I am now in Zanzibar. My last evening in Ethiopia was amazingly good (but not very Ethiopian). The tour of the south (which was hellish because of the camping, cold or no showers, hot beers, and some other craziness) was even harder than the north, so I treated myself to a night at the Sheraton (my happy place in Ethiopia). Lovely room, incredibly good service, very hot shower and lovely bubble bath. I think I am finally clean.
One of the perks: the VIP lounge (free cocktails). In my first meeting with Americans in nearly 4 weeks, I managed to get into a big argument with a Texan ex-Marine about politics, same-sex marriage, the second Intifada and the current situation in Gaza, the Iraq war ... it was great.
Dinner was beautiful: amazingly good Indian food, and conversation with a pretty fascinating British-raised Indian businessman currently living in Lagos but in Ethiopia to check on one of his factories (prognosis: bleak). One of the best talks I've had in ages, and we didn't even bother to exchange names (despite talking for nearly 4 hours).
Huge contrast from camping and drop toilets and camp food (whcih was good -- the chef made an amazing potato leek soup, but some were turned off by the goat slaughter that occurred whenever people were craving protein). I have never been so dirty as I was from January 3-13, and I hope never to be that dirty again.
Tomorrow, I'll upload photos, talk a bit about the craziness that was the south, and finally move on the Zanzibar (where my bathroom is larger than my bedroom and features a beautiful bath tub with antique blue tiles that looks rather like a fountain).
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