Blogs from Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa Region, Ethiopia, Africa - page 5

The Sheraton in Addis Adaba is one of the most iconic hotels on the Cairo to Cape Town route, arguably (at least according to their publicity) the nicest hotel in Africa, a little piece of luxury in the middle of Ethiopia, the site of many a UN conference, and previously important for travellers as the location of the only ATM between Aswan and Nairobi. So, for one last occasion with the tour group, before everyone either headed home or to the south, we decided to head there for dinner. I knew it would break the bank, but for one night only I'd live like a king, or Kofi Anan at least. We jumped into an over priced taxi - it's hard to bargain when you're heading to the Sheraton where rooms cost $400 to $12,000 a ... read more

Arrival in a new country at 2am never seems as bad after an upgrade to Business Class! After recently being status downgraded to silver on BMI, I was thinking of flying another airline, but for the first time ever they decided to upgrade me, so good job I changed my mind. 3 course meal on proper china with metal cutlery and champagne in a real glass. How flying should be!! Due to my short amount of time before meeting friends in Lalibela, I have opted for a flying tour of the North. I also tacked on some extra hotel stays and airport transfers, although after my experience with the local tour operator of Rwanda I am nervous... So far, so good, met at airport with a minibus, no problems at all. Check in to hotel is ... read more

The Great Ethiopian Run Stupid is as stupid does. Consequently, I don’t run. Alcohol, fear, tear gas, or a frisbee may compel me to do so, but as a rule, running is moronic. For anyone running marathons to cope with mid-life, I would humbly recommend brushing up on your history. Nota Bene: Pheidippides collapsed and died. Please refer to first sentence. Given my animosity to running, I was much alarmed to find myself willingly getting up at 7:45 on a Sunday morning for a 10k run. The only consolation was the near certainty that there would be minimal running and the possibility of writing something snotty. Also, over 30,000 people and Mino the dog were expected for the Great Ethiopian Run (for Mino's Tale see: http://nicojah.com/minos-tales-great-ethiopian-run). That counts as a cultural happening, no matter how misguided ... read more

From Mekele we took a 4-5 hour bus ride south to Waldia. From there, we missed the last bus to Lalibela, so the three of us (we had an Austrian guy with us) paid for a 'private' minibus to take us on the 4 hour drive. The overly aggressive driver dropped us off in the middle of town and not to the hotel we wanted him to take us, so we walked to another hotel called Asheton Hotel and checked in. We ended up spending 3 nights there. The big thing to see in Lalibela is the 11 midieval rock-hewn churches. They were carved into the rocks between 1137 and 1270 AD during the Zagwe dynasty. These churches are unique in the fact that some of them are full monolithic, which means that they are carved ... read more

There are over 85 million Ethiopians; seventy-five percent live on the equivalent of $2US a day. While ‘lives on’ and ‘earn’ may be quantitatively different, the guards, Tomas and Johannes, are not making a lot of trips to the bank. The security company is paid 3600 birr ($266US) monthly. Tomas and Johannes take home 350 birr each (less than $30US). Anyone paying attention to all the numbers swirling about may have realized that the economic reality for most, including these two, is ghastly. As Ethiopia is designated a ‘hardship post’, the UN pays a security subsidy to keep the poor at bay. What is left of this slush fund after paying the company, we funnel to the guards. This may indeed be ‘skewing local wages’, but I think that is just foreigner talk for life-sucks-for-you, deal-with-it. ... read more