Back in Addis

I find myself in Addis Ababa for the fourth time in four years and it is good to be back. I’m here for two weeks on a management visit to one of our projects. I helped to start up this project in 2004 and this is the first time I’ve been back to work with the team since, so it’s great to see how much the team has accomplished.

It was a typical grueling flight, but at least it did not involve flying through Charles de Gaulle. The highlight was watching the golden sun set over the sand dunes of Sudan out the window of the plane. A surreal sight. My preferred hotel here (the Hilton) is fully booked as usual so I am staying at Hotel Leopold, and yes, it is just as interesting as it sounds. As I walked through the entrance delirious from the 24 hour journey I thought my eyes were deceiving me as I was flanked by exotic animals – a very badly stuffed scruffy lion and an equally sad-looking leopard. The trip continued when I got to my room and discovered a king sized bed with a leopard print velvet bedspread and matching pillow cases. In the morning I had to shower one-handed as the only way to ensure a stream of water was to pull down on the shower hose. Plus the soap dish was angled downward so it was impossible to keep the soap on it. At breakfast, I discovered a beautiful chandelier in the dining room – it was just a shame that the ceiling was only 10ft high and the chandelier is at least 5ft tall, meaning that you have to walk around the chandelier, which is conveniently located in the middle of the buffet. The sad thing is that Leopold is the same price as the Hilton, and although no where near Hilton standards, it is actually quite a nice hotel, it’s just the little things that they have missed. Now why isn’t there a tourism development project in Ethiopia – it would be very helpful.