Anyone been here before? I just finished up a cool trip to Jerusalem and met some Ethiopian Orthodox members who said Ethiopia is beautiful and I should check it out. Is it a good place to visit? What are some main attractions I should visit if I decide to go?
I heard the pussy is good
If you liked the raw christian energy that can be found sometimes in Jerusalem you are gonna love the churches in Lalibella and Tigray
Absolutely I loved the raw Christian energy of Israel and Palenstine. I'm irish so Christianity to me was always just depressed Irish people going to church on Sunday but seeing all of the diverse Christians from Indonesia to Russia was really invigorating to me. Where else would you recommend in Ethiopia?
I did the northern circuit plus Harar. I spent 3 weeks there and used internal flights. It went more or less like that:
AA --> internal flight to Bahir Dar --> Gondar --> 3 days trek in Semien --> Axum --> Yeha & Debre Damo --> 3 days Rock Hewn Churches of Tigray --> 3 day tour Erta Ale & Dallol --> Lalibela --> internal flights to Harar --> internal flight back to AA
This is probably the slowest board I'm SighSee. If you have questions on specifics just ask away. I'll be checking this thread every now and then.
not OP but I'm curious,
>Are you welcomed more openly if you're a Christian as well and does it matter if you're protestant, catholic etc.?
> How much did your experience cost? so transportation, eating / going out and the tourist experiences?
> What are some quick pros and cons of Ethiopia? Such as crime, scammers, food.
>Are you welcomed more openly if you're a Christian as well and does it matter if you're protestant, catholic etc.?
it wasn't really obvious to me. I'm from a catholic country but not really religious (albeit maybe culturally catholic). The dynamics of any other developing country apply really.
>How much did your experience cost? so transportation, eating / going out and the tourist experiences?
sleeping, eating and moving around generally cheap, although I went in a time when there had been demonstrations and there weren't a lot of tourists around. trekking is generally more expensive but still not in the league of Kili. For me the most expensive items were the internal flights. I needed them to fit Harar in the 3 weeks itinerary so I don't really complain but If I would have known I would've flown into the country with Ethiopian airlines. Back then (I don't know if the offer is still there) if you flew in with Ethiopian you had like 50% discount in internal flights.
> What are some quick pros and cons of Ethiopia? Such as crime, scammers, food.
pros: Food might be repetitive but I really like ethiopian food and the coffee culture they have. I'ts a really diverse country and you have everything apart from beaches. It's a topic but you can meet really cool people. I went partying with locals where I was the only white and had a blast. It happen more than once in different places. Of course I had to invite to a couple of beers but it was fricking worth it.
cons: people can be really pushy. you have to learn how to put distance with some. It really boils down to how you read people and you will quickly realize who is genuinely interested in you and which ones want your shekels. I didn't experience the rock throwing problem only in Harar where the kids are a fricking pain in the ass and they did throw me rocks at some point but nothing extreme really. I didn't have crime problems but it is sketchy sometimes. cont.
where are u from
I'm Spanish but living in Germany
Harar is specially weird and you should be aware of some people high on Khat
To give you a big picture sense though: It's probably the best trip I have ever made (And I have been to a lot of places all around the world) but it is not an easy/confortable one. I also had a massive problem with fleas. I freaked out because I thought it was bedbugs but it always was fleas. The churches are infested with fleas. those rugs. Then in one Hotel in Wukro I had the room infested with roaches when I went there back from dinner (they weren't there when they showed me the room) luckily they where on the floor and I just had everything put in height and I could sleep half ok. But psychologically you are constantly on alert.
keep asking questions and I might remember some other things
> Were there any other problems regarding bugs and insects?
> How were the nature reserves? and is it easy to visit them?
> How did you feel during the demonstrations and such, Ethiopia isn't the most stable of places. To be honest this is the main thing that keeps me from visiting I just don't want to get thrown in the back of some van.
> Were there any other problems regarding bugs and insects?
not really
> How were the nature reserves? and is it easy to visit them?
I only did Semien and Afar Region both as tours and honestly I'm not sure you can do them on your own. Semien really easy to arrange in Gondar or Debarq and Afar Region the same from Mekele.
> How did you feel during the demonstrations and such, Ethiopia isn't the most stable of places. To be honest this is the main thing that keeps me from visiting I just don't want to get thrown in the back of some van.
I didn't really see anything going on. Just no internet on the Ahmara Region at all. I had to get a guy with a VPN to send a whatsapp to my mom so she knew I was ok. Honestly, the recent war was something that would've thrown me back. It's another level stuff. I would not risk it. Demonstrations are ok because it's highly publicized but really only happening in really specific areas. But a war is something else.
>Is Ethiopia a good place to go to if you're an autist who wants to be left alone? If not, are there other countries in Subsaharan Africa you'd recommend?
Definitley not. At least as a white person. There are curious nice people, people that want to take money of you and fricking annoying kids. But there will be one of those around all the time. Other than Ethiopia I've only been to Tanzania and Madagascar. Tanzania would be the same but in Madagascar kids are generally scared of you (or at least my xp) but back in 2013 there were some bandits driving around too so there's that.
Tell us about Tanzania please
I went there only to do the Kili and then I had one week left and decided to go to Kilwa Kisiwani and Stone town. I didn't enjoy it that much but I could see the appeal to other people. My draw is basically historical things and ruins and it fell a bit short on that side
Bump
Isn't the place notoriously difficult to navigate and full of interethnic conflict? Not trying to discourage OP but it's really not an easy country to visit.
I didn't find it difficult to navigate. The things you will want to see are known by locals and you will always find people speaking english here and there. The interethnic conflict was there in 2016 but I didn't feel it afecting daily stuff. That said right now there has been an open conflict (war) so OP should take that into account
Ethiopia is on my list of places, but that war in Tigray just ended, but the country seems a bit dodgy. Always somewhere else to go until shit cools down more.
Is Ethiopia a good place to go to if you're an autist who wants to be left alone? If not, are there other countries in Subsaharan Africa you'd recommend?
check out kinoeves on youtube, he's here now
No but the Ethiopian women I met in Dubai were startlingly gorgeous.