Day 23: Shopping, Signage, Wealth & Poverty in Lagos

I have to admit I slept pretty well at the Lagos Travel Inn. I had a dinner of roasted chicken and chips (= fries, I indulged), watched some Yoruba dramas and a film with Brittany Murphy and surfed via the free wifi. The power went out a few times and the generator was promptly turned on. Gotta love the gent that I don't have to get up and go out to turn on! The only thing I couldn't figure out was how to adjust the air conditioner. Later, I figured out that I couldn't adjust the settings and only could turn on or turn off the AC. Thus, I slept in long sleeves and long pants tugging on all the blankets all night. Plus, no bugs I could see!

After eating a basic but free breakfast, our driver took us to our new hotel, White House.

Here is my room. I will need to take a picture of the complex itself before leaving.


The room is smaller but more updated. It has been sufficient and pretty comfortable. The lighting is dim (it was so bright at the other place) and there is some silly air freshener that sprays some cocoa butter scent every 20 minutes or so. I wish I could disable that. There is also free wifi plus a work out room that I might check out later this week to get back with the program (I haven't formally exercised in 3+ wks).

Dr. Bode generously took time out of his schedule to give us a very informative and enthusiastic driving tour of Lagos. He seemed to know what every building was and knew he way around quite well, directing our driver where to go. The local roads were pretty well paved (unlike Ibadan in general) and traffic was light (because it wasn't a regular work day). There are both large government buses (like the ones in the US) and lots of commerical/private bus drivers and taxis. Okadas (motorcycle taxis) are illegal in Lagos whereas prevalent in Ibadan. Many more people were wearing helmets on their motorbikes unlike Ibadan where only a few wore helmets.

Here's a picture of the houses/slums on stilts (poor quality because we were driving across the 3rd mainland bridge, the longest bridge in Africa!). Lagos is part marsh and people live on the water.




Here is the tallest concrete building in West Africa, the NECOM House.


The Cathedral Church of Christ, founded in 1867, near the marina.


A public beach of the Atlantic Ocean. We got accosted by random men to buy a variety of things and to ride a horse. Very aggressive and followed us around. The private beaches are chiller and require payment to enjoy. I was told not to sit down at any of the beach seats. Plus, we had a pay someone to "park" even though I think parking is free. I learned this is to avoid having them deface your car.

Here is the ocean at high tide.


Here is me.

Next, we went to a shopping mall on Victoria Island, a ritzy part of town. Traffic of course was terrible though the cars were much more fancy - BMWs, Mercedes, Land Rovers and the like. Just because you have a nice car doesn't mean you actually follow road rules.


This mall was like going to any mall I've been to in the developed world. Air conditioned. Lots of oyibos. There was a Sony store. Fried chicken. Clothing shops. A huge westernized supermarket called Shoprite.




Here is a map of the shopping complex.


I can tell that there is a lot of wealth in Lagos. Things are very costly and expensive here. For example, dinner (rice and fish) cost over $17 USD! Even the local Nigerian food costs more. On the flip side, the beggars and poor are still very poor and very aggressive. I think one young man spent about 5 minutes begging to me outside the car at a stoplight saying he was begging because of the grace of God. This is why Dr. Bode told me and the driver to lock the door the second we got into the car.

Despite the wealth and relatively more order and drivable roads in Nigeria, here are some signs to enjoy.

Don't urinate or dump waste here.


Don't urinate here as well if you can zoom in.


Don't think this house is for sale, beware of 419 scam that originated from Nigeria.


I saw a sign that said street hawking was prohibited and that it would be enforced by the police. Of course, there were street hawkers within 10 feet of the sign. Missed photograph opportunity!

I went to a local clothing market near the marina. I was able to haggle for some Nigerian made shirts for family. I tried to buy a premade dress for me or my mom or mother in law but literally the dresses looked like they could fit 2 of me. Too big!


I didn't end up going clubbing at night and fell asleep. Earlier, Dr. Sola tried to convince me to go as he told me a story about how a couple of years ago, his family was all in Nigeria visiting. His children, in their 20s, when out with their cousins and Dr. Sola and his wife went out with their friends. His children at gotten home at about 3 AM but couldn't get into the house because the parents had the house key and were out until 5 AM. As I said, Nigerians know how to party!

At night, I watched some CNN and the coverage on Nigerian election violence was pretty distorting. The violence has been isolated to the conflicted northern part. The southwest part of Nigeria where Lagos and Ibadan are has been quite peaceful. Even the US State Department issued a travel warning on April 15. Don't worry, I'm quite safe and I'm not one to wandering around alone or at night. We will be having 10 PM curfew on Monday night for the Tuesday governor elections with no movement between 8 AM and 4/5 PM. The governor elections in 2 conflicted northern Nigerian states has been postponed.

Tomorrow, more exploring and shopping (of course)!