LIVING IN ABUJA: A BEAUTIFUL LIFE THAT COMES AT A PRICE
Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city is truly beautiful; a first visit to the city would leave you mesmerized. The city is surrounded by magnificent structures, tourist centres, game reserves, entertainment spots, beautiful and spacious gardens, luxurious hotels, government offices, private companies and beautifully paved streets with sidewalks laced with flowers and street lights. Truly, Abuja is modeled after the most developed and beautiful cities of the world. Virtually all necessary social amenities that would make habitation easy and pleasurable are in place – good road networks, water supply, security, power, shopping malls, transportation, entertainment, tourism, standard businesses e.t.c. However, like most beautiful things, living in Abuja comes at a price; in fact, a big price. To begin with, Abuja is an expensive place to live in. Cost of decent accommodation runs in millions of Naira. This explains why most civil servants and low income earners live on the outskirt settlements bordering Abuja. But for those who can afford it, Abuja offers a variety of ways to unwind and enjoy life to the fullest; provided your bank account is fat enough.
There are different opinions on when the city is at its best. To some, the city is most beautiful during the day, while others (especially party goers) feel the city is more beautiful at night when the street lights are on. As with the norm, Friday and Saturday nights happen to be the best times for residents to let their hair down and party through the weekends. The hours from 6pm to 9pm are regarded as the warm up time in anticipation of what is to come. By 9pm to 11pm, it is assumed that you are properly warmed up; time to call friends and decide on which location is best to turn up in. Midnight to 3am is the approved time to hit the clubs. You may start the night off by visiting game centres or lounges like Aqua club and Sofa Leather Lounge amongst others. At this time you also get to see a lot of people coming out to party as well.
As the saying goes, to each man his own; that is how each night-crawler makes a personal choice on how to rock the night. Some residents prefer to chill at gardens after work on Fridays, with business partners and friends over cold beers or wines alongside plates of fresh fish pepper soup or Suya. Others might prefer to relax at indoor game centers/restaurants or lounge. Notwithstanding, there are places to be whatever your preference or situation. The nightlife enjoyment cuts across gardens and parks, night clubs, eateries, hotels and brothels among other regular hang-outs.
As the evening (or night as the case may be) progresses, other forms of entertainment would begin to come alive. At this time, you would see fun seekers wining and dining and shuffling their feet to the rhythm of music played by DJs and live bands. A visit to places like Safari Night Club, Lobby Bar at Hilton Hotel, Elephant Bar, Dazzle Night Club at Sheraton Hotel, Caribbean lounge, Play lounge, Aqua club, Sofa leather lounge amongst others will reveal to you that Abuja is a very busy place at night, where sumptuous dinners and exquisite wines with series of events are lined up to entertain guests. It is fun all the way as professional chefs serve their best dishes in their special styles to satisfy clients’ tastes. Professional DJs and live bands are usually at their best, making every night a special one.
Abuja sprouts up new fun spots every day, so the party crowd tends to move from one joint to the other. You must be abreast with the happenings and the direction of where the party people are headed if you desire to be in the right place at the right time in order to not miss the fun. Another key thing to note is that no one joint has it all. So, unless you are having massive fun in one club, you are entitled to go to another and enjoy yourself and your money. Whatever your taste or your vices are, you need to surf through Tozali and you will be pointed in the right direction to fulfill your heart desires. Keep a date next edition.
