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| GOOD MORNING LAGOS!!! |
Good morning Lagos! (pronounced as Lay-Goes) The children were up (jumping on bed) since 3am local time (10am in Malaysia). Nigeria is 7hrs behind, so I am expecting red tired eyes by noon and off to bed by evening.
Ben (Man from Atlantis) and Fay (Little Mermaid) were delighted to see the pool from the room's balcony. The Eko Hotel and Suite is not far from Bar Beach (the locals claimed to rival the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). But currently closed to public due to a huge land reclamation project, Eko Atlantic City (EAC - wikied it). It is huge, expecting to house 400,000 residents in a 10kmsq area.
School
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| Hard at work. Own revision for acceptance test the next day. |
The most important item on the Pre-Assignment agenda was school visit and acceptance test for the children. Nothing is more important than that, trust me. Madam (childrens' mother) can make all the noise she wants till the cows come home or pull her hair and stomping around the room for wanting to work in Nigeria....that is not going to happen until the children got to go to a school here.
A few schools were suggested by the company and we were more or less decided where they would study by the end of the day. Pray hard Madam, or the move won't happen if there's no place for the children in that school.
Out and About
James Amusu of FC Wamco (PR Dept) was assigned to us during the stay. We went around Lagos when there was time to do so as Madam was at the office in the mornings. There was the lunch at Lagos Motor Boat Club which later led us to the trip to company beach hut in Feb, 2015.
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| The Menu |
To all curiosity freaks out there, we had fish and chips and some local rice. Drinks was just plain cold water.
We had a 101 lesson on Nigeria. When the bills come, insist on itemised bill. How much for so and so...and not just sign the empty receipt. Just to be on the safe side.
We also had a crash course on the politics of Nigeria, courtesy of the newspaper "Punch". The General Election is due on Feb, 2015 (new date 28th March, 2015) and I can imagine it will be the single most talked about topic until it settles. I think they should change the title from "Punch" to "Wallop". Wallop is more appropriate as politician trade punches..ahem I mean words to each other and seriously they are very much matured in politics (that in another posting)
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| I wonder which one belongs to the company. |
Before we left, James pointed to a boat in parked under the garage (?)..."the one with the black line, do you see it?" naturally followed by "when can we go for a boat ride" by the children. Looked like any motor boat like the one in PD (Port Dickson, Malaysia) with twin motors if I'm not mistaken.. good for maybe 70-80km/h. Anyway, things looked pretty much good for the little ones, I mean they are like ducks to water... me? not so.
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| Fay having a peek at the water below |
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| A lone Chevrolet Camaro Convertible by the roadside near Bar Beach |
Saw this car every day while we were in Lagos and it's interesting to see one. I don't really see the practicability for a car like these when the roads can be unforgiving and the go-slow (traffic jam) can happen at anytime due to many things. Try imagine the impossible right now.. go ahead, and I can tell you nothing is impossible here.
Lekki Market, famous for art and craft items. Gifts and souvenirs. Attached to it is also the wet market. Reminds me of Chow Kit Road back home. But more worn down. But a riot of colours as you go from shop to shop.
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| On our way to Lekki Market |
The paintings on sale in one of the section of the market were really nice, and the carvings too. Hmmmmmm....
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| The neighbourhood around Lekki Market. |
Eko Hotel and Suites - WELCOME
I quite liked the hotel. The restaurants and facilities means that I could pass my time with kids while Madam was away. I mean there are other hotels, but thankful to be here though. The staffs were nice and 'Welcome' is a phrase that you always hear here in Nigeria. Nice...
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Macbook Air from Prudential and scouts 3 dry-fit
shirt from a health programme I attended back in Malaysia
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Children doing their best to show 'life is tough' but
turned out to be 'I-am-enjoying-1 week-of-no-school' pose
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| The Sky Restaurant - Penthouse of the hotel |
A number of menu from Indonesia and Thailand. We later found out the chef is an Indonesian...no wonder. Price wise? Sky high...
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| Eko Hotels and Suites signage. Immediately, a traffic jam as you exit the hotel. Hotel was build in the 70's. |
All in all, it was a mixed feeling for me during the Pre-Assignment. I understand what is at stake, but somebody was very adamant about it and the children needed their mother. I can see how this is going to be. It wont be easy for me. Not easy indeed.
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