Addis Ababa Favorites

Favorite thing:
Some things just should not be equal. This sign is at the Fasika National Restaurant. The management of this fabulous eating establishment seems to only have the 2 rules. 1) No hats and 2) No guns. Fair enough. Please have a read of my Restaurant Tips for more information on this wonderful dinning experience!

Fondest memory: There are plenty of shoeshine workers in Addis Ababa, and most of them doesn't have too much customers. Some of them wanted to do shoeshine on my runningshoes, but it's not exactly the most suitable shoes to do a shoeshine on.

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Fondest memory: Make sure to change back money before you leave Addis Ababa. The bank in the airport's departure hall in the second floor doesn't change your birr back to other currency. In that case you have to walk down to the exchange bureaus at the arrival hall in the ground floor. On your way you pass the security, who ask you why you are doing this... It is possible, but very bothersome.

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Fondest memory: - Arriving at Bole Intl. airport is convenient. It's easy to find what you are looking for. Shortly after you enter the building you find the "visa on arrival" counter. If you have a nationality from a socalled tourist-generating country, just line up in queue. 4-5 officers will issue the tourist visas quickly. Make sure to have your passport and 20 USD ready. For a single entry visa you don't need photos and you don't need to write anything. The visa is valid for 3 months.
- 20 meters away from here you find 2 different exchange bureau (Dashen and Ethiopian Bank). The exchange rate here is the same as it is in the city. Change only USD/Euro to Ethiopian Birr. Other currencies gives a terrible bad rate. Make sure to keep the receipt because you need it when you shall change back the Birr when leaving Ethiopia.
- Shortly after that you line up in the queue for the immigration police. Have your passport and the immigration card ready. If the police ask for the visa receipt, just show him that. They have a webcam for photo.
- Then turn right and walk 30 meters to pick up your checked baggage at the baggage belt.
- The custom officers are in the same hall as the baggage belts. There are no green and red entrance, so the custom officers will ask what you have in the bags. In most case they just smile and let you trough.
- You are now entering the last door and will come into a hall full of people. But it's safe and well organized. Many dealers will ask you for transport to the city. Just look after dealers with registration ID card walking around. Take your time and bargain the price. Normal price is 80-100 Birr. Then follow that person out of the terminal and walk 200 meters to the parking area. The taxis and matatus are waiting here. There are no taxis waiting right outside the terminal as there is in other airports.

Favorite thing: I was in Addis Ababa the first time in 2008. A foreign SIM card was at that time very hard to use. Roaming was difficult, and only one of ten attempts of sending SMS was successful. The situation was totally changed when I visited Addis for the second time in May 2010. Using a foreign SIM card was easy.

Anyway, it's much cheaper to get an Ethiopian SIM card in one of the many phone shops here. And you can recieve calls without credit, so it doesn't cost you anything. The country code is +251.

Favorite thing: Addis Ababa is located at 2450 meters (8,300 feet). It's colder than other cities in Africa. The days are never too hot and the nights can be cold. When I was there in mid September I had to wear a warm jacket in the nights. It was also a heavy rain weather every afternoon. Prepare your self for more rain here than the rest of Ethiopia. The rainy season is from June through September.

The high altitude of the city may also cause some health problems with the thin air, so some be careful when walking fast around.

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Favorite thing:
Best viewed on a Saturday and with a guide, this huge series of streets, alleys and buildings goes on for several kilometres. If it isn’t sold here – it’s not been made. Some sections specialised in just 1 or 2 products. There are clothes, vegetables, meat, household plastic items, you name it. There are no written prices and polite negotiation is the order of the day. Some will not give you reasonable prices because you are a foreigner – walk away. Also never take the first price. Your guide should get you near or at the local price.

There are some interesting things to see in the market. You will see reengineered items. I have seen many large tin cans of cooking oil provided by United States Aid cut down to form kitchen utensils of various uses. There is the secondary market where handicapped and poor people sell odd shaped vegetables or scraps left my other traders. You can go into the chicken market and buy one for about $5 and you will be handed the live chicken by his/her feet. They won’t move and you can get on a bus with them without any difficulty. Definitely pick up some coffee for gift if you go to someone’s house and to take home. There is also an amazing spice Market where, unfortunately, most thieves hang out in. That’s why you need a guide.

A guide for a few hours in the market will cost you $2-3. Pickpockets will go right after you. They went after me in the middle of the street at high noon and someone was with me! There are also kilometres of streets and at least 7,000 businesses to find – or to get lost. If you want to arrange a guide before you arrive, email me and I will get you someone to help you out.

You don’t want to miss this mass of people, colours, smells, sights and even flavours in one of the many eating establishments. There is also the dominant Al-Anwar Mosque to see, but do not get too close and do not take photos close by. The men go nuts about that.

Favorite thing: The city possesses a complex mix of highland climate zones, with temperature differences of up to 10°C, depending on elevation and prevailing wind patterns. The high elevation moderates temperatures year-round, and the city's position near the equator means that temperatures are very constant from month to month.