January 11th –  Lalibela

Another day in Ethiopia! After our very delicious and filling breakfast we walked to the bus station we were dropped off at the night before and we got tickets for a minibus to Gashena which is more than halfway to Lalibela. The distance from Dessie to Gashena is 225 kilometers which took us about 5 hours to get there. Once we reached Gashena we had a minor altercation with the bus drivers because they were trying to get away with not giving us our change back and also trying to charge us more to get to Lalibela from there. After that was sorted out we had our lunch and we were yet again on our way to Lalibela. It was quite a bumpy ride. From Gashena to Lalibela it is 64 kilometers, which took us about 3 hours to get there.

Once we got at our location we met three young gentlemen who guided us to our hotel free of any charge (we made sure to let them know that it was not necessary and that we could find our way, but they insisted and they seemed friendly enough). I got to admit they were a bit of a distraction because they engaged us with conversation and we couldn’t really concentrate on our surroundings, which is something one wants to do in a new location. They also told us a lot about themselves and that one of their birthday is tomorrow. They invited us to a get together the next day. Not sure if that is something they tell every tourist or not and at this point it was irrelevant. Just wanted to let you all know to just be aware. We found our hotel and got all settled in our room. It was time for dinner.

We went out for some food, found a small restaurant packed with people; not for the food but for the soap opera that was airing on TV, and it was for a dubbed one. We went into the other room, had our dinner and left. When finally back to our hotel room, we were tired and ready to sleep.

January 12th – Lalibela

Woke up and went for breakfast at the hotel we were staying. The hotel was quite the hotel with really beautiful designs, pleasant staff, and nice outdoor scene.

After breakfast, we decided to head on over to the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela, aka the reason we came which also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a short walk up we found the office to buy tickets, they charged me 10 birr, while they charged Meg 50$ for entrance. They suggested we get a tour guide to walk us through it all. We got a price of 500 birr.

Our tour lasted for a few hours. The tour guide tried his best to elaborate and explain each and every church we went to. We had a lot of questions, came to a point where our tour guide couldn’t answer them. We happened to be at one of the churches known as Beite Denagel (House of Virgins), there was a priest there (FYI every church has a designated priest), and so our tour guide directed the question at the priest. Our question was “Who is in charge of labeling or deeming one person as a saint?” This question came up because he was telling us how the churches came about, and how King Lalibela was considered a saint. What had happened was, after King Lalibela was born every inch of his infant body got covered in bees, which was understood as being covered in angels and or a sign from above. And when he became king, he slept for three whole days, people thought he was dead but his body wasn’t cold so they refrained from burying him. After three days passed King Lalibela arose and was determined to build the churches, New Jerusalem. As the pilgrimage to the actual one was getting complicated due to the Muslim conquest that was taking place. He also continued to say that it was King Lalibela with the help of angels that built all of the churches. We weren’t sure if the angels were a metaphor or not at this point but needless to say, there were more than angles helping. Which brings us back to why we asked the question we did. After some time spent trying and sort of failing to answer the question, the priest resorted to saying that we have no faith, and one must have faith in order to understand. The closest answer to our question came when the priest said, saints are considered saints based on their actions, or what they have accomplished. Which we can all relate to I think, like the saying says, “Actions speak louder than words!” saint or otherwise.

The other thing that I will mention about the tour is that the churches that symbolized heaven and hell.

For more information about the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela please click here.

We checked out of our hotel that afternoon to try and get the bus to our next destination, Gondar. We got to the bus station and must have waited about three hours in hopes to find transportation but to no avail. They informed us that the buses direct to Gondar leave at 5 AM, and we didn’t want to take a bus to Gashena (that location that is 3 hours away from Lalibela) and have to be stuck there over night, as it seemed to be a little town with no hotels in sight. But what we did do is eat three servings of this delicious plate of food, pic below at this home/restaurant that was across the station.

With our bellies full we headed back to the same hotel to check back in. That evening there was a beautiful full moon hanging in the skies, so we decided to grab a beer at the hotel bar and unwind.

Lella Misikir, 木兰

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January 10th, Addis to Dessie 

On the morning of Tuesday, January 10, I met Meg at our favorite juice place located at Bole Dildey (Bole Bridge). If one ever goes to Ethiopia, one does not simply leave without trying the juices at the juice places. They are scrumptious. We had juice, I had ‘sprice’ (a mix of all the fruits available) and Meg had an avocado one. After we had our juices we headed to the bus station known as Menahariya, which was a few kilometers away from Bole Dildey. 

Menahariya is a pretty crowded place, people coming into town, people going out of town, and people not really going anywhere but are there for the sheer buzz of it all. It can be quite hectic. Not to mention the fact that me being local and having to travel with Meg, a foreigner, is a completely different experience than just two locals traveling. So it was one local and one-foreigner woman. We drew a fair amount of attention to ourselves just because of the above-stated fact. The drivers of the buses and their assistant drivers were all suggesting locations on where we should go and why their bus was the right one for us, and that it is going to fill up in no time and that we should hop on as soon as possible. They also have a tendency of using their hands to herd me and Meg like cattle to their vehicles which we obviously didn’t stand for. Confronting them with “Hey, don’t touch me!” doesn’t bode well for them and won’t end well for us… after all we are trying to take their buses, it is best to not have an attitude for they will assume that you think you are better than them and so forth. In the end, all you can do is just try to keep some distance. One thing when communicating with them is to be as friendly and as chill as possible. Down to earth. But not too down to earth. Because they will try to take advantage in terms of making you pay much more than the actual price. There is a fine line I tell you, finding that might be a little tricky but once you do it is going to be a sweet ride.

We found a guy who looked legitimate enough and was selling tickets to Dessie, we wanted to go directly to Lalibela but there were no direct buses there at this time (around 11 AM). Usually, the direct buses leave at 5 am and also tickets are purchased a day before. So, we decided to buy the tickets to Dessie and off we went.

From Addis to Dessie it is 387 kilometers, and it took about 8 hours to get there. After driving for a few hours we stopped for a late lunch, they rushed us off and on the bus within 30 minutes. Lunch was decent enough, nothing to brag about really. Below are sceneries and goats that caught my eye on the way to Dessie.

January 10th, Dessie 

We got to Dessie around 7-8 pm. Meg and I looked for a hotel, found one that claimed it had Wi-Fi, and when we got to the room the Wi-Fi signal was too weak we couldn’t even connect. I informed the staff that one of the main reasons we are in this hotel is because they have Wi-Fi and if there is something they could do so we can connect to the Wi-Fi, such as give us another room. They said they couldn’t offer us any other room because they have one bed, and two women aren’t allowed to share a room that has only one bed (company policy he says, wtf right?). Finally, the owner comes and says how he isn’t the service provider as in the Wi-Fi service provider and that he cannot construct us another line just for us. And that was our queue to get the hell out of that hotel. Right across there was another hotel with cheaper prices and also claimed that they had Wi-Fi. We booked a room… no Wi-Fi but really sweet staff, which is all you need when it comes down to it. Once we got our shelter for the night sorted we decided to get some food. We grabbed some food, again not much to brag about. I have to mention how cold it actually was, coming from China winter season I was not expecting this type of cold when I returned back home. It was 1 degree Celsius. We were coooldddd and not prepared well for it. We went back to our hotel and called it a night.

January 11th, Dessie

Woke up next morning, Wednesday, January 11. I had forgotten to buy a toothbrush the night before so I went out to get one to realize the view from our room’s hallway was amazing. Photos below.

We got ready, checked out in search for some breakfast before we continued to our original destination. We walked around for a bit and found this cute little place that looked like it had some decent food. Now, this is definitely something to brag about. Meg and I had ‘ful’ not sure how to spell it, but it is basically beans seasoned with some butter and spice (we had the fasting version, but as delicious, yummyyyyy!!). I had to take photos of the menu and also the cute little place.

Lella Misikir, 木兰

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January 7th – January 17th, Ethiopia 

This particular trip back home was by the far the least expected, least planned and yet the most anticipated one. I have been back home every year since I moved to China 5 years ago. I have lived in Ethiopia for 18 years of my life before I went abroad. But for the life of me I have never actually traveled in and around Ethiopia. Not sure why, but maybe because it is my own country, and took it for granted. Typical.

Recently before my travel, I had what I like to call ‘a better understanding of life‘ than ever before so I decided I needed to see my own country, find out more about my roots, and about the country itself. Living abroad for a while now you meet people who sometimes know more about your country than you do, and that is something I wanted not to have in my life anymore. I know very little. So it doesn’t even take much in-depth knowledge to know more than I do. Another reason why was; where can be the best place to test out your new self but home with family (I got nothing but love for them though). Not to mention the last but never least reason was my superwoman friend Meg was also going to be in Addis same time I was for her East African trip. So I obviously packed my bags and left.

My flight was Jan 6 from Chengdu and landed on Jan 7, 6 AM in the morning also known in Ethiopia as Christmas Day Morning. That reminds I was also on a mission to have meat free Christmas with my family hence the timing of the trip. Needless to say I failed. Failed as in if had I really wanted that to happen I should have planned my trip at least a week earlier as opposed to the morning of Christmas. Perhaps failing isn’t the right word.

After spending Christmas day eating and making merry, me and my friend who is visiting decided that our travels in and around Ethiopia should start January 10, Tuesday. Our plan was to go from Addis Ababa (our current location) to Lalibela, from Lalibela to Gondar, from Gondar to Bahir Dar, from Bahir Dar, to Addis Ababa, a total of 1,767 kilometers in a time frame of one week.

Lella Misikir 木兰

Like her writing? More articles of her coming & definitely check out her blog too!
Interested in being a guest writer too? contact me!

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