Practicalities:

• Ethiopia is not your typical tourist haunt, so don't expect typical tourist conveniences. There are important differences and if you are prepared, they will be merely charming idiosyncrasies.

• Visas are required for Canadians and Americans. They can be arranged upon arrival at the Bole Airport in Addis Ababa for $20 USD and about a 15 minute processing time.

• Most crucial: credit cards are used far less other countries. The major Addis hotels (Sheraton, Hilton) will accept them and will have automated equipment. Smaller hotels and stores may not take them at all. If they do, they will process manually. There may be limits to how much you can spend. Employees are often uncertain about the procedure and so the length of time to make a purchase can be daunting.

• Do not assume you can get money from an Automated Bank Machine. Although they have been introduced to the country, they do not all service international accounts.

• Take American cash or American Express Travelers' Cheques. Euros are accepted as well. Your Travelers' Cheques will be cashed in major towns, but only for Ethiopian currency. When travelling outside of a major center, take plenty of Ethiopian money (Birr) in small denominations.

• Toward the end of your stay, do not exchange too much money into Birr, as you are limited to what you can exchange back into dollars (Euros, etc)

• It is possible to be an independent traveler and enjoy the wonders of Ethiopia, but if you want to travel the Southern route to see the tribal people, you will need a lot of time, luck and patience. Hitchhiking with transport trucks is illegal. Busses can get you down to Jinka or Turmi as a jumping off point and you will find that there are many young touts professing to be guides, or professing to know good guides. A good rule of thumb is not to hire anyone who approaches you, looking for business. You will be taking your chances that he will have experience, driving ability, a mechanically reliable vehicle or familiarity with the tribal cultures. It is far safer to arrange your driver/guide and car out of Addis Ababa, with a reliable tour operator.

• There are several airlines flying into Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines has an excellent reputation for safety and service, and I had some of the best airline meals of my life with them. They fly out of Washington, D.C. and New York.

• As with any tropical country, you should contact your local Travel Clinic for the required immunizations. Also take your own medicines and health/hygiene supplies. The most exciting places you will want to visit could be several days drive away from a useful medical clinic. Your doctor can recommend a general antibiotic that could cover a host of general infections.

• There are several ways to have adventures: some like trekking, white water rafting, jungle camping. Be prepared for the other kind of adventures in Ethiopia: regular power outages, spotty internet services, and very, very basic hotels. While the hotels may offer a toilet and shower, there is not always water available to use them. Just consider it part of the adventure, give a little shrug and say, "What can I do?" It all makes for better stories when you get home.

• Ethiopia is acknowledged as arguably the safest country to travel within Africa. Aside from the usual pick pocketing concerns of most third world countries, there are few problems for travelers.

Religious Holidays and Festivals for 2010:

There are a great variety of holidays and religious celebrations. Following are a few of the important ones. Ethiopia is both Christian and Muslim, roughly half and half. The two groups co-exist peacefully and holidays are celebrated for both.

• Gena or Ethiopian Christmas is celebrated January 7th. The concentration is on the religious aspect.

• Festivals: Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) is the most important religious festival of the year and is celebrated January 19th. It is a glorious spectacle of priests in all their finery and traditional dancing, food and joyousness.

• Good Friday and Ethiopian Easter will be celebrated around April 1st. This date is to be confirmed.

• New Years is celebrated on September 11th. As the Ethiopians use the Julian Calendar, and they have 13 months in a year, they are several years behind the rest of the world. If you fly there today, it will not be 2009, but will be 2002. Think of it ! You will be 7 years younger!

• September 11th in 2010 will also be the end of Ramadan

• Meskel is the celebration of the Finding of the True Cross, by Empress Helena. It is celebrated September 27th. The homes are decorated with grasses and the delicate yellow meskel flowers, and huge bonfires are built.

Regarding Food:

• Food is spicy here!

• The traditional dishes are injera and wot and are usually eaten communally. Injera is a soft crepe-like fermented dough make from the local flour called teff. It is much more tasty than it looks. Wot is a stew-like meal made of chicken, beef, sheep or goat and vegetables. The injera is about the size of a bicycle tire and various kinds of wot will be scattered on top.

• Always wash your hands immediately before the meal--often a waiter will provide soap and a jug of water and bowl for you to do this at the table.

• Traditionally, only the right hand should be used for eating. The left may be used for picking up your glass or cup. One tears off a piece of injera, roughly the size of your palm, and then attempts to gather up the wot, fold the injera into an envelope and get it into your mouth without dribbling all over.

• Do your best--but don't worry, the Ethiopians are very forgiving if you have to slide that left hand into action in order to get any nourishment.

Keeping Time in Ethiopia:

What can add a different kind of spice to the trip is that time is measured differently in Ethiopia. They still use the 12 hour clock; but their day starts at 6:00 a.m. (which they refer to as 12:00 a.m.) For example, if your watch says 10:00 o'clock, in Ethiopia the watches and clock will read 4:00 o'clock. Always ask Habbishat (Ethiopian) or Orop (Europe) time?