Addis Ababa

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Addis isn't quite terrible, for a capital in the developing world. Though it's loud, dusty, and generally filthy, it has its share of open spaces and entertaining sights, it's generally safe compared to other large east African cities, and it's fairly easy to get around.

Probably the best advice I have is how to deal with Ethiopian Airlines. It seems safe enough, and once aboard, the service isn't too bad and the food is better than most. But trying to purchase tickets for internal flights at a reasonable price can be a chore. If you plan on taking some internal flights, consider booking your international flights with Ethiopian Air. If you save your ticket stub, you can present it at the offices (there are several in Addis, and one in each medium-sized city) and get a major discount. For instance, my flight from Gondar to Axum was 152 dollars on Expedia, but in the office it was only 62 dollars. It was the same for my flight from Addis to Bahir Dar, but I had to go to three offices to get someone to give me the discount, since I only flew into the country on EA, and hadn't yet purchased an exit ticket. Also, if you sign up for ShebaMiles, you should be able to quickly accumulate enough points for a free internal flight, as I did from Mekele to Addis.

I arrived at 8 AM on a direct flight from Toronto. It's easy to get the 20 USD entry fee at the airport, but there was a pretty long line, so it might be better to procure it beforehand. There are a couple of ATM machines in the airport, but the Wegagen Bank one ate my ATM card (I got my money but then didn't take the card back quickly enough), which was not the best way to start my trip. I was still able to get money out with credit cards, but the fees were ridiculous.

The line for a visa was about 20 minutes long, and it's possible to pay the 60 USD in dollars. It's pretty simple.

I stayed at Taitu Hotel, which is in Piazza, an area slightly north of, and slightly quieter than, the downtown area. They picked me up at the airport for 13 dollars, which I later found to be absurdly expensive, considering that I was able to go back to the airport in a minibus for only 6 birr (about 30 cents). Rather, it took me to the end of Bole road (pronounced Bowl-ay, like mole, the Mexican sauce), which was only an obvious half mile walk to the terminals.

Rooms at Taitu weren't cheap by Ethiopian standards -- 410 for a single room (about 20 USD). The first night I stayed in the second, newer building, which had bathrooms in the rooms, but was also dirtier and had no character. The second night I paid the same for a room in the main building, a beautiful inn built around 1900 (see photos).

On my second trip to Addis I stayed at Mr. Martin's Cozy Place. This was in a much better location than the seedy Piazza, with plenty of shops and restaurants around. It's also closer to the airport (maybe a 40 minute walk, if you want to save money). While it was even more expensive than Taitu (at 490), it was spotless and very comfortable. The German owner was helpful and others on staff went out of their way to give me directions, etc. It's nearly impossible to find, especially since it has a new location, so prepare to play a lot of "warm, cold" games with clueless locals.

I didn't really go to any tourist destinations while in the city; rather, I just wandered around, which was entertaining enough. The first day, a tout followed me for an hour, insisting that he just wanted to practice his English. I told him I'd walk with him and talk to him the whole day if he wanted, but I wouldn't pay any money. First he tried to get me to go to the "oldest building in town"; then he tried to sell me pot; then he tried to take me up an alleyway to his house to chew "chat," a mild local drug; then he wanted to take me to drink brandy, and latercoffee. He became increasingly irritated and in the end got a bit insistent, telling me all Americans "know what he means" when he says he will walk with them. I told him I was a bit slow, even for an American, and he told me he hoped I'd break a leg, and then yelled a bunch of other presumably nasty things in Amharic as I walked away.

Apparently a common scam here is for someone like him to take tourists to one of those above places, and then charge 500-1000 dollars for coffee or chat or brandy or whatever. Conveniently, they take credit cards. Luckily, I'd heard about the trick years ago in Czech Republic, so the only bad thing I ended up with was the "student's" curse.

The market (merkato) is pretty fun to walk around, though probably a bit dangerous when carrying any kind of bag, and a trip or two through

Photos

Taitu
The beautiful upstairs at the Taitu hotel... my room was through one of those doors.

Taitu Room
Definitely stay in the old building... it is a bit more expensive and doesn't have toilets in room, but it has plenty of character.

Market
It was difficult to sneak these photos. The guy on the far right doesn't look too happy.