I wonder if this naming-the-beer-after-the-city malarkey would catch on at home? - "I'll have three bottles of Glasgow please" - perhaps not but it certainly makes life easier for thirsty travellers like us; we've got enough to contend with, like tackling extortionate airport taxi cartels and getting our paws on dollars in a bankrupt country without a single ATM..... Asmara, formerly known as Piccola Roma (Little Rome), is essentially a result of Mussolini's grand plan to create a second Roman Empire in Africa.....but WWII scuppered that. The city is known for its diverse architectural styl [View Full Entry]

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3:30am. A petrol station in Assab. The daily bus to Asmara is about to leave. Our entire room, sheets, mattress, etc reeked of (someone else's) sweaty penis, but I still wish I could have slept a couple more hours. We're facing a 1 ½ day journey up the Red Sea coast in August -- following the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest places in the world - until we reach the cool highlands' spring weather. It's pitch dark, but we're already sweating profusely in the absence of even the slightest breeze. Trying to lug my sack onto the bus, and simultaneously [View Full Entry]

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