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13 MONTHS OF GORGEOUS WOMEN y boss recently instructed me to travel to Ethiopia. Hoping to be better prepared by conducting some ‘pre-travel research’, I emailed my well travelled friend Ohanga for some information. A couple of hours later I received this reply: “Well, there’s some good food at the Zebra Grill on Bole road in the capital Addis Ababa. They do have a sour tasting thing called ‘injera’ -which I doubt you will enjoy-and even m o r e
bizarre, is that uncooked meat is a delicacy there. Their best beer is St Georges and there are a couple of good nightclubs like Memo. The price for most commodities will be quoted in dollars when they actually mean birr, their local currency. The local scenery is also worth a mention, Ethiopian women are drop dead gorgeous. English is scarcely spoken and when done, connectors are largely superfluous. Please don’t forget to carry some Axumit wine back as a gift for your
“Ethiopia was very much like you promised. When I arrived, I befriended a toothless cab driver called Chernet. His box-shaped “Lada” was a Russianmade excuse for a car that was so old it had surpassed the maximum kilometre reading. He was however quite resourceful so despite fearing that the car would fall apart at any moment, I decided to retain him for a drive around town that evening. He arrived at about 10pm, whiteless smile in tow. English, or more appropriately the lack thereof, is as you described – not a conjunction in sight. “We go music and woman” is what the man thought I wanted to hear. We headed to Memos club which initially played American music but as midnight approached, the monotonous din of Amharic tunes began to rule without interruption. To the untrained ear, it sounds like one very long song that never ends so I did not last very long on the dance floor. Instead, I sat close by and watched the locals engage in a very entertaining dance.
“It was a great privilege to visit what is perhaps the most unique country on this continent.” friends; it’s indigenous and very sweet. Stay away from Saba Tej, the local brew, we were told it is the medicine for real men. Have a Safe trip.” My research done, I boarded a comfortable Ethiopian Airlines flight for Addis Ababa a few days later. It was quite an eventful trip and as soon as I got back, I eagerly wrote back to Ohanga letting him know how it went.
You were right about the women. One would not be blamed for thinking that entrance for ladies was limited to those who prevail upon the barometer of beauty. I am yet to see a bigger collection of angelic faces outside of a carefully casted TV show. Sensing I was foreign, a number of ‘working girls’ approached me with steep
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