Hello Lagos: Now What?

Madam has her routine which I can say she was craving about it the moment we landed in Lagos (Lay-Goes). Easy for her as we were conned to be here due to her new post here in Nigeria. I think on the second day we arrived, she was already working full swing. Easy. Like duck to water...

For the rest of us stuck in the hotel room...not so much. Stuck in the room which is smaller than Romney Court made the children restless. Stuck in a room smaller the Romney Court with huge luggage and an additional bed took lots of patience. We needed a routine, we got one and it can be simplified as thus: Eat-Play-Sleep

Madam would rose early in the morning, and have breakfast at the coffee house (met another Malaysian, whom arrived a few days later than us). I would wait for the children to wake up first rather than going by myself or with Madam for fear that they would become panic and even hysterical if found I am not in the room.

Once the children were wide awake, off we went to the coffee house. Breakfast buffet ends at 11.00am I think.. we were usually there by 8.30am. Juice, coffee or tea, cereals and  potato wedges would be pretty standard for the children. 

Ever smiling Ben

Wedges 24/7/365 no wahala (problem)

the cheeky 'Bulldozer'

Fay, we had to wait for her to finish.

The children ate like we fill up fuel for the car. Sugar would give them instantaneous energy. Now to burn off the excess fuel...I would have to bring them the nearby playground within the hotel compound. Off they went running from see saw to slide  and back to see saw again, on the gym for children thingy and all manner of equipments at their disposal. 

default position of the see saw (go figure)

OMG!!! Ben before the soccer practise (tan skin)

Building some muscle 

Lining up at the assembly point before going to the playground in orderly fashion

They would spend an hour or more at the playground and the moment they reached the room, they almost certainly would be asking for lunch. I prefer snacks and drinks because once Madam comes back in the evening, we would be having dinner together, quite a big one (for the children). I would then call for room service and have lunch in the room. With Madam's permission of course...hahahaha... a trip to the Sky Restaurant (penthouse) for lunch would be the highlight of the day.

in case all of you were wondering, all Halal meals ya

Restaurant at the top floor of the hotel, the chef is an Indonesian guy

something to munch, before the meal arrives

Ben and his selection for lunch, mushroom I think..

Fried mee hoon, thai style...njamm njamm

After lunch...TV, colouring books, Lego etc would keep the children busy until about 4.00pm. Usually it will be Fay asking ceaselessly if it was time for us to go for a dip in the hotel's pool. I would hem and haw until about 4.30 or until I felt it wasn't too hot for the children to go for their daily swim. 

the only children around...lucky them

the "little mermaid"

could see the Harmattan quite clearly in this picture

taking a breather before resume swimming, these two are inseparable!

Eko Hotel and the coffee house on the bottom right

Fay de-stressing herself. Who said being a kid is easy, stressful life having a lunatic for a father

The Madman..opppsssss!!! I mean Madam, would arrive around 6.30pm (one of the things I enjoy. When she was working in S'pore, she would arrive home around 10plus at night and too tired to do anything..'hint hint') and she would go straight to the pool to meet the children. We would then hurry to return to the room (Maghrib is aroun 6.55pm) and ready for dinner.

Dinner was always a treat while we were at the hotel. We would either go out (chauffeured, of course) or would go to the hotel's Italian restaurant which is at the other end of the hotel. The children really love their pizza (again Halal ya)...they would tag team to finish it. Diplomatically. Pizza is the only thing they would co-operate to finish. Your half, my half. Easy peasy. 

But since the pizza at the hotel was made using a brick oven just like 'mamma' used to do back in good ole' Italy, it took a while for all the food we ordered to arrive...So, they would  take a nap...hahahahah..

time to eat

"Food is fuel", just like what the papa rat told his son in the Ratatouille movie..they would be wide awake after the hearty dinner. What to do? I told them, "let's do some revision"...and soon they would fall asleep!!! Fay would sleep slightly later as usual...

hmmmm..(suddenly, my grandfather's trademark remark when we, the grandchildren were naughty. "Kalau anak aku...pang!!" translation: If you're my children (referring to us)..pang!! (sound of hand slapping the face, not that he slapped us) comes to mind.. hahahaha! Grandparents would spoil us, but..that's my atok (grandfather, ex-British Army officer in Malaya. A Major, mind you) when he had too much of our antics.

asleep while holding pen...tsk tsk

Fay trying her best to finish the maths revision

Well, anyway that was the routine. Madam off to work, while I try my best to keep the children occupied till she comes back. I wonder where are our furnitures from Malaysia...would it arrive in a few weeks time? Would it be ready once we move out from the hotel? I really hope so or there would be hell to pay!!! Aheh...

(Throwback: Packing (December 2014)