Ethiopia is on one hand one of the best countries to travel
and on the other hand at least for those who want to get off the beaten path
one of the more difficult ones.
First why you would want to visit Ethiopia:
1)
It is SUPER cheap. 30-50 cents for a large beer
even in the fancy places, 15-30 cents for the most amazing coffee prepared
right in front of you, less than a dollar for an amazing meal, shared taxis
across town less than 10 cents and hotel rooms for less than $10 and all of this
without another tourist in sight.
2)
The food- not only is it super cheap but it is
so amazing, varied and delicious. Forgot about the daily rice and beans of
Central and South America the Ethiopian cuisine for the price is on par with
our favorite foods of South East Asia and India. There is so much variety from
vegetarians to meat lovers you can find something to excite your palate. Each
meal you can try something different and never get bored. Also, we loved
feeling like we were getting so much healthy nutrition with each meal as there
was such a variety of vegetables and legumes. When you want meat it is taken
off the goat, lamb or chicken in the entry of the restaurant (I guess to prove
its freshness) and cooked directly in front of you or in some instances put in
a stone bowl on the table with herbs and spices.
3)
The coffee. I do not care where you've had
coffee in the world, but you haven't experienced coffee until you've had true
Ethiopian coffee. It is the best coffee in the world that we've tried from the
famous Sumatran coffee, to the Honduran coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Lebanese,
Turkish, Italian, nothing compares. The green coffee bean is roasted fresh each
time they make a cup of coffee. It's roasted in a special pan until the beans
become perfectly roasted with a coat of oil. They are then hand ground and then
prepared with a special coffee urn and hot water. Oh and the macchiatos- the
super strong coffee with a touch of milk are also perfection. And all this at a
few pennies. Also, each time the traditional coffee is made incense is burned
at the same time and popcorn popped fresh because popcorn and coffee honestly
two of my favorite things why not enjoy them together?
4)
Beer- Do you like beer? We LOVE beer. The beer
here is not only mega cheap from 15 to 50 cents even in a fancy place but decent
too and with a range of selection from their quite delicious lager to a nice
dark beer. Also, people are always out drinking with their families, little
ones, and friends so we enjoyed being able to go out for a beer feeling
comfortable and not getting the “’Oh, you bad parents’ stink eye”. And unlike
in many Asian countries the women drank as much as men often going out just
women which was a bonus for me.
5) The fresh juice and smoothies! Fruits are plentiful here and for less than 50 cents you can get a huge glass of fresh juice. Papaya, mango, avocado and more!
6)
Wherever we go as obvious foreigners there are
people who try to rip us off, charge us a bit more and as super frugal
backpackers our main goal is to avoid it at all costs. In Ethiopia NO ONE
(except one random lady at a coffee stand who charged us 15 cents instead of 7
cents) tried to rip us off. Hotels, transportation, restaurants, shops event
though we did not speak the language or look like a local we were always
charged the same as locals and no one even assumed it would be otherwise. Now
we visited the southern less touristy part of the country so we will have to
return and explore the touristy north to see if the same holds true there.
7)
The history! Ethiopia has such a unique history
with being the cradle of civilization, the connection between the Arab and
African world, and having such a tolerance and mix of religions and peoples.
This can all be seen and easily discovered while exploring this unique country.
8)
The people- friendly, lively, and interesting.
We were never hassled or hustled. When we went out we were not given so much
attention as in Asia. People pretty much ignored us or were just super
friendly. We were left at peace in public places without the usual gawkers, not
that we have a problem with that it was just a nice change especially when we
were in places that obviously weren't used to tourists we were still treated
equally. They are also so beautiful and unique in appearance with subtle but
amazing differences between regions.
9)
Unique culture: As the only African country not
colonized by European powers (minus a brief 5-year stint with Italy- thanks for
the Macchiatos?) their culture remains their own. The languages, the writing,
even the way of thought is more Ethiopian than influenced by the outside world.
10)
Safety- probably one of the safest country in Africa.
11) Transportation-
Cheap, easy, and effective.
Though for the most part Ethiopia is one of the best places to visit there are some things making it difficult, especially for budget travelers. As off the beaten track travelers there is
not much to see or do without a guide or a lot of money and the tourist
infrastructure just isn't there. Also, tourist sites are few and crazy
expensive considering the prices of the county. As a side note, we didn't visit the more touristy north so there it may be a bit different.
We do highly recommend visiting Ethiopia and think no one would be diappointed!
