Traveling to Ethiopia? I got some tips for you. I left Ethiopia with plenty of stories to tell; stories about bag slashers and pickpockets, about rabid dogs, and about life in Ethiopia in general. There are also stories about crazy landscapes and unbelievable marvels.
Ethiopia, Gonder, Lalibela
Visiting Gonder and Lalibela in Ethiopia (and The Problem With Expectations)
From Addis to Lalibela to Gonder. I wasn’t impressed with the rock-churches of Lalibela, but surprisingly found myself enjoying Gonder and its castles.
Moroccan souks always seemed so exotic. So foreign! People in strange dresses and stores selling strange things. I knew right away I’d love them.
Vegetarian in Ethiopia? The majority of Ethiopians are Orthodox Ethiopians who don’t eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. On these days, non-meat fasting food can be found easily in restaurants.
Danakil Depression in Ethiopia turned out to be one of the most colorful, alien, and beautiful landscapes I’d ever seen. There’s nothing else quite like it on this earth.
Looking into the bowel of Erta Ale lava lake was like staring at the surface of the sun.
How and where do I begin to describe the things I saw when I visited Danakil Depression, ‘the hottest place on Earth’? “Amazing” or “breath taking” doesn’t seem to cut it. It’s too pedestrian. “I must be dreaming because I can’t quite possibly see what I’m seeing right now” is more like it.
One of the most difficulty countries I’ve traveled to, I have a strong suspicion that Ethiopia wants to get rid of me. Let’s start the story from the very beginning.
The souks of Fes is what I always imagined Morocco to be: a frontal assault on the nose, the eyes, and the ears. Here are my thoughts and tips for visiting Fes, which I enjoyed so much more than Marrakech.
Staying in a riad is definitely something you have to do when traveling to Morocco. We were so amazed by the beauty of our riad (Riad Al Moussika) and so pampered by the attention that the staff gave us – it will be really hard to go back to staying in hostels.
Took me 2 weeks to gather up the courage to go a hammam (read here if you’re not sure what a hammam is) in Morocco. Being naked in public has never been on my “Things I’m Dying to Do in Morocco” list. It was more like on my “Things I Still Might Not Do Even I Ever Got Bored Enough” list.
Going camel trekking in the desert has been something I’d dreamed of doing for many, many years. And finally, here in Morocco, I had a chance to make it happen. It didn’t turn out quite how I had imagined. (Most things never do).