Safferz, have you landed yet?

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

Have a safe travel Safferz.

 

 

[Safferz]

Thanks Libaax

[Saalax]

Ethiopian airlines is pretty cheap. From UK to Addis Abababa is around £300.

However I am not sure if I am ready for the smell of Addis Ababa again,

haven't been there since 2001.

[Tallaabo]

<cite>

@Saalax

said:</cite>

Ethiopian airlines is pretty cheap. From UK to Addis Abababa is around £300.

However I am not sure if I am ready for the smell of Addis Ababa again,

haven't been there since 2001.

2001 is a long time ago given pace of the economic growth in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa is completely transformed and unrecognisable now.

[Alpha Blondy]

Saffz, have you meet someone yet?

[Holac]

Where is my Saffs? Saffy, tells us more. What is exciting in Ethiopia. I can't wait for your next story.

[Safferz]

<cite>

@Holac

said:</cite>

Where is my Saffs? Saffy, tells us more. What is exciting in Ethiopia. I can't wait for your next story.

 

Sorry Holac, not having regular internet access has really gotten in the way of my travel updates I've also stopped carrying my DSLR around, since the areas I go to daily are known for thieves and I'd rather not risk losing my expensive camera for a good photo. So I'm afraid I won't have as many photos to share when I get back like I did last year.

 

Will have more time to post later in the week. Apparently they've uncovered some Al Shabaab suicide bomb plot in Addis, and the US and Canadian embassies have put out warnings for their citizens in Ethiopia. Probably a good idea for me to tell them I'm here, lol.

[Miyir]

Saf

 

Questions for you, wanted to Holiday in Kenya but changed may mind since they started abusing Somalis badly( why would i spend my hard earned money where i'm not appreciated)

 

1- how expensive to holiday in Ethiopia? give me a figure (hotels, meals, sight seeing and usual things)

 

2- what is the main attractions? Night life and entertainment where decent local folks hung out? not interested the usual western tourist hung outs.

[DoctorKenney]

Miyir, if you want to avoid Kenya due to their human rights abuses against Somalis, wouldn't you prefer to avoid Ethiopia even more than avoiding Kenya?

 

We don't even need to get into how Ethiopia abuses, kills, deports, imprisons and maims Somalis. Not to mention the destabilizing effect they have on Somalia.

 

If you're not appreciated in Kenya, then believe me you're even worse off in Ethiopia. I'm not a fan of the Kenyans either, but Ethiopians take it to a whole new level

[Miyir]

<cite>

@DoctorKenney

said:</cite>

Miyir, if you want to avoid Kenya due to their human rights abuses against Somalis, wouldn't you prefer to avoid Ethiopia even more than avoiding Kenya?

 

We don't even need to get into how Ethiopia abuses, kills, deports, imprisons and maims Somalis. Not to mention the destabilizing effect they have on Somalia.

 

If you're not appreciated in Kenya, then believe me you're even worse off in Ethiopia. I'm not a fan of the Kenyans either, but Ethiopians take it to a whole new level

 

Doctor big difference between them, what you have in Kenya is deep seated hate and jealousy of Somalis, Ethiopia totally different ball game, our traditional enemy don't see us superior or inferior you will suffer no more or less then other ethnics that make up Ethiopia.

[tutu]

<cite>

@Miyir

said:</cite>

Saf

 

Questions for you, wanted to Holiday in Kenya but changed may mind since they started abusing Somalis badly( why would i spend my

hard earned money

where i'm not appreciated)

 

1- how expensive to holiday in Ethiopia? give me a figure (hotels, meals, sight seeing and usual things)

 

2- what is the main attractions? Night life and entertainment where decent local folks hung out? not interested the usual western tourist hung outs.

 

Are sure you going for holiday per se with your 'heard earned money'? Isn't Ethiopia worse than Kenya as oral tales go?

 

If interested in night life while on your 'holiday', I suggest you give Nairobi a shot.

[Miyir]

<cite>

@tutu

said:</cite>

Are sure you going for holiday per se with your 'heard earned money'? Isn't Ethiopia worse than Kenya as oral tales go?

 

If interested in night life while on your 'holiday', I suggest you give Nairobi a shot.

 

TUTU

 

the only reason I will go to Kenya is to hung out like minded fellow Somalis, the way things going now forget it, night life in Kenya no different then Sex tourism in east Asia not my thing.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Miyir, don't mind our official Kuukuuyo apologist on SOL. He would defend Kuukuuyo interest more than Kuukuuyada would.

 

By the way, Xabashada don't bother with Soomaalida degan ama u qaxday Adisababa iyo meelahaas. Waa see ay rabeen, to incorporate Soomaalida tartiib tartiib into their dominion ay xoog ku heystaan. Xadbeenaadka from Dooloow to Wajaale, it is always open. Soomaalida wey sii galaan, kasoo galaan; unlike xadbeenaadka Kuukuuyada, there is a very minimum control. Waa Xabashada see rabto, oo ay ku balaariso dhulkee xoog ku heysato ilaa ay badweynta Hindiya ka gaaraan -- Xeyle Salaase's ambitious dream. Not many Soomaalis do realize this, though.

[Safferz]

I'm with Miyir -- Somalis in Ethiopia don't experience the same xenophobia and islamophobia as our folks do in Kenya, we're also not seen as unwanted outsiders here or worse, perceived to be an enemy population living within the country. DoctorKenney is right that there are grave human rights violations in kililka shanaad, but that's a political situation of a state trying to extend its power (brutally) into a region it has so far been unsuccessful in penetrating and where there is active opposition and insurgency. It's about political control rather than ethnicity, to put it simply, whereas in Kenya you are the subject of hostility and dislike simply walking around Nairobi and looking like a Somali.

 

<cite>

@Miyir

said:</cite>

Saf

 

Questions for you, wanted to Holiday in Kenya but changed may mind since they started abusing Somalis badly( why would i spend my hard earned money where i'm not appreciated)

 

1- how expensive to holiday in Ethiopia? give me a figure (hotels, meals, sight seeing and usual things)

 

2- what is the main attractions? Night life and entertainment where decent local folks hung out? not interested the usual western tourist hung outs.

 

Ethiopia is quite cheap. I'm not sure what your citizenship is, but for most Western countries, citizens can receive a one month single-entry visa upon landing at Addis Ababa Bole airport for $20. Flying domestically with Ethiopian Airlines (much cheaper to book flights while in Ethiopia, btw) is inexpensive (I think my Dire Dawa roundtrip last year was $100 or so), and buses are even cheaper. Hotels vary in price and quality, but the most expensive ones are the international chains like Sheraton and Hilton at about $200US a night, however they are preferred by foreigners since there is much to do without leaving hotel grounds, and Ethiopia can be quite difficult when you are visibly foreign from what I can see. If you're interested in a 5 star hotel, I'd go with Sheraton Addis. Jupiter Hotel is also very nice and a little cheaper. For budget hotels in Addis, I've heard good things from friends about a bed and breakfast called Mr. Martin's Cozy Place, which is around $30 a night. Meals can also be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be, but even a fancy dinner at a top restaurant in Addis like Castelli's didn't cost me more than $30-40 US with a group. Likewise coffee at an 'expensive' coffee shop like Tomocca might be 10 birr (~50 cents US). Getting around the city also varies, if you're brave and want to take the mini-buses (large blue or white vans) like locals do, a trip can be anywhere from 1.5 birr to 5 birr per bus depending on the route, and contract taxis (small blue cars are the cheap ones) should never be more than 150 birr for a trip, though they will try and ask for more. Always negotiate the price for a contract taxi before you start moving, and it would be a good idea to learn a little bit of Amharic so they don't try and give you a ferenj price

 

Hmm I'm not good for attractions because I haven't done too much here in Addis, but making a trip up to Mount Entoto for the view of Addis and having coffee at the top was amazing, so I'd recommend doing that. You should also check out Piazza and Merkato (the largest open air market in Africa), both central areas. In Piazza, there's an amazing Ethio-jazz lounge called Jazzamba attached to Taitu hotel that has live music every night... I met Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete there last time I went, two of Ethiopia's greats. I also like Yod Abyssinia restaurant in Bole for live traditional music and good food. I did a few touristy things too like go to the museums and monuments, but it wasn't particularly interesting to me... I thought the Holy Trinity Cathedral was stunning though, so that may be worth checking out. Haile Selassie and his wife are also interred there.

 

The only other part of Ethiopia I've been to is east, so I can't speak to northern or southern regions. I've been meaning to visit Gondar and Lalibela sometime. I've been to Dire Dawa and Harar, and I think both are worth checking out if you want to leave Addis and head east... you can fly to Dire Dawa, where the best hotels like Triangle and Samrat are $25-30 a night and get around cheaply by bajaj. From Dire Dawa, you can take a mini-bus to Harar... just ask a bajaj driver to take you to the minariya (bus station) and ask around for the Harar mini-buses (Harar yet new?) or listen for someone yelling it out. Harar is my favourite city in Ethiopia so far, and you'll love it if you also like historical cities and the experience of just walking around its narrow alleys and walls. Dire Dawa and Harar are also full of Somalis (and half-Somalis, lol) and Somali speakers, so not as difficult to navigate if you don't speak Amharic.

[Nin-Yaaban]

Safferz does get around a lot eh. Probably been to a lot of countries at your young age than most of us have.

 

Post some location pictures, eh.