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Heather and Avery just returned from visiting their children in Ethiopia. I’ve been meaning for a couple days to link to their blogs so you can go read the posts they’ve been writing about their time there. Today Heather shared a story of being scammed on the very first day there. You might want to read their Bunna Baet post so that you can avoid that particular scam.
All the travel guides caution travelers about pickpockets, especially in the Mercato area. Even if you’re not planning to go to the Mercato, it is sensible to keep only the money you’ll need for the day in your front pants pockets, stashing the rest of your money in a well-hidden money belt that you do NOT touch in public.
Except for being overcharged for one cab ride, I personally did not have trouble with scammers while there. But I do think it is wise to agree with cab drivers about their hourly rate BEFORE you get in. Speaking of cabs, maybe people who’ve been there recently could share the going rate for cab rides now? It seems like in 2005 I paid about $5 an hour.
At the airport you can go to a counter just inside the main doors and get a kind of of a voucher that tells you how much a cab driver should charge for rides to various hotels in the city. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong here– I dealt with this when I was jetlagged and our agency director was actually the one who grabbed my voucher-thingie for me. But if my memory is right,you bring your voucher out to the cabs and if a driver accepts it, he is agreeing to charge you that rate for the trip.
