Arrival
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2003
1
14
Trip End
Aug 2003
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Tuesday, April 8, 2003
The big adventure got off to an auspicious start. After finally checking in my bag I was set on a last pint of Guiness to relax before the flight. I decided to grab some cash from the nearest ATM. Unfortunately, my card got jammed, then retained. Great start - not even on the plane yet and I'm desperately trying to ring HSBC to cancel my switch card.
The flight went well though. The flight attendants were a laugh and proceeded to get swallied at the back of the plane as soon as we were in the air. They kept hassling me because I wasn't drinking but accepted my reply of not wanting to be steaming drunk when I arrived in a strange African city at 2:30am.
There was a few interesting characters on the plane. I sat next to an Ethiopian girl living in America who attempted to teach me some rudimentary Amharic. Not suprisingly I turned out to be a lousy student.
I also struck up a conversation with a nice English girl who is working in Addis Ababa for two weeks doing charity work with streetkids. I'm hoping to meet up with her for a beer sometime this week.
On arrival I took the easy option and went with a tout to one of the nicer hotels in Addis Ababa. Finally in bed at 3:30am, dozing to the cacophonic howling of the city's wild dogs, I had made it Ethiopia.
My first impression this morning was brashness. Living in Swansea for so long I had kind of forgotten how frantic a big city can be. As soon as it was light the streets below the hotel were blistering with buses, taxis and vans carrying everything you can imagine.
Arrival
The hotel guards, armed to the teeth with AK-47s, just seemed to watch it with a detached bemusement.I checked out early and got a cab to the Taitu Hotel, a nice cheap backpacker option.
The drive gave me my first opportunity to see sub-saharan africa close up. I was surprised with how modern the city looked but the poverty soon became apparent. The streets crumble at the edges of the tarmac into dusty ditches where street stalls sell brick-a-brack and squatters sit under shelters constructed out of rusting corrugated iron and cinderblock. There is no outward sense to the streets and it is very different from the built up, ancient feel of the Arab cities I've been to.
The houses here seem to be built in compounds behind high walls. Most are rusting iron covered with scrawling Amharic grafitti. Its even more incomprehensible than Arabic.
The hotel is an old network of buildings built by the Empress Taitu about 100 years ago. The big main building has a real colonial feel (even though Ethiopia was never colonised) and waiters bring you water or beers while you watch the Iraq war live on BBC 24. Not used to that sort of service. The incredible thing is I'm paying about $10 US for my room which is ridiculous really. There are cheaper places but many of them are just fronts for brothels.
The best element of my room is a massive balcony which overlooks the coutrtyard of broken concrete, dead grass and dirt mounds. The whole balcony seems like its about to collapse any second. Only a 2 meter drop to the ground though so no problem with that.
Since I've had only about 3 hours sleep I'm going to keep it low key and rest up today. Later this afternoon I will venture out into the surrounding neighbourhood which is called the Piazza and tomorrow actually go see something.
I will probably write again before I go south (as the internet is in the hotel and is easily accessed). If not it may be about 3 weeks before you hear from me again.
PS: I can't access neither of my email accounts. I'll give it another try now but if you don't get any - thats why!
