Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Finally, we went to Ilorin!

For the past two years or so, hubby has developed a habit of saying he'll go to Ilorin once he's talking of running away from something or going on a road trip! It became a private joke and i promised him if i wanted to give him a treat i would take him to Ilorin to fulfill his dream..lol..Be careful what you ask for, cos you just might get it!

A very good friend of ours announced he was getting married a couple of months back and guess where the wedding was at..yeah you're right Ilorin. It was not a wedding we were permitted to miss so i told him..''guess what baby, your dreams are about to come true!''

We weren't sure if we would drive or not then our friends; a couple said they were going so we agreed we'd ride together, hubby was saved the hassle of driving. Thank God we didn't, we'd have been so lost! The journey took about 5 hours by road, from Lagos to Ibadan was a smooth ride apart from some traffic on the way, we've all done that before so it wasn't anything new...it was a nice journey, four friends travelling together, we had fun gisting and stepping to each other.

Then we got to the second part of the journey. Our friend who was driving knew a route that would cut out the bad parts of the road and save us some good time, only we saw some indigenes telling us to change our route, we didn't know the reason but saw a few other cars turned back. We were left with the Oyo road...very terrible road i must say! Then i knew why most people don't mention travelling to Ilorin!

There were several trucks travelling on both sides of the road and the road was quite bad, i didn't sleep well the previous night and would have closed my eyes for a nap but the road was pretty bad and we all had ot be alert...i still managed about thirty minutes nap though! lol

We were really late for the wedding! The church service was over so we went for the reception, i'll save the reception gist...so we waited till that was over and went in search of a good hotel to lodge in. We had planned to spend the night in Ilorin since it was such a long trip and it was an opportunity to relax..

Making a hotel decision was easy after checking two places; Kwara Hotels and another one i don't remember the name. Kwara hotels was the winner as it was a big and nice hotel and the prices were unbelievable reasonable! The pool got us tempted! My friend bought herself a swimsuit though she can't swim..lol

I needed to buy some medication so my friend's hubby and i drove to the town, it's quite easy to find almost anywhere in Ilorin as there's one long major road from which you can connect almost anywhere...hubby and my friend had a swim. I really wished i could swim too but the weather had turned cold and i was nursing the start of a flu. We had drinks and some suya and decided to go in search of pounded yam at about 9:00pm after the rain started..crazy!

So we went to the first place we were directed and they didn't have..oh no! We decided to ask them for another place and they described the way to go to Iya Yussuf's canteen. Iya Yussuf's canteen did not disappoint us though we were surprised in a good way! We all ate and had about three pieces of meat each, the food came to less than N900! Can you beat that?

It's such a peaceful city and food is so cheap! We had a buffet breakfast the following morning, the 4 of us and it only cost us 6 grand! Can you imagine? I wished i could import Ilorin to Lagos...it was so much like being on a vacation and it made me realise that there are several places in Nigeria where one can go to relax and have fun.

We came back to Lagos on Sunday, hubby's dream fulfilled and we're still talking about the trip. I won't be making the road trip anytime soon though! Lol

23 comments:

aloted said...

LOL..seeing you liked Ilorin so much...will u be retiring there in your old age??

LOL to saving the reception gist...anyway am glad i got first hand gist about it ;)

Good to hear u and hubby had fun in Ilorin...cool place and cheap, I agree.

Chris Ogunlowo said...

Now I feel like going to Ilorin.
Lovely write-up.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like this was an adventure! Did you take any pictures?

The Activist said...

So next time, you will fly to Ilorin?

I am no stranger to Ilorin though. Have relatives there and I have spent a lot of time there. It till be nice to tranfer the Ilorin traquility to Lagos really

I am sure you passed through Ogbomoso . Govnor Akala Town traillers/truck full ground for there o

princesa said...

This reminded me of a trip i took to Umuahia. Spent the night at Hotel Damgrete, it was a nice place too.

I would have gone to Ilorin just cos of this ur gist but babes I hate road trips on bad roads. Dem no get airport???

Writefreak said...

@ aloted
No thank you, we shall not be retiring in Ilorin!

@aloofar
maybe you should go, you'll have fun,thanks

@good naija girl
no o, can you imagine? we were slack!

@standtall
I definitely will fly if i have to make the trip again. Yes o, governor akala needs to be whipped, his state is in shambles!

@princesa
yes dem get airport o! So you ain't got no excuse! lol

Shubby Doo said...

i miss ilorin...always hated the journey there as a kid...my feelings about that haven't changed reading this...in fact you re-inforced it!

Aijay said...

Someone is having fun oh!! lol..
Ilorin sounds nice and laidback... glad y'all had fun. Expecting the reception gist.

Walking said...

I actually grew up in Ilorin and loved every minute of it! There are more than 2 hotel choices though but as a first timer you could not have known so... glad you liked my childhood city and yes travelling to and from there is something else...we all learnt to pray more on that road :.)

Joy Akut said...

welcome back to lagos...your homed of overpriced living!

Nonesuch said...

welcome back from ilorin. I grew up in Ilorin and i love the town to bits. i wouldnt mind retiring there. Life there is easy and smooth. Iya Yusuf no dey disappoint anyday and KH is not a bad place to stay in town.

rethots said...

Ilorin, was my nightmare (not the town but, the road journey) last year. Had no choice, 'cos my major projects were there. Fortnightly, to the 'state of harmony' i went.

'tis much better now....2 airlines now ply the route.

Writefreak said...

@ shubbydoo
yes o, one shouldn't have to make the road trip twice in 5 years..lol

@aijay
oh yes, it was fun, maybe i should consider retiring there like aloted suggested..lol. If you want the reception gist, you have to bribe me and we'll take it off the record..lol

@walking
I agree it's a nice place..maybe if i have to make the trip again, i should consult you for hotels:-)?

@doja
Yes the roads are still very bad!

@fantasy queen
Na real overpriced living o!

@nonesuch
Yes o Iya Yussuf na correct person!

@rethots
Wow, how did it feel travelling those terrible roads so often?

Rayo said...

guess the journey was worth it after all, dint think ilorin would a nice place till now oh. reception gist asap. lol

darkelcee said...

i love vacations but for the travelling part especially road trips. if only i can waive a magic wand and viola i am already at my destination.

i heard iloring road is dangerous. y cant our govt be responsive for once.

how is hubby?

Buttercup said...

Aww glad u had fun...my parents met at ilorin, so i guess i owe the place some homage..lol..

Sowee bout the flu, hope u r better now?

Waitin for the reception gist!

Chris Ogunlowo said...

"knock, knock"

Is anybody home? ;)

O'Dee said...

dreams come true.

The Journey to Ilorin 4rm Lagos is not a pleasant 1 @ all.

Went to Ilorin 4 a friends wedding, spent 4 hours or more on d road.

aloted said...

Ore, you've been awarded with the "I Love your blog" award. Please check my blog for details

Allied said...

Maybe I will disappear to Ilorin since I can’t fly (afraid of naija airlines) and I can’t drive (terrified of Naija bad roads). There are still a lot of places I haven’t been in that Country of mine. Ilorin is now on my list of places to visit.

Flourishing Florida said...

d thing i love abt these sorts of road trip is d quality time it gives u 2 spend with ur spouse away from d norm of every day life. i find sex in a strange hotel wit d hubby feels like new! lol.

LG said...

haba!!!!! i nor understand o' abi iyawo don relocate to ilorin????????

Anonymous said...

Nice article.
A wake up call to Nigerians that we need to explore our country more. I'm drawing up my list already... Jos, Ilorin, Yankari...
Thanks for this writefreak...