my radio is nigerianinfo.com 99.3 :))

I am talking about the news channel we are listening every morning & evening on the way to and back from the office! There is the same woman who is running a discussion program. She is basically focusing on hot topics on political & economic issues & news and the society. Her style is pretty engaging as well. She just picks up a topic from an article or a survey or a newspaper and asks the audience to call in and express their feelings / views. 
A few topics I've had a chance to listen:

• According to an article, Nigerian people are loud and the loudest in the world. Are really loud? What do you think? YES M'AM, YOU ARE LOUD! :))
• We keep talking about corruption at all levels from government to police, from top to down. Some people still do not have electricity, on the other hand some has nice cars and fully operational houses. So what is the solution? A revolution?? NO M'AM, I'VE JUST ARRIVED - IT IS TOO SOON TO FACE A REVOLUTION AS I AM JUST CATCHING UP WITH A LIFE WITH NO ELECTRICITY OR NO RUNNING WATER!
• How can we get rid of the street sellers (people who try to sell gum / fruit / furniture during traffic areas)?? One man called in and his reply was "We can get rid of them only if we bridge the gap between poor and rich in Nigeria. But it is difficult given the corruption and bribery." OK GOT IT, CORRUPTION & BRIBERY IS THE SUMMARY OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE IN NIGERIA!
• (Another insightful question) While you are driving at 3am in the morning, you have seen a man injured and lying on the side of the road. Would you stop and help the person? The man's answer: I'd want to help however I'd expect the police to come and help. The girl's reply: this shows what we have lost as a society!

As a market and consumer researcher, I cannot consider a better and insightful conversations than I can find on nigerianinfo.com. Not maybe tomorrow, but one day, I'd like to meet this girl and conduct an interview about all the discussions she's had so far with millions of people. I am sure she would give the richest and the most diverse insights I could ever think of.

In search of a nice Sunday breakfast...

Finallyyy... My boyfriend is in town! :)) 

Before he came, I had made lots of plans to make sure that he'd leave with the positive feelings about Lagos! So that he'd come again... :)

One part of the plan was Sunday Brunch! We learnt a new place called Wheat Baker hotel (as part of Legacy Chain from South Africa) from one of our friends on Saturday night and decided to go there on Sunday morning. I don't like bothering my driver on Sunday as he goes to church every week. Since my friend told us that it was very close to where I live, we decided to walk.
Just to make sure, we checked the address online (tripadvisor), found the place on maps and hit the road! According to maps, the place was 5 km away and it was perfectly fine for us! 

It was fun at the beginning as this was our first walk on the street without my driver or not as part of running group. We have done almost an immersion with African culture on Ikoyi streets.
Walked through constructions at Banana Island...

Have seen interesting animals...

Passed by a greenhouse...

We kept walking around 2 hours according to what maps showed us but it was getting weird as we were pretty far from Banana Island (Brunch place was supposed to be close by). We were getting angry as we were in the downtown now and it was very crowded with all street markets and street sellers. :)) It got really hot and we were sweating but at the end of 2 hours, we arrived a hotel which was nice and sweet. However, it was nothing to do with Wheat Baker. We asked the lady at the reception and they had no idea what hotel we were talking about. I was really worried as we were dripping because of weather and so tired and the people at the reception were looking at us with blank eyes. 

What was strange was we were at the exact address which Trip Advisor was displaying. As the last attempt, we decided to check the address once again from the computer at the reception and then we found another address. It was Lawrence Road instead of Awolowo Road. Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence... Somehow this name sounded too familiar to me!

Then we took a cab (as we were too tired to walk further) and headed on to Lawrence Road. By the time we arrived, the truth hit me! We had passed by this hotel and even talked about it saying that how nice it looked and wondered what the name was. Since the name was not visible from outside, we had just walked through it and had not paid attention. Hence it was only 20 minutes walk from my place. OH NOOO!!!

With a mixed feeling of happiness and stupidity, we were at a very nice hotel with an amazing open buffet Brunch. After 2-hours of walk, we were ready to taste all the great meals. Deserts were unbelievably amazing! 
I think I can never forget Lawrence Road again! But the bright side; we are becoming real locals now; even my boyfriend :)))

Life is beautiful! :))

I think this should be heaven....


Our usual weekend routine:

• run early (6 am) in the morning (the only motivation is the next four steps :))
• chill at the pool
• chill in the pool if it gets too hot
• bring the plastic table into the pool and enjoy snacks & beer there
• take a nap by the pool :)))

Our unusual Beach House Sunday:
Absolutely fantastic! We went to the beach house of a friend (thank you Barene) this Sunday. It is 20 minutes away from Lagos marina and like a tropical heaven! When you arrive you pass through a village and its economy is 100% linked to the foreigners coming to these houses on the beach. The village folks take care of cleaning of the house as well as cooking, lighting the barbecue and serving the food. The tips are what they earn for living!


On the way:

Arriving:

At the beach house:

On the way back (sun comes down :))

Hidden Hot Spots in Lagos

What I like about Lagos is that all the cool spots are almost hidden. They are behind big doors with security check points and it is not possible to guess what would be waiting for you inside from outside. So you need to know the exact address, otherwise you may end up making circles around your cool place without finding it. :)


I'd like to share with you my hot spot experience so far as they made top of my where-to-go-in-Lagos list:
1. Bangkok Restaurant (Fusion)
It is a nice dinner place with Fusion cuisine. We went there for Maria's birthday and the food was amazingly delicious. I loved all varieties we had that night: spring rolls, fried calamari, seafood mix, rice in pineapple (see the pic below - YUMMY :)), some chicken and beef main courses.
Address: 244A Muri Okunola St, Victoria Island, Lagos

2. Orela Restaurant (South Africa)
Amazing South African food - steak and rib eye! I am not a meat person but even I ate all the food in my plate. Another lostinlagos.com restaurant... The place was opened 2 months ago with nice atmosphere. We were the only table at the restaurant but we were able to heat up the place with big crew of 15 people. :)
Address: No. 114, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Opposite Ribadu Road

The big steak knife. SCARYYY!!!!

My dear friends Becky & Rick are having fun :)

3. Reeds (Coolest place ever!)
When you walk into Reeds, you feel like you are in a posh restaurant / bar around Meatpacking in NYC. It is located on Awolowo Road on Ikoyi at the second floor of a fast-food chicken restaurant (another hidden hot spot! :)) The restaurant is amazingly cool with a nice bar in the middle, poorly lit surrounding and sophisticated interior design. I had a very nice lobster and drank Proseco after a very long time. The
portions are very big and the service was excellent.
Address: No. 190, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos

Despite my huge lobster, my eyes are still on Rick's plate :)

Umur's spicy chicken!!!

4. Oti's (Hidden Wine & Jazz Heaven)
This is one of those places you cannot even find on Google. It is again behind the close doors and owned by Oti Bazunu who is nice Nigerian and crazy marathon runner. Since he is a marathon runner, the expats in the running group (with which I run 3 times a week) knows him very well. The place is a big house with a nice garden and the wine place is part of his own house. It is surrounded by windows from top to bottom and decorated with comfy big sofas / couches and amazingly smelling coffee beans. You chill listening to good Jazz while enjoying great house wines. Oti Oti is putting on THE jazz events every year and the next one is just next weekend!! yaaaayyyy :)

http://www.lagosjazzseries.com/index.php?id=3

5. Hans & Rene Cupcake

Yeap, they make cupcakes here and they are DE-LI-CI-O-US! But it is not a bakery or a cupcake shop. It is basically a house and they work based on pre-orders. You just inform them 1 day in advance and the next day your cupcakes are ready! Chocolate - Vanilla - Rasberry! Ofcourse my choice is always & forever CHOCOLATE :)

Address: 2/4 Mosley Road Apartment A Penthouse 9 Ikoyi, Lagos

DAY 18 - Finally Kuzu is in Lagos!!!

After an exhausting packing trip to Istanbul, we were back home with Kuzu - yeap, you heard me correct!!! I brought my cat after a veryy long trip. 
Actually I had planned for everything and all the plans turned upside down!! I talked to the Airlines and made the reservation for her days in advance. As I was told that she needed a separate and special cage for the cabin, I almost forced my dad to search ALL petshops on Bagdat Street to find the required cage in sizes 45x35x23. Fortunately, my Kuzu was light enough to fit into cabin since she only weighed 5.5 kg with the cage while the limit was 6 kg. 
During the flight, she was supposed to sleep at least half of the time. However, she woke up even before I was on board. While going through the final security control, she did not want to come of the cage and the security girl was understanding enough as she let us by-pass the x-ray. :)
On the plane, the hostess was welcoming with a question: "poor dear, what are you supposed to do in Nigeria??" :)))) We received the sympathy of almost everyone as my Kuzu was silent and curious sitting in her cage. After we took off, she started screaming as she did not want to stay in it. It was OK since she just slept on my knees under the blanket until the last hour of the flight. Needless to say, there was again a delay with Turkish Airlines and we could not take off for two hours & waited in the plane.
Just before we arrive Lagos, Kuzu got nervous and uneasy trying to go off my knees. I did not get it first but then it was obvious to me that she needed to pee. My poor baby tried her best to wait until she found the litter but just before we landed, she peed in her cage. It was a desperate moment for me since it started smelling pee in the cabin (although I cleaned it all) and I did not know what to do. It was the moment where I understood moms travelling with babies to a certain extent. :))
Then we moved to the end of the business seats and waited there for the plane to land.
The story did not end even after we landed. While waiting for the luggage, this time she continued and  it started smelling even worse. 12 hours of travel with a cat and long-waiting hours for luggage, I was a real walking dead.
When I thought that we were ready to go after I got my luggage, this time we had another problem - the Quarantine guy asking for the papers for import allowance of the car. I was like WHATTTT?? For 10 minutes, I tried to explain him the cat was not to import and sell here, instead to live with me. I think he saw my desperate face and started asking famous question in Nigeria: what does your husband do (because all the girls at my age are married with at least 1 kid) and whether I'd like to get married in Nigeria after I told him that I am not married. :)))))) Then he let me go after I paid him 100 USD. Hillarious!!!


It was a way long trip but guess it was worth it as we are getting used to Lagos together with my sweety and happy to say "so far so good" :)
Enjoying my bed and the blanket under which she was hiding at the first few days:

Morning glory :)

Working with me on the dining room table :)

DAY 17 - Bye bye Enugu if we can!

After the second day of consumer visits, it was time to get back home and for me, to real home - Istanbul! The plan was to come back to Lagos with 3.40pm flight and then I'd stay around the airport until 1am flight to Istanbul. Perfect!!!!

Unlike Lagos, Enugu Airport was silent and not that crowded, which made me relaxed at the beginning (no photo unfortunately as I was told not to take photos again :)). There was no online check-in with the local airlines so when we got to check-in desk, a surprise was waiting for us: NO ELECTRICITY! OMG, there is no electricity (which I can perfectly understand) but there is NO generator at the AIRPORT!!!!???? I was first worried about the check-in but after a few minutes of waiting, the lady at the counter decided to provide the check-in tickets manually (without the computer). I was just happy about the check-in but then when I looked true the window, my happiness went away quickly. There was no plane and there would not be any soon as there was no electricity and no radar working to guide the planes to the airport. The woman at the counter was so relaxed and said it happened all the time & sometimes the flight got cancelled or delayed to the next day. WHATT?? DELAYY??? I had a flight in 10 hours so I needed to find a way to Lagos in this 10 hours. 

We passed the security control and found a sit at the waiting lounge. To be honest, I was really nervous but we began to joke about it rather than getting frustrated. Moki (brand manager) and Dipo (research manager) started explaining their horrible flight stories how it was cancelled, how they were left without cash, how the flight ended in somewhere else, so on. I was laughing but also was checking the planes to see if there was any landing. 

After stressful 1 hour, the lady announced that our plane has just arrived and would be leaving with 1 hour delay!!!! yaaaaaayyyyyy

Everything was perfectly fine and we arrived Lagos with 1 hour delay.

My driver welcomed us at the gate and we went to nearest Sheraton for natural break and food until my flight.

While I was waiting for the flight at the lounge, a guy rushed into it to charge his laptop. He did not have the right plug for Nigeria and I was so generous and kind (with the positive feelings that I was going home :)) to lend the plug to him. Then we started chatted about what I was doing and the key question: where I was living. :) When I answer this question, the immediate reply has been "why" so far. And the trend did not change with this guy as well. I told him I was moving to Nigeria and he was shocked with my answer. We talked a few more words and then turned back to computer screens. After a few minutes, he asked the same question as he could not figure out why a girl like me (alone) would like to live in this country - which he described as the worst among African countries he had seen. I think I am developing an immunity to these type of questions / reactions as I found myself talking about the beauties of Nigeria (warm weather, easy life with driver & house keeper, good company & people, Africa experience, himm what else what else?? :))) and how I embraced it. Even I could not believe in myself how much I had digested everything in just three months. He was also surprised to see me so cool about the change and opened myself to the adventure. :)) Did I really embrace it faster than I thought? Now I cannot believe how fast a human-being can adapt to changing situations even in the negative direction.

Africa, here I come! what else can explain my feelings :)))

DAY 16 - Welcome to coal city - ENUGU

Ready for my third consumer immersion. This time I was more excited actually as the plan was to go to Enugu State and learn about the feminine care experience & brand preference of the consumers. To be honest, I did not have much information about Enugu and all I knew was it was on the east part of Nigeria. When somebody says "east", I am a bit worried as I was always told that Lagos was the safest part and all the trouble was in the "east". So were we going to the trouble now with all our freewill?? :))


If you'd really like to experience the meaning of "hectic", then best place to go is Lagos Domestic Airport. It was basically the airport with cues: one cue for check-in, the other for boarding pass control, another for security control and finally the last was for to get the bus to the plane. It was crazy and what is more crazy is that you cannot check-in online so you have to go through all these cues one by one. :)
At the same I was getting worried that we'd miss the flight, my teammates relieved me saying that we could jump from the cue to the front line if our flight gets closer - like 2 minute close!! :))) 
With all these cues, we made it and safely seated at our plane. 


Enugu is very different than Lagos. It is an Igbo state where one of the largest tribe in Nigeria resides. It is more like suburban town with houses (rather than apartments) in big gardens. The biggest difference was of course the traffic as it took us only 15 minutes to get to our city-center hotel from the airport. 
On the way from the airport, the team decided to withdraw money from one of the ATMs on the sides of the road. But don't imagine that it is an ATM machine standing on its own, rather it is an ATM machine protected by high steel doors. The driver honked and the security guys opened the door for us. While the others were withdrawing money, I stayed in the car surfing through the emails. I did not know this was a mistake as I was kicked out of the car by the driver saying that I needed to stay outside the car while we were waiting. WEIRD RULE #1 Then I called my boy friend to chat while waiting. WEIRD RULE #2 You can't talk on the phone as your phone can be the activator of an explosive. :)) Then I understood why the people were so paranoiac as they revealed the story that some terrorists shot a dozen of innocent people in front of this back a few years ago. They say those were the hard times and it is safer now. But WTFFFFFFFFFF, shot peoplee???? OMGGGGGGGGG


After this shock, we found our nice but isolated hotel before the start of consumer immersion. There was almost nobody except us but at least, it was a clean / decent hotel in the Igbo State. :)
Enjoy photos from the consumer homes that we visited and really stroke me:
This is the garden of the house where they wash the clothes and spread... 

Our shy consumer and her home! we started in English and then she switched to Igbo.. I could not take many pictures as her elder sis was a bit nervous due to our presence at their place!

Sweet Always user teen who was staying with her aunt to go to school in Enugu and who sang Always check check song from the beginning till the end :))

Our competitor user, Moki (Always brand manager) and myself:

and the closing notes are from Steve Jobs: 

• Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.Everything else is secondary
• Stay hungry, stay foolish!
• Sometimes life can hit you at the head with the brick, don't lose faith!

R.I.P. :(
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html