Originally my plan was to go straight from Addis to Gondar, but when I was asking the buses at 4 o’clock in the morning, all of them were fully booked, but there was a seat available to Bahir Dar, and I must say I’m glad that I did it that way. Bahir Dar is often...Read More
At the moment I am writing this the time in Ethiopia is 02.11 on April 18th, while it everywhere else is 08.14 on April 26th 2010. Confusing, right? Everything in Ethiopia is different, maybe because they are the only country in Africa which was never colonized. Ethiopia follows a lunar calendar with thirteen months a...Read More
Harar walled old town uses to be the capital of the Harla Kingdom in the 13th century. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site said to be lot alike the Moroccan city of Fez, but except for a few narrow streets near the east gate I found that but to be particularly true. Harar has something...Read More
The train station was a huge building in the middle of nowhere Less than one month before I arrived in Ethiopia, the new Chinese built railway started running a passenger service between Addis Ababa and Djibouti City. The total duration of the train ride is twelve hours with three stops on the way, but I...Read More
When arriving in Antananarivo, I really had to ask myself if I was still in Africa. Most people were small and had an Asian look. Except for the baguettes, the food was also 90%, usually with a unidentifiable peace of meat. Most places that was all that was served, so Madagascar has not been my...Read More
Port Louis city center reminds me of Waikiki, Hawaii The bus system in Mauritius is pretty amazing and going from the South to the North I only had to change bus once in the Port Louis. The capital city was almost like Waikiki in Hawaii, being well developed with lots of brand clothing shops and...Read More
For those who have been following me through the last 170 countries on this blog, you probably have heard me go on at those people who just go somewhere to stay in a luxury resort and are screened from the food, culture and people of the places they visit. This time it was my turn,...Read More
Morondava is a small city on the beach, but it is not the place you would go if you want a typical beach holiday in Madagascar. The beaches there are quite empty, but once in a while you will see some locals going there to poop. The water was also the same color as the...Read More
When our three day canoe trip was coming to an end, we were drifting through a forest of beobabs-a type of tree which looks as if it was upside down with its roots in the air. We got out of the canoes in a village called Antsiraraka where we had to walk and ride ox...Read More
I must say that my three days spent camping and canoeing on the Tsiribihina River has been one of my favorite travel experiences. The landscape and program was similar to when I was paddling on Orange River in Namibia and the Zambezi River in Zambia, but here we were traveling in comfortable “mokoros”(dugout canoes) where...Read More
While waiting for my taxi brousse to fill up in Tanna there was a lovely French couple who sat down next to me and gave me a good introduction to life in Madagascar. They introduced me to their friends at a bar, who were going on a three day canoeing trip the day after. When...Read More
Although Andasibe is only 140kilometers from Antananarivo, it took me a full day to get there. First off it was hard to find a local company going there and when I finally found a taxi brousse (local bus) it took six (yes SIX!) hours for it to get full so that we could leave. I...Read More
People often think of Nairobi as a dirty and crowded city, which it is better just to leave as soon as you have the chance. Myself I just had a couple of days there, stopping by mainly to get money that I could change at the blue market in Ethiopia and Sudan. Sure Nairobi has...Read More
Hawassa was the perfect place to break up the nearly 800km trip from Addis Ababa to Omo Valley. The city is on a lake where one can go on boat trips to spot hippos or just relax with a picnic among wild monkeys like we did. Hawassa is also a great base for day trips...Read More
Traveling around Omo Valley is not cheap. In order to go to the villages you need to rent a car with a driver which costs upwards of 50$. As we had already visited a couple of villages we did not feel the need to go to a Mursi village like we first had planned, but...Read More
From our visits in Omo Valley, Konso was maybe not the most tribal, but still one of the most interesting to visit. Konso is the name of the city which the 44 villages are situated around, but it is also the name of the tribe living there. The Konso people typically build their villages on...Read More
It was time for the highlight of our South Omo Valley trip- the wedding ceremony of whipping girls and jumping bulls. We had spent the day at the Turmi marked seeing Hammer handicrafts and people in traditional clothing(just some leather clots, not covering much!) and been prepared of what was to come. The Hammer marriage...Read More
If you are ever planning on visiting Omo Valley, but don’t have an organized tour to take you, your best bet would be to go to Kay Afar and hope that others would come there that you could tag along with. Kay Afar is in the middle of the Valley, and it is just a...Read More
