Ethiopia Travel Blogs

Words of the True King
Jun 1, 2006

"The temple of the Most High begins with the human body, which houses our life, the essence of our existence. Africans are in bondage today because they approach spirituality through religion provided by foreign invaders and conquerors. "We must stop ...

Jahful Greetings from Aethiopia
Apr 26, 2006

... Tanzania and Kenya wanted. Apparently Kenya will ask me for a new visa even though it says three months. They don't consider Ethiopia part of "East Afrika." I'll have just enough USD to make it through. I changed some travelers checks into Birr. They ...

Zion City
Apr 28, 2006

... land that resisted all of its invaders. Tolkien died two years before the throne was lost to "socialists." One thing that makes Ethiopia stand out is the spirituality of the people. They know they live in the place known as both Eden and Zion. This ( ...

Exploring the Highest Region
May 13, 2006 (22 photos)

Monday, I visited Ras Mweya, another contact from Christopher in NC. He produces righteous educational videos and comics about Ethiopia, Shashamane and His Majesty. He introduced me to sister Tibebwa, from Ireland, who is also trained in permaculture and ...

My Ethiopian Send-Off
May 17, 2006 (1 photos)

... was good mixed with ambo water, a locally bottled fizzy mineral spring water. I also got a full dose of chat my last night in Ethiopia. Bumzy asked me to write her report on the subject of design, so I chewed chat and wrote my heart out for a few hours. I ...

Gob smacked in Lalibella
Jan 11, 2006 (7 photos)

... at the real price from a local shop - they are definately used to rich tourists here as the number one tourist destination in Ethiopia. The hike went to the Asheton Monastery that was carves out of a cliff face. Above the monastery we got some stupendous ...

Gonder part 2 - Christmas all over again
Jan 6, 2006 (8 photos)

... and I was spared any further bruising! Met Steven and Nat that evening for a few beers and food. I think I mentioned before that Ethiopia is on a different calendar - well today (Jan 7th) is Christmas day! No turkey and stuffing but went to a ...

Bahir Dar - Pelican Central
Dec 30, 2005 (19 photos)

After about 24 hours and plenty of complementary London Pride on the BA flight I finally made it to Bahir Dar on the edge of Lake Tana. I tried to ignore the burned out plane just off the runway at Addis Ababa. The scenery was fantastic from Addis, a sort ...

Fleeced in Aksum
Jan 8, 2006 (24 photos)

... government was recommending. Oh well we lived to tell another day. We stopped at Yeha on the way home, the site of Ethiopia's first capital build back in the 8th C BC! The remains of one building we amazingly still standing, its stones fitting together ...

Bashment for His Majesty
Apr 30, 2006 (10 photos)

... ) promotion at the Imperial Hotel to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Selassie's visit to Jamaica in April, 1966 (1958 Ethiopian time. Ethiopia had a different calendar and clock than the rest of the world. Sunrise is at 1 o'clock, sunset at 12. The have ...

Simien Mountains - Sure beats working!
Jan 1, 2006 (19 photos)

... good job really as by the end of the trip the bus was packed to the rafters. Totally illegal of course as everyone in Ethiopia must have a seat! I had decided against the all inclusive package from Gonder and decided to go it alone. Debark was a bit of ...

No, I can't get you work in England...
Jun 19, 2005 (8 photos)

... , a natural amphetamine which produces a high after prolonged chewing. It is similar to Kenya's miraa. It originates from Ethiopia, and Harar is allegedly Tchat Central. This is probably due to Islam becoming the prominent religion as you head east toward ...

When it rains, it pours
Jun 22, 2005 (12 photos)

... sky was dramatic after the storm. We were joined by the girls for a while - we chatted about our respective views and experiences of Ethiopia, as well as where we were going next. They left us to observe the matron-like lady who seems to run the ...

Madman at the market
Jun 23, 2005 (7 photos)

... problem, the bus tickets were - we were told just to rack up tomorrow morning early - and the internet is off all over Ethiopia apparently. We also checked out the market, which turned out to be very good, all muddy and authentic. We could have bought a ...

To Lalibela
Jun 13, 2005 (6 photos)

... . Tchat is a plant - the leaves are chewed into a paste and have an amphetamine-like effect. Our driver does runs across Ethiopia with his cargo and drives non-stop, surviving on tchat and very little else. He also had a cassette collection, which he ...

'Fuck you' kids and hyenas
Jun 20, 2005 (11 photos)

... the bus station to acquire bus tickets to Nazret for tomorrow. When they are not in use as such, the bus stations in Ethiopia are often gathering grounds for hawkers and animals. Mainly goats, drawn to the piles of tchat leftovers. As we saw yesterday, ...

Addis - back to normal
Jun 17, 2005 (5 photos)

... with the goats on the roof. They were all clinging on for dear life. Something we had been warned about before coming to Ethiopia was stone-throwing. We've not had any problems - the only things Ethiopians seem to throw stones at are cows, goats and ...

Mercato in the rain
Jun 18, 2005 (2 photos)

... about another route south. We don't want to stay in Shashemene, since it's meant to be one of the worst towns in Ethiopia for travellers. All the stone-throwing stories seem to originate here, and even Philip Briggs warns you off it. Instead we'll head ...

Election mayhem
Jun 9, 2005 (1 photos)

... pause and then the penny belatedly drops. "No, get lost!" It might be worth mentioning here that the link between Rastafarianism and Ethiopia is largely one-way. Weed is illegal. I didn't sleep well again - maybe it was due to the rock hard pillow, ...

Churches of Lalibela
Jun 14, 2005 (10 photos)

Day the Seventh - in which we eat, sleep and breathe churches. And then argue. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oooh a lie in! Predictably, my throat is bad again. Up at 7am and off to the churches. Antoneh was our guide, saving us the hassle of getting one. We ...

Ethiopia Summary
Jun 27, 2005

Distance travelled in Ethiopia and so far in Africa - 3415km We actually spent 19 whole days in Ethiopia. We spent, on average, 1.5 nights and less than 1 day in each place. We travelled an average of 180km per day, all on public transport. ...

Gonder - Camelot of Africa
Dec 31, 2005 (5 photos)

... and some cool black and white storks with bright orange beaks. Went to a church that was described as one of the treasures of Ethiopia for it's paintings, Debre Barhan Selassi Church. They didn't open when they should have. I arrived and I was alone, I had ...

Addis Ababa - back to the big city
Jan 13, 2006

... history museum. Good to put a name to so many of the birds I had seen also good to check out some the species endemic to Ethiopia that I hadn't seen. They had a Nile Perch on the wall, those things are as big as whales. They must have also had about 15 ...

Yetale Abera bet?
Jun 24, 2005 (3 photos)

... - we actually think they are ensete plants - or false-bananas - since they are a particularly important staple in southwest Ethiopia. Lush bright green lined the road thickly for miles and miles. We arrived at the 'lower' part of town, Sikela (Arba ...

Nechisar National Park - bitten by a tsetse fly
Jun 25, 2005 (17 photos)

... . What a wonderful morning! We thanked Abera profusely for such a good drive. I think this will be a definite highlight of both Ethiopia and our Africa trip as a whole. After sorting out our new accommodation - which as well as being cheaper is also ...

Welcome to Shashamane Land
May 3, 2006 (7 photos)

... . I had to change some dollars into birr first. It took me all day because I had to use plastic. (Bring cash to Ethiopia. Most places have stayed out of crazy contracts with Amerikan corporations.) I told my hosts to go without me. I'd catch up with them ...

Feeling at Home
May 8, 2006

... central region, perhaps visiting Awasa and the Bale mountains after soaking in the hot springs at Wondo Genet. I haven't yet mentioned that Ethiopia is the native home of the coffee plant. It still grows wild in the Kafa region west to Sudan. It was ...

Lake Tana and the Blue Nile Falls
Jun 12, 2005 (6 photos)

... so how's he meant to know. The problem is not just that one tablet isn't the correct dose. The malaria in Africa, including Ethiopia, is chloroquine resistant. Again, how's he supposed to know? I did tell him that it's not likely to make him better. ...

Bahar Dar
Sep 6, 2006

... had developed thanks to a constant mist in the air generated by the falls. However, due to the excessive rains that Ethiopia experianced before I arrived there was too much water for the hydro plant and the waterfall was temporarilly restored to something ...

Unforgetable Sights of Lalibela and NO LUGGAGE!
Nov 4, 2007 (20 photos)

... flight. Trouble is brewing with Ethiopia's near neighbour Eritrea and our destination is in this general direction. Why Ethiopia? Why Lalibela? Lalibela is the home to some amazing historic Christian churches dating from the 10th century. Ethiopia's ...