Addis, land of malaria and babes
In the summer of 2004 I had a chance to visit Ethiopia and had a pretty good time. Addis is an interesting place to visit, but it can be a bit overwhelming and I suppose dangerous, if you wander into the wrong neighborhood. I'm typically fearless, and somewhat foolish, but there are good people and bad people everywhere and you better know how to tell the difference quickly. The Hilton is a nice place to stay but it was completely booked during my weekend there so I ended up staying at another hotel listed on Yahoo! travel. Anyways, I didn't have any problems bringing my girl to the room, but when she left in the morning I had a little encounter with the gatekeeper. I ended up giving him a little kickback to let her leave quietly from the back exit. It might be a good idea to book a stay for two guests if you want less trouble. But it's up to you. Money's not really an issue for me.
A couple of pieces of advice for those new to Addis. If you wander down the street and you don't look Ethiopian, you WILL draw attention. Kids will try to sell you things and eventually someone will come up to you and become your "official" tour guide. From then on you've been adopted and it might be difficult to make a smooth escape. If you are generous like me you can play along. If you are trying to save money, which is entirely possible here, don't leave the hotel compound. The guys that grabbed me were pretty cool though. They took me to a couple of female student boarding houses and I ended up buying a lot of drinks (without knowing it) and dancing with the girls. I'm sure I looked like an idiot but they were all quite friendly. One really cute girl liked me a lot and was dropping all sorts of hints for me to take her home but I had my mind set to go clubbing that night for some reason. I really like Ethiopian girls and some of the hottest ones hang out at the clubs on a Saturday night. The club I went to was at the Concorde hotel. Nice music, cheap drinks, hot girls. Like I was saying before, if you want to be careful. Don't leave the hotel compound by foot. Take a taxi and discuss the fare BEFORE you get in. If the driver says "don't worry about the fare," that means he wants to be your personal driver for the rest of your visit. I would love to visit Addis again. The girl that I picked up in the club spoke decent english and was good in bed (bbbj, cg, ds, I didn't ask for anything special...) Gave her 600 bihr. Oh yea, I also tried tchat and didn't feel anything, the taste is not very pleasant either but apparently it helps you concentrate.
JW
Are there any new reports, planning a trip in Dec.
It will be my first time in country, need all the help I can get.
I will stay for 2 weeks.
Where should I begin, and what are current prices.