Gonder – the gate to the wilderness

my scottish impression - palace of Fasilides

This is actually my favorite city so far. With more than half a million inhabitants it is quite huge to me. The landscape is more green. They are building the 52^th University of the country here in Gonder and the airport you are allowed to smoke in the restaurant. 

Our guide took us to the Palace of Fasilides the founder of the city. With the rain and the clouds it reminded me of Scottland.

Dschellada

On a hill nearby the center there is the trinitiy church. I am not a religous person but this church is just beautiful. Paintings cover not only the walls but also the ceiling. The legend tells that when the muslims wanted to take the city they climbed up the hill and wanted to destroy the church. As the church had his own natural gardians the muslims had to ran away very fast. Bees were living there and stung the conquerors. They did not only leave the church but also the city.

what would you see with nice weather?

Gonder's nightlife is very interesting too. The clubs are in garages not much bigger than 50 square meters. The music is very loud and the barkeepers are always smiling.

From Gonder it is only a day excursion to the Simien National Park. This is not only the home of the Dscheladas (monkeys) the ethiopian wolf and the walia (capricorn) it is also very famous for its mountains. Sadly during the rain season there are to many clouds and fog to take this beauty home. So I have to go again to take the pictures and to go for a trekking.

Lalibela – the cultural capital of Ethiopia

The life in this dry region north of Addis is completely different. Rocks and stones every where. You will realise that water is a precious good! So it is not very interesting to travel in this region you might think. But you have to go there I can tell you. 

the famous rock-hewn church - bet giyorgis

The churches of Lalibela are unesco world heritage and were built in 12/13 century. For us tourists the churches and the landscape merge to a beautiful scene but for the most visitors it is a pilgrimage. The entrance fee is very high (I think we paid 50$ including guide for a 4h tour to all churches.) You will never forget this incredible place.  

shoes stay outside

Addis Abbeba – Ethiopias Capital

Ethiopias capital city lies in a valley on round 2000m above sea level. From the hills around you have a nice view on the huge city. To tell you the truth I did not like the city very much. It is noisy, dirty and there are too many people. There are constructions every where. Tramways just have been finished, houses and roads are been built. But still there are lots of ruins.

There are a couple of nice museums such as the ethno museum which is the home of Lucy the first human being kind of. The university has a lush garden and there is as well a the history museum based.

Just around the corner there is Lucy again. But this time it is the name of a delicious restaurant.

The trinity church is a must see of Addis. The ethiopians are very religious so the church will always be full. When we were visiting the people were singing – it was so beautiful to hear.

Most of the tourists enter the country here in Addis international airport. As most of the flights arrive late at night or early in the morning it is very likely that you will stay for a couple of nights in the capital. I suggest two nights to explore the city.

Coffee, cultural sites and dusty roads - Ethiopia 1

I did not feel like going to Mallorca or Crete for a one week fam trip (Familarization Trip). So I decided to go to Ethiopia.

To take ahead it was worth to take such a long journey for just one week. A nice group, very friendly people, best coffe ever and so many beautiful things to see and do and I am not only talking of the women ;-)

The fam trip took place from 12-19 June 2016 with a group of 15 people and the general manager of a local dmc.


We visited the blue cities and their surroundings. Ethiopia is tree times bigger than France so in order not to lose to much time we flew a couple of times to make a little effort.

These cities are all more than 2200 meter above see level but still it is quite warm there. We were lucky with the weather it did rain in the evinings but not during day. Well in June rain season starts and ends in September. Let us hope there will be rain this year.

Ethiopa has around 99 Mio inhabitants and the most are christians (orthodox) The currency is Birr and the costs are ver low for us.

Ethiopia was never colonized allthough the Italians occupied the country during the second Italo-Ethiopian war (1935-1941).

Today Ethiopia is the home of many african organisations such as African Union or the econimic comission for africa because Ethiopia is very stable.

Bangkok at second sight

fun to ride but annoying

After the relaxing week in Krabi we went back to Thailands capitol for another two night because we had our flight back home from Bangkok.
The second time to see this city gave me good impression of the town. I talked to different people and they agreed with my feelings and impressions.

My advise for your trip
Transportation as I sad is the easiest and cheapest by train or metro. If you want more comfort take a taxi. They are quite cheap and realiable.
Do not take a tuk-tuk because they often work with some tailor. That means you will get a very low price for your journey. If the price is really ridicolous the driver will stark asking you to go to see this and that which is quite nice. After that he asks to buy some shirts or scarfs. He would know a place. We do not have to buy but to see. That way he receives a stamp. Enough stamps he gets free gasoline... Travelling without arguing - taxi or public transportation.

My opinion of this city: 
I first liked the city very much, Not very dirty, people are quite nice, good food....
When we came back that changed a lot.

view from the room

The roads are not very dirty but the air and the river are very much. The tuk-tuk drivers are not very friendly and probably poor guys. The city never sleeps. No matter of time it is very likely that there is a traffic jam in Bangkok.
There are lots of cultural sights to see. And to be honest we did not see the each and every corner of Bangkok but it semes that there are not many different things to see. Yes, hundreds of temples but if you have seen one you have seen them all.

To make a long story short I will certainly go there for a stop over to buy some new shirts and go for the delicous street food but not for anything else. I am sorry to tell you, Bangkok, you are not my city. 

chilling at the beach - the relaxing thailand

A one and a half hours flight from Bangkok southways there are the famous regions for beach holidays. Phuket and Kho Samui are probably the most popular islands of Thailand. Beach, ocean, parties are tied together with these places.

Aonang Beach (Krabi)

We went to Krabi that lies on the mailand but is quiet the same. So I will give you a typical daily program of our stay in Krabi. After breakfast we went to buy some water and proceded to the nice beach. One of us went swiming the other one took a nap. The we changed, Sometimes we went to get some water or beer. In the evening we went to the hotel and took a shower. After that we took a drink at the bar and went out for dinner. The famous thai massage we had after dinner and before the last drink of the day. 

Oh, I loved it. Relaxing at the beach and having a couple of drinks. 

Since we had our massages and beers, we did not feel like going for some party. Krabi is ver touristic. Hotels, bars, restaurants, massage salons, shops..... The prices are not very cheap. That means they are but you do have to know where. 

I want to give you my recomendation for a few things. 

First of all there is this restaurant that serves brilliant thai food. KoDam Kitchen is in Aonang Krabi in the real center. Try the papaya salad if you are strong enough. The other good restaurant is the Cuckos Nest and bar. Cool staff and nice food. 

Getting around in Thailand

Travelling to and trought Thailand is very easy.

There are many airlines operating daily to Bangkok, Phuket and all these famous places.

The country is very well organised. There are buses, trains, boats and planes runing/flying all over the country. You can even take a taxi from Bangkok to Krabi if you feel like.

The most convenient way to make long distances are flights. Thai Airways is the rolls royce amoung the airlines. Bangkok Airways is cheaper and of course there is Air Asia. I recomend Thai because they are very good and collaborate with star alliance. 

So we had a nice flight from Bangkok to Krabi.

tuk-tuk in Bangkoks China Town

In Bangkok the easiest way to get around is to take a taxi or the skytrain or metro. Public transportation is allways fully packed but very cheap. Taxis are the best way to travel trough this city. Not too expensive and with ac. Actually it is better to take a taxi than e tuk-tuk. These small motos are typicall for Thailand and a huge part of Asia. If you get a tuk-tuk for very cheap do not take it. You will have to buy a scarf or a suit.

Down in the south we mostly walked or took a tuk-tuk. Without buying a scarf J

From Krabi you can go by car and ferry to Phuket or Kho Samui for cheap money. I did not try it out but it made a good impression.