Ethiopia...and a guest house experience

 If I had one recommendation for travelers who love to expericne the world like a local I would tell each person to experience lodging in a guesthouse in the country youare traveling through.  The pros ofa guesthouse far outweigh the cons the home cooked meals and friendly and warmwelcome of a guesthouse staff makes being half way around the world almost likebeing at home.  Blogging fromEthiopia, however, is hit or miss. You never know if you will be able to have internet connection from oneday to the next.  This is especially the case if you chose to go the guesthouse route rather than thewestern hotel route of lodging while over there.  There is no guarantee that your guesthouse will even havepower from one day to the next. Last summer Ethiopia experienced mandatory blackouts 3 out of the 7 daysa week to conserve their energy. If you are connected to your laptop you might want to wean yourself off of it before you arrive in Addis Ababa, because between blackouts and poorinternet connection you may be out of luck

Our home away from home while in Addis Ababa is the NewFlower Guest House.  The New Floweris 5 minutes away from Bole International Airport, a very convenientlocation.  It is run by a wonderful Ethiopian/American woman.  She spent many years in the United States so there is no language barrier and someof her cuisine is good old American comfort food like Mac n Cheese and FrenchFries.  Guesthouses typicallycharge a lot less money for a nights stay than a hotel.  One night at the New Flower is $80compared to much more expensive Hilton or Sheraton located in downtown AddisAbaba.   You may have to sharea bathroom  with other guests andyou don’t have a lot of privacy but if you like hanging out with fellowtravelers and share your travel experence I would highly recommend the guesthouse experience.  

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Comments (4)

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written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , November 26, 2009

We had also very bad experiences with the owner of the new flower guesthouse.
I know the old lady looks very nice, but she is a big cheater!!!

Much love
Denise

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written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , November 26, 2009

We had also very bad experiences with the owner of the new flower guesthouse.
I know the old lady looks very nice, but she is a big cheater!!!

Much love
Denise

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written by Kelly, May 22, 2009

I'm questioning the validity of the comment. Maybe you could explain how she owes you money? This sounds like a personal attack. The New Flower is a wonderful place to stay. I've stayed there a few times and have been happy.

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written by jeanette, April 06, 2009

Hello, We have very bad experiences with the woman, Sasu,Nina, who runs the new flower guesthouse now. She is a big cheater!!! Be warned, this nice looking woman, Sasu is not honest. She ows us a lot of money.
So I just want to warn everybody!!! BE AWARE!!!!!!!for her!!!
Mother of 2 beautifull adoptionchildren from Ethiopia

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