Hello from Addis Ababa!

---

Hello all!

Well, the night has fallen on my second day in Addis and, having found an internet connection which isn't TOO excruciating, I thought I'd give my blog a quick update!

I spent most of yesterday in bed, feeling pretty rough. Although I'm sure that I wouldn't have felt half as bad had I done more sleeping and less partying on my final couple of nights in the UK, I am blaming the altitude for my temporary state of disarray...

When I did venture out of my hotel room (which had mystically tripled in price since I first reserved via email and where I was told the water would be off 'for a couple of hours'), the thing that really struck me was just how POOR everybody appears to be here. It must be one of the poorest countries in the world. I guess you see at least as much extreme poverty and begging in India, but there is also a large amount of wealth there too. It is also a lot less colourful here than, say, West Africa or India, in terms of traditional dress - you do see some more 'traditional' dress, but much more old, dusty western style clothes.

Addis Ababa is not exactly the most beautiful city in the world, but I'm gonna need a few days here to acclimatise. The people seem friendly enough, and - whilst a lot of friendly footy-related (they are MAD for the Premiership here - I'm gonna be fine...) banter has inevitably led to requests for food/money/employment - I haven't found anybody too pushy yet...

Well, the water never came on, and the price went up again, so I trekked uphill across town with all my gear (just to prove I could really) to a far cheaper option. It's slightly grottier but there are also a couple of tourists around (it's not touristy here in general - I was the only white dude anywhere near the main cathedral at prayer time this evening) so I may meet some people which'd be good.

Feeling a bit better last night, I decided to go for it and get stuck into some Ethiopian food. Luckily, I had picked somewhere with dimmed lighting, so I couldn't embarrass myself too much when I attempted to look like a pro when it arrived.

Their staple food is INJERA - like a massive, soggy, bitter pancake - which the rest of your food is served on. I wasn't particularly enamored I have to say, but hopefully it'll grow on me... The spicy chicken stew on top wasnt bad, though it was a little harsh on the old guts! I had hoped to post some pics of the injera on here, but the computer isn't up to it I'm afraid - try google image search.

You don't get much for your money accomodation-wise here - I think you certainly get more for your money in South East Asia and Latin America, but I guess that's because those places are actually set up for tourists to an extent.

There's no doubt Ethiopia is going to be an adventure. And the coffee is AWESOME. I had the Macchiato of my absolute life before.

I've had the standard up-and-down feelings that I find inevitable in the first couple of days of solo travel in a strange land, but am feeling a lot better fopr having actually had a wash and a change for the first time since arrival a couple of hours ago...

Plan at the moment is something like this: The historical northern circuit (ie. Bahar Dar, Gonder, Simien Mountains, Aksum, Mekele, Lalibela...), then out to the east to Harar etc., then South to Arbar Minch, Lower Omo Valley etc. But things could change!

I hope all readers are well!

Ben 😊

---