Country 2 - Djibouti- an expensive 4 days

Trip Start Jan 22, 2008

Trip End Aug 22, 2008

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Where I stayed

hessen

(Djibouti hotels)

Flag of Djibouti Djibouti, Djibouti
Wednesday, February 6, 2008

We flew from Asmara to Djibouti city for US$150. Thankfully we didn't get put in prison for trying to enter on a visa which isn't valid until 2 weeks later and are struggling with GCSE French to get us through. Although a few faux pas ( yes i can't spell) are occurring.. for example when I ordered a meal I asked for chevre thinking it would be cheese , but ended up getting goat meat - maybe that was more of a misunderstanding than the language.
There are many more white people here than we were used to from being in Eritrea and with that comes a lot more hassle and begging on the streets. We were not planning to come to Djibouti but as you can't go directly from Eritrea to Ethiopia so it wasn't really a choice. We paid 45 pounds in the UK for a visa (would have been a lot cheaper in Eritrea) and it only lasts 10 days!! Therefore we didn't go and see anything of Djibouti - only the city. We did go to the beach with a tin of pinnapple and a chocolate milkshake- lovely - well it was until I started seeing the rats running around the rocks amongst the rubbish

me shopping again

! The large supermarket in town has many things imported from France including nutella ! or your could buy fresh food from the markets outside near loads of souvenier stands.

We are staying in a really cheap hotel for Djibouti standards - 20 pounds for room with shared bathroom with a drip of a shower supplemented with a bucket shower. I can't say it is the nicest with lovely smelling drains outside, but I am sure it won't be the worst place we will stay.

The main square is like a square in France surrounded by expensive restaurants ( 2 burger and chips meals are about 15 pounds/5000DFr) and then a few roads down there are dirt streets with cafes that pop up after dark. There are many beggars who are constantly following you and poking you and everyone is crying for your attention including taxi drivers flashing their lights and men in the souvenier shops etc.

We have spent about 3 days deciding whether to go by bus or train to Ethiopia since the lonely Planet, apart from having very little information on the country suggests both routes will be horrific! Our indecision is not good. At this rate it is going to take us forever to do anything!
After 4 nights of indecision we opted for the bus since we were told that there are many thieves on the train and that it may be delayed many days.

Like Eritrea the internet was pretty slow here and we hope that Ethiopia will be much better