Welcome to Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
After clearing Ethiopia immigration, it was time to explore the Ethiopian border town of Metame. Probably the first thing that you notice in Metame are the bars. You see, in Sudan, alcohol is technically illegal, so there are few bars or disco clubs in the country. On the other hand, alcohol is plenty legal in Ethiopia and Metame takes full advantage of that. The town is still really only one street, a dusty dirt road that is lined with stalls and shops, but between each stall or shop is a bar, or at least another stall selling alcohol. The funny thing, is that each place displays the alcohol in almost the same way: on shelves behind the bar itself with a mirror wall as the background. There isn't much variety in the alcohol and you're not going to find any of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, but you do see the usual Gins and Whiskeys that just about every bar as.
First order of business for me was to walk up to the bus "station" and inquire about buses leaving for Gonder, the first town I wanted to visit in Ethiopia. Buses in Ethiopia have a peculiar habit of leaving around 6am every morning, no mater their destination. (They say they leave at 5.30am, but no bus that I've been on to date has left at that hour.) Of course, as a traveler, you stick out like a sore thumb in Metame and just about everyone wants to be your "guide" and "help you". One older teen and his younger friend really seemed persistent and even though I tried to loose them on the Sudanese side, they "found" me again on the Ethiopian side and didn't leave my side.
After finding out about the bus tickets, I realized that I needed to change some money since I only had Sudanese Dinars and US dollars, but needed Ethiopian BIR to purchase a bus ticket or to book a hotel room. Changing money at a border is always a headache and this time would prove to be no different. Normally I try and check exchange rates online before entering a new country, but in this case I didn't and it would prove to fatal.
My "guide" who's name I think was David, with his young companion in tow, was more then happy to "help" me change money. Unfortunately, I had no idea what the Dinar to BIR exchange rate was and there is so much disinformation regarding where you can change Sudanese currency that you sort of feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. I didn't want to arrive in Addis with Dinars that I couldn't change, nor did I want to change US dollars at the border since the rate is undoubtedly crap. So the best I could do was to dump a bunch of my Dinars and hope that I didn't get screwed too much. Well, I did get screwed, but that's not the end of the story...
The first shop/stall David took me to offered 25 BIR for 1000 Dinars, which seemed sort of low to me but I really didn't know. Of course David did all the talking with the store clerk, insisting this was a great deal, etc, etc.... Sure, lets try some other place just for a second opinion I thought. David obliged and we went to another place only to find the same rate. I thought something was up but since I couldn't speak Amharic (Ethiopian), I couldn't understand what David and the shop owner were saying. I was starting to feel a bit pressured to get this money exchanged since I still needed to purchase a bus ticket and get a hotel room and it was getting late. After lots of back and forth, I finally decided to change 8500 Dinars for 212 BIR, a rate of around 25 BIR for 1000 Dinars. My first indication that something was wrong was when David all but disappeared as soon as the deal was done. Whatever I though, so maybe I got screwed a few dollars, that's what you get at the border.
I headed back to the bus station to purchase my bus ticket, where I got befriended by another guide, this one by the name of Minase. He wanted to show me the hotel across from the bus station, so I followed him in. Remember, that the word "hotel" is being generous here. The rooms have dirt floors, rope beds and sheet metal for doors. The hotel wanted 60 BIR ( 7.50$US) for the room, which seemed rather steep. Just as I was looking at the room, someone came around the corner and asked if I wanted to change money. He said "Good rate for Dinars at 30 BIR." Shit, I double checked with him and sure enough he was offering 30 BIR for 1000 Dinars. I don't mind getting stiffed a bit, but I thought 42 BIR was a bit much, so I set off back to find David and his young companion.
Of course, David was no where to be found, but I did find his young sidekick and approached him. I told him that he owed me another 42 BIR and after a bit of hesitation, he walked back to the original stall and retrieved more money for me. Amazingly, he kept asking for a few BIR as commision or as a tip! Nope, sorry my friend, you're not giong to screw me and then get a tip! However, his obvious inexperience in riping people off would proof to come back to haunt him. You see, he made two fatal mistakes. First, he gave me more money without much of a fight, which is odd if not down right unheard of when dealing with black market money changers. Secondly, as we parted ways, he said "No hard feelings, just business is business." Remember, this guy is probably around 10 or 12 years old.
As I started walking back to the hotel, I couldn't help but think something was still wrong. What kind of black market money exchanger gives you more money after the deal is done without much of a fight... I could only think of type: someone who is still making a killer deal. Back at the hotel, my other guide, Menase was still waiting for me. I explained to him where I had just gone and he looked at me with that sort of, "Uh, you're still getting fucked my friend" look on his face. Apparently, the "official" black market rate for 1000 Dinars is 37 BIR, I was still way short.
I wanted proof and Menase took me over to the local pharmany, which apparently doubles as the "official" place to exchange money, even though there's no sign and it's clearly not a bank of exchange office. Sure enough, the lady behind the counter was willing to give me 314 BIR for 8500 Dinars, or almost 100 BIR (12$US) more then what David had originally given me.
Well, now I was pissed and figured if that little kid was going to say something like "Business is business", then I'd return to do some more, uh, business, with him. With Menase in tow (and some other local guide we picked up named Zinable) it was back to the original shop to find either David or the kid. This time, neither were present and the shop owner wasn't been particurily helpful either. I was about to give up and just call it a loss, after all, it was my fault in the first place, but Menase and Zinable insisted that I tell the immigration officer since I guess they are trying to crack down on this.
Off we went to the immigration office where the low officer at first didn't seem all that interest. I don't blame him, I mean, a tourist comes up to you complaining that they just got a poor exchange rate and want some help. If was him, I'd have just said "buyer beware" and left it at that. But this guy decided to walk back to the show with us to question the shop owner.
Now that we had some authorities with us, things got a lot more interesting. All of a sudden the shop owner was able to give us a name and description of both David and his sidekick. No one knew where they were, but as we walked up the main street, the immigration officer told Minasee to take me to a certain hotel, where we would rendezvous with us shortly to give an update. If you ever want to feel like an animal in a zoo, walk down the main street of Metame with an immigration officer. Even though he's in plain clothes, everyone knows he's got authority and just stares at you. I can only imagine how quickly word spread that the Canadian tourist was walking the streets with the immigration officer looking for David and his sidekick.
So Minasee, Zinable and I walked up to a hotel just a few feet past the first place we had checked out and they had slightly better rooms for 15 BIR (1.80$US), which seemed like a much better deal then worse rooms for 60 BIR. So I checked in and sat down to relax a bit, thinking I'd never see the immigration officer again.
Well, moments later guess who shows up in the hotel courtyard. It's the immigration officer, a police or security officer, a few other plain clothed adults and about a dozen kids. It's a lineup! The immigration officer asks me which two kids I dealt with and I point out David and his sidekick. The others run from the courtyard faster then you can say "RUN"!
Now things get interesting as the immigration officer and the police officer start grilling the two kids. I can't understand what's going on, but clearly the kids are taking a beating. Every so often one of the other adults chips in a few words for good measure. The kids plead their case, but it's not going well for them. Things get worse for them when presumably the officer asks them to empty their pockets, looking for cash. David does the classic reverse pocket "See they're empty!" technique and his young sidekick does the same. But the officer goes to pat them both down and guess what he finds in the back pocket of the young kid, a wad of cash.
Well, this prompts the police officer to rip a small branch off the tree to use as a whip. I mean, what self respecting officer doesn't already have a stick to begin with? The branch and subsequent whip are probably harmless, but they prove a point. So lots more arguing and the officers work out, with my help, that I'm still short 59 BIR.
First they hand over the wad of cash that the young kid had in his back pocket, which doesn't go over too well with the two kids. So I'm holding some cash in one hand and a flashlight in other, illuminating the cash just so no one gets suspicious that I'm about to steal that money. The two kids are getting drilled by the immigration officer, the police officer with the branch and about 3 plain clothed adults as Minase, Zinable and a bunch of hotel guests and workers look on. Clearly the way I expected to start my Ethiopian adventure.
Eventually, it becomes clear that neither of the kids has enough money on them to cover the difference so the officer sends out the little kid to find some cash. He comes back about 10 minutes later with some Sudanese Dinars, which gets us a bit closer to out final goal of 59 BIR.
Finally, the event has run it's course and the officer just says that the rest of the money will come shortly and that the hotel owner will give it to me. As everyone is filing out, David tries to get in a few words and rightly points out that "We had a deal at 25 BIR" and seemed rather annoyed that I wasn't honoring it. I felt like saying "Hey, business is business." but kept my mouth shout. When things are going your way, there's no need to stoke the fire. Frankly, if the little kid hadn't tipped me off, I probably would still be 100 BIR short, but I guess that's inexperience for you. I hope David finds a new sidekick soon or else things might get worse for him.
As a small token of gratitude, I picked up the drinks tab for Minase and Zinable as we watched a football watch. It was interesting lesson for them as well because Minasee had originally approached earlier in the day but I blew him off because at the time I didn't want to deal with another "guide". Turns out he was the honest one I should have gone with in the first place. By the end of the night, he had a better understanding as to why so many travelers don't trust random locals who just approach them offering to help. Regardless, if you're in Metame, ask around for Minasee or Zinable, they are at least two honest locals who really will help you out.
Oh, and in the end the hotel owner did come and hand me over the last of the money. I reflected at the end of the day that while I'm about as far from religious as you can get, it did occur to me that someone, or something, must be looking over my shoulder while traveling because too many "good things" have happened to me along this trip. (Remember my vest that got returned? Or my truck ticket purchased for me in Sudan?)
I'm not going to question it, but to everyone that has helped me so far, thank you....
Kenny
After clearing Ethiopia immigration, it was time to explore the Ethiopian border town of Metame. Probably the first thing that you notice in Metame are the bars. You see, in Sudan, alcohol is technically illegal, so there are few bars or disco clubs in the country. On the other hand, alcohol is plenty legal in Ethiopia and Metame takes full advantage of that. The town is still really only one street, a dusty dirt road that is lined with stalls and shops, but between each stall or shop is a bar, or at least another stall selling alcohol. The funny thing, is that each place displays the alcohol in almost the same way: on shelves behind the bar itself with a mirror wall as the background. There isn't much variety in the alcohol and you're not going to find any of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, but you do see the usual Gins and Whiskeys that just about every bar as.
First order of business for me was to walk up to the bus "station" and inquire about buses leaving for Gonder, the first town I wanted to visit in Ethiopia. Buses in Ethiopia have a peculiar habit of leaving around 6am every morning, no mater their destination. (They say they leave at 5.30am, but no bus that I've been on to date has left at that hour.) Of course, as a traveler, you stick out like a sore thumb in Metame and just about everyone wants to be your "guide" and "help you". One older teen and his younger friend really seemed persistent and even though I tried to loose them on the Sudanese side, they "found" me again on the Ethiopian side and didn't leave my side.
After finding out about the bus tickets, I realized that I needed to change some money since I only had Sudanese Dinars and US dollars, but needed Ethiopian BIR to purchase a bus ticket or to book a hotel room. Changing money at a border is always a headache and this time would prove to be no different. Normally I try and check exchange rates online before entering a new country, but in this case I didn't and it would prove to fatal.
My "guide" who's name I think was David, with his young companion in tow, was more then happy to "help" me change money. Unfortunately, I had no idea what the Dinar to BIR exchange rate was and there is so much disinformation regarding where you can change Sudanese currency that you sort of feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. I didn't want to arrive in Addis with Dinars that I couldn't change, nor did I want to change US dollars at the border since the rate is undoubtedly crap. So the best I could do was to dump a bunch of my Dinars and hope that I didn't get screwed too much. Well, I did get screwed, but that's not the end of the story...
The first shop/stall David took me to offered 25 BIR for 1000 Dinars, which seemed sort of low to me but I really didn't know. Of course David did all the talking with the store clerk, insisting this was a great deal, etc, etc.... Sure, lets try some other place just for a second opinion I thought. David obliged and we went to another place only to find the same rate. I thought something was up but since I couldn't speak Amharic (Ethiopian), I couldn't understand what David and the shop owner were saying. I was starting to feel a bit pressured to get this money exchanged since I still needed to purchase a bus ticket and get a hotel room and it was getting late. After lots of back and forth, I finally decided to change 8500 Dinars for 212 BIR, a rate of around 25 BIR for 1000 Dinars. My first indication that something was wrong was when David all but disappeared as soon as the deal was done. Whatever I though, so maybe I got screwed a few dollars, that's what you get at the border.
I headed back to the bus station to purchase my bus ticket, where I got befriended by another guide, this one by the name of Minase. He wanted to show me the hotel across from the bus station, so I followed him in. Remember, that the word "hotel" is being generous here. The rooms have dirt floors, rope beds and sheet metal for doors. The hotel wanted 60 BIR ( 7.50$US) for the room, which seemed rather steep. Just as I was looking at the room, someone came around the corner and asked if I wanted to change money. He said "Good rate for Dinars at 30 BIR." Shit, I double checked with him and sure enough he was offering 30 BIR for 1000 Dinars. I don't mind getting stiffed a bit, but I thought 42 BIR was a bit much, so I set off back to find David and his young companion.
Of course, David was no where to be found, but I did find his young sidekick and approached him. I told him that he owed me another 42 BIR and after a bit of hesitation, he walked back to the original stall and retrieved more money for me. Amazingly, he kept asking for a few BIR as commision or as a tip! Nope, sorry my friend, you're not giong to screw me and then get a tip! However, his obvious inexperience in riping people off would proof to come back to haunt him. You see, he made two fatal mistakes. First, he gave me more money without much of a fight, which is odd if not down right unheard of when dealing with black market money changers. Secondly, as we parted ways, he said "No hard feelings, just business is business." Remember, this guy is probably around 10 or 12 years old.
As I started walking back to the hotel, I couldn't help but think something was still wrong. What kind of black market money exchanger gives you more money after the deal is done without much of a fight... I could only think of type: someone who is still making a killer deal. Back at the hotel, my other guide, Menase was still waiting for me. I explained to him where I had just gone and he looked at me with that sort of, "Uh, you're still getting fucked my friend" look on his face. Apparently, the "official" black market rate for 1000 Dinars is 37 BIR, I was still way short.
I wanted proof and Menase took me over to the local pharmany, which apparently doubles as the "official" place to exchange money, even though there's no sign and it's clearly not a bank of exchange office. Sure enough, the lady behind the counter was willing to give me 314 BIR for 8500 Dinars, or almost 100 BIR (12$US) more then what David had originally given me.
Well, now I was pissed and figured if that little kid was going to say something like "Business is business", then I'd return to do some more, uh, business, with him. With Menase in tow (and some other local guide we picked up named Zinable) it was back to the original shop to find either David or the kid. This time, neither were present and the shop owner wasn't been particurily helpful either. I was about to give up and just call it a loss, after all, it was my fault in the first place, but Menase and Zinable insisted that I tell the immigration officer since I guess they are trying to crack down on this.
Off we went to the immigration office where the low officer at first didn't seem all that interest. I don't blame him, I mean, a tourist comes up to you complaining that they just got a poor exchange rate and want some help. If was him, I'd have just said "buyer beware" and left it at that. But this guy decided to walk back to the show with us to question the shop owner.
Now that we had some authorities with us, things got a lot more interesting. All of a sudden the shop owner was able to give us a name and description of both David and his sidekick. No one knew where they were, but as we walked up the main street, the immigration officer told Minasee to take me to a certain hotel, where we would rendezvous with us shortly to give an update. If you ever want to feel like an animal in a zoo, walk down the main street of Metame with an immigration officer. Even though he's in plain clothes, everyone knows he's got authority and just stares at you. I can only imagine how quickly word spread that the Canadian tourist was walking the streets with the immigration officer looking for David and his sidekick.
So Minasee, Zinable and I walked up to a hotel just a few feet past the first place we had checked out and they had slightly better rooms for 15 BIR (1.80$US), which seemed like a much better deal then worse rooms for 60 BIR. So I checked in and sat down to relax a bit, thinking I'd never see the immigration officer again.
Well, moments later guess who shows up in the hotel courtyard. It's the immigration officer, a police or security officer, a few other plain clothed adults and about a dozen kids. It's a lineup! The immigration officer asks me which two kids I dealt with and I point out David and his sidekick. The others run from the courtyard faster then you can say "RUN"!
Now things get interesting as the immigration officer and the police officer start grilling the two kids. I can't understand what's going on, but clearly the kids are taking a beating. Every so often one of the other adults chips in a few words for good measure. The kids plead their case, but it's not going well for them. Things get worse for them when presumably the officer asks them to empty their pockets, looking for cash. David does the classic reverse pocket "See they're empty!" technique and his young sidekick does the same. But the officer goes to pat them both down and guess what he finds in the back pocket of the young kid, a wad of cash.
Well, this prompts the police officer to rip a small branch off the tree to use as a whip. I mean, what self respecting officer doesn't already have a stick to begin with? The branch and subsequent whip are probably harmless, but they prove a point. So lots more arguing and the officers work out, with my help, that I'm still short 59 BIR.
First they hand over the wad of cash that the young kid had in his back pocket, which doesn't go over too well with the two kids. So I'm holding some cash in one hand and a flashlight in other, illuminating the cash just so no one gets suspicious that I'm about to steal that money. The two kids are getting drilled by the immigration officer, the police officer with the branch and about 3 plain clothed adults as Minase, Zinable and a bunch of hotel guests and workers look on. Clearly the way I expected to start my Ethiopian adventure.
Eventually, it becomes clear that neither of the kids has enough money on them to cover the difference so the officer sends out the little kid to find some cash. He comes back about 10 minutes later with some Sudanese Dinars, which gets us a bit closer to out final goal of 59 BIR.
Finally, the event has run it's course and the officer just says that the rest of the money will come shortly and that the hotel owner will give it to me. As everyone is filing out, David tries to get in a few words and rightly points out that "We had a deal at 25 BIR" and seemed rather annoyed that I wasn't honoring it. I felt like saying "Hey, business is business." but kept my mouth shout. When things are going your way, there's no need to stoke the fire. Frankly, if the little kid hadn't tipped me off, I probably would still be 100 BIR short, but I guess that's inexperience for you. I hope David finds a new sidekick soon or else things might get worse for him.
As a small token of gratitude, I picked up the drinks tab for Minase and Zinable as we watched a football watch. It was interesting lesson for them as well because Minasee had originally approached earlier in the day but I blew him off because at the time I didn't want to deal with another "guide". Turns out he was the honest one I should have gone with in the first place. By the end of the night, he had a better understanding as to why so many travelers don't trust random locals who just approach them offering to help. Regardless, if you're in Metame, ask around for Minasee or Zinable, they are at least two honest locals who really will help you out.
Oh, and in the end the hotel owner did come and hand me over the last of the money. I reflected at the end of the day that while I'm about as far from religious as you can get, it did occur to me that someone, or something, must be looking over my shoulder while traveling because too many "good things" have happened to me along this trip. (Remember my vest that got returned? Or my truck ticket purchased for me in Sudan?)
I'm not going to question it, but to everyone that has helped me so far, thank you....
Kenny
posted by Kenny Carruthers at 2/14/2006 03:16:00 AM
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