♥Lara

♥Lara

It is April already, and just like that the first quarter of the year is over.
March was set to be my travel free month and just as planned I did not go anywhere outside Lagos.

February 18 and 19, I visited Abeokuta and Ile-Ife with my friend Sandra.

The trip was originally planned for an Australian who supposed to be visiting Nigeria for a conference. Visa arrived pretty late and it did not make sense for him and his colleagues to spend over 24 hours travelling only to come spend 3 days in Nigeria, I buzzed Sandra to come along for the trip because I knew she always wanted to visit Olumo Rock.

I told her to pack for a sleepover since I wasn't sure we would make it back to Lagos that same day. The plan was initially Abeokuta, Ibadan and Ile-Ife, we wasted so much time in Abeokuta so we decided to end up in Ile-Ife that same day.

Since our final destination for the night was not Ile-ife, we didn't book any accommodation. We were already running thin on cash and decided that we will use an ATM when we get to Ibadan. There was no bank around the park we were dropped and since it was late already (we got to Ibadan around 7PM), we decided to head to Ile-Ife with our last cash.

Let's just say we almost entered one chance.
We got to Ile-Ife around 8PM, and it is a sleepy town.
Almost all the ATMs decided not to work except Zenith bank's
No cash, no pre-booked hotel and no food.

All the banks were all one street and imagine moving from bank to bank and ATM is not working.
Then there is this long queue in front of the only functional bank ATM.
It was not even a funny something.

At last, we finally got cash and rushed inside the Mr Biggs right next to the bank.
That was our only meal for the day.
After the meal came the struggle to search for an hotel to spend the night.

We checked out some hotels on Jumia Travel and Hotel NG, the one we settled for was nothing to write home about. I called it a "beer parlor which had rooms for those who forgot to check their wristwatches and found out by  midnight that they were not at home". Also the pictures on the website was totally different from what we saw, both Jumia and Hotel NG had the same wrong pictures.

We found our way back to one of the hotels we saw on our way into Ile-Ife for the night. I got palm-wine at the hotel bar, I was too exhausted and went to bed shortly after.

The next morning we decided to explore Ile-ife, our first stop was the Ori Olokun, which we walked to from the hotel. Next was the palace of the Ooni also know as "Ile Oodua". Right across the palace is the statue of Oduduwa. Right down the corner is the Moremi Statue and we took a bike to the Opa Oranmiyan location.
I am off to Togo again with my friend Tayo and 3 new friends.

Wishing you all an Eggciting Easter celebration.

♥Lara

I said hello to Nairobi on February 1, 2017.

For Kenya, before I landed, I was more interested in catching up with my friends from India days and not really about what the country was about. I told friends I wasn't going to go on the safari, or do anything pretty much touristy.

I didn't have a planned itinerary. I was just going to show up and enjoy the 5 days inclusive of 2 travel days as much as I can. I landed in Nairobi from Johannesburg 30 mins than scheduled onboard the Kenya Airways flight.

Entry was smooth, I only had to verify my e-visa from an immigration office, fill the yellow form and I was allowed entry. No long story, no unusual questions. I exited the airport, changed currency, bought a sim card and booked an uber to by host's apartment.

Conversation with the Uber driver

I had pretty much interesting conversation with my Uber driver from the airport to my host’s apartment. He told me about how unbearable hot Nairobi had been since December until the rain which fell the night before I arrived (Same thing happened in Johannesburg, rain fell the day after I arrived).  For the first time in a long while, he finally had a good night sleep devoid of heat.

Conversation moved to how Nigerian men get to travel more than the women. My response was that our men are more inclined to hustle no matter the destination. He told me about how most of the Nigerian men in Nairobi had no verifiable source of income yet lived the life of luxury. They are only seen with laptops about (Yahoo boys rings in my head). He goes ahead to say they must be doing something illegal. I asked if these men he talked about are legally in the country and he said he is not sure. Until that moment, I never thought of Kenya as a destination for Yahoo boys. Legal work but not internet fraud haven, I guess I was wrong.

Next was Kenyan women’s love Nigerian and Congolese men. He talks about how our men and Congolese men spend heavily on Kenyan women. For the men it is no strings attached but the women fall for the sweet words and money. Kenya men are then held on unreasonable thresholds and usually cannot measure up, leading to miserable relationships and resentment towards Nigerian and Congolese men (South African men also complain about our men stealing their women).

Accommodation
I had two hosts, one I got on CouchSurfing and the other an AIESEC alumni who was introduced to me by a very good friend. I opted to stay with the AIESEC alumni and spent a night at CouchSurfing host's apartment.
What I did/Saw

I slept all through the night of my first day in Nairobi.
As in I crashed, all the waka in Pretoria the day before and walk around trying to figure out my boarding gate at the Johannesburg airport following last minute change by Kenya Airways left me exhausted. After dinner, I just went to sleep and slept all through the most part of the next day.

So minus the safari, Nairobi is just like Lagos with its traffic, potholes, smell and all. City Centre- Marina Rest of the neighbourhood- Mile 2/Oshodi/Mushin Some part: GRA, Ikeja.

A post shared by Lara A' (@lhararom) on Feb 3, 2017 at 9:57am PST

I finally dragged myself to the city center and found my way to my Couchsurfing host's apartment on the other side of town. I met her at the hospital where she took her Canadian friend who was ill to. Public hospital doctors where on strike all over the country and everyone had to resort to the private clinics. I spent the night at her place and we all got talking on our travel experiences. The Canadian started travelling last October and had been to 22 countries as at when I met him. His illness and the rain which fell the night before I arrived had set his trip back by 2 days. He left for Mombasa the night I left the house, and would continue on to Tanzania, South Africa and a host of other countries.

The first tourist destination I visited was the Giraffe Center after I left my Couchsurfing host's apartment on Friday.


Later that night, I met with my friend Mutembei who I met in India at Sierra lounge, located in a mall called Yaya Centre. He was meeting with his friends from the organization he worked with before he left to Japan for his MBA. From Sierra lounge we moved to Kiza club (rumored to be owned by a Nigerian). I could swear I saw "Patoranking" coming out of the elevator, if it wasn't him then I was imagining things.

I told everyone who asked that I wouldn't go for the Safari. The Ijebu blood in me was using head to calculate $$. My friend asked how I would fly into 2 safari nations and not visit a park. I finally agreed to visit one along with my new friends over drinks at Kiza. $43 and I got to see 3 of the big 5 at the Nairobi National Park. 



We visited the David Sheldrick orphanage for baby elephants.

 Lunch was at the Karen Blixen Museum. I had tea and samosa with another friend Diana (also from India) at the Java house in Hurlingham that evening. I was full from lunch and could not even finish the samosa. I got a call from Mutembei asking if I was up for dinner. Shebi I should jejely say no, I don't know the "alejeranju" in me that said yes. Fast forward, Diana drops me at the apartment, I immediately change my clothes and I was off to Carnivore to meet Mutembei for dinner.


What I ate

While I stayed off food in South Africa, I didn't resist food in Kenya.
I could not say no to food.
I was eating everything that came my way.

My host was Vegan, so it meant I had to get food outside the apartment.
She made rice and beans for me on my first night, but you know food for me is not complete without any form of protein. I gave up that no protein life the moment I stepped off Indian soil.

Out of respect for my host, I did not take any picture of any of the plenty meat I ate when I visited the restaurant Carnivore. If you are a meat lover, you must visit Carnivore. I ate crocodile, Ostrich balls, turkey, chicken, beef and lamb meat

Chicken Pilau not Jollof Rice

Lunch at Karen Blixen Museum

How I moved around

As Taxify did not work in Kenya when I visited, I had to resort to Uber. I used Uber to and from the airport, to Sierra lounge, back to the apartment on both nights out and to Carnivore for dinner on my last night. Uber was way cheaper than a normal taxi in Nairobi. I also got to ride in the Matatus like a local, they only needed to give me the bus number and describe the bus-stop and I was good to go. I used the Matatu to find my Couchsurfing host's apartment and the Giraffe Centre.

The weather

Following the rain the night before I arrived, Nairobi was pretty warm. The nights were a little cold, I didn't have a sweater on most night which is one thing I regretted not having.

One thing I have been doing lately on most of my trip is actually to allow myself enjoy the moment. I take less pictures while travelling now. There was no pictures taken from my time in the clubs (Sierra lounge and Kiza) and also dinner at Carnivore. I was having fun actually interacting with everyone around me to even remember to take pictures. Also I am respecter of personal space, I didn't want to encroach on people by taking pictures when they might not be interested in taking one.

I really enjoyed my time in Nairobi and would definitely be visiting again. Account just needs to balance sha.


♥Lara

Prior to 1st September 2015, visitors to Kenya could get visa on arrival at the port of entry.

What this means is that you could board a plane with only your ticket, evidence of accommodation reservation and only $50 dollars for visa at the border. The only comma to this is that you can be refused entry if the border officer is not convinced that you will not end up a liability to the Republic.

The Kenyan Department of Immigration Services launched www.evisa.go.ke which effective from 1 September 2015 allows visitors to Kenya apply for visa online prior to arrival without having to visit a Kenyan High Commission/Embassy, or obtain the visa on arrival.

Visitors are still allowed to apply for visas via the Kenyan High Commission/embassy and on arrival. The application process is pretty much straight forward.

How to apply

• Visit www.evisa.go.ke;
• Click on Create an account;
• Create account as EVisa visitor;
• Fill registration form with required information.;
• Upon submission, check your email to "Activate your eCitizen Account";
• Click on activation link in email to activate your account;
• Once Logged in, Select Department of Immigration services "Get service now";
• Select Make application;
• Select Kenyan Visa;
• Select the type of visa (Single Entry Visa) and read the instructions carefully;
• Complete the application form - please note that incomplete applications will be rejected and you will lose your processing fees;

1. You will need a scan of your passport data page (with your name, date of birth and other information).
2. You will need to re-upload your passport photo.
3. Your flight itinerary. 

• Pay the sum of $51 ($50 for Visa and $1 for service charge) using Mastercard, Visa card, and other debit/credit cards.

Until my next post.
♥Lara

It was a Jameson whiskey event tagged the #JamesonConnectNG. To be honest, until I got to the venue I had no idea Jameson was a drinks brand not to talk about the fact that it is a whiskey brand.

How did I get the tickets, one of the travel bloggers in a WhatsApp group I belong to asked if anyone was interested in attending a Jameson event and I just said yes. I had a free Saturday and I wasn't ready to spend it at my mom's.

Fast forward event day,  I only dragged myself out of the house because I had the tickets for all four of us that were to attend the event.

I would have so given myself a knock on the head if I missed this event. I totally enjoyed myself. I was finally able to put a face to some of the travel bloggers I have been chatting with on the group in the last 3 to 4 months. I also got to do some Jumia Alumni reunion with fellow ex-staff I met the event.

I had a great time and almost didn't want to go home.

Funmi Ajala and I

Zainab Fashion of Zeegoes and Chiamaka, Social Prefect.

Until my next post, thank you for reading always.
♥Lara