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It was back in October 2010 when I went on an expedition through Nigeria. At the time I was living in Ghana as a diplomat child with my family & a British expat family that were our neighbours in Ghana. We went on-board Ariq air for an hour flight into Lagos Nigeria the capital city of Nigeria, whilst at the airport in Lagos for 3 hours I went to changed US Dollars into the local currency ‘Naira’ for us to get lunch. We had plaintian chips from a local fast food in the airport, as I always pride myself in trying local dishes to the places I travel too. We were connecting to Port Harcout a prominent city in Nigeria popularly known for its vast oil reserves and tycoon lifestyles. Upon arriving in Port Harcourt, we boarded our 6 hour shuttle through the green jungle of jungle to Obudu a mountain resort in Cross River State, Nigeria. After an hour of driving whilst in Aba state we were ambushed by a group of AK-47 armed young Nigerian militants who threw a log onto the road and car caltrops. The kidnapping gang had seen that we were with foreign nationals to Nigeria (British Caucasians) and they wanted ransom money. Our shuttle driver slowly slid down his window and shouted at the bandits “can’t you see these are diplomats & high officials”, then threw money out the window and they quickly removed the barricades and we went on with our journey. After a long tiresome journey we arrived at our breath-taking destination ‘Obudu Cattle Ranch’ just east of Cameroon lies the mountain resort where we instantly regained our energy & excitement. That night we had Goat and peppe soup with cassava a Nigerian traditional dish. The next morning we took the cable tram through the scenic mountain to the bottom where the cattle were being herded. We had a 30 min class on how to milk a cow before carrying on our morning through a gorgeous walk in the rainforest and waterfall gorges of Obudu. That afternoon we left for the administrative political capital of Nigeria Abuja where we going to try the most delicious shawarma in Nigeria before catching a flight back to Lagos Nigeria the economic capital of Nigeria. We landed in Lagos at 4pm and it took us 3 hours to get to our hotel the newly built Best Western Lagos just 19 miles away due to the heavy traffic after work. The next day we spent most of the day resting in the glazing Lagos sun in the hotel room with the air-conditioner on and by the poolside having lunch. Our time in Nigeria was up that evening but not with one more experience of the real ‘Lagos hustle’. That evening when we were checking in, our return flights were not on the system and the check-in assistant asked us to re-book the flights in cash else we’d have to spend the night and pay for another hotel room. Eventually we agreed, and to this day we suspect the check-in attendants corruptly pocketed the extra flight tickets money. I would love to return to Nigeria and experience more of the culture especially in the slums of Ojuelegba the biggest project in Lagos Nigeria, where there is a vibrant street urban culture filled with aspiring youth and a booming informal economy.