Well spending a week in Addis Ababa was not in our original plans, but Ethiopian Airways seemed to have other ideas for us so a week it was. "Addis" as it is known means "new flower" and its location was chosen because of the natural beauty of the area which is now being eclipsed as massive development sprawls incoherently reaching out further and further from the city. With a population between 5-6 million, it is home to many non-governmental organizations where the white land cruisers with UN signage compete with the blue and white mini buses and old blue lada taxis [View Full Entry]

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Well, this was certainly going to be a Xmas to remember and not in a good way. We left Lalibela extremely late on our Ethiopian Airlines flight and then had to endure most of the full tourist circuit as we took off and landed in Gonder and then Bahir Dar before getting to Addis. Since we were an hour late when we landed in Gonder, they advised us that the ground time would be 3 minutes and it pretty much was. However, all their attempts to make up for lost time could not compensate fully and when we landed in Addis [View Full Entry]

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"I weary of writing more about these buildings because it seems to me that I shall not be believed if I write more ... but all that is written is truth and there is much more that what I have written, and I have left it that they may not tax me with its being falsehood" Francisco Alvares - 16th century Portuguese written upon travelling to Lalibela Well, our travels to Lalibela were cut a little short by Ethiopian Airlines who told us that the flight was late and they would not have time to travel their full route so would [View Full Entry]

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We were up early to catch our long bus ride to Axum from Debark. Our guide book had called it the most scenic journey in the country which I also read to mean "long"! We had also been warned that the bus did not stop for bathroom breaks or snacks so we needed to be prepared. Waiting on the side of the dusty road in Debark attracted considerable attention from the local children, the braver of whom came over to practice their English and to have their photos taken! Our photos of Canada were a real hit too! Finally our bus [View Full Entry]

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Well, our trust paid off and not only were we met with food, but a cook, driver and our own beat up landcruiser to drive from Gondar to Debark where we would pick up our guide, scout and gear. The road was windy, but the drive went quickly with our good driver and American music blaring from the dash! The terraced fields gave way to the start of the Simien Mountains - our destination and truly one of the most magnificent ranges in Africa. With virtually no cars, the road is the life blood of the communities and always full of [View Full Entry]

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Well, suelam from Gondar, Ethiopia where we are still trying to adjust to life as travellers in a very different land and fight against our jetlag! It's now 6pm so at least we are still awake! It's day 2 since we've landed here after quite an eventful trip. Our flight from Vancouver to Washington went without a hitch including getting excellent pick up service by our friends, Kristine and John. After a very brief visit we were back at the airport bright and early the next day for the marathon journey from Washington DC to Addis Ababa via Rome on Ethiopian [View Full Entry]

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Less than 3 weeks to go until we head off to Africa, land of our dreams, so little do we know of its soils. Feel free to log on to my blog to travel along with us in Ethiopia - depending on whether or not we can find the internet ... Plan is to leave on Dec 8th and travel via Seattle to Washington DC where we will stay with good friends Kristine and John before flying the next am, Dec 9th to Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia via Rome. We arrive on the morning of Dec 10th, jetlagged and ready [View Full Entry]

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Sorry for the brief hiatus from writing, but we have been computer challenged. After days of power outages that last all day and non existent or too slow internet connections we are finally back on line - for today only and then who knows ... but back to our story ... when you last left our travellers they were headed to Bagan. Ah, travel in Myanmar: there is the bus usually at night and on roads that will make your stomach churn and your organs rumble; the train which takes 5X as long as the bus, but where you might gaze [View Full Entry]

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"Trekking to Kalaw from Inle Lake - it's better than taking the bus!" Now that caught our attention and we were firmly committed to trying it. 40km as the snakes wriggle and water buffalos lumber, we sussed our a guide for our 3 day and 2 night trip and after finding a company that seemed good handed over our $30 each and we were ready to go. But all did not start out as well as we'd hoped ... It turned out that the company had sold us quite a tale and the owner was nowhere to be found, leaving instead [View Full Entry]

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Our trip to Inle Lake, home of the Intha people started off in high spirits as we shared our taxi with fellow travellers, Ven and Anita from England, Laura and Sarah from the US via Laos and Therese from Switzerland via Singapore. The topography was vastly different from the dry plains of Bagan and so were the people. The trees and the rolling hills seemed greener than ever after the browns and greys of the east and the people reflected the landscape, dressed in warmer clothes for the cooler climes. After settling into our guesthouse we were off to explore the [View Full Entry]

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