A work trip to Benin city

What an amazing and charged week!

In Benin city Monday through Friday on an education project mission. It was my first field mission in Nigeria after working on the country for more than two years! Coincidentally, my first field mission in Afghanistan was also on an education project in 2007 to Bamyan province.

It was a packed week with meetings, school visits, social events and catching up with work post dinners. And it was wonderful to meet those officials behind the names that I have been coordinating with over emails and virtual meetings all this while. We visited a rural primary school and an urban Junior Secondary School, met with the principals, teachers, Learning Development Officers and students. Also visited the Innovation Hub that provides various trainings, and provides working space for remote work.

We had the opportunity to meet with Edo State Governor, it was impressive to hear him speak and to learn of the vision he has for the state. The Governor graciously hosted a formal dinner. We also met with the Honorable Commissioner for Education, where after our meeting she proudly showed us around her office and her collection of artifacts from Nigeria. She also joined for dinner one evening where the conversation was surprisingly light and was largely about travel. She wanted tips on where to travel in India :-) 

The project team itself, particularly the Chairperson of SUBEB (State Universal Basic Education Board) and the Project Coordinator, was amazing and made everything smooth for us. The team of seven I traveled with was so much fun, we bonded greatly and also celebrated a colleague’s birthday.

We didn’t really see much of the city but atleast made time the last day to go the craft market in Igun street, famous for its bronze casting work. My souvenir shopping was done. Benin has been on my ‘must visit’ cities in Nigeria after I moved to the country and I am so glad it happened. Visit to the Oba’s palace…if there is a next time. 

Here is an interesting (it’s long) article a colleague shared about the Benin bronzes…

https://www.theatlantic.com/.../benin-bronzes.../671245/

                                                                       Oct 24-28, 2022

Food and Art

A long weekend was upon us, and a dinner conversation culminated in a quick trip. Maya and I didn’t plan a lot, but we booked our air tickets and rooms in a nice boutique hotel. We didn’t know what to expect of Lagos, so we wanted to atleast be in a nice hotel. As we sat at the airport in Abuja waiting to board for what seemed like eternity, we researched for art galleries and fine restaurants, adding to our existing list. The flight was delayed by 4 hours, and we were starving by the time we got to the Nordic past midnight. But we had a relaxed dinner, sitting by the pool with cool breeze for added bliss. 

After a prolonged breakfast at the Rye the next morning, we headed to Nike Art Center – our first stop for the day. It is a 4-storey treasure house of art work – paintings, metal work and wood work by various Nigerian artists. There we met Madam Nike herself, much to our pleasure. She was quite indulgent, proudly showing us around and enlightening us about pounded yam. She changed into traditional finery and a headgear and graced us with a few pictures. Nike Art Center was the best we visited in Lagos. Thought Pyramid Art Gallery was good too. We also visited two other art places, not a lot to write about but they are contributing to the expanding art scene in Lagos.

                                                                                                                

We tried out several restaurants, some recommended, some researched. As a big part of our trip was about food, I must make mention of three favorite restaurants. R.S.V.P. piqued my interest because of its name, and the place did not disappoint us. The ambience was perfect for dinner and the food, fabulous. Shiro in Landmark Boulevard was next. The place was royal with a high ceiling and larger than life statues, and the highlight was the imposing face of the Buddha. The restaurant offered a serene setting, which was complemented by flavorful Pan Asian cuisine. The day we were leaving Lagos, we squeezed in SLoW for lunch. The attraction was its central courtyard, which housed the bar area. Sunlight streamed in from the open roof above and tall plants formed natural boundaries in the restaurant. No wonder its website described itself as a tropical brasserie. The roasted harissa cauliflower served with quinoa was exotic in its presentation and taste. While we also lunched at the Cactus and the Ocean Basket, they didn’t make it to my favorite list. Our evening poolside coffee and drinks at the Nordic was no less enjoyable, which was on repeat mode every single day we were in Lagos. And to make it special, it rained one evening. The pluviophile that I am!

The trip came with a fair share of amusing misadventures. W Lounge came highly rated, so we made a visit post dinner on day two. But out we were in 2 minutes, the music was so loud that we could barely hear ourselves. As we waited for an uber at the corner of the block, a lady came to us asking politely if she could drop us at the hotel. Equally politely, we said no. That’s when she started getting a bit pushy and insisted we allow her to drop us. Immediately our alarm bells went off and we scrambled back to the entrance of W lounge. There we were, mid-career independent women who have traveled the world scurrying like little children. It was an experience that had us bursting into laughter for many days after.

As we got ready say goodbye to Lagos, we had a little time to kill in the hotel lobby. The lobby had an interesting collection of coffee table books, but I was particularly fascinated by The James Bond Archives. I am a huge 007 fan and have not missed a single 007 movie, so I wondered why I never knew about the book. And unlike many typical coffee table books that contain more pictures, this book had riveting details from the movies and the movie making process. I managed to rummage through a few pages as we waited for our taxi to the airport. The book was massive. And presumably popular, it was out of stock on Amazon!

Food and art sums up our trip well. I think we did a lot for 3 days, although we missed visiting the highly rated Moist Beach Club (I am not kidding, that’s the name of the place). I don’t know if I will make another personal trip to Lagos, but if I do – I will repeat the restaurants. And see the ‘real’ Lagos.