Ethiopia

 by Red

54 – Of crocodiles and giant pythons

Tue 19th Jan, National Hotel, Logiya

We woke up at 6 and found our security detail, two policemen, one armed with a rifle, looking over us. We set off, armed only with some biscuits and 4.5 litres of water between us, not knowing how far the lakes were, or even how many days we would have to stay out. This was because we had no way of communicating clearly what we required, which was a trip to the 5 lakes around the region. The two policemen were dressed in uniform on this day, but they were carrying little else, so we figured whatever supplies we had with us would be sufficient.

We carried on the gravel road, continuing where the bus dropped us off yesterday. According to them, it was an 8km walk to the first lake. Along the way, we passed by several Afar homes, many herds of goats, some camels, and locals headed in either direction. All throughout, the birdlife was spectacular. It would need a birdwatcher to truly appreciate the birdlife on show. My point and click Olympus fails miserably at capturing the sights.

We reached a large stream where the bridge was long gone. We had to ford the river further upstream. In the meantime, there was the show of a herd of cows trying to cross the stream. They simply refused to step into the knee deep water even after being cajoled by their minders. It was quite a hilarious sight watching the cows making a beeline for the same bank after they had been pushed halfway across the stream. In the end they did the same as us and forded elsewhere along the stream.

We reached Lake Afambo and Lake Gamarri after two hours walking. The lakes were set against the backdrop of the mountains bordering Djibouti. They were murky swampy lakes, filled with crocodiles, especially on the opposite bank of one of the many tributaries. A few had their mouths wide open on the banks. Another highlight was when we were walking along the lake’s shoreline. Nestled on a tree barely metres away from us was a huge python. We did not manage to go further down the shore though, the undergrowth was too thick.

Then came the surprise. The guides signalled we are done and should go back.

“Back? But what about the rest of the lakes?”

They waved their forefinger tellingly.

“But we specfically stated we want to go to all of the lakes, especially Abbe with its Mars terrain setting”

But there was no way we could convince them otherwise, and we ended up hanging around the lake for maybe 15 more minutes before they again told us we had to go back..

Well that was silly, we going through all the trouble, including a couple of days waiting in Logiya, just for the hour by the lakes. We were pretty annoyed that the excursion was so brief. And the bit that takes the cake was that the fee for each policeman guide was 150 birr. Of course we were adamant that we will not be paying 300 birr for half a days work. Our justification was that we did not ask for two guides (the three 4wds we passed by on the way back had 2 police guides for the 10 foreign tourists), we had spent only half a day and we did not get to see our intended lakes. Instead we will offered 200 birr, which resulted in a protracted negotiation before they finally gave in.

We had reached back by noon and decided to go back to Asaita then Logiya. We will spend the night there (yummy fuul and chilli powder yoghurt) before making our way to Djibouti. At night, we tried to arrange for transport on one of the many trucks that ply their way down to Djibouti City after overnighting in Logiya but the initial price quoted was 1000 birr (why do they even quote us such ridiculous prices!) This eventually went down to 300 but our LP published in Oct 2009 says 200 so we stood our ground. After all, this guy we are dealing with is a middleman. Tomorrow early morning, we will stand by the roadside and try to hitch with the truck drivers themselves, effectively bypassing the middleman.

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

53 – How I spent my night in a police station with no electricity and two crazies in a cell

Mon 18th Jan, Police Station, Afambo village
Early morning found us taking a minibus to Semera (2.5 birr) and finally getting the permit done up (100 birr each). With this valuable prize in hand, we returned back to Logiya (Semera was still awfully desolate despite it being a working day) to catch a minibus to Asaita, which is the base to start from when one wants to visit the lakes. The minibus ride was 25 birr (18 for passenger, 7 for my bag).

Reached Asaita at around lunch and asked our way to the police station. There was difficulty here in getting anyone to understand what we wanted, but we eventually managed to get the point across that we needed a guide, as per required by regulation. However, we decided to start from Afambo, a settlement marked on our map as being much nearer to the lakes than Asaita was. We asked around in town and there was a local small bus shuttling between Asaita and Afambo. This would cut down a lot of walking time. The plan was good, since we could also pick up our guide and camel to carry our stuff over there. The bus leaves at 3pm, so we had a couple of hours to spare.

Asaita is a surprisingly bustling little town, with a central square where the minibuses leave from. We had lunch at the Basha Hotel restaurant, (pasta, yum), and the rear of the hotel overlooked the lush greenery of the Awash river. Make no mistake, it was still terrifyingly hot out here, but here along the Awash, a sliver of green trees and shrubs, coupled together with a score of birdlife, stood out against the background of the Afar desert. A reminder that we were still on the lower borders of the Danakil region.

While waiting at the main square after lunch, a local Afar guy offered to beat Chris up. He thanked him but refused. We boarded the bus (6 birr) at the square, before it made a detour to the residential Asaita area where the bus filled up (residential: don’t think big apartment buildings, rather think haphazard maze of straw and wooden shacks. As usual, out here, no one really bothers about overcrowding (what? Your minibus seats only 12? No problem, we can squeeze in 20 people). The Afar locals seated all around us in the bus, with the sharp daggers and sharper teeth. It was quite the spectacle. Then there was the cutest little girl of about 8, with really sharp teeth that she was self-conscious about and tried to hide.

We reached Afambo, around 20 km away from Asaita along a gravel road. I think the village was actually called Hawsa, located in the Afambo district, but i couldn’t confirm it, since out here, barely anyone speaks English. We just refered to the whole place as Afambo. We got off and asked for the police station. A man seated together with a group by the roadside came over. He, in his sarong, introduced himself as the police chief. Okayyyy. It was all wooden shacks in this village, and a couple of dilapidated important looking stone buildings at the back of the village, a full 100m away. We headed towards one of these, the police station. It looked more like an abandoned single storeyed mansion more than a police station, notwithstanding its faded pink exterior facade.

Surrounded by more sarong wearing policemen, we showed them our permit. “No problem, no problem” which seemed to be the only English they spoke. We would have to stay overnight in the village, before waking up the next morning, where our security detail would act as our guide as we make our way towards the lakes, namely, Lake Afambo, Lake Boha, Lake Gamarri and Lake Abbe. This would take some days, but as we discussed with each other, basing ourselves at Afambo meant we needed to only take day trips out, thus avoiding the need for camel porters to carry our bags.

There was a grand total of one village shop selling neccesities in Afambo. This particular shop does not sell bottled water (wuha? No sorry, we don’t sell wuha). Neither does it sell any supplies one might need while traveling to the lakes iunder the hot sun. The other problem (“no problem, no problem” says the policemen) was that there was nowhere to spend the night…we were told to sleep in the police station itself.

And so, in the evening, we set up our sleeping bags on the dirty floor, in the one room in the police station that was not locked. This room, devoid of any other furniture, was the sleeping quarters of the local sarong-clad police force. Still, they were kind enough to share with us their humble abode. None of them were there yet when we turned in. It was dark, there was no electricity in the entire village, and it was hot in the room. So, slathering myself with mosquito repellent, i went outside within the police station grounds for a walk. And there alone, for want of a better thing to do, underneath the African starry sky, i begin to dance. Oh, and i forgot to mention, there were a couple of prisoners locked behind bars together with us in the back rooms of the police station. They shouted at us to come over, and I fled.

in Africa / Ethiopia 3 comments
 by Red

52 – Fact: Tourist offices are closed on weekends

Sun 17th Jan, National Hotel, Logiya
Now the Afar region we were in is decidedly Muslim, and the locals were dressed in sarongs. They would be able to pass off as dark skinned arabs easily, especially the older folk, if not for a couple of things. First, the young guys had their funky hair. The locals here grow their hair long, in neat afros, and the epitome of fashion here is to have a twig or a leaf sticking out of their hair. The women, on the other hand, had theirs delicately plaited. The other standout feature was their teeth. I tried hard not to stare, but i could not take my eyes off their sharpened teeth (incisors included). Not all of them had them, but those that did, looked fearsome indeed. Photographs of people were a rarity here, for the locals did not want some faranji coming along and making them some sort of exhibit.

It is Sunday so the tourist office was still closed. I spent the rest of the day reading. Chris lent me one of his many books, Shadow of the Sun, and anecdotal account of the author’s (Ryszard Kapuscinski) travels in Africa over 40 years. It was a good read, and i’d recommend it.

Meals in Logiya were a heartening affair. Possibly here in the far corners of Ethiopia, injeera was not the de facto dish. Over the past couple days, i have had spaghetti with local sauce (10 birr), their version of fuul (my favourite, possibly 8 birr), and a peculiar yoghurt-like cold dish which you eat with bread and chilli powder mixed into the yoghurt (?? – sometimes sugar in place of the chilli powder also works). For drinks, i had, besides the usual bottled coke, a malt like cold drink in a mug and fresh milk in a recycled bottle (goat, sheep or maybe camel). After each meal, i would be happy (since its not injeera based) and Chris would be happy (cos he ate a lot).

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

51 – Land’s End (Into the back of beyond)

Sat 16th Jan, National Hotel, Logiya
The bus from Dessie went east towards to Asaita, but we would be stopping halfway in Semera (41 birr). Semera is the administrative capital of the Afar region, and we are headed there to pick up the tourist permission and compulsory guide to travel the lakes. For the purpose of this and the next couple of entries, the bus route through the towns is in the following order: Dessie –> Bati —> Mille –> Logiya –> Semera —> Asaita. From Asaita, a little local bus goes to Afambo village.

We started off in Dessie, made good progress on good sealed roads, hitting Bati for breakfast. Bypassed Mille, which was on a T-junction joining the road from the south and going northwards The terrain started to change dramatically as we moved northeastwards. From the cold highlands of Dessie, we traversed into the sweltering Afar region.Trees gave way to sparse bushes and rocky expanses of wasteland made more obvious by the complete absence of a water source. And in the midst of all this are the Afar people. Their domed huts dotted the side of the roads. One hut here, a few there. How do they survive in this heat? Why do they live here? Is there a settlement nearby? Where do they get their water supply? It is truly mind boggling, and i think i will not last a day out here. More on the Afar later.

When we hit Logiya, a bunch of passengers got off. Next stop was Semera, a mere 8km away from Logiya. The bus nearly skipped the town, not stopping till i yelled Wora Jaale! Which means stop! We were the only ones to get off, and we should have seen this as a warning of things to come. For Semera, the regional capital, with its stone buildings, is a ghost town. There were buildings, barracks aplenty, but there were no shops in sight, and hardly any activity going on. And it was hot, oh, it was HOT. We got off and found the one hotel in town, a seedy 5 room place by the side of the main road (oh look, a made-in-the-USA condom supplied on the dresser).Placed our things (man, this place is hot) and looked for the tourist office.

It is difficult to find anymore English speaking locals up here, so we were in trouble with our non-existent Amharic. Fortunately, there was a french speaking security guard who tried to help us. Unfortunately, he couldn’t, for it was a Saturday and all the offices were closed. Two options, skip the lakes and go up to Djibouti directly tomorrow, or stay the weekend and come back here on Monday. We took up option 2, and decided to make our way back to Logiya, 8km down south, where there was some semblance of village life. Semera is a dead town, the kind you imagine in those old westerns, with balls of straw rolling on the sandy ground. And it is hot.

We had to flag a passing truck to take us back into Logiya. Now this was a proper little town. We took up a coupld of rooms at the National Hotel (25 birr each) and went out for lunch. Lunch was in a restaurant with a sheep on the restaurant floor (we had tibs for 20 birr). Yes a live sheep, nonchalantly going about its own business. It could be their pet, or potentially dinner, i really don’t know.

There was no power supply in the hotel, and the barely there light emanating from the light bulb in my room was powered by a generator that ran from dusk till 11pm. There were communal toilets, and the shower was a little straw shack placed over some rocks. We had to get buckets and collect water from the trough to bathe with. Sigh. We had Sunday as well in this town, so we might as well get comfortable. Oh and somewhere on the journey from Addis to here, i lost my headlamp. I replaced it with a chunky made-in-china torch (25 birr).

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

50 – Back to “Pit-stop” Dessie

Fri 15th  Jan, Some Amharic-named Hotel, Dessie

I remembered why i really hated the journey from Dessie to Addis. This time round, going the other direction, i experienced the horrible roads again. The early morning bus terminal crowd and us not having tickets meant we paid 130 birr each for tickets. Which is the same amount from Lalibela to Dessie to Addis! Since there was no other choice (remember the tickets were “sold out” yesterday), we had to go along with the extortionate price.

Reached Dessie after like 12 hours, the bus driver was pretty reckless, rounding the narrow corners and overtaking needlessly. We got a place near the bus station, 70 birr for a double bedroom. Had a quick dinner, I have already wandered around the town and there isn’t anything of interest. Tomorrow we head towards Samera, in the Afar region, close to the Djibouti border to the east.

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

49 – A day at the musuem(s)

Thu 14th  Jan, Itegue Taitu Hotel, Addis Ababa
So i decided on going clockwise and stayed another day. That way i can visit the salt lakes along the way (since the Danakil Depression was expensive with 4WD hires and all that) and also save on costs in Djibouti, which is an expensive place to go.

In the late morning, took a walk down to the bus station and get the Dessie-bound tickets. But they were sold out. One ticket guy tells me to turn up tomorrow morning and he’ll sort it out. Not sure how he is going to do that, but it will probably cost more.

Next, went down to the museums around town, namely the National Museum and the Ethnological Museum. The first museum (10 birr entry) was of interest because of Lucy, our apeman ancestor first found in Ethiopia. There was also Selam, a 3 year old ape from around the same period, discovered in 2003.

The second musuem was in the middle of the Addis Ababa Univesity grounds, in their ethnological studies building. The museum (20 birr entry) was divided into 3 sections, Chilhood, Adulthood, and Death & Beyond.  The exhibits were interesting enough to keep me occupied for a couple of hours.

Dinner was a tuna pizza, another welcome change from the daily dose of injeera. Tonight would probably be the last one though. Tomorrow I go back on the road, together with Chris the Englishman i met yesterday at the embassy.

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

48 – Hooray for successful visa applications!

Wed 13th Jan, Itegue Taitu Hotel, Addis Ababa
I’m typing this as i go along in the Internet cafe. Slept in…. ahhhh…it is lovely to be able to sleep in and not wake up at 4am for buses. Then made my way to the long distance bus station to buy a ticket to Dire Dawa. The big Merkato market was there. So i walked around the market, holding on tightly to my pouch and valuables. The tout back at the Piazza was here! He started following me around, and i got really pissed. I get freaked out by people trailing me, so i turned around, and blasted him in the face: “Stop following me, i dont know what you want but leave me alone. If you dont Ill call the police. Get lost!” Which apparently worked. The hassling has always been there around the country, but here at the Piazza area especially, they are relentless and persistent.
I bought my kettle (a hefty 250 birr) but i figured in the long run it would be worth it. Along the market i also bought a bowl and a fork. I am fully self sufficient now. Later on at the supermarkets i stocked up on instant noodles, hibiscus tea and eggs.
I tore my shirt today when it got caught on a railing. So that’s three time i’ve sewn my pants, once my jacket and now i need to sew back my shirt. I think i’ll be back home with rags…and locally bought clothes.
In the afternoon i made my way to the embassies area again. My Djibouti visa got approved with no problems. I am elated. Two visas in two days. Then i met Chris, an English guy at the embassy. He also is doing the Djibouti Somaliland run, albeit in the other direction. I am now considering whether to travel together with him. I was walking back to the hotel, and we were talking about our travel routes (he did the same from Egypt) and i realised he was on the Egypt-Sudan boat the week before mine. We talked about how we meet people on the boat, and keep meeting them over and over again. I talked about Andy and Z who I met first at the ferry and later in Khartoum. He actually knew them, having traveled the Simien Mountains together!
We were still talking when suddenly the ultimate coincidence of coincidences happened. We saw both Andy and Z on the same uphill road headed towards the same hotel. All 4 of us were staying at the same place! Amazing right? Right? Haahaha.
Dinner together just now ( i had lovely pasta) and now im at the internet place. So all’s good. Now i just need to see if i want to go clockwise or anti-clockwise into Djibouti and Somaliland. I’ll join them to watch African Nations Cup football at the hotel lobby later. It has been a good day =)

New Email addresses available on Yahoo!
Get the Email name you've always wanted on the new @ymail and @rocketmail.
Hurry before someone else does!
http://mail.promotions.yahoo.com/newdomains/sg/

in Africa / Ethiopia 1 comments
 by Red

47 – What’s up Addis?

Tue 12th Jan, Itegue Taitu Hotel, Addis Ababa
Woke up early morning looking for a bank for me to change money. I had 30 birr on me (3 SGD) and wouldn’t last too long in Addis without cash. The Ethiopian Commercial Bank changes US dollars. I later realised Dashen Bank was the bank to use, as they were the only bank that accepted VISA and Mastercard, and i even withdrew cash (for the first time since Egypt) through their ATM.
Next made my way to Bole Road, a long stretch of main road with various embassies found on the many side streets. Took one of the minivans bound there (2.6 birr) and made my way to the Somaliland representation. The visa application was over in a jiffy. It was a lot easier than expected. I filled up a form, attached a photo, paid 40 USD and got it in less than 10 minutes. I was elated.
I walked over to the Djibouti embassy next. Similarly i filled up a form, added my photo, paid 40 USD but this time had to wait till tomorrow to collect the visa. I did notice the secretary already had a stack of visa applications and passports on her desk. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon, no worries, i had time in Addis.
I decided to celebrate with lunch at a fancy restaurant. That set me back around 25 birr. However, i was an idiot and ordered traditional firfir, instead of some western dishes. So i had to munch through injeera coated with butter. I know better now and will avoid local food, at least while i am in Addis.
Addis is really cosmopolitan. Besides the range of food, the supermarkets along Bole Road (which i presume is a rather upmarket stretch) sell western favourites such as pasta, HP sauce, various cheeses and other imports. I decided to walk back north instead of taking the minibus to check out the city. I visited at least 4 supermarkets, checking out each one in the hopes of getting my own electric kettle. Found many 2 litre ones, which were too bulky (cheapest was 350 birr) to stuff into my bag. I’ll try in the market tomorrow, if i can’t find one i might just buy the 2 litre one. In the end, i just bought every single English language newspaper i could find (Fortune, 3 birr. Sub-Saharan news, 4 birr, Capital, 4 birr)
Continuing on the cosmopolitan bit…the general populace about town are well dressed, with fancy hair and accessories, going their way about town, sipping their cup of macchiatos. It is certainly different from the countryside in the north where i’ve been roaming the past two weeks. Fended off more would-be tricksters (Hi, im a student (a really old one!) from Addis Ababa University. Would you like to see a coffee ceremony?) and decided i don’t really want to see any sights or museums today. Instead i will go and watch a movie at the nearby Cinema Ethiopia. The selection of shows are pretty old stuff i think and the only show was King’s Ransom (no i havent heard of it either). The price was 4 birr (thats 40 cents in SGD, hah, beat that!) I was strip searched at the entrance, and my camera was put under lock The interior of the cinema was much like how old cinemas look like, the seats pretty spartan. And you had these cinema ushers going around with buns
on trays. The peculiar thing was that halfway through the show, there was a break, the lights went on and the cinema ushers did their thing with their trays. I’m not sure whether the break was intentional or there was something wrong with the reel.
Had some internet time next, yes it feels great to not be doing anything, instead of rushing to see some sight or taking a 12 hour bus ride. The connections were much faster here than elsewhere and cheaper at 12 birr/hr.
For dinner i had a fish burger and 7 up (grand total of 26 birr) at a restaurant. I figured in Ethiopia there are no street food (besides snacks such as the abovementioned samosas, barley, sugar cane, kolo etc.). Instead there are cafes (for pastries), bars (for drinks) and restaurants for food. Any combination of these would make the establishment.
Lastly, i am in africa in the midst of the Afican Nations Cup 2010. This meant that all the satelite Tvs are tuned in to the live matches where everyone is watching. Today was Egypt Nigeria, though i did not catch the game.

Yahoo! Toolbar is now powered with Free Anti-Virus and Anti-Adware Software.
Download Yahoo! Toolbar now!
http://sg.toolbar.yahoo.com/

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

46 – Helloooo everyone, yeah i feel fine! (That and i am high on qat)

Mon 11th Jan, Itegue Taitu Hotel, Addis Ababa
It was another long journey. At 5am, a few hundred people were freezing in the cold (phooooo, see the cold air i can blow out of my mouth!) waiting for the bus station gates to open. If there was a stampede i wasn’t sure i’d survive.
By this second day, i had made contact with the passengers still in the bus, heading to Addis. I’m the asian faranji in the back corner of the bus, who’s not from China as the thought. The Ethiopians have their own mannerisms (like those Egyptians who have their hisses, and the Sudanese who have their tsktsks).. The Ethiopians exaggerate to show they are surprised, like sucking in your breath with your eyes and mouth open, making only a mild almost silent sound. I’ve seen this many times now.
Along the way, i was offered qat by the bus conductor, who had a whole bagload. I took a few stalks and started munching, providing a spectacle for the rest of the passengers in the rear. They were amused this faranji was munching his qat. The way to chew the qat is to take in some leaves, put it at the rear of the teeth and coat it with saliva, chewing and sucking on the bitter leaves. Now, as i mentioned some posts back, qat (or chat) is a mildly intoxicating stimulant. Its banned in neighbouring Eritrea, and is exported to Djibouti and Somalia. I began munching on my leaves. When the bus conductor started going on about how “I feel free! Free!” then i realised maybe it’s not such a good idea. The other passengers told me through hand actions, pointing at the head and then at the stomach to not eat anymore. I stopped at 2 stalks, and i think i went to sleep.
On reaching Addis, i got off and made my way to the Piazza area, where i hope the hotels were concentrated. The LP maps had hotels sprawed all over the place and i wasn’t sure where the best place to base myself was. I had decided on Piazza simply because it was within walking distance. However this entails passing through the Merkata, Addis’ large market, the largest in Ethiopia. Plenty of pickpockets, confidence men and the like abound in the area. I would explore the market later, but not now with my large backpack. Arming myself with a samosa (its the same like ours, but without curry and with beans as filling) from a street vendor, i tried to look as though i knew where i was going. Taking bites out of my samosa, i nonchanlantly asked for directions here and there. It was 5pm and i better find a place to stay before dark.
Reached the Piazza area, which i realised is near the city centre. All the better, a centralised location to base myself. Trailed by a guy who won’t leave me alone (i just want to be your friend, i want to improve my english..), i asked around 3 hotels before settling on the 1st, the other two were full. Singles with bathrooms went up to 200birr in the Taitu hotel’s newer main building. I picked a skanky room with common toilet (i got my own shower though, but no hot water) in the older rear building for 94 birr. Rooms in Addis were (relatively) expensive, i could get better rooms back in the northern region. But this place is comfortable enough, with my prerequisite, a power point, so i am happy. And for the first time in two weeks, i have showered and am clean. Don’t get me wrong, i do shower and stuff over the last couple weeks, it’s just that as soon as i step out of my room, i get covered in dust again.
Tomorrow will be visa hunting day again. I hope it will not be like in khartoum, where i spent days waiting for my visa application, only for it not to be approved. In the meantime, i will spend the rest of the night in the loo. I realise what the lady in the bus meant when she pointed at the qat i ate and then at her stomach. I didn’t know it was a laxative too!

in Africa / Ethiopia 0 comments
 by Red

45 – Pit stop, Dessie

Sun 10th Jan, Royal Pension, Dessie
I woke up at 4am in the morning and made the challenging 20 minute walk across town in the dark towards the bus station. There was some big hoohah at the station, delaying set-off by an hour more (normally its only 1 hr delay, this time its 2 hrs). Apparently there were too many people wanting to take the two buses out of Lalibela bound for Addis. Priority was to be given to those going to Addis, or maybe Dessie, or Woldia. For those going to nearer destinations, such as Gashena, the buses are unwilling to take them. (for the record, the route goes like this: Lalibela –> Gashena –> Woldia –> Dessie (overnight here) –> Addis Ababa).
What this means is that going to Bahir Dar, via Gashena (and changing buses here) may not be such a good idea after all. One option is to pay the Addis fare (130 birr, 2 days) and alighting at Gashena. I decided then to bypass Bahir Dar. There were a lot of shouting, pushing outside the bus, before the bus sped off.
The bus ride itself was long, uneventful and painfully slow (oh look, that’s the hundredth minivan/bus/4wd that just overtook us!) Staple snacks eaten by the locals were kolo (barley), sugar cane (the whole stalk cut into 30cm long bars) and a lemon (they smell them!)
Arrived at Dessie, your typical bigger town with its usual hassles. (i take down your bag from the top of the bus? 10 birr! Or. Hey mister, give me money, i am hungry!). The main drag is a slope and going up and down for dinner and to find a room was tiring. Got a place at the Royal Pension (50 birr), a simple room with less than stellar common showers (i’ll pass, i’m cleaner than the toilet, it needs to shower more than i do). The bloke tried to charge me 80 birr, but took my offer of 50 birr after i walked off. Tomorrow morning we continue on to Addis.

in Africa / Ethiopia 1 comments