I finally got to tick "International travel" off my bucket list.
Nairabet, for all her ups and downs, knows how to appreciate her staff from time to time. It's actually been coming for a while as last year, MD's PA calls and asks me to submit my travel documents because i'm one of the staff who've been approved for a one week,company sponsored, all expense paid trip to Cyprus!!!
Well, well well....i''m very excited and even if i do say so myself...i've fucking deserved it! worked my ass to the bone for the company and yeah...it's about time.
Panic sets in when PA starts talking about needing the documents asap as i recall that my passport has long expired..sharply, i contact Uche and Kathy and get details of someone at the Immigration office who can help speed things up.
PSA: Anything process related with Nigerian government parastatals has been designed from the get go to slowly frustrate the life out of you. Take note.
This process, even with the internal help from the guy there, eventually takes weeks during which i'm worried that the trip window might pass... only for the Cyprus embassy to change a lot of their normal visa requirements and bring in a bunch of new rules, chief of which is a required sum of more than one million naira in your personal account!! Kai!
After all the suffer i went through at the passport office to renew ...thats how the Cyprus trip just went up in smoke like that....
But my personal chi had already decided on the matter so after the "Cyprus affair", MD calls me and laughs at our obvious annoyance. Then she goes ahead to ask that we choose another destination that wouldn't require so much visa restrictions!! Yaay...!!
We (4 of us guys involved) deliberate on a lot of locations and finally settle on Dubai, U.A.E chiefly due to the least cost. Turns out it was an inspired choice.
Preparations for the Dubai trip begin at the start of the year and eventually we get our travel documents and every other thing fixed to go on the 9th of March.
(side note: It was in the midst of all this that Pop passed away in February...sorry, fucking february)
Drama on the morning of our trip as two of our guys get held up in an insane, once in a lifetime traffic on the way to the airport. Thankfully, i had the foresight to sleep over at Namo's place on the mainland and get Chigozie to drive me to the airport on time that day as final check in for the Etihad flight was due to close by 8.30am.
I got to the airport and started waiting for the rest of them to show up...mehn, like play like play...only one guy shows up eventually o and informs me that the other guys are still on their way!!...7am, 7.30, 8am... the two guys hadn't shown up yet!!
By this time, i place calls to them only to hear that they're still stuck in traffic at Ikoyi!!!!!. Most annoying thing is that one of them is in possession of the foreign currency we were supposed to have on us when we get there.
Wow...by 8.20 and being the last passengers who hadn't checked in, we decided to leave without them. Checked in and got ready to board. When we were seated and waiting to take off...thats when they started calling that they were outside the check in counter pleading to board. Long story short, they missed the flight and only two of us...Myself and Dipo got to take the trip that day.
Mahn....Now i fully understand what "International exposure" means..
The Etihad flight was awesome. Everything on board the plane seemed to have been designed with Luxury and comfort in mind. Blankets, in-flight entertainment, food, atmosphere...It was unreal!.
When we started circling down over Abu Dhabi...the sights alone of that country made me hate Naija with a vengeance!. My goodness.
I don't want to start sounding like one star struck backwoods person...but the UAE is stunningly beautiful.
Landed at Abu Dhabi Airport and the sheer size of the airport alone was a marvel. Caught a connecting bus ride to Dubai and ladies and gentlemen....to say Dubai is beautiful will be a gross gross understatement. It is breathtakingly amazing.
We had a little issue with trying to get to the hotel till i remembered that i was with my Mastercard and that changed everything. Got a taxi to the hotel (City Premiere at the Marina)
and proceeded to have a blast of a week.
Guys...whatever happens in life, try to visit the UAE and Dubai at least once before you die... it's that important.
MY TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:
- All the beautiful Architecture...Sky scrapers, Roads, Underground Train system
- TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
Fountain of lights, - The Burj Khalifa,
- Burj al Arab,
- The Palm Islands, Lost City of Atlantis...
- Dubai Museum
- The open air Marina, Cafes, beaches and sidewalks
- The Souk markets at the City center
- EVERYTHING in general
MORE VACAY PICS BELOW
Disclaimer: I didn't have the foresight to take a very good camera along. Pictures are courtesy of my long suffering Tecno POP 3 Pro. Manage them like that biko.
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