Hello all, and many thanks for your collective help over the years.
This post has 5 sections:
1. general notes, 2. Arba Minch, 3. Harar, 4. Axum and 5. Lalibela and environs.
General notes: The unrest/state of emergency declared at the beginning of October affects Ethiopians, but not tourists. It has had a drastic effect on the number of English-speaking tourists, since the US and UK consulates have both posted warnings against unnecessary travel. Everything was fine. We avoided Gondar, but met others who had travelled there without difficulty.
One twist we were not prepared for- the emergency rules meant that the friend who was meeting us was not permitted inside the airport terminal- we had to go out into the parking lot to find him. This situation may have sorted itself out by now, but if you've made arrangements and no one shows up, walk out of the front door, down the ramp past the outdoor security guards and look across the street. The guards will be there to keep away the worst of the taxi driver and hotel tout mob.
Guides- I give some leads for recommended local guides here. As a backpacker, I'm conditioned to avoid them, but there are several good reasons to make judicious use of local guides in this marvelous country: guiding is one of the few sources of income for educated Ethiopians who don't work for the government or the UN. The good ones will keep the numerous touts and scammers at bay, even when they are not "on duty" with you. Ethiopians are very proud of their cultural history and will give you a lot of background about what you're seeing that you won't find in the signage or in guidebooks. Expect to pay about $20/day- don't be afraid to haggle. One odd result of the current shortage of tourists is that hoteliers, cabbies and guides all try to make up for the drop in income by trying for more per customer.
Phones: There's a guy at Bole Airport named Faris (0932512121), who hangs out at the Grand Yordanis Hotel Booth. He cut down a SIM card by hand to fit in my iPhone for the hugely inflated price of $20. I assumed the same service would be available for about a dollar at any phone store in Addis, and maybe it is, but we were never able to find one for my traveling companion. The data and call time on the card lasted for the better part of a month.
Addis Abeba- best budget hotel option
Hotel Taitu, Piazza, oldest hotel in Ethiopia, built for Empress Taitu. Avoid the rooms at the front- the nightclub across the street can be really loud, and raves on until 4 am. The restaurant serves a $3 all-you-can eat vegan buffet from 12-3pm every day, accompanied by live piano music.
For a better take on last minute souvenirs/gifts for those at home, Helen Seyoum runs her woman-owned coffee business (0910706201) bettyseyoum1986@gmail.com and will deliver attractively packaged half kilos of fresh-roasted high quality coffee beans from Sidama for birr 150 each.
Internet: as ever in Ethiopia, don’t expect much in terms of bandwidth. With the emergency, we’ve encountered situations where the internet cafes were simply shut down by the government. Even when hotel wifi was available, social media were pretty much inaccessible and many of my emails never reached their intended recipients abroad.
- Arba Minch
Places to stay in Arba Minch: Mama Tsehay’s, call Haile Abera (0910343493) or Getinet Seyoum (0911724072) gechyou@gmail.com. This informal family bed and breakfast is working on getting its hot water up and running- it’s a lovely authentic choice already and will likely get even better as it gets more established. It’s owner, Tsehay, has run a sort of informal orphanage here for years, and is well known and respected in the community. There are plenty of things to do right around Arba Minch.
- Harar -
Places to stay in Harar- Zubeyda Waber Harari Cultural Guesthouse. Don’t be put off by the brusque manner of its owner- she’s managing her own business in a male-dominated culture and if you make a bit of an effort to appreciate this traditional, clean, well-run guesthouse in the old city, you will be rewarded with increasingly delicious traditional breakfasts as the days go by.
It’s not easy to find on your own in the unlabelled streets near Shewa Gate. If you’re going to hire a guide (see below) contact him ahead of time to meet you, make a reservation for you and show you the way- he won’t charge you anything extra for the service if you’re spending a day with him later. Otherwise, go through the Shewa Gate and ask one of the people who offer to help you to take you there. They’ll be happy for the opportunity to tout their own guide services, (volubly) but will be grateful to accept a few birr.
Recommended Guides for Harar - Abite (0921251449) bemenete@yahoo.com. Let him know what things interest you and come up with a plan that suits your budget before you head out. Abite will pack in a nice full fun day for you, including an evening visit to one of the hyena men.
For hyena-feeding, get there early- the hyenas get full and become more wary as the evening goes on. The tuktuk drivers’ conspiracy has resettled the business out of town, so you’ll need birr 100 for the hyena man and something like 300 for the tuktuk driver.
Restaurants- most of the ones listed in the guides have gone out of business or have changed hands and have had some health issues. We kept going back to Fresh Touch, though if it’s a pizza you’re after, you’re probably out of luck- the electricity in their new location can’t handle the power demands of their oven, no matter what the menu says.
- Axum- as always, the Hotel Africa, even with its ambitious-but-fake electrical outlets, is a great choice.
Our guide for the stelae was the official guide name Haile. (Sorry, can’t find his phone number- hope there’s only one with that name- he really was excellent)
- Lalibela- Seven Olives hotel a good bet- don’t be afraid to switch rooms if you have to- they vary considerably. Bargain on price during low season
Underground churches- your pass is good for 5 days, and it’s not a bad idea to make a couple of visits, if you have time. Your guide, if you hire one, will take you through the whole lot in the course of a day, but it’s nice to spend some time in your favorites on your own, soaking in the feel of a place in continuous use for 800 years. We didn’t manage one of the early morning services, but try for it if you can.
Lalibela Area Guide- Tadesse Lez (0912071595) tada_lezyahoo@yahoo.com- birr 350/day works for the Hudad Eco Lodge, but is also available as an independent guide for hiking to the villages around Lalibela. Highly recommended.
The Hudad EcoLodge itself is pricey for the backpacker budget, at $80+/per night, including breakfast, but bear in mind that the price is per hut, and they can sleep 4-6 people. You need to hire a guide to get there (see Tadesse, above) but you only need one guide for the whole group. Anyway, if you can swing it, the experience is not to be missed. The lodge is on a large flat-topped mesa at 11,000 ft. The grounds of the place are ample and are frequented daily by troops of gelada baboons. It’s one of the few places where you can have the luxury of just walking around and relaxing without worrying about defending yourself and your possessions from the approaches of the usual assortment of opportunistic touts and importunate kids. Your guide will take you off to local villages for various celebrations as they are available, or up to the tops of local peaks. The lodge staff will do anything they can to make your stay comfortable, from putting hot water bottles in your bed while you are having your dinner to singing and dancing traditional songs around the evening fire or setting up a chair in sunny (or shady) spot for you to read in, with a cup of tea at your elbow.
Trekking trips can be arranged. We didn’t have time to try this option, but hope to be able to do it next time.
