My Abuja Experience

To be honest when I found out about this venture, I was very skeptical. I have lived in Abuja for a good 8 years and I was convinced that there was nothing left of the city that they could possibly show me.
However, a friend of mine who lives in London recently came over to spend a few weeks with me in Abuja and she insisted on getting the full Abuja experience so I thought we’d try the Individual Package that ExperienceNaija had to offer. I truly had the best experience and felt like I was experiencing Abuja anew.

My friend and I arrived Transcorp Hilton at 9:30am. I was skeptical that the tour would indeed start at 9:45 am like our ticket stated but my friend who is unaware of the Nigerian timing concept insisted we get there earlier so we wouldn’t miss our time slot. To my greatest surprise, when we got there both our tour guide and vehicle were already waiting for us and at 9:45 we were off.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and very easy to talk to so the journey in between locations wasn’t filled with awkward silence between the tour guide and ourselves and amongst those of us on the trip. The most fascinating place we visited was Katampe Hill as I was surprised to learn it was the middle of Abuja and hence the middle of Nigeria.

Among the more memorable places we stopped at for cuisine, Fresh By U was definitely a knock out for me and my sweet tooth and I were surprised to not have heard of it before. It was very trendy inside the little, cozy café where they offered us samples of cake and bread to taste. My friend even commented that it reminded her of her favorite café back in London. My sweet tooth also responded to the sample size drinks given to us at Metro Café, I was definitely very impressed and was left craving a larger size of the strawberry and banana smoothie I tasted.

Arts and Crafts Village which was near the center was also visited. Although, I had seen the sign for the entrance on numerous trips around town, I had never taken the time to actually visit it for myself. I was very much impressed by various indigenous art works we were shown on our arrival.

Serendib was another location that surprised me. We were offered more sample sizes of the most popular items on their menu and though the food was amazing, I was more amazed to find out that the hotel also had a spa.

At the end of the 3 hours, I think I was more fascinated and excited about being in Abuja than my friend was. I had had an array of delicacies from various restaurants that I hadn’t been to before but was sure to return. I had been to some places that I have seen on my trips round town but had never paid any attention to. It was a very fulfilling trip for both my friend and I.