May 2022 was still a difficult time due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
Now in March 2023, when you go to the airport, there are a lot of people, but back then, business travel had significantly decreased and there weren't many people traveling abroad or entering and leaving the country.
<Incheon Airport, which was very empty due to corona at the time of May 22>
As the anti-epidemic barriers gradually eased and the preparation of COVID-related documents such as self-quarantine when entering and leaving each country became more simplified, it seemed that people were gradually increasing.
At that time, it seemed that foreigners were becoming more and more indifferent to COVID-19, but it was also a time when we felt that the quarantine regulations in Korea were quite strict.
<Luxurious iPhone at the Dubai Transit Airport DXB>
I took my usual Emirates flight from Incheon to Lagos via Dubai.
I had taken the Dubai-bound flight several times before, and the schedule was always the same: departing Incheon at 11:50 PM local time and arriving in Dubai at 5:00 AM local time after a 9-10 hour flight. The layover to Lagos was about 6 hours.
Nowadays, the Emirates schedule to Nigeria has completely disappeared. The reason is said to be the whopping $85 million debt the airline is carrying.
<There is a line at customs, but the facilities are somewhat outdated.>
In any case, I arrived in Lagos at that time.
As soon as I arrived, I was met with a sticky humidity.
Unlike Dubai, which was dry and refreshing, it was a typical tropical climate that was hot and humid.
I had been to East Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia) a few years ago.
At that time, it was September/December, and I don't remember having any climate challenges, but when I arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, I immediately faced a humid climate like a sauna and thought, "This won't be easy."
"This won't be easy."
<As I found out later, it was raining outside.>
To be honest, I didn't take any pictures at customs or when picking up my luggage except for the one photo I mentioned earlier. The atmosphere was chaotic and I was overwhelmed. There were these helpful guys (I hesitate to call them scammers) standing at each customs line, but at first I was wary of them thinking they might demand money or something. So, I didn't even look at them or ask for help.
However, compared to the ones helping at the luggage pickup area, those guys at the custom line were like gentlemen. As long as you had your documents ready and handed them over promptly, customs clearance went smoothly without any major issues. (Though you have to go through the process twice. It felt like waiting in the same line twice... I was confused and ended up going back to the same line I had already been in before. But it turned out that the people in front of me had done the same thing, so I just followed along quietly.)
I don't have any photos from the baggage claim area, so I'll just write about it. After passing through customs, you'll see a conveyor belt that transports your luggage. However, as soon as you pass through, the "helpers" rush toward you like vultures, pretending to offer assistance or claiming it's part of the official process, but it's all a lie.
In Africa, if you accept someone's help, they will demand money or food. It's okay to give it to them if you don't mind, but it can also complicate things further. I didn't know this at the time, so I followed one of these guys and ended up being positioned in a random corner. It might have been his strategy to keep me from moving as much as possible!
But you just have to brush it off and leave without engaging or responding. It's better to stay silent and avoid any conversation. Once you find your luggage, make a quick exit.
At the baggage claim, there were groups of people wearing military uniforms(?), waiting in front.
I'm not sure if they were actual soldiers, but they seemed to be close to the security guards. With their greenish outfits, as someone who served in the Korean military, I might have mistaken them for soldiers...
It feels a bit like this.
They unpacked everyone's bags and inspected them, although there are X-ray inspection procedures for each country, this type of manual search is mostly done to extort money.
Sure enough, we had some trouble with the samples and engineering tools we brought for the company meeting. However, we had printed out all the relevant invoices and documents in advance.
Since the value was under $100, there were no major issues on the surface. But they were trying to find a way to squeeze money out of us by grasping onto the "customs duties" for that $100.
As I recall, I was quite worked up at the time, maybe even a bit agitated (according to those around me). "What kind of customs duty do you charge for $100? Which country charges customs duty for something worth only $100? Let's examine the specific regulations," I argued.
Of course, there was no point in getting too confrontational with these security personnel. After all, I had to keep my cool and get through the situation, even if it meant pleading my case with a bit of attitude: "This is my first time here, please be lenient with me." In the end, everything turned out okay.
"This is my first time here, please be lenient with me."
However, experiences like these are exactly why I generally dislike business trips to Africa. Each little thing can become a source of stress, and I always feel like I want to travel as lightly as possible.
After safely making it out of the airport and picking up my roaming phone, I headed towards the pick-up point to meet with the company. What's funny is that at Lagos airport, even after passing through customs, retrieving my luggage, and entering the Arrival zone, I still couldn't immediately pick up my vehicle. I had to walk outside for another 15-20 minutes.
<Directions for the pickup>
In a tech-no building, the outdoor parking lot is where Uber or any other pickup services can only drive in up to this point. This means that arriving travelers have to carry their luggage to this point no matter what.
On this day, it was raining and we walked for about 5-10 minutes in the rain, except for under the roof. Of course, there were people on the street trying to sell us something or exchange money. We had to ignore them as much as possible and push through. Sometimes we would hear "Nǐ hǎo" (hello in Chinese) and we would reply, "No Chinese!" which was a bonus.
<Techno Building - Outdoor Parking Entrance>
After all sorts of troubles, we finally arrived at the hotel. I was so out of it that I didn't take many photos, but the feeling of arriving in Nigeria was very intense...
The picture below shows a self-made mosquito net placed on the bed to prevent malaria after we arrived.
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