I went to Ethiopia is the summer of 2015 and stayed there 3 weeks. I visited Addis Ababa (capital), travelled up north and down south.
Who am I?
Reasonably good looking early 30’s white guy from Europe with a budget of 2500 euro’s (without the airfare). I am naturally introverted but confident and with good social skills. I was reasonably well travelled before but most of that time was spent in Europe and FSU countries. So I was a first timer in Africa.
I always wanted to go to Africa and decided on Ethiopia because I read some good things about it on NN website. Also because it had the reputation of being safe and not too expensive compared to most other African countries. It also has a unique and ancient culture and I didn’t mind that the women were described as beautiful.
Places I visited
Addis Ababa
Right after landing, I noticed things were not so well organized as in the western world. Toilets were dirty and lots of noise and chaos everywhere. After exiting the airport, I took a taxi to the Bole area. This is where most of the tourists end up. I paid too much for the taxi and the guy followed me all the way to my hostel while carrying my luggage, and expected a tip. Its best to walk straight past the guys that want to sell taxi rides and walk to the nearest street and negotiate with the driver there.
I ended up in a hostel recommended by Naughty Nomad: Mister Martin’s Cozy Place, which was okay for the time being. The place was filled with backpacker types, most of them were boring and only interested in normal tourist stuff. I stayed there 3 days while exploring the capital.
Outside, many guys trying to get my attention. On my first walk they followed me for a while and I encountered so many beggars: mothers with children, a sick guy in a wheelchair,… all very skinny and some look sick. After half an hour I went back into the hostel because I felt too much pressure from all these people. I didn’t feel unsafe but very uncomfortable with all the misery around.
I went out the evening I landed with some people of the hostel to a club that was only 5 minutes away. The people weren’t too impressed by our presence: I smiled at a girl and she immediately turned her head away, I walked up to a girl that was indeed smiling at me but all of a sudden some guy notices and runs to stand in front of the girl to block. So all in all, I wasn’t too happy about Ethiopia on my first day.
The next days I got more accustomed to the poverty and begging and went exploring the city. I visited some churches, an emperors palace, went to the biggest mall, eat lots of local food (it’s really good, although there isn’t a lot of variation), tried to chat up some ladies and in the evening went to the clubs.
The one I liked the most was named Barrel because it was the only place didn’t seem to be too bothered about me hitting on their women. There are many others but I don’t remember their names. I did get some numbers in the clubs. But the overall vibe was not very welcoming. For example when I was talking to 2 girls who were receptive and smiling, some waiter puts a chair in between me and the girls.
There’s also a street filled with prostitutes called the Mike Leyland Street. The second night I walked into that street alone because there was a nightclub (a normal one ). But I didn’t find it because it was not open and kept walking. Some street children kept following me and wanted to put their hands in my pockets. I quickly walked away while shouting at them. This was the only time someone tried to steal from me. So best to avoid that street. I went later to that club, I believe it was called H20 and half the girls were pro’s, the other half with their boyfriend.
Later on in my journey stayed in another part of Addis, called Hawlett (phonetic, don’t know how to write it). This was a reasonably clean area and people did not approach me as much as in Bole. I liked it there better, but to reach the center, I needed to take taxi, and they are somewhat expensive if you add all the rides up.
They also had mini busses but I didn’t understand the routes. I did use them twice. The first just to look around in the city without knowing where I would end up, the second time with a local guy. If you can figure these things out, you can get around for just a couple of cents per ride.
In Hawlett, I stayed in a pension. They are all over Ethiopia and I liked them better than hotels. These are clean rooms with a shower and toilet on the ground floor on a closed compound. I used these place everywhere I went, and the owners were always hospitable and for a little extra money they can make food or do laundry.
According to guide books, these pensions are not recommended because there is supposed to be a lot of prostitution. I only went to one where girls actively tried to persuade me. In all the other pension I didn’t notice anything and the rooms were mostly used by people (not poor) that live in them.
Prices for these places are at least half of what you pay for a budget hotel. But you have to bargain hard to get a good deal. The cheapest one, I paid 100 birr, the most expensive was in the capital and was 300 birr. The price and place was arranged by a local guy to do me a favor (i.e. to make some money). Compared to Mister Martins Cosy Place, which was 700 birr, this was a good deal.
The bad thing about these places was that they do not have a generator. The power gets cut off a lot, but only for short periods of time. They also don’t have internet, but in hotels the Wifi hardly ever worked anyway. The good thing was that these pensions were a lot more well maintained. Things like broken showers, toilets, broken electric plugs,… were not an issue compared to budget hotels.
I stayed also in a couple of these cheaper hotels, because sometimes I arrived in a new place too late and it was too dark to look around. Taxi drivers also want to drop you of in a hotel because they get a commission. Also beware that in most hotels there are 2 menu’s. One for foreigners, one for locals. Demand to see the price list of the locals and do not pay more. Do the same for the food menu in these hotels.
Hawassa
I took a bus from Addis to Hawassa, a city in the south of Ethiopia. I was impressed by the brand new highway constructed by the Chinese. These roads connect all the big cities, so travelling around by bus or car is easy.
Hawassa is a clean and well organized city next to a beautiful lake. You can walk along its edges and see monkeys and exotic birds in the trees. Those monkeys did make a whole lot of noise though. In the water there’s fisherman on little papyrus boats and children jumping of cliffs. I decided to join one day and a big crowd gathered to see a white guy jump off a rock, while filming me with their smartphones . I guess there not used to seeing foreigners. I only saw 4 white people in the 3 days I was there.
This is a student city, but I was there during school break, so a lot of bars were empty. Still I went out, it was just that the bars were empty, but the few people in there were friendly, a lot more than in Addis. There were also a few good looking girls in these bars and peopled seemed less money orientated.
Because of a lack of nightlife, I went to an Ethiopian Culture Show. Places with these shows are everywhere in Ethiopia. They play their traditional music combined with a dancing show. It has a nice atmosphere but I didn’t like the music very much. Ethiopians love to go there, so there’s always at least a little party there.
I also went with a girl to a resort on the edge of the lake. This place was filled with upper class Ethiopians, and just like in Addis I got some passive aggressive stares from the guys because I was there with 2 girls. But most people in Hawassa were welcoming and interested.
Arba Minch
I went deeper into the south to this dusty, small town. There were a couple of tourists, but they only go there as a starting point to visit tribes in a remote valley. I didn’t expect much of it, but in the end I had a very good time there.
There are some cools tribes around, I visited one high up in the mountains; If you go there take a badaj, some kind of tricycle. There’s also jeeps that are more comfortable but a lot more expensive. The badaj ride was bumpy but a lot more fun. The driver had a great stereo, and along the road children started to dance when they heard us coming. I don’t know where they learned it (they don’t have a TV or internet), but some kids sexually grinded against each other just like in hip-hop clips. A pretty strange and disturbing thing to see in the middle of nowhere
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There’s also two lakes with hippo’s, birds crocodiles which you can see with a boat. You can go to a viewpoint of a resort to see both lakes at the same time. In that resort there were some American soldiers that worked as drone operators to bomb Somalia or something. At night you could see their lights flying in the sky.
I went to 4 nightclubs, actually I was amazed they had so many and most they weren’t good. I befriended the biggest guy in the pool hall next to my pension and he introduced me to his friends, so I hanged out with them for a couple of days. The best place was a shack with a terrible sound system and a hole in the ground as a toilet. The roof leaked and while it rained the place got swamped and everybody got wet while dancing.
A bad moment was that I got into a fight in one of those nightclubs. Some guy didn’t want that we were talking pictures, but it wasn’t off him nor was he anywhere around. I guess he was just angry because I was a foreign guy. He took a swing at me but I avoided the hit. The guys I befriended quickly backed me up, so he went away. Later the bouncers came with that guy and again some pushing and shoving happened. The guys in the south were bigger and more aggressive, unlike the smaller and skinny and passive aggressive guys in the north, so I was worried at what could happen, but luckily everything cooled down.
I also tried some khat there, which is a drug they sell in stores. It is made of a bunch of branches with leaves held together with some rope. I ate the leaves and it made me a little bit talkative and euphoric. But to get high I ate a whole lot of leaves and it wasn’t easy. They have a bad taste and I had to chew them for a long time. Anyway it was good warming up for a night out in town, but if I ever have the chance to do it again, I will pass.
Jinka and Omo Valley
This was the country of many tribes and some had impressive villages. Some girls seemed interested but I did not try anything. Those tribes have spears and Kalashnikovs nearby and I bet they are willing to use them.
In Jinka, a very small and isolated town, the owner or employee of our pension (I was there with an American guy I met), did show an interest in me. So I talked to her and shared a leftover of a bottle of vodka and a strange local drink called honey-beer. While drinking she hinted on coming over to my room but I declined because she looked like Big Momma from the movie
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Bahir Dar
I took an airplane to Bahir Dar in the north of Ethiopia. This city has a beautiful lake with Islands. On these Islands there are monasteries. I visited them and they were alright but I expected more. I was hoping to see some monumental buildings, but instead found big huts. So coming from Europe where churches and monasteries are beautiful pieces of art, I was disappointed. Not that I want to say bad things, because it is in the first place a spiritual center, only it did not inspire me.
I only went out once and found a nightclub with a red interior but there were hardly any people. I don’t know the name anymore. Also compared to the south, people were a lot more closed off, and I didn’t befriend any locals or met any girl. I tried to talk to some on the street but they seemed a bit scared. So after a couple of approaches I stopped because scaring people is not cool and it made me depressed. So Bahir Dar was not for me and I returned to Addis to chase some girls.
The girls
The top tier girls are stunning but many girls that could look good are just too poor for make-up, nice clothes, hair products and in some cases even food. But I do think that many of the poor girls could be stunners, if only they had some cash to take care of themselves.
But there’s also lots of girls with frumpy bodies and not so attractive facial features. Ethiopia is a diverse mix of people, and most girls don’t fit the image of a light skinned skinny but curvy beauties with small noses and soft curly hair.
So when I arrived I was a little bit disappointed. The good things is that foreigners get enough attention so pulling decent (not the best) quality is very doable. The best girls I saw were swooped up by local guys, were just not interested when I approached or were interested in pay for play. I also think that being seen with a white guy lowers the social value of the girls.
Defar
The first girl was 19 years old student with a fetish for white guys. She was a fan of guy in a TV-show and I somewhat looked like him. I was the first white guy she ever talked to and she wasn’t really interested in me. I guess she just wanted me to be that guy from TV .
I met her in a nightclub in Addis Ababa. She was there with some guys and a girlfriend. Those guys were the biggest cock blocks ever. She gave me her number outside where they could not see us. When she went back, they got angry at her and left while arguing because they knew what was up. Maybe she had a boyfriend? Anyway, she never told me anything about it.
I met her a couple of days later in Hawassa, where she lived. She came from a well off family because her family payed for all her expenses. On the second date she ended up in my bed, but I was disappointed. The lights needed to be off and when I turned them on she covered her body. She didn’t move and was just very shy. I touched a rough patch of skin with my fingers where her clitoris should have been. So she had undergone female circumcision. She also didn’t want to give a blowjob.
Sarah
The second girl I met in a resort in Arba Minch. She was sitting on a terrace and while passing she smiled. So I went there and she told me she was there with ‘her cousin’, who was a police chief in Addis (big red flag). Anyway she was a classic Ethiopian beauty, so I ignored the warning sign and got her number.
I met up later with her in Addis, and for some reason she wanted to take me to her family’s home. So I went to the outskirts of the city and ended up in a mud shack. After meeting her mom and sister, she came straight to my hotel. The sex wasn’t too bad, but again no blowjob The next day, she asked me for taxi money, which I expected and gave it. This was the first time I gave ‘taxi money’ and I felt like I lost some of my innocence, hahaha. Too bad I can’t count this as a notch.
Harat
I met this girl in the south of Arba Minch. She was a 18 year old very dark skinned girl with a hypnotizing body. She almost spoke no English and she said her job was being a ‘dancer’. I don’t think there are many jobs for dancers in a small Ethiopian town. So I guess she dabbled in p4p. Anyway she danced very well and she drove me crazy.
I met her through a guy I befriended and hanged out with them and their friends a couple of days. The last night I stayed there she came home with me. The people in the south are more open, so nobody cock-blocked me. This girl was wild, but again no blowjob . The next day she left and knew I had to go, but she was happy and never hinted me to give her money. So I guess this is what is called shoring?
Addi
A girl I met in a nightclub in Addis and came straight to my pension after dancing and hanging out with her and her girlfriend. She didn’t speak any English and she smiled all the time. I guess she’s just a very happy girl. I had a good time but again no blowjob. Did anybody experience the same blowjob problem?
Mary:
I met a very sweet 21 year old girl in a mall, where she worked. She hanged out with a group of girls from other stores and I spend 4 days with these girls inside the mall (which I don’t regret). Most people in Addis want to rip you off, ask for money, beers, sell something,… But these girls were different. They even invited me out to dinner and wanted to pay for it and never asked for anything.
So Mary liked to read her Bible a lot. She looked gorgeous and was very sweet. She told me she never had a boyfriend (although she could be lying). She hardly spoke English so her friend had to translate everything. When I tried to give her money for a taxi she refused and insisted on taking an overcrowded bus. So, for me she definitely passed ‘the good girl test’.
I didn’t get a notch and I believe that was the right thing. I tried to kiss her at my place and when I did she turned away and said the word ‘sin’. Her friend told me later that know she had to pray for forgiveness. Anyway it all sounds weird, but there was something about this girl that made me wat to become a better, more righteous (maybe beta ) man.
For me she was marriage worthy, something that I almost never feel with girls here in Europe. She made me think about my future, as in starting a happy family with this girl. Unfortunately after returning home, I never called her because I don’t think she could be happy and find her place in western culture, I didn’t know her that well and importing a girl to my country just seemed so far-fetched at the time.
Other
Scams
In Ethiopa nothing is free and most people live a hard life. For many, mooching a little bit of money off you, can be the difference between eating or not eating a piece of bread that day. There’s beggars, which I gave a lot of money if I add it all up, some clothes, food and medicine. But there are also guys that will approach you to offer you their service as a tour guide, arrange girls, be your friend, poor students that want to improve their English… These guys are just like beggars, but have a better story. As a rule don’t trust people who approach you on the street.
You can use them to get information about where to stay or to make some good deals for accommodation or tourist trips. These guys can help you with whatever you want, but don’t treat them as your friend. I respect their hustle but all they see in you is money. Make it clear what you want and what you will give in return.
It happens a lot that they overcharge foreigners in restaurants and hotels, a tour guide wants to renegotiate the price in the middle of nowhere, taxi’s drive to the wrong place, so you hope you pay again to drop you at the right place, taxi’s that only want to drop you of at certain hotels because they get commission,… For these people I have zero sympathy. I understand that they want to make money off me, but I hate being ripped off, so always keep your eyes on what is happening and don’t be a pushover.
They don’t only try to scam tourist, they do it with their own people to. For example a girl that stayed over left her glasses in my room and I asked a guy to bring it to her. But he didn’t. He tried to sell it back to the poor girl.
Ethiopian guys don’t like anybody
I didn’t feel very welcome in Ethiopia. I did experience moments in which I felt I had established genuine connections with the locals, but also a lot of moments in which I felt people (mostly guys) didn’t like me or just saw me as a money tree. The girls I met didn’t seem to have the same issues and most were sweet and genuine. However Ethiopians guys have negative opinions on many people. Here’s some things I heard:
White people are colonizers and degenerate atheist creatures, Arabs are monkey brains that sexually abuse their women, black people are monkey’s, Nigerians are ugly, Amhara’s are the best tribe and others are there servants, Sudanese refugees are dumb, Oromo’s don’t like Amhara’s and nobody likes the Tigray’s…
Anyway whatever you are, they will find something about it they don’t like. They do seem to like Chinese people because they are investing a lot in Ethiopia. So for Asian guys with jungle fever, Ethiopia might be a good spot.
Conclusion
The quality of looks and character was okay, just don’t expect them to be good in bed. I didn’t try too much because I was travelling around and doing typical tourist stuff and still got my piece of the pie. So all in all, I was had a good time.
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