Currently, I stay in Owerri, and when it comes to fun hotspots to enjoy yourself, there are sadly not enough options. In Owerri, the choices are ridiculously little. If it’s not a hotel or a club, then it has to be a restaurant or a mall. And maybe an amusement park. Other than that, that’s all.
There’s nothing else. There was a time when Imo State was a bubbling place for tourists, we had lots of tourist destinations. Places people could go to have fun and enjoy themselves. However, due to neglect and abandonment, all these things have died a slow and painful death. These are avenues that should be generating good money for the state, but they’ve been allowed to wallow and decay. And it’s just sad.
Sadly, we don’t have many individuals who see it as a profitable venture to invest in tourism. Maybe those who can buy these abandoned centers and revamp them. It would be an investment I believe will pay off greatly in the future.
Anyway, this doesn’t mean that if I have a guest I still won’t have a way to make them happy and have a good time. I probably feel this way because I’m not the kind that loves to party, and as a result, there’s little I can do besides going to the restaurant or to the mall. I’ll make sure they have fun, I’ll use the little we have to make it as memorable as possible for them.
One of the first places I would take my guests to is any of the malls around. We would watch movies in the cinema and probably grab a meal in any of the restaurants there. We could also go shopping in any of the supermarkets there.
The thing about good shopping malls is that there are so many things you can do in there! You can spend the entire day within them, and you still won’t have entered the entire place. So, one day should be enough to explore the goodies of the mall, and by the time we’re done, we simply go home. But be sure that our wallets will be considerably lighter by then.
After that, I could take them to one of the clubs in Owerri. The clubs here are world-class and can compete comfortably with their counterparts in Lagos and Abuja. I’m not a fan of clubs and such, but if my guest is interested in going there, then we would very much go there. This means we could spend the entire night there.
Another place I could take them is the Amusement Park. This is a fairly new establishment and so far, I’m yet to pay the place a visit. People who have gone there say it’s loads of fun. One of these days, I’ll check it out for myself and see if all the hype is fact or cap. All in all, my guest and I will check it out and enjoy ourselves there as well.
And then, seeing as this is the December Period, I would definitely take him to my village. Now that the Harmattan season is on us, it would be great to take him to the stream. Not to swim, but to enjoy the view of the fog over the body of water. I always find it relaxing and beautiful. Until the sun comes and clears it all away. Hehe…
And then, the final point of enjoyment would be the masquerade festival. This would be the highlight of the trips. For this alone, people come from all over the world just to witness it. Many people don’t mind missing out on Christmas as long as they can attend the festival. This is to tell you just how important it is to us.
So, I will definitely share the moment with them. We’ll get to see our different masquerades, their beautiful regalia, and intricate designs. Then, we’d eat catfish pepper soup or something like that. We’ll also make sure to take pictures because this is something that happens only once a year. It’d serve as memories for the coming months.
In my area, by the time the masquerade festival is over, then the festive season is as good as done. So, by that time, my guest will be getting ready to leave and return home. But I’ll be happy because I know that even with the little that the Heartland possesses, I was still able to give them a good time.
That was a feat.
