Articles by Doug Nienhuis
I am a Canadian, and I am currently traveling through Asia with a touring bicycle. These are stories and pictures from my trip.
010 – Alfa
Fortified with my first Ethiopian meal I sat in the restaurant to see if Alfa was going to show up. I’d met Alfa the day before when I arrived at the Palm. He had been sitting at a nearby table with two attractive women. The three of them were dressed to kill as so many of the Palm’s customers seemed to be. I never could …
009 – Traveller as Baby Bird
My first full day in Ethiopia began with a savage hunger, and I timidly entered the roar of activity in the small room that served as the Palm’s restaurant. People poured in and out and none were strangers. They burst in with laughter and shouts, greeting everyone with a complicated series of handshakes, hugs and even kisses – three on each cheek. Shouts of “enebla!” …
008 – The Palm Hotel
The front of the Palm was in fact a lively bar. Behind it was a dingy room with wobbly tables and equally wobbly chairs. They called it a restaurant, but it had none of the trappings of even a greasy spoon. Just outside the rear door to this room was a large trough where customers washed their hands before and after meals. The saddest and …
007 – Heading Into Addis
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city wake up so fast. One second the road was empty. The next it was chaos. The holes in my grand plan quickly became apparent.
I knew of course that I would stand out and attract attention, but I never anticipated the reaction I got. I drew crowds instantly. The shouts and yells and laughter rained down on me …
006 – Arrival – Bole International Airport – Addis Ababa
It was 1:30 in the morning. My flight was the last of the day, perhaps the only flight of the day, and with my usual affinity for the tail end of any line-up I was the last one through customs and immigration. The airport was quiet enough to be spooky. It had a deserted, underused quality, like they’d opened it up and dusted it off …
005 – In Transit – Rome
I’d specifically requested an aisle seat, but when I boarded I found my seat already occupied. An elderly and rather fleshy Italian couple had sat in the first two seats, leaving the window seat open. They had barricaded themselves in with mountains of carry-on bags and were giving the evil eye to anyone coming down the aisle who even glanced in their direction. They glared …
004 – Departure – Toronto International Airport
I’d planned my trip to Ethiopia for so long that when I finally left, it felt very dreamlike, as if I was only acting out the stages for flying to Africa. But there was no mistaking the reality of Terminal 3 at Toronto’s international airport. If it wasn’t real then who was that man who handed me a brochure and offered to “shrink-wrap” my luggage?
My …
003 – My Marmot Peapod Tent
My Marmot Peapod Tent
I was just as picky when it came to picking out a tent. When I cycled in Canada and the US, I literally lived inside my tent and assumed I’d do the same in Ethiopia. So I wanted to pick the right tent. It made sense that for Africa, I’d want a tent that would be very cool and have lots of …