Ok so here is the first blog of my new adventure. Well as you may know I’ve been living in Australia working on a pig farm since February 2011. It was a really cool time but I’ve been really keen to get back on the road. The real truth is I just can’t put up with the Australia winter it’s too cold!!!
So here I am now in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia but it was an adventure getting here!! I booked my flight to Addis from Australia through a travel agent. The cheapest flight was on Yemania airlines from Kuala Lumpu, and there was a stopover in Sana’a, Yemen. I thought it was a bit dodgy but as I was only in the airport I thought there would be no problems.
So I firstly flew on Air Asia up to Kuala Lumpu and had a couple of days there to chill and get a few supplies, i.e anti-biotics and malaria tablets to name but a few. I was set to fly 17.25 on 21st July to Addis and arrived at the airport early about 2.30pm. Luck I did, as I went to check in I was told that my ticket was a fraudulent ticket and I couldn’t use it, as the card used to pay wasn’t in my name. This was because the agent had paid the airline and on Yemenia airlines it is illegal for agents to pay like this. The travel agent had said that they weren’t sure that they could book this ticket but after a few phone calls, I was assured it was O.K.
So here I was 3 hours before my flight and cant board, the ticket cost $750 so it was no small amount. I rang my agent in Australia and she assured me that the payment had been taken and that there was no reason I couldn’t use the ticket. I finally got to speak to the country manager and after some frantic pleading with him showing him my ticket he said I could board. My only worry at this point was that they would only print me a ticket for Kuala Lumpu to Sana’a, but not for Sana’a to Addis. I was told that there would be a ticket for my in Sana’a and I just had to show him my receipt if questioned.
I arrived in Sana’a via Dubai, the flight had been pleasant with no problems. When I went to get my ticket I was told that there was no ticket and that I would have to pay in cash the full amount again. I had only one hour connection time so I knew I was in trouble, I showed the manager my receipt of my payment to the travel agent but he refused to accept it saying it proved nothing. At this point things start to get a little tense and I was told that if I don’t pay I would be detained. Just to explain the situation with Yemen at the moment, the British government advise again all travel to this destination and there is no consular support.
I have to say this was probably the scariest experience I’ve had whilst travelling, I can’t obviously speak for the whole of Yemen but there were definite tensions there. So I had to pay in the end, it was really frustrating as now I will have to fight to get my money back off my travel agent. But everything worked out in the end and I’m now safely in Addis.
My first impression of Addis is one of surprise, it doesn’t like other African cities I’ve been too. The scenery reminds me of Pokara, Nepal as you are 2500m up. It’s also rained every day I’ve been here. I’ve been here for three days, I’ve just been making plans as to where I want to go and see. The Ethiopian people seem very laid back and generally quite friendly, they are a sister country to Jamaica after all!!
I’m now waiting for my travel buddy, her name is Jamila she’s a dancer from South Africa. I have actually met her yet as we met on Thorn Tree website. We’ve spent quite a bit of time chatting on Skype so hopefully we will get on. Well ill update soon Rich.