After sleeping just a few hours after that wild and crazy bus ride yesterday, today I was ready for another adventure in the "Addis Fracas." I'm thankful to be alive after last night; Ethiopia has more road deaths per vehicle than any other country. After saying hello to Kume, James and I opted to hang out for the day. He's been in Addis the entire time I was gone and hasn't left the city. We opted for breakfast at a small cafe with menus only in Amharic. Sitting over coffee and an Ambo, James told me he's thinking of heading for the Philippines. Not a bad choice! We took a minibus to Churchill Rd. and we walked past the Derg monument and toward the Addis Ababa Sheraton. I was curious about this grand hotel that seems to be the city's major landmark. Walking past people squatting and toward the Sheraton it's like a trip from the poorest parts of Central Africa to the glamour of the French Riviera in a stretch of only about 30 minutes.
This really is a grand hotel with everything exquisite. Even if I had the means, I would never stay here but it's a good place to stroll around, take a deep breath, and get a few croissants at the bakery. Today I finally found a place where I could cash traveller's cheques: at the bank inside the Sheraton, and commission ins't bad at all. I hoped that I could get US dollars but they could only give me birr (I'll likely need US dollars for my Djibouti and Somaliland visas). The only way to change birr into US dollars is if you have a plane ticket out of Ethiopia, so if you fly in on a one-way ticket or if you enter the country by land you have to budget accordingly or change on the black market (you don't want to change $1,000 into birr with the plan of only staying in Ethiopia for two weeks, because you likely won't spend that much even if you tried). At the Sheraton we got a glimpse of modern Ethiopia, but just down the road is a monument to the past: the Lion of Judah. This giant lion was stolen by the Italians during the occupation but was returned to Ethiopia in the 1960s. During Ethiopia's days as a monarchy, the lion was the national symbol, being featured on coins, paper money, and the flag. As we walked south, James gave me some helpful info regarding children pickpocketing; there are many children selling gum and candy on the streets of Addis and elsewhere in Ethiopia, but you need to be cautious of a child who has a box with one item in it. That child will distract you whilst another pilfers your pockets. Minutes later a child tried to do that to James but he yelled at the child, saying that the last time a child did that he ended up in jail (and James told me that really happened). As I mentioned last month, Addis is a great city to walk around, but it's also a great city to dust yourself off after the rigours of a long journey around the country. Last week I was dreaming of fish & chips, and whilst I thought the nearest place to get some would be Nairobi I found some at a restaurant in Bole. They're a far cry from what I had in New Zealand or London but they were OK. And then after that I got a 1-hour massage for $10; a shower beforehand washed away the grit and grime and the massage had me feeling amazing. Not far from the Djibouti embassy I called in about a visa but they told me to come back tomorrow. I felt like I wasn't done yet with splashing out Ethiopian-style so we called in at the Antica Restaurant, a rustic-looking Italian restaurant. I had pizza and the best focaccia bread on either side of the Mediterranean! Ethiopia in general, and Addis in particular does some amazingly fine Italian food. Tonight will be my last night at Kume's flat; I'll be staying with a CSer named Mei tomorrow, and she lives in Bole. Getting back to Kume's was a bit of a mission. At the piazza we were getting into one minibus after another and none of them would take us because they were "full" but I was frustrated. James said to me "TIA" standing for "This is Africa." Why do I get frustrated over these little things? I guess it's just been a long day. Finally we just opted for a taxi for 60 birr, and it dropped us at the Semien Hotel: a seemingly swish hotel that seems out of place in a strictly habesha neighbourhood. We stopped in for some wine: James had red and I had white. Wine feels great after a long day and a long journey. The Northern Circuit was a great one: 25 days in total I was up north, and it's great to be back in Addis dusting myself off Ethiopian style! I'll be in Addis for a few days as I prep myself for the long journey east.
