train from London around mid-day with my friends Susan and Judy. Luckily for me, Susan was staying with her husbands aunt so I took the tube up to there - I am very good with the tube ;-) and was able to take a shower and feel like a human again after my over night flight and before we hoped on the train. Overall a fairly uneventful trip up north. The wedding is tomorrow and we head back for London on Sunday and back to Calgary on Monday where this adventure will end.
I still have some more tom post on Nigeria which I hope to get around to by the end of the weekend. Hope everyone has a great labour day weekend!
Overall, Lufthansa isn't bad to fly with. They have really good blankets and pillows - probably the best I have ha so far. I mean who has feather pillows? And I am not talking about upfront either, I am talking back in economy - yes we have feather pillows and yes I do fly economy. :-). Their lounge in Lagos leaves a little to be desired. It is 3 floors with the 3rd floor being an enclosed smoking room, however the smoke still managed to waft down to the main - ick! It was still a much better place to hang out rather than in the terminal since I had 3 1/2 hours to wait from when i arrived at the airport. Then when I was walking to my gate, I went past the BA lounge and it looked pretty posh - Lufthansa definitely has the ghetto lounge! They have also cheaped out on their E90 - no seat back TVs - what gives?!
So my flight was leaving at 9:50pm and I left a good 7 hours before - crazy I know, considering i am the girl who likes to show up just as the plane is boarding! Not here i didn't! However in Lagos you never know what traffic is going to be like and today it took us about 3 hours to get there. Traffic was a little crazy but I guess it can be worse. Then when you get to the airport it is like a quasi-organized chaos. First you get your bag weighed, then you get your passport and ticket checked and once you have done that you go up to the counter, all whilst moving in and amongst a maze of people and different boxed off lanes. You don't decide where to go yourself, someone tells you and there are people everywhere.
At the boarding gate you go through another round of security. I am telling you that the security here is more stringent than at Heathrow or anywhere in the US. After another round of ticket and passport checks, they search your carry- on again and then you get a full pat down and when I say full, I mean full! She patted down the girls and lady bits! Only felt slightly violated. :-). Nope, can't say that in was hiding anything there.
Our flight was almost an hour delayed leaving Lagos - something to do with luggage. Fortunately I have my iPad and was able to keep on watching the last season of the Deadliest Catch, which I had started earlier in the evening in the lounge. I really don't know how people travel without one. I managed to get about 21/2 hours of not good sleep on my flight to Frankfurt and we only landed 15 minutes late, which was good considering. I then caught a 6:45am flight into London City Centre which I much prefer to the he'll that they call Heathrow, although the immigration lady sure was not chipper at 730 in the morning and had a lot of questions. Remember lady, I am from one of your former colonies, we have the same queen!
I have a wedding up in Newcastle on the week, the whole reason behind the trip and the plan was to take the train from London around mid-day with my friends Susan and Judy. Luckily for me, Susan was staying with her husbands aunt so I took the tube up to there - I am very good with the tube ;-) and was able to take a shower and feel like a human again after my over night flight and before we hoped on the train. Overall a fairly uneventful trip up north. The wedding is tomorrow and we head back for London on Sunday and back to Calgary on Monday where this adventure will end.
I still have some more tom post on Nigeria which I hope to get around to by the end of the weekend. Hope everyone has a great labour day weekend!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Shopping Day!
Oh I could so get used to living here. I wake up, breakfast is made for me, someone makes my bed, someone makes my lunch, my laundry gets done, including my pajamas ironed(!?) and someone makes me my supper and I don't have to clean up! And no it is not my host Carley, but rather her house steward Tobias, having help here is common. On top of her house steward, she has a driver and is supplied a vehicle and a nanny to help with Ryder. Samuel, her driver, was very surprised when I told him that I don't have a driver back home, that I don't have a cook (well I kinda do over the next 10 weeks but that is another story) and that I walk my own dog. I do have to admit that it is taking a little getting used to and I feel slightly awkward having someone do all of this for me.
This morning Samuel took Carley and I to the Lekki Market so I could continue to fuel the Nigerian economy. After driving down this road, and I use that word loosely we came to this gated compound type of place which once we entered was the market. After seeing all the kitchy stuff, similar to what you see in Mexico, except African (lots of carved wood, paintings, etc.) I had to ask Samuel who shopped here and found out is was people like me - expats! Here I managed to buy a bunch of beads for my aunt (you will love then Auntie Lyn), a couple of leather (crocodile) purses and I found my elusive magnets for the people at work and Samuel made sure they all stuck! Like in Mexico, they start high and you have to barter them down and be prepared to walk away because you know the next guy down is selling the same stuff! I also managed to find a nativity scene - another thing I collect.
Carley and I went to a restaurant for lunch called Cafe Royale (it is on TripAdvisor), whch totally caters to expats who want the comforts of home. I have asked about Nigerian food and I have been assured that it is bad, by a Nigerian I might add, so nachos and chicken strips it is! I have to say, it was very nummy. After lunch we came home, dropped off Carley and picked up Tobias, and me and theboys (Samuel and Tobias) went grocery shopping. Or rather I tagged a long with them as they did the weekly shopping. Once again they humored me as I gawked around the grocery store and took pictures and asked more questions. I so love grocery stores in other countries!
Today and tomorrow are national holidays in Nigeria as it is the end of Ramadan and about 40% of Nigeria is Muslim, 50% is Christian and the other 10% believe is an indigenous type of religion. I guess the government doesn't tell you until about a week in advance if it is going to be a national holiday or not. Go figure. Can you imagine not having Christmas off?!
Hard to believe that I only have a couple of days left here in Nigeria before I head back to the UK for Caz and Andy's wedding. Until then, I will continue to make the most of it and explore what I can, where I can!
This morning Samuel took Carley and I to the Lekki Market so I could continue to fuel the Nigerian economy. After driving down this road, and I use that word loosely we came to this gated compound type of place which once we entered was the market. After seeing all the kitchy stuff, similar to what you see in Mexico, except African (lots of carved wood, paintings, etc.) I had to ask Samuel who shopped here and found out is was people like me - expats! Here I managed to buy a bunch of beads for my aunt (you will love then Auntie Lyn), a couple of leather (crocodile) purses and I found my elusive magnets for the people at work and Samuel made sure they all stuck! Like in Mexico, they start high and you have to barter them down and be prepared to walk away because you know the next guy down is selling the same stuff! I also managed to find a nativity scene - another thing I collect.
Carley and I went to a restaurant for lunch called Cafe Royale (it is on TripAdvisor), whch totally caters to expats who want the comforts of home. I have asked about Nigerian food and I have been assured that it is bad, by a Nigerian I might add, so nachos and chicken strips it is! I have to say, it was very nummy. After lunch we came home, dropped off Carley and picked up Tobias, and me and theboys (Samuel and Tobias) went grocery shopping. Or rather I tagged a long with them as they did the weekly shopping. Once again they humored me as I gawked around the grocery store and took pictures and asked more questions. I so love grocery stores in other countries!
Today and tomorrow are national holidays in Nigeria as it is the end of Ramadan and about 40% of Nigeria is Muslim, 50% is Christian and the other 10% believe is an indigenous type of religion. I guess the government doesn't tell you until about a week in advance if it is going to be a national holiday or not. Go figure. Can you imagine not having Christmas off?!
Hard to believe that I only have a couple of days left here in Nigeria before I head back to the UK for Caz and Andy's wedding. Until then, I will continue to make the most of it and explore what I can, where I can!
Living La Vida Lekki, Lagos
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!
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!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Suburbia
Sorry - had a glitch and had to repost, this was from yesterday, will get today's up later tonight.
Am I in suburbia - kinda. Or at least that is what life is like here where I am staying. This afternoon, Carley took me for a walk around the 'hood to show me around, and honestly, I could be in any southern suburban neighborhood, with their houses that all look the same, cars in the drive way and their manicured yards. We even stopped by the pool and fitness centre (which were empty). Honestly, if you didn't pay attention on your drive in, you would forget that you are in a third world country.
So my impressions/ thoughts of Nigeria so far:
Firstly, India makes this place look rather clean and rich! I am happy that I have that country under my belt as a comparator to, as everywhere seems nicer after you have been there!
Man you should see the vehicles here! At the airport, you would have thought that you were in Calgary, minus the trucks, with all the shiny new BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus, Ford Fusions, etc. I was very surprised at the vehicles. Now don't get me wrong, there are the requisite beat-up minibuses filled to capacity with people hanging out of the open doors. Then there was also the guy who was standing/ riding on the running board of the petrol truck as it was heading down the expressway, but to his credit, he was wearing his safety vest. Or there are the people that just run across the expressway and dodge cars, or the guy who is selling bottled water and other assorted drinks on the side of the road as cars go by. But probably the thing that said "you are in Nigeria now", were the 2 guys pushing a broken down Toyota, in the dark, on the freeway, with no four way flashers on, in a driving lane. Go figure!
Other things that have made me think "I need to blog about that include":
All the no parking signs along the roads at the airport that are clogged with parked cars.
Then guys who have chairs and small tables set up with huge stacks of bills along side the sidewalk at the airport. Gives a whole new meaning to the words currency exchange. Yah, somehow whipping out a few hundred dollars on the sidewalk to a guy with a bag of bills doesn't seem too wise.
At the airport, if you are a guy and you have to pee, you just find the nearest wall outside and pee on it. I saw so many guys do it including the police. I wonder what they would have thought if I went and squatted?
No McDonalds or Starbucks here but there is KFC. Am I surprised - Starbucks no, McDonalds yes, KFC no.
Immigration at the airport doesn't apply to everyone. If you have someone meeting you, like a local meeting a foreigner, those people seemed to just walk around the immigration desk without being checked. But not me, I got experience the whole Nigerian experience of "efficiency". On my immigration card it asked for my occupation and my employer and me thinking ahead figured that it was much easier to be a homemaker rather than say who I work for- we aren't loved here. :-). So now that is my job. All in all from the time I landed to the time I got to Carly and David's, it was about 2 hours - so not bad at all.
Tomorrow Carley is taking me to the "mall" - am looking forward to this experience and seeing Lagos in the light, as it started to get dark shortly after I left the airport. I will also get the opportunity to experience more "I am in Nigeria" now types of things.
Well, I am off to bed as I would like to be up at a more normal hour tomorrow, compared to my 12:13pm I woke up at today - good houseguest eh?!
Am I in suburbia - kinda. Or at least that is what life is like here where I am staying. This afternoon, Carley took me for a walk around the 'hood to show me around, and honestly, I could be in any southern suburban neighborhood, with their houses that all look the same, cars in the drive way and their manicured yards. We even stopped by the pool and fitness centre (which were empty). Honestly, if you didn't pay attention on your drive in, you would forget that you are in a third world country.
So my impressions/ thoughts of Nigeria so far:
Firstly, India makes this place look rather clean and rich! I am happy that I have that country under my belt as a comparator to, as everywhere seems nicer after you have been there!
Man you should see the vehicles here! At the airport, you would have thought that you were in Calgary, minus the trucks, with all the shiny new BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus, Ford Fusions, etc. I was very surprised at the vehicles. Now don't get me wrong, there are the requisite beat-up minibuses filled to capacity with people hanging out of the open doors. Then there was also the guy who was standing/ riding on the running board of the petrol truck as it was heading down the expressway, but to his credit, he was wearing his safety vest. Or there are the people that just run across the expressway and dodge cars, or the guy who is selling bottled water and other assorted drinks on the side of the road as cars go by. But probably the thing that said "you are in Nigeria now", were the 2 guys pushing a broken down Toyota, in the dark, on the freeway, with no four way flashers on, in a driving lane. Go figure!
Other things that have made me think "I need to blog about that include":
All the no parking signs along the roads at the airport that are clogged with parked cars.
Then guys who have chairs and small tables set up with huge stacks of bills along side the sidewalk at the airport. Gives a whole new meaning to the words currency exchange. Yah, somehow whipping out a few hundred dollars on the sidewalk to a guy with a bag of bills doesn't seem too wise.
At the airport, if you are a guy and you have to pee, you just find the nearest wall outside and pee on it. I saw so many guys do it including the police. I wonder what they would have thought if I went and squatted?
No McDonalds or Starbucks here but there is KFC. Am I surprised - Starbucks no, McDonalds yes, KFC no.
Immigration at the airport doesn't apply to everyone. If you have someone meeting you, like a local meeting a foreigner, those people seemed to just walk around the immigration desk without being checked. But not me, I got experience the whole Nigerian experience of "efficiency". On my immigration card it asked for my occupation and my employer and me thinking ahead figured that it was much easier to be a homemaker rather than say who I work for- we aren't loved here. :-). So now that is my job. All in all from the time I landed to the time I got to Carly and David's, it was about 2 hours - so not bad at all.
Tomorrow Carley is taking me to the "mall" - am looking forward to this experience and seeing Lagos in the light, as it started to get dark shortly after I left the airport. I will also get the opportunity to experience more "I am in Nigeria" now types of things.
Well, I am off to bed as I would like to be up at a more normal hour tomorrow, compared to my 12:13pm I woke up at today - good houseguest eh?!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
London Calling - actually it is Nigeria
So I have to admit, I am a little behind on my blogging for my latest adventure, so this entry is going to be a bit of a mix of my trip over to the UK and my initial observations of Nigeria.
Now for those who are wondering why the he'll would I want to go to Nigeria, I have this rule about following my friends around the world. If they move there, then I will visit. So here I am now in Lagos, Nigeria visiting my friends Carly & David Morgan. For those of you who follow my blog, if you look back to my blog when I went to Australia in 2008, I have a post about my friend Carly, who I had gone to visit I Perth and her friend David. Well in those 3 years, they fell in love, got married, moved to Nigeria and had a baby boy, and now here i am, visiting them.
So below are a few random thoughts/observations since the start of my trip:
Thank you to the lovely lady at Air Canada made sure that I got to fly at the front of the plane - nightmare averted.
60+ lady with no bra -seriously! They weren't perky either!
Figured out over Algeria that although I had my camera, I forgot my memory card! What a piss off! Fortunately David has loaned me one.
Americans - ugh! World revolves around them everywhere! Yes the eastern seaboard of the US was closed to most flights today because of the hurricanes and no it is not Lufthansa's fault that your flight is canceled. And maybe have a little compassion for those who are experiencing the hurricane rather than bitching about why should you be delayed by this because you don't even live in New York.
Even if you ask the agent 10 different ways to rebook you ticket, he will still tell you that you need to go to the ticket counter, and maybe if you would listen to him, rather than bitch to him, the line would move faster!
Love London! What more is there to say?!
Lufthansas - they want you drink. They offer you wine and cognac non-stop.
BMI lounge in T1 Heathrow- probably one of the nicest I have been to in terms of design. Very modern and chic. Mind you I have heard that Lufthansa has a very nice new lounge in Frankfurt. Maybe if I hadn't had to stand in line for an hour this morning while listened to another American bitch about their flight cancellation, I would have been able to experience it!
Took me over an hour to get to the Borough Market to buy the world's most amazing grilled cheese sandwich only to find out that it closed shop about 2 months ago -ugh!
I have lots to say about Nigeria so far, but is 11pm for me and I have been up since 5:30am, coupled with a 7 hour time difference from the day before, I am a little tired, so I am going to call it a night.
Know that I am safe and sound and will not be blogging from jail. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)