Blogs from Ethiopia, Africa - page 100

Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Lalibela May 28th 2005

A brothel/bar in Lalibela. 4:35am. Xavier knocks on the door: "Khwaja?" I had set my own alarm but forgot to turn it on. Good to have a travel companion. We exchange sparse words: I'm going to shit. More use of that excellent newspaper we bought. Our bags are packed and ready from the previous night. Lalibela has chronic water shortage and I haven't showered since we left Addis Ababa 6 days ago. I smell awful. X coughed all night; he's developed a dry rasping cough over the last couple of days. We went to bed around 8:30 but neither of us got much sleep. The brothel manager is patiently waiting for us to leave so she can go back to sleep. Two baby calves emerge from the bathroom area; in Turkish villages they also keep young ... read more

From Ethiopia with love.

Africa » Ethiopia » Addis Ababa Region » Addis Ababa March 27th 2003

Stunning scenery on the way to Axum

thetravelbugtribe

Dear Everyone! Firstly thank you very much for all the great emails you've sent us. We are sorry that we cant always reply to you all, the internet is unbelievably expensive in Ethiopia, if we could, then we would. Now on to what you are really reading this for, where are we?!?! Addis Ababa. And as for getting here....read on. We took a mix of public transport to the Sudan / Ethiopia border, including a luxury bus (video, food and drinks) and another truck, this one smaller with both of us crammed in the back with numerous people, bags, freight and donkey trailers. Crossing the border was very easy, but there were only the two of us not 25 in a big truck. Just fill in a form, another stamp in the passport and away we ... read more

Round-the world plane ticket: $1069

Africa » Ethiopia » Oromia Region October 30th 2000

Local chorus

Funksouldiva

Round-the world plane ticket: $1069. 4-hour minibus ride over bumpy road with suicidal driver: 13 birr. Leading 25 enthusiastic local kids in a chorus of "You, you, you!" in Hagaramariam, Ethiopia: priceless. We got our first real lesson not to trust someone. We finally found a bus to Moyale from Hagaramariam but there was SO MUCH CONFUSION about the price. Locals say it's 13 birr but they want 30. Language difficulty or opportunity to soak the white folks? Then more birr for the luggage storage?? Mike said, "No, give me a better price." But this guy Hassin, sitting near us, said, "Mike, just pay." They did drop the price a bit and everything was settled. Hassin's wife had a horrible car accident and is in the hospital in Moyale but he is traveling to Nairobi(??) He ... read more

Undiscovered and unspoiled Shashemene

Africa » Ethiopia October 27th 2000

Mikebe, our gracious host in Shashemene

Funksouldiva

After one full day in bed (stomach yuks) and another researching bus routes at the autobustera in Mercato, I've decided there are NO sights like in the book. Just more overcrowded gutters with more people begging. Walking back from the bustera among the dusty citizens, each one as amazed as the next upon encountering us, Mike said, "I'm glad we wore these baggy clothes." I couldn't help laughing, "Yeah, because now we blend in." Walking back to the Piazza area was like coming back to sanity. How could I ever have imagined that? We're actually going to forgo the pre-paid 2-hour plane ride to Nairobi and take a 4-day bus ride instead. Mike wants to see more of the country and although I do, too, I wouldn't dream of doing this if he didn't suggest it. ... read more

Mike with camera-friendly local kids in Shashemene

The end of toilets as we know them

Africa » Ethiopia » Addis Ababa Region » Addis Ababa October 19th 2000

Funksouldiva

Addis Ababa isn't like any other city I've seen. There's no public transport into town, just a swarm of taxi drivers who all want to negotiate a 3-hour tour of the city. We found a driver who'll take us for 40 birr ($5). If only we had a guidebook! We're at the mercy of what little info we have and any of the cabbie's suggestions which, of course, keep costing us more money. But he drove us to Piazza, to a street between 2 hotels. Mike checked them out and negotiated for the price of the cab + the hotel (package deal, I guess.) 4 nights for 260 birr. The room's shabby but clean-ish. The electrical system is scary as hell but there is an attached bathroom. This is one poverty-saturated city. The pretty pictures in ... read more

Brief history of Ethiopia

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (wh...more history

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