It’s common knowledge among locals that if you want to have fun in Nigeria you either have to be living in Lagos or Abuja. Maybe Calabar. But here I am in Asaba which has been practically labeled ‘Nowhere to go’ city. It means there are not much fun places to be. I was really discouraged at first when I first got to Asaba almost a year ago. I concluded that I would spend my days just watching movies at home.
But then, Iyara side came along.
I still remember the night my fiancé took me to this small restaurant that sells delicious local delicacies (Their jollof rice is to die for. The taste takes me back to simpler days as a kid eating party jollof at my local church). It also has a gallery where you can buy paintings and orders are taken like in a fancy restaurant.
This small restaurant in a cul-de- sac style area made me realize there are places in Asaba I had not yet discovered.
I quickly took pictures and asked the proprietor for their phone number and work hours which I put on the map. Back then I didn’t know what being a local guide was or what it entailed. I just knew I wanted to find new places like Iyara in Asaba where I can go and just hang out and maybe eat some good food. I was able to find Cartege, Crunchies, Rodinia, the new Mandarin restaurant, Lander Brothers Anchorage and Grill house Cafe.
I’m still discovering new places, and constantly begging Cold Stone Creamery on Twitter to set up shop down here. Fingers crossed.
With my discoveries and reviews up on Google maps, I get to convince people who were like former me that they don’t need to relocate to Lagos or Abuja to have fun. They can have fun right here, right in our growing city.
