The Federal Palace Hotel

Living in Lagos

by mcsaint

Hi there Jen..

Im from Malaysia too now in VI Lagos.
Have been here for a month and its been better than what my friend tells me. Overall, people who have jobs or their own bosses are really freindly people. There are loads of bad hats here as people form all over Africa come here to try and make it in the shortest period of time.

If plan o work here.. then be preppared to make adjustments...
1) Living in VI is quite safe but there are always something happening, kidnaps are common but they target the rich and not just any ex-pat.
u will need to be chauferred around.. public transport is a nono.. there are taxis.. but u might get unlucky. so if ur company driver dont do weekends.. ur left to stay home to wacth sat tv or dvds. but u can ask them to work weekends for about USD10 a day.
2) shopping. lots f expats shop in places like park n shop , gooodies etc and oh the have a shopping mall called teh palms.. and its kinda jusco in KL. u will be surprised. there are cinemas and the shows are quite new. get smart is shhowing now. USD 11. prices of food is really killer . 1kg of tomatoes is like USD25 most veges are howering at USD 15 per kg. meat n stuff are also expensive. the only thing realtively cheap is beer.
3) Travelling around lagos.. not very unsafe but there are news of robberies n stuff once in a while.. VI is linked to the mainland where the airport is.. but there arent any places that are too interesting for you to go...
U prolly go shopping at Palms and galleria and some small shops here and there.. a movie or some pubs and maybe the beach near lekki.. all thes are aorund VI and u dun have to travle too much.
4) loads of rest.. chinese even.. but again exp.. if u go dim sum with freids.. expect to pay usd 25 to 30. most of the time i fu dine out.. the cheapest fast food taht u can relate to would be Nandos.. no Mc D or KFC.

if u need to know more. PM me

Lagos Tip

by sandysmith

Having the privilege of visiting the Synagogue Church of all nations and witnessing the amazing healing power of God is this place through the senior prophet T. B. Joshua. As more and more people visit and testify to their experiences here it will be known throughtout the world. The church made headline news in S. Africa when a young professional rugby player Jacob Westhurzen was healed of a cruiciate ligament injury which had blighted his career. The Nigerian footballer Daniel Owofen Amokachi (ex-Everton player in English premier league) has been helaed. Also the Arsenal player Kanu came here for healing of his heart condition.

The church is a huge open sided warehouse with a central altar area. It holds about 100,000 people and there are tv monitors everywhere so people can see what is going on.

Take Anti-malaria Drugs or get malaria

by Paul-linus

No special bags or luggage. Just the type of bags that would comfortably contain and safeguard your belongings. But they must have strong safety locks. For those coming from cold regions, Lagos is hot. But during harmattan it could be very cold too. So prepare for cold as well as hot season. Get light clothes as well as heavey (but not too heavy) clothes. You may need a hat to shield yourself from direct sunshine if you don't want to get tanned quickly.
If you are a swimmer and beach lover, then come with lots of beach wears and swimming suits. Lagos is almost an island. There are so many good beaches around. Yeah, Lagos is a wonderful city and to capture its beauty, you must be ready with lots of roles of films and good cameras. If you are using a digital camera, provide extra batteries because NEPA ( power) can disappoint any time. There are plenty of camping areas in Lagos; beautiful beaches like the Leki beach, Badagery beach, Bar beach, Tarkwa bay etc.
Be prepared for these fun places.

Lekki Market - Local Handicraft

by mcsaint

Its not really recommended if you dont have a 4WD the roads leading to Lekki Market is not that great especially duringrainy season July.

Generally its a market but there are quite a few tarders here selling local handicraft. If ur a bargain hunter this place may just make ur day. They have leather products, wooden handicrafts and IVORY crafts the chinese tourist love .

Nigeria - the good side

by mcsaint

"Lagos - Victoria Island"

this is the financial center of Nigeria. There are some International Banks like STanChart / CiTiBank but because of currency / finance controls most are localbanks like Zenith, UBA, GTbank, Oceanic, Skye etc

Here u can get shopping malls, cinema showing latest international films, Japanese / Korean/ Thai / chinese dining.

Accomodations here are ususally nice flats, big bungalows some with their own pool and gym.

"Flat with nice basic creature comforts"

We have a common squash court, gym with hi-tech electronic exercise equipment, a pool and guarded grounds.

Aircond, hot water, sat tv, dvd , internet access, a driver and house keeper

"Pool"

a view of the pool and the complex housing teh gym and squash court