Hotel Intercontinental Addis Ababa

... di aiutarci con l&#8217;amarico e l&#8217;inglese per vedere se la compagnia aerea che ieri ha cancellato la prima tratta ci ha riprotetto sul volo di questa sera e arrivati al banco informazioni abbiamo scoperto che non eravamo stati messi ne su quel aereo, ne su altri e il volo di questa sera era già in over booking.<br><br>Ci hanno rimbalzato ad un numero verde per vedere di trovare un buco per partire ma anche via telefonica la situazione era la stessa ...

A couple days ago I managed to catch the news conference with the PM's of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the US Senate with John Kerrey, which the BBC reporter described as 'shambolic', so now I guess I know what that word means. Yeah, Ethiopia's like that, PM Syndrome, though the Piazza may be a little better. Though it's hardly classic Italian Fascist Art Deco nor beautiful by any standards, it starts to ...

... a really fun band from the U.S., and wondered, "Who are these people - some of which are paying upwards of $500 a night for a room in Addis?" Since Derege seemed to know everyone in the bar (including the sheikh's "right-hand man" and brother-in-law), we had a few too many drinks piling up, as they all generously bought us a round. This was like another world - definitely worlds away from our entire trip thus far in Ethiopia . . . Lydia headed for the airport ...

... a male nurse, Yosuf. He is HIV positive and receives 50 US$ a month for administering medication to the inhabitants of the compound. Around 60% of the inhabitants are HIV positive, there are also other serious ailments, such as TB. HIV is not just a death sentence out here, it also means that you are shunned by society and denied many basic requirements, such as education. People are attracted to Mount Entoto because of the church. A woman who was diagnosed ...

... hospital during this time. I had heard so many great things about the hospital and was anxious to check it out. A couple of Australians came to Ethio in the 60s to start a midwifery school and discovered so many young women with traumatic birth injuries that cause them to be incontinent. These women are cast out of their villages with this condition, still grieving loss of their stillborn child. This couple ...

... was there no hot water, there was no water to speak of at all. With no shower, no way to flush the toilet or brush our teeth, we dreamed of a better tomorrow. Start: Adenium Campsite, Awassa, ETH. 14:00 End: Ithegue Taitu Hotel, Addis Ababa. 20:00 Distance Traveled: a little over 150 km, can't remember exact distance Road Conditions: traffic jams and mad pedestrians everywhere. Temperature: rainy at night

... amp; amp; amp; nbsp; & amp; amp; amp; amp; nbsp; & amp; amp; amp; amp; nbsp; & amp; amp; amp; amp; nbsp; & amp; amp; amp; amp; nbsp; The next plan, after recovering from this trip, is to do a brief tour of the northern "historical route"--Aksum, Lalibella, Gonder, and Bahir Dar.

... NGOs. APDA hosted another delightful dinner for the Can-Go Afar Team in their compound. 31 January 2008 (Thursday) The Can-Go Afar delegates split in two teams today: the Business Team heading early to the city of Awash, the halfway point between Logiya and Addis Ababa on our final stretch back, while the Water Filter Team remained in Logiya to complete the last of the water filters, including more training for our implementing partners. We ...

... bread) and tibs (fried meat) along with vegetables and spicy sauces. We have long learned not to oredr 'kitfo' - the famous raw meat which we ordered a while ago without realising what it was - it is, in my view, awful! On the Tuesday, we met a really nice Spaniard named Pedro whilst lunching in the hostel, and arranged with him to visit the outlying church (42 km distant) of Yemrehanne Kristos. This Axumite building, predating all of the Lailibala churches, is ...

... We gave up the chase, collecting the glasses unscathed.Then came the 'boiled sweet episode' in Ziway.  That story is far too tedious to recount, so let's leave it there.  Suffice to say that the shopkeepers of Ziway will not attempt adding 4 Birr to the price of a packet of boiled sweets again in a hurry. After this there was the 'absence-of-hot-water-in-room-in-which- we-were-paying-for-hot-water'-gate.  After some long, tedious and ...