Last Time in Addis

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In total, I had spent about 10 days in Addis, although half of this time I had spent being sick, the other taking a break from travelling altogether. Addis certainly isn’t a city over endowed with tourist attractions or things to do. It does have a certain character, which I’m not sure whether I really liked or not.

On the one hand, the city is fairly filthy, particularly the area around the Mercato. This is supposed to be the biggest open market in Africa and the smells emanating from it would suggest that this might be true. It can also seem like that there are a couple of beggars on each corner, some amputees, some mothers with children, some down and out alcoholics. Then there is the hassle you get from the idiotic Rastas around the Piazza area, who don’t seem to remember they were offering you drugs the day before.

On the other hand, Addis can be a lot of fun, particularly at night. I don’t think I ever went home when things had finished up and it certainly feels very safe even in the early hours. Also, if you have been travelling around Ethiopia for a couple of weeks, it is nice to be able to get certain home comforts – particularly food, if you have been travelling during fasting season. Ordering a burger once I had got to Addis was more satisfying than it should have been. But even my craving for some meat aside, there definitely is a far better selection of places to eat in Addis.

I spent one more full day in Addis after my trip to Mt. Wenchi and finally got around to going to the National Museum. It is fairly interesting as it has the remains of ‘Lucy’ the earliest human discovered. It also has some crowns, thrones and other items which belonged to the old Emperors like Haile Selassie and Menelik. I also caught up with some friends I had met living in Addis, but the next day I was ready to head south.

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