Me and Teddy’s Ethiopia Adventure: 10 Days Exploring with Abyssinia Explorer Tours

Teddy’s 10 Day Ethiopian Adventure

On my second day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after getting back from Unity Park — and a restaurant where I’d stopped for dinner (and a couple of beers) — I booked myself a tour to Debre Libanos Monastery on GetYourGuide before going to bed that night.

This was after having the same tour cancelled on Viator.com earlier that day, only a day after having my first booked tour to Adadi Mariyam cancelled as well.

So, I was kind of worried that I’d have this tour cancelled too, but I was surprised to get a message roughly an hour later from Asmir — who I’d already spoken to on WhatsApp.

He’d been introduced to me by the other guide I’d booked my cancelled tour to Adadi Mariyam with, and our first communication the day before had involved him trying to upsell me a more expensive tour package lasting three or four days.

I didn’t want to book this. What I really wanted was to pay just £50 for a cheap group tour with other people — exactly the sort of money I’d paid for this tour to Debre Libanos.

You see quite a few of these cheaper tours advertised on both GetYourGuide and Viator. You’d think they were all readily available to book, but what I later found out was that offering tours at these prices is only really worth it for the tour companies if they can get a group booking — not when it’s just one tourist like myself.

However, to my surprise, Asmir messaged me to say that he’d be taking me on this £50 tour the next morning, and that was that.

It was actually pretty cool. Debre Libanos Monastery was the main tour I’d looked at before coming to Ethiopia, and I loved the fact that I was actually going to be visiting here.

---

I’m quite interested in monkeys. I mean, I have a deep interest in all wildlife, but the idea of seeing wild baboons up in the mountains was something that definitely made me want to come here on this tour in particular.

Especially because I’d be able to share photos with my little two-year-old niece, who always asks about my encounters with the “ohh oh ah ahs”.

She’s basically been doing this ever since I went to Morocco back in January 2024, and she’s always been very eager to see my monkey photos.

I mean, I love seeing them myself and visiting all these amazing places too, but coming home to her cute little reactions when I show her photos of the different species of primates I’ve encountered is always very funny.

Although, I can’t really say I do it just for her. I’ve always had quite a fascination with animals, especially wild ones, so there’s that too.

Ancient history is also something else I’m very interested in. This tour was great for that too because it has a lot to do with the history of Christianity in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Bible.

I would definitely recommend Debre Libanos to people interested in both wildlife and history, and for a first Ethiopian tour, I think this is a great place to start.

Meeting Asmir and The Start Of My Tour

---

From the start, I really liked how professional Asmir was. Compared to other tours I’ve been on, where all I’ve been given is a location on Google Maps and a time to turn up, this was a nice change.

What I particularly appreciated was having some communication before my tour started. Asmir also arranged a pickup location closer to where I was staying, which was very helpful as well.

Although, I did wonder about Asmir’s intentions for taking me on this tour. I was pretty sure he was only doing it to try and upsell me one of his longer, more expensive tour packages.

I mean, I suppose this wasn’t really an issue, but I sensed it wasn’t all him just being nice.

What he later told me was that both Viator (Tripadvisor) and GetYourGuide take quite a hefty commission fee (around 30%) on tours like this one, so they’re rarely financially worthwhile for tour operators unless there’s a group booking.

I think that, in Ethiopia, there aren’t always lots of tourists booking the same tours. I don’t know if this is seasonal or what, but when I got here, it didn’t seem very busy at all.

I mean, I’ve never booked a group tour where I’ve been the only person to turn up, but really, I was just happy that I had the chance to go.

I was grateful to Asmir for agreeing to take me, especially under the circumstances of it being just me.

Driving To Debre Libanos

---

We set off for Debre Libanos in the morning, with Asmir talking to me about the history of Ethiopia. We discussed the country, the Queen of Sheba, the economy and things like the ongoing conflicts.

We had an interesting chat about the world, the UK and other things over breakfast before getting back on the road and continuing towards our destination.

The drive itself was quite interesting, I thought. I’d heard a lot about the mines in Africa, but this was my first time ever seeing one with my own eyes.

It was quite intense, really, with all the trucks we had to queue up behind. Some were rammed full of people, and you could even see goats with their heads hanging out of the windows as well of some other vehicles.

There were a lot of people heading towards and away from the area. It seemed like we would never get out of this traffic jam — it just went on forever.

---

Me and Asmir took a walk while we waited for the driver to get past the traffic.

He said that at this time of year in Ethiopia, it’s winter. You wouldn’t think so, as everywhere was still green and lush, but apparently, when it’s summer, it gets so hot here that hardly any plants or vegetation can grow at all.

September is actually part of the wet season. It was probably why I was the only person on this tour, lol.

August is apparently a bit better, but I didn’t mind September so much. It rained, but it wasn’t non-stop, and for the most part, it really wasn’t too much trouble.

Gelada Baboons, Debre Libanos Monastery and the Portuguese Bridge

---

This was quite a mission getting here with all the traffic. The lorries working around the mine meant we had a lot of waiting to do before we finally got past them and arrived in the nearby village.

It was a busy day here. We were very close to the Ethiopian New Year, and there was a big annual market taking place on this day.

Again, driving through here took quite a while. Getting past all the tuk-tuks and other traffic was quite a mission, but finally, we got through.

And to my amazement, this was where I had my first encounter with the gelada baboon troops in the area!

---

I’d wondered before getting here whether seeing them was really a sure thing, but here they were!

It was a big group of them too, possibly as many as 50.

It seemed to me that this was somewhere you’d be quite likely to see these baboons. Asmir later told me that you can actually get very close to them and that they’re generally quite relaxed around people.

They’re sometimes called bleeding-heart baboons, although geladas aren’t actually true baboons. They’re also unusual among primates because their diet consists almost entirely of grasses.

You might not think it to look at them, as some of these bleeding-heart baboons look quite fierce, but they seemed very docile compared with some of the other baboons I encountered in Ethiopia.

For me, of course, just meeting the baboons was the highlight of the whole tour.

I would have happily finished up here and left, but actually visiting Debre Libanos Monastery and the Portuguese Bridge waterfall afterwards was quite special too.

Likewise, I think if I’d only visited these two places and hadn’t seen the baboons, I still would have had a good day out.

It was a nice little mix of wildlife, nature and history.

The monastery is probably one of the holiest places I’ve ever been to. I was introduced to the high priest here, who made a point of mentioning that he’d had visits from members of the British Royal Family and had met Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the current King Charles III.

This man, the high priest, was also my tour guide around the monastery and museum.

He talked about all the saints depicted in the stained-glass windows, the paintings on the walls and then the artefacts in the museum.

It was very interesting, even for me, someone who isn’t really a churchgoer.

---

One of the relics was an Ethiopian Bible written in Ge’ez script, on what I think the priest said was goatskin parchment.

What he told me was particularly interesting. According to him, only specially trained monks from the monastery were able to read the ancient language, meaning that many of the secrets contained within this Ethiopian Bible remained a mystery to the rest of the world.

He also explained that the parchment had spent some time in the UK and possibly the USA (if I remember correctly), before eventually being returned to its home in Ethiopia.

Apparently, its former owners had grown frustrated because they couldn’t actually read or understand what was written on it!

Something else I was able to take away from my visit to the monastery was a few wise words from the high priest.

He said something along the lines of:

“Sometimes you need to be alone. Only when you are alone can you find peace, and only when you find peace can you hear God speak.”

I thought these were quite powerful words, and definitely something worth remembering.

Taking in the Views from the Portuguese Bridge (Sebara Dildiy)

This was also great to see.

The bridge is rumoured to be very ancient, although its exact origins seem to be a bit of a mystery. It’s often associated with the Portuguese, who were present in Ethiopia centuries ago.

Who knows the real story? But still, you have the most amazing views here of the gorge and waterfalls.

It’s a great place to take photos, and if this wasn’t cool enough, I also saw another troop of baboons here too!

---

After leaving this last stop, me, Asmir and the driver made one final stop for dinner.

Here, I told Asmir about Teddy Bears Travels, and we actually got talking about helping him with his own website for Ethiopian tours.

Funny enough, I actually bought the domain right there and then — AbyssiniaExplorer.com — if you’d like to check it out.

We actually had quite a lot to discuss about this, so after a quick stop back at my Airbnb, I took a shower and headed back out to meet Asmir for a few beers in the city.

---

How Asmir Convinced Me to Book More Tours in Ethiopia

I have to say, this man – Asmir, has his ways because that tour package he’d messaged me about earlier when I first spoke to him — well, he finally twisted my arm!

We agreed on a discounted price in exchange for me helping with the website, and the next day, I was booked to visit Wenchi Crater Lakes.

This would be the first of five more days travelling around Ethiopia with Abyssinia Explorer Tours.

Wenchi Crater Lakes and Boat Trip

---

The morning after visiting Debre Libanos (and getting drunk with Asmir), I met my next tour guide, Joshua, and his driver, Elliot.

For this leg of the tour, I was visiting the first of two crater lakes on my Ethiopian adventure, starting with Wenchi. I’d hoped to go swimming here. Joshua said it might be possible, but I suppose it didn’t really look like somewhere I wanted to swim.

It actually reminded me of Jurassic Park or the Congo jungle. It was kind of hazy, and the water was quite dark.

I didn’t go swimming, although there were people swimming here (actually, naked men, lol), but it was a cool place to visit. Very scenic, and you could see wild vultures and marabou storks here too, which I thought was pretty cool.

---

After this, me and Joshua went for a walk around the lake, and we also took a boat from one side of the lake to the other.

This was a lot of fun! I didn’t get on too well trying to row with the oar they gave me, but at least it was a good opportunity to get a selfie.

---

After this, we saw another group of baboons on the drive back. We’d already seen a group on the way here, and I was definitely quite happy about getting my daily Baboon viewing fix.

Joshua said these animals could be quite violent, unlike the geladas we’d seen in the mountains, so he told me to keep my distance.

It was very funny, really, because I saw these baboons almost every day I was in Ethiopia.

Maybe this was my highlight of visiting Ethiopia. I didn’t see too many different animals, but the baboons certainly didn’t disappoint!

We stopped at the craziest-looking place after this. An old Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane!

It really reminded me of the dream I’d had whilst flying to Chad. It kind of felt a bit apocalyptic. A rundown, rusty plane that had been turned into a café.

It was so funny actually sitting in here. The children were all playing in the cockpit, pretending to be pilots.

I was getting some very funny looks from them, almost as though they’d never seen a white person before, but bless them, they looked like they were having a lot of fun.

---

It was a good end to the day. Not a very long tour, but it was all good.

I again agreed to meet up with Asmir afterwards for another night out in Addis.

He was talking about staying out late, but I’d promised Joshua I wouldn’t be starting the next day’s tour like I did with Wenchi.

That was a rough morning! My eye was bloodshot red from the night before, so I made sure to get back by 11.

I was in bed by midnight and as ready as I could be for the next day’s tour to Bishoftu.

Visiting Bishoftu for Ethiopian New Year’s Day

---

On this morning, I was again meeting up with Joshua and Elliot.

I was hoping this might finally be the day I went swimming, but again, I never actually did. Even though, once again, there were people swimming here (more naked men, lol).

Upon arrival, me and Joshua descended a set of steps to the most amazing view overlooking the lake at Bishoftu.

---

There was a restaurant up here too. This was a nice place to stop for a beer and some food.

The burger and chips I had here must have been the only Western food I ate during the whole trip, and it was actually quite nice just to have something else rather than Injera or Vegetable Spaghetti.

We headed off from here to another part of the lake, and it was a lovely walk making our way around.

However, it was quite disappointing for me because apparently you can usually spot colobus monkeys here. I did not even see one of them. My eyes were fixed on the trees looking for them but they all seemed to be hiding from me.

According to Joshua, because of the Ethiopian New Year, the lake was a lot busier than usual. What was possibly happening was that the monkeys weren’t too keen on seeing all the extra visitors.

Although, once again, we did see some baboons after the trip, which was enough to satisfy my wildlife and primate viewing fix!

I stayed in that night and for the whole of the next day.

Asmir did want me to come out with him in Addis, but I was starting to worry about how much money I’d have left by the time all of this was finished.

I should have gone out, really, but it was nice to take a breather and get some work done before the final three days of my tour.

The Long Drive From Addis Ababa To Harar

---

After spending a day to myself back at my Airbnb, it was time to wake up early for the long journey to Harar.

According to Google, it takes between 7 and 10 hours to drive here from Addis Ababa, so you really have to get going very early.

We must have left Addis Ababa at about 6:30 am, arriving in Harar around 5:30 pm. Along the way, we made perhaps three or four stops for breakfast, lunch and coffee.

It was quite an eventful drive, passing through many villages where people appeared to be living in poverty.

In some, I saw children working, moving concrete and other materials. I also saw people, including children, with missing limbs.

It was very sad to see. Asmir had told me about the civil war and conflicts in Ethiopia, but seeing these things really made it hit home.

I suppose it was quite eye-opening to see some of the difficult aspects of Ethiopian life as well as the good ones. I think this gave me a more authentic feel for what life can really be like here.

It was also quite a scary drive along the mountain roads.

Elliot’s driving was very good, but seeing so many overturned lorries on the side of the road made it feel like quite a dangerous place to drive.

Like on the way to Debre Libanos, there were a lot of mining trucks travelling up and down these roads.

---

It’s somewhere I think the government really needs to invest in road safety.

These roads seem like they could be a matter of life or death for a lot of people driving lorries and big trucks up and down the mountains.

Feeding the Hyenas in Harar

---

For me, the long, dangerous drive around the mountains was all worth it when I finally got to Harar.

Although, perhaps taking a flight here might have been a safer option, or even going on one of the hyena-spotting tours in Addis Ababa. Perhaps maybe I would have chosen one of these alternatives had I knew, but I mean, it was an interesting drive.

It was nice to see so much of the country, but it really is a long way to come.

We dropped off our bags at the hotel after arriving, and from here, I was very excited to finally go and see the hyenas.

I’d looked at the photos on Google, and they looked pretty insane, with a whole pack of hyenas gathered around one person in some of these.

Although, it seemed like I might have come all this way just to be disappointed.

On arrival at the hyena-feeding area, there was already a big crowd waiting.

I spotted two or three hyenas in the distance, but they seemed very reluctant to come anywhere near the crowd.

This went on for maybe 30 minutes or so before one of them finally came out to be fed.

Both me and Joshua got to feed this animal. It was pretty savage, snatching the meat off the stick within seconds!

Taking photos of it was actually a nightmare.

The photo below is AI, lol. The original photo is just me holding the stick after the hyena had eaten the meat.

---

After this, me, Joshua and Elliot headed out for dinner.

It again seemed to be a bad time to be here, as nowhere seemed to be open.

Possibly because it was Sunday, or maybe because it was the day after the Ethiopian New Year, but it was quite annoying.

I was really hoping to find a half-decent restaurant or even a fast-food place, but almost everywhere was closed.

In the end, we did find a bar and butcher’s shop that was serving food.

I ended up eating raw steak, whilst Joshua and Elliot had injera with lamb stew.

We had maybe two or three beers before calling it a night.

It was quite lively here, with music playing and people dancing.

Maybe I was being a bit boring, but I was quite happy to get a move on and head back to my hotel for some sleep.

We left Harar around 7:30 am the next morning.

Joshua was telling me that all the development taking place here, apparently intended to make Harar into another popular city like Addis Ababa, had taken a lot of the soul out of the place.

Even the hyenas, he said, were now more like pets than wild animals.

I think overall, despite what Joshua said, they should just get a move on and finish all the work here!

At the time of my visit, a lot of the place was only half-built. Pretty rubbish when it’s like this.

Although, one thing I did think was good about Harar was that, unlike Addis Ababa, it actually had traffic lights!

They were the only ones I noticed during my whole trip around Ethiopia.

Driving from Harar To Awash National Park

---

This was another long drive, back down the mountain, and I thought it was even worse than going up!

I really respected Elliot’s driving here because we had a truck that almost drove straight into us. I honestly think that with a less experienced driver, we could have been killed.

There were newly overturned lorries along the road too. I swear, people must pray before driving up or down these mountains! It was actually quite scary really – perhaps to a lot of Ethiopians driving here this must be quite normal to them but part of me was really just hoping to get down here still in one piece.

We’d also had breakfast before setting off, and I’m pretty sure this was what ended up making me sick later on.

They seemed to put eggs on top of everything! I ordered lentils, but even these came with egg on top, and the coffee in Harar didn’t taste particularly good either.

Perhaps it was the raw meat I’d eaten the night before, but at the time, I was convinced it was something to do with this breakfast and coffee.

We continued our journey back down through the mountains after this, and along the way, I spotted my first colobus monkey, which was quite cool!

Unfortunately, because the roads were so bad, there was no way we could have stopped.

After this, we made a few stops, visiting several Ethiopian villages along the way.

I had at least one or two beers, I think, followed by another two orange Fantas. Maybe these were further contributors to me getting sick later on, but at the time, I was kind of overindulging.

I was actually OK for most of the journey, to be honest.

When we arrived at Awash, me and Joshua went for one more beer before dinner.

I came back and ordered some vegetable spaghetti, along with another orange Fanta or Sprite, before heading back to my room with the worst stomach cramps.

Joshua wanted to go for another beer with me, but by this point, I was feeling so ill, suffering from both diarrhoea and vomiting.

I put up my mosquito net around the bed, but it was just horrible.

However, there was a knock at my door, and standing there was a lovely girl from the hotel with a cup of ginger tea and a bottle of water, sent courtesy of Joshua.

I’d run out of water by this point, so the timing couldn’t have been better.

After drinking some of the tea and being sick a couple more times, I finally managed to get some sleep for the rest of the night.

I was still suffering the next morning, I felt well enough to go for breakfast and managed to eat a couple of bananas with a bottle of Coca-Cola.

I wouldn’t normally consider bananas and Coca-Cola much of a remedy for a stomach bug, but they seemed to do the trick for the time being.

Starting The Wildlife Safari In Awash

---

I was quite excited to visit Awash for my first-ever safari, and I probably had my expectations set quite high, hoping to see zebras, ostriches, various primates and who knows what else!

There are even reports of lions and leopards in the park, although sightings of these animals are extremely rare. Still, Awash National Park is home to an impressive variety of wildlife, with some sources reporting more than 80 mammal species.

Sightings aren’t guaranteed, though, seemingly for almost any species living in this park, except maybe donkeys, goats and cattle!

It’s somewhere you come hoping to see all the usual suspects you’d expect from an African safari, but I have to say I was quite disappointed.

All I managed to see was a jackal, a glimpse of what I think was a zebra, some birds and a troop of baboons.

I did actually get quite close to some wild crocodiles here, though, which was amazing!

But with being ill as well, I think I could have had a much better experience here than I did on this occasion.

---

I really felt quite unlucky coming here and not seeing too many animals at all, although I understood that the timing of my visit might have played a part.

I’m sure that on another day, I could probably have seen all sorts of different animals here. Maybe even a lion, or one animal I’d absolutely love to see — the African aardvark!

We had another stop after this, at a lake where Joshua said I might be able to see wild flamingos and pelicans.

It was a funny place.

There were naked men here (again, lol), people washing their clothes, and everyone was telling me not to go into the water because of the dangerous crocodiles.

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe them, but it didn’t seem to stop many of the locals from going into the water themselves!

I can imagine that perhaps some people haven’t been so lucky and lived to tell the tale, but I suppose I’d have to see it to believe it.

Joshua was also telling me about a road here that becomes accessible during the dry season. You could see where it was, with people crossing from one side to the other.

It really is a crazy part of the world to visit, there’s no doubt about that.

---

We got back to Addis Ababa about three hours after this, and that was it for my tour.

I still wasn’t feeling particularly well, but Asmir told me to trust him because he had a secret remedy for my stomach troubles.

About two hours later, he turned up at my Airbnb with two samosas and what he claimed was the cure for my stomach problems.

Raki gin and Sprite!

It was mad, really. We found a bar, I got my laptop out, and we ordered ourselves, I think, three gins each.

According to Asmir, this 70% gin would kill all the nasty bacteria and was a kind of Ethiopian tonic for stomach bugs.

Now, I have no idea whether there was any truth to that, but surprisingly, I did seem to feel better afterwards!

My Last Day Out In Addis Ababa City

---

Both Joshua and Asmir had plans for me on my last full day in Ethiopia.

They’d both become good friends during my stay, and I’d say that, thanks to both of them, I’d felt very well looked after pretty much from the moment I met them.

I arranged to meet Joshua in Addis Ababa City first. It was pretty much like going on another tour, except this time I didn’t have to pay for it!

We went for food, drinks and then to the museum.

I actually didn’t think I’d get the chance to see Lucy at the National Museum of Ethiopia before leaving the country, but on my last full day, this was somewhere I finally ended up visiting.

So, fair play to Joshua for suggesting it! It was really nice to finally check this place out.

---

It really is quite a fascinating place to visit. There’s much more to see here than just the very famous prehistoric remains of Lucy.

In fact, Lucy isn’t even the oldest hominin represented in the museum’s collections.

There’s also Ardi (Ardipithecus ramidus), whose partial skeleton dates back approximately 4.4 million years, making her considerably older than Lucy.

And even Ardi isn’t the oldest known member of the human evolutionary lineage. Fossils belonging to Ardipithecus kadabba have been dated to approximately 5.8–5.2 million years ago.

You can also see the former throne of Emperor Haile Selassie here, which I thought was pretty interesting too. I’d heard plenty about Selassie during my stay in Ethiopia.

I’d heard Ethiopians using his name, sometimes almost like a blessing, and I became curious about its meaning.

The name Haile Selassie is commonly translated as “Power of the Trinity”, which I thought was quite interesting.

Of course, Emperor Haile Selassie remains an important historical figure in Ethiopia and is also particularly significant to the Rastafari movement in Jamaica.

So, seeing his former throne displayed in the National Museum of Ethiopia was another fascinating part of my visit.

Visiting Friendship Park With Joshua

After the museum, it was then off to check out Friendship Park.

Security is quite strict here, and I felt like it was very similar to when I visited Unity Park during my 3rd day of getting into Ethiopia.

They took both my cigarettes and lighter off me on arrival, and again, it felt like security was even tighter than at Addis Ababa Bole Airport!

It was a cool place to visit, though.

I was quite amazed by the vultures here, but there’s also a very beautiful lake to admire, which really makes this place so nice.

It’s definitely a must-see for tourists, I reckon, so this was another good shout from Joshua.

---

After leaving, Joshua and I took a taxi to Gerji, another area of Addis Ababa.

This was a good laugh!

I made a funny video with a dancing banana before meeting up with Asmir, and then Joshua left us to enjoy the rest of the evening.

That video actually got me quite a lot of views on Facebook! and my little niece loved it – which made it all the more better. I would hope this is still here if I ever come back to Addis Ababa. If it is not then I will not be happy lol

My Last Night Out With Asmir

---

One thing I couldn’t believe was that the café where I met Asmir was playing 2Pac’s Hit ‘Em Up!

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a café playing hardcore rap before, so this was definitely a first! And as a rap fan, I thought this was pretty cool.

Me and Asmir headed out for dinner from here.

The place we went to was Totot Traditional Food Hall.

Asmir had suggested somewhere else earlier, but he told me that although this place was more expensive, it was much better and worth visiting.

My impression was that this was somewhere for tourists looking for a bit more luxury during their stay in the city. Of all the places I’d visited in Ethiopia, I hadn’t come across many quite like this.

It was just after the Ethiopian New Year, but they were still having a big celebration here.

This place was incredible!

The roof was woven out of wicker and looked like nothing I’d ever seen in Europe. The food was served as a self-service buffet, and it was just the best night!

I even got up on stage at one point with Teddy! which was also quite funny.

---

We once again hit the town after this, had a few more drinks and just like that my 12 day Ethiopian adventure with Abyssinia Explorer Tours was sadly all over.

My Last Morning and Going Back To Algiers

---

One last thing Asmir did for me before I left Ethiopia was arrange my transfer back to the airport. He also came along with the driver to see me off, which was really nice of him.

It was all very straightforward from here. Getting through the airport was quite easy (unlike Union Park lol). It only took me about one or two hours to board my flight after passing through security.

It really was no trouble, and just like that, I was off back to Chad! for my technical stop before continuing on to Algiers.

---

This was another almost empty flight, much like the one I’d taken from Chad to Ethiopia, with only about five of us waiting to board.

The same American guy I’d seen on the way here was also on this flight!

I made a bit more of an effort to talk to him this time around, but he wasn’t really too friendly. He wasn’t exactly rude, just not particularly talkative.

I think I probably got on his nerves a bit, if I’m being honest!

Kind of funny, really, as he was sitting next to me on the plane and later ended up waiting with me in the immigration room at Algiers Airport.

It wasn’t so bad, though. It was actually quite nice being on such an empty plane, but of course, that was only until we got to Chad, where the empty seats filled up quite quickly.

I did get to have a good look out of the window while we were in Chad this time, though.

Probably the only part of this country I’ll ever end up seeing (maybe!).

I did have to laugh because, looking out of the window, all I could think about was my strange dream about Chad on the way to Ethiopia,

A Long Stopover Back To Algeria

---

After leaving Ethiopia and Chad, this was the part I was dreading. An 18-hour wait at Algiers Airport, where once again, I wasn’t allowed to leave due to visa restrictions for UK nationals.

I hadn’t cared too much about going into the city on the way here, but this time, as I was stuck at the airport for the best part of a day, I definitely would have liked to at least go and have a look around.

I was really teasing myself by looking at hotels in Algiers. One I saw looked amazing — only £50 for my own room, with a swimming pool too!

It really seemed like somewhere I’d want to spend a few days. It was quite annoying, to be honest.

I mean, in my opinion, the Algerian government should let British tourists visit visa-free. Morocco does, Egypt offers visa-on-arrival options, and Tunisia also allows visa-free visits for British tourists.

It makes no sense to me, especially considering how many Algerians I’d seen getting on flights between England and Algeria. It just seemed a bit unfair, really.

I suppose maybe in the future I’ll actually make the effort to get a visa.

Even if it’s just to spend two or three days relaxing in a hotel and exploring the city, I think it would be worth it.

Algiers looks like a beautiful city, and it’s somewhere I’d really like to visit properly one day, without all the trouble I had coming back from Ethiopia.

---

I finally got back to England the next day at around 4 pm.

My Ethiopian adventure was over, but one thing is for sure — I’ll definitely be back!

And now, with the website I’m creating for Asmir and Joshua, I’ve got an even better reason to return.

For anyone interested in learning more about Ethiopia, exploring its incredible destinations or even booking their own tour, I’d definitely recommend checking out our website below.

Visit AbyssiniaExplorer.com

And with that said — Bon Voyage! Until next time.

Many thanks from,

Alex and Teddy

TeddyBearsTravels.com

Follow us on Instagram: @Travellingwithmyteddybear