First Time Exploring Lagos, Nigeria After A 9 Year Hiatus

Hi (Ek’asan) friends! I’m finally getting round to posting about my trip to Nigeria. What can I say, I’ve been busy not writing my thesis 😔

Visiting Nigeria, I recommend it. I had an amazing time. Ideally, I would like to plan a yearly trip there (if I have the money for it lol). I booked my flights through KLM and got a pretty sweet deal for it. During my trip, I stayed in Lagos State. I did my all of my research there as well as most of my touristic visits.

Where I Stayed in Nigeria

I stayed with family for my entire trip so I didn’t have to worry about accommodation and food too much. As I didn’t get as many fruits and vegetables in, I focused on getting enough food to cover my macros (granted that I chose not to track at all).

What Did I Eat

During my first week in Nigeria, I stayed in Lekki with family and then travelled back and forth to Ikeja to conduct my interviews for my Master’s thesis. I went to the same restaurant for lunch each day, it had local foods such as jollof rice, fried rice, dodo, goat meat and vegetables. I tried this drink Orijin for the first time and I was addicted!!!

One day, I went out to get ice cream from Cornerstone Creamery and took a Keke Marowa (tricycle: public transport). I know it may seem strange to be excited to take public transport but I was never able to do it when I was younger so I was super excited! I was able to walk on the road and cross it – it was a different type of freedom that I never had.

What Did I Do?

My last two weeks in Nigeria, I did tourist activities, spent time with my younger cousins and got outfits made (pictures will come out on my Instagram. Got word from the tailor that she’ll finish them this week eeek!!!). One of the weekends, I went out of Lagos State to Ogun State to visit Olumo Rock in Abeokuta. We (including my auntie and my cousin) learnt about the history and climbed up the Rock (1300m + above sea level).

After that, I visited the Lekki Conservation Centre and walked on the longest canopy walk in Africa (22.5 feet above the ground, 401m long).

Other places that I visited were the freedom parks, the National Nigerian Museum in Onikan. Below are pictures from Shodex Gardens, it was very beautiful.

One of my last visits was to Maryland Shopping Mall and watched ‘The Wedding Party’. It was hilarious and my first time watching a Nigerian-produced movie. I could watch it over and over again. I absolutely recommend it 😂

Unfortunately, my time in Nigeria ended very quickly but I have fantastic memories and already planning my next adventure there 😊

Until next time,

Folakemi Olamide