The Bittersweet Taste of Traveling in Nigeria

Growing up, traveling was one of my favorite hobbies; however, with time, that joy derived from traveling seems to disappear with the continuous decline of our road system and the terrible vehicles that bus out on the road to convey passengers from one destination to another. The last time I traveled was just about a week ago, when I traveled from Lagos down to Kwara State for the wedding preparations of a close friend of mine. Just like every trip I've embarked on, I was enthusiastic about it until all of the complaints I listed above played out once again, but then overall I did have a good time when I arrived, and below I'll be telling you all about it.

So, like I said above, the last time I traveled was just a week ago, last week Thursday to be precise. A friend of mine was getting married, so I decided to go early so I could join in the wedding preparations and the like, and so after taking permission at my place of work to not come on Thursday and Friday, I set out on the road from Lagos to Kwara State, which is me traveling from the western part of the country to the north-central part of it. The journey did start well, to be fair, as I had a great time with every aspect of my journey from Lagos till we got to Ibadan in Oyo State.

On getting to Ibadan, it began to rain heavily, and given the fact that I'm in a vehicle, I ought to care less about it, but the reverse was the case because the window of that bus was nothing to write home about; since I couldn't close it, all the rain and the heavy breeze all started and ended on me, making me drenched despite being inside the vehicle. It was a terrible experience that got me angry and frustrated about how these transporters often charge exorbitant fees and yet refuse to fix their vehicles.

Well, after the rain, we still had to deal with the terrible road that has been under construction for as far as I can remember, because that project has been in place since the days of Obasanjo as the president, yet four presidents later, it's still nowhere near completion. Well, to cut the long story short, I did arrive home safely, although tired and irritated with everything I've been through due to the rain that soaked me in the vehicle, but then one of the best things about that travel happened immediately after I stepped inside, as I got to see my parents and siblings after about two to three years since I last paid them a visit.

It's always a pleasant feeling to be around loved ones and family, and having that feeling again was heavenly. It was as though it should last forever, because despite being an adult, your parents will still find one way or another to treat you like a child, making you miss that motherly and fatherly care you once received when you were much younger. Aside from this, another thing I did enjoy was getting to see my dear friend and helping out with his wedding preparations and the wedding proper, which was interesting and full of fun, from the dancing to the food and every other aspect.

So meeting my parents, siblings, and my friends' wedding preparations were the things I enjoyed most about my last travel. Moving to my next travel, the truth is I really don't have any date in mind, nor do I have a schedule to travel anywhere at the moment, although I do have to visit Ijebu Ode in Ogun State three weeks from now. But why I didn't count that as an actual travel is because despite the fact that I'll be moving from Lagos to Ogun State, the entire journey won't take me up to 40 minutes from my house to my destination.

So that's about it on my last travel experience, what I enjoyed most about it, and plans for my next travel. I hope you had a good read; do have a wonderful day.

All photos are mine.