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    The busiest little whore house in Ethiopia

    December 14th, 2006 by mary

    On this overland trip we get to stay at a variety of budget sites literally oozing with character, which we can sometimes see when the lights work, so we prefer to arrive in the dark. Sometimes towns don’t have campsites and it’s not safe to bush camp so we end up pitching tents on the premises of hotels. (And I use that term instead of craphole just to maintain some civility). Perhaps the most memorable one was when we pulled into the Bel-Air Pension in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Everyone on the back of the truck was desperately hoping it was just another pee stop, but our guides assured us that when the company last went there 2yrs ago the place was ‘okay’. Our eyes couldn’t roll far enough to the back of our heads.
    The rooms had mirrors next to the beds, condoms on the night stand, and a pricelist above the headboard in Ethiopian. The best was the sticker on the toilet tank in the bathroom that had a cheerful condom in sunglasses pointing to the toilet. During the day pairs show up, the guy hands money to the reception who gives them supplies. Half an hour later the buzzer goes off in the room and the next couple goes in. This went on all day. Steve and I didn’t choose to “upgrade” to the rooms and instead opted for the haven of our tents. Many in our group were brave and desperate enough for the rooms and there were endless jokes about making sure your door was locked and knocking before you entered, etc. It was good entertainment but sadly, we can’t say that’s the worst place we’ve stayed at.

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