Aksum, the famous ancient city, to those who aren't aware, Aksum was as busy and as important as Cairo or Rome. It was a major trading hub between the African and the Arabic world. We all have heard the names of Queen of Sheba and King Solomon but few know where they originated, well Aksum is the answer.

I went sightseeing for the day to see what ancient places were still there in this interesting city. Shocked and gutted was all I felt. There are some great things to see like the Obelisks that date back to the 13th century. One was stolen by the Italians and kept in Rome during their brief occupation of the Second World War. It has recently returned and erected to Aksum, however they shouldn't have bothered. The whole area around them has been urbanised, power lines cross between them and looks like a new hotel will be going up soon.A local man asked me what I thought about the city; I had to be honest and told him straight, 'they have ruined the place!!!' He didn't look too impressed but I'm not sure what else I could have said.

This place had such potential to be a world class place to visit. Speak to any Ethiopian and they will tell you that the Ark of the Covenant is kept in a little chapel in the city. No one is allowed near the chapel apart from a couple of priests to confirm or deny such claims. This of course does bring in tourists intrigued to see what it's all about. It's just a shame that it will never bring in the masses like it might have done.

Whilst I've been in Ethiopia I've met loads of people, too many to list unfortunately but I've found it to be the most sociable route I've ever travelled. People are really friendly and there isn't that many so it's great.

The final tale of Aksum was a backpackers dream. We'd booked the flight to Lailabela but for whole day it had been cloudy and the plane was unable to land. At 6.30pm we saw the plane coming into land, his wheels didn't even hit the ground, the pilot had to abandon the landing saying he couldn't see the runway, much to the airline disgust. So they told us we would be put in a hotel for the night. Now for most of the time id stop in pretty bad accommodation so when we pulled up to a 5 star hotel, I jumped for joy. It was amazing; your own room with carpets, hot water an Al carte food!!!! So I'd just like to thank Ethiopian airlines for their hospitality and all for $45!!!! :P