Difference between revisions of "Ethiopia"
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| − | '''Ethiopia''' is listed as one of the world poorest countries, and very few people have cars there. Nevertheless, hitchhiking there is possible and completely doable, although it might require some patience of yours. Ethiopians probably see a hitcher as having a robbery or banditry motive since hitchhiking is an unknown concept there, however, white guys might have a bonus. Taxis might stop for you if you use a wrong hitchhiking technique. In rural areas, ''faranji'' might do hitchhiking when public transport is absent although payment can be expected in a matter of contribution to the high cost of fuel (according to the Lonely Planet). Nevertheless, it is possible to catch some free rides. Just tell the driver clearly you won't pay when boarding a vehicle. | + | '''Ethiopia''' is listed as one of the world poorest countries, and very few people have cars there. Nevertheless, hitchhiking there is possible and completely doable, although it might require some patience of yours. Ethiopians probably see a hitcher as having a robbery or banditry motive since hitchhiking is an unknown concept there, however, white guys might have a bonus. Taxis might stop for you if you use a wrong hitchhiking technique. In rural areas, ''faranji'' might do hitchhiking when public transport is absent although payment can be expected in a matter of contribution to the high cost of fuel'' (according to the Lonely Planet)''. Nevertheless, it is possible to catch some free rides but it may require patience. Just tell the driver clearly you won't pay when boarding a vehicle. |
| + | |||
| + | Ethiopia is a fairly safe country, however the ''faranji'' frenzy will definitely quickly become an annoyance as you travel throughout the country. Along some rural main roads, it has been commonly heard that white foreigner (cyclist or 4WD) were thrown rock at them as part of an attention seeking game. | ||
[[Image:Ethopia2 alex.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Having a free lift (in this case with people from a NGO).]] | [[Image:Ethopia2 alex.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Having a free lift (in this case with people from a NGO).]] | ||
| − | The country's car license plate system is very specific: the colour states the status of the ownership (''Blue'' for Private / ''Black'' for Government / ''Orange'' for Businesses or NGOs / ''Red'' for Taxis). The NGOs plate always starts with a number (generally 35, other numbers simply specify the origins of the local organisation) while CD (White/Yellow/Black) represents | + | |
| + | The country's car license plate system is very specific: the colour states the status of the ownership (''Blue'' for Private Ownership/ ''Black'' for Government / ''Orange'' for Businesses or NGOs / ''Red'' for Taxis). The NGOs plate always starts with a number ''(generally 35, other numbers simply specify the origins of the local organisation)'' while ''' ''CD ''' (in White/Yellow/Black)'' represents embassies and diplomatic cars with the first number specifying the country of origin. The 2 letters of the region of registration also appears on the license plate, both in Latin alphabet and local Amharic; As example, ''AA'' stands for Addis Ababa. | ||
==Borders== | ==Borders== | ||
| − | + | ||
| + | According to the Lonely Planet, the border with [[Djibouti]] through [[Galafi]] is accessible only by hitching for its last length with the load of truckers doing the road between [[Djibouti City|Djibouti]] Harbour and [[Awash]] where a payment of about 150-200Birr (from [[Logiya]]) can be expected. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Note that hitching along that road could reveal extremely harsh and dangerous due to local banditry and more especially due to the harshness of this desertic environment (along the Awash-Djibouti Road). | ||
There are borders with: | There are borders with: | ||
* [[Eritrea]]: Border crossing is currently closed since the 1998 war | * [[Eritrea]]: Border crossing is currently closed since the 1998 war | ||
| − | * [[Djibouti]]: via [[Logiya]] and [[Galafi]] '''or''' via [[Dire Dawa]] and [[Gelille]] | + | * [[Djibouti]]: via [[Logiya]] and [[Galafi]] |
| + | '''or''' via [[Dire Dawa]] and [[Gelille]] | ||
* [[Somalia]]/[[Somaliland]]: via [[Jijiga]] ''(to [[Somaliland]])'' | * [[Somalia]]/[[Somaliland]]: via [[Jijiga]] ''(to [[Somaliland]])'' | ||
* [[Kenya]]: via [[Moyale]] | * [[Kenya]]: via [[Moyale]] | ||
| Line 32: | Line 39: | ||
* [[Bahir Dar]] | * [[Bahir Dar]] | ||
* [[Dire Dawa]] | * [[Dire Dawa]] | ||
| + | * [[Awassa]] | ||
| + | * [[Jijiga]] | ||
==Caution== | ==Caution== | ||
| − | + | ||
| + | * Beware of Landmines at the border regions to Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Kenya! | ||
| + | * Some Regions are simply closed for Foreigner, either due to the risk of attack, local tension or banditry. These usually includes the Ethiopian Somali Region ''(Werder)'' and the border with [[Eritrea]]. Other region such as the southwestern border with Sudan and Kenya as well as the Afar region can be volatile, so enquire before you go. | ||
| + | * Refrain from giving to beggars or children, be it small changes, pencils or any goods whatsoever as these raises their dependency and expectation on tourist. | ||
== Links == | == Links == | ||
Revision as of 19:18, 2 May 2009
 Ethiopia | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Language: | Amharic |
| Capital: | Addis Ababa |
| Population: | 78,254,090 |
| Currency: | Birr (ETB) |
| Hitchability: |  (average)
|
| More info: | AVP Free Encyclopedia (Russian) |
| Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots | |
| <map lat='9.622414142924805' lng='38.60595703125' zoom='5' view='0' float='right' /> | |
Ethiopia is listed as one of the world poorest countries, and very few people have cars there. Nevertheless, hitchhiking there is possible and completely doable, although it might require some patience of yours. Ethiopians probably see a hitcher as having a robbery or banditry motive since hitchhiking is an unknown concept there, however, white guys might have a bonus. Taxis might stop for you if you use a wrong hitchhiking technique. In rural areas, faranji might do hitchhiking when public transport is absent although payment can be expected in a matter of contribution to the high cost of fuel (according to the Lonely Planet). Nevertheless, it is possible to catch some free rides but it may require patience. Just tell the driver clearly you won't pay when boarding a vehicle.
Ethiopia is a fairly safe country, however the faranji frenzy will definitely quickly become an annoyance as you travel throughout the country. Along some rural main roads, it has been commonly heard that white foreigner (cyclist or 4WD) were thrown rock at them as part of an attention seeking game.
The country's car license plate system is very specific: the colour states the status of the ownership (Blue for Private Ownership/ Black for Government / Orange for Businesses or NGOs / Red for Taxis). The NGOs plate always starts with a number (generally 35, other numbers simply specify the origins of the local organisation) while CD (in White/Yellow/Black) represents embassies and diplomatic cars with the first number specifying the country of origin. The 2 letters of the region of registration also appears on the license plate, both in Latin alphabet and local Amharic; As example, AA stands for Addis Ababa.
Borders
According to the Lonely Planet, the border with Djibouti through Galafi is accessible only by hitching for its last length with the load of truckers doing the road between Djibouti Harbour and Awash where a payment of about 150-200Birr (from Logiya) can be expected.
Note that hitching along that road could reveal extremely harsh and dangerous due to local banditry and more especially due to the harshness of this desertic environment (along the Awash-Djibouti Road).
There are borders with:
- Somalia/Somaliland: via Jijiga (to Somaliland)
- Kenya: via Moyale
- Sudan: via Metemat, note that visa is required in advance which takes up to one month to obtain.
Cities
Caution
- Beware of Landmines at the border regions to Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Kenya!
- Some Regions are simply closed for Foreigner, either due to the risk of attack, local tension or banditry. These usually includes the Ethiopian Somali Region (Werder) and the border with Eritrea. Other region such as the southwestern border with Sudan and Kenya as well as the Afar region can be volatile, so enquire before you go.
- Refrain from giving to beggars or children, be it small changes, pencils or any goods whatsoever as these raises their dependency and expectation on tourist.
Links
- My time in Ethiopia, August 19, 2005 by Hologram
- Ethiopia at Wikitravel
- Ethiopia on digihitch
- Articles on abgefahren-ev.de/blogs about Ethiopia (de)
