I’ve just got back to the home comforts of Aksum having spent a week in the chaos of Addis. A trip to the capital is not only an assault on your senses but a threat to your wallet. In fact, the percentage increase in prices from Aksum might make you wonder whether a trip is worth it at all. For a start, a return airfare with Ethiopian Airlines came in at a cool 2,400 Birr, which was followed by a 1,500 Birr 6 night stay at a ‘budget’ hotel. And it doesn’t end there. A cup of tea at 6 Birr is considerably higher than I am normally used to paying while a 16 Birr haircut in Addis was 6 Birr more expensive. Transport also presents financial challenges. While Line Taxis (beaten up old Toyota mini-vans) in Addis are generally cheaper than a Bajaj in Aksum, the hiring of a taxi will really test your haggling skills. I was quoted 200 Birr for a trip from my hotel to the airport but eventually secured a lift for 80. My taxi ride from the airport at Aksum into the town was a mere 25 Birr.
However, one of the pleasures of a trip to Addis is that you can have restaurant dishes not normally available in the Aksum hotels; pizzas, grilled chicken, fish and tender meat dishes are readily available, but at a price. A pizza and a couple of glasses of very presentable wine set me back 92 Birr while a tasty grilled chicken dish with a glass of wine in a very well appointed restaurant cost me 84Birr. Prices in Aksum are a little more modest and dirt cheap if you know where to go. A meal at our local injera café recently cost Viv and I a modest 23 Birr and that included a drink of sprite!
We have become increasingly sensitive to the fluctuations in prices since our arrival; more so since we now try to ensure that we remain within the budget of our 2,750 Birr monthly income. Part of the challenge in Aksum is to ensure that we are charged at local ‘habesha’ rates and not the inflated ‘farenji’ prices so often quoted. One local hotel openly displays the fact that foreigners will be required to pay twice as much as Ethiopian visitors! Thankfully, our residency permits can come in useful. I guess that you know you have been in Ethiopia for a while when you stop converting prices from Birr to pounds but every once in a while it helps to take stock and to put things into perspective.
27 Birr = £1.00
