It is not that often that you find yourself in the middle of a blackout hoping that it continues but in Ethiopia things a a little unusual that way. For some reason hotels are normally always situated above, behind or in the worst cases, inside bars/restaurant/nightclubs. The action will usually start around nine in the evening, which means when you arrive at the hotel before that time you have no idea how busy, and loud, it will get.
The music is cranked up, and failing that, English football, or just
any sound at all, and this is Africa, so when any music is played on electronic equipment the volume must be turned up to eleven, so that almost everything is distorted beyond comprehension. There are many good things about Ethiopia, and I know the culture police may try to arrest me for saying this, but Ethiopian music is terrible, there appears to be no actual instruments - just badly synthesised approximations thereof, and most of the lyrics are screeched rather than sung. There also seems to be a limited range of choice, so that the same songs will be played five or six times each night. The racket makes conversation in the bar pointless and sleep nigh on impossible, even with ear plugs firmly fastened. So I hear you say, find a hotel that isn't a bar, well that doesn't work either, because inevitably somewhere within hearing range there will be a bar playing music at full volume. Contributing to this is also the way that Ethiopians tend to speak at the top of their voice, whatever the subject, location or time of day. As all buildings are made from cement and then lathered with tiles the booming voices echo throughout the building, so even when the music stops at 3am, there are still plenty of noises keeping you awake.
The one thing that offsets all of this is the tendency for the power to go out in most cities. In some places it is regular, from around 11 in the morning to 8 or 9 in the evening, in other places it is random, everything shuts off and there will be no power for a couple of hours. Travelling around to different cities it was difficult to say with any certainty when the power would go off or come on as locals tended to treat the question with disdain. So when the power went out or was out around bedtime, I found myself secretly hoping that it would stay that way until the morning time. No power meant no music which usually meant no customers, which meant no noise. Unfortunately a couple of times power returned at around 11 or midnight, the music would be cranked up, whether or not there were any customers, and I would go back to counting sheep in Amharic.
Oh yeah, there is also some old castle from the 14th and 15th century in Gonder too.
The music is cranked up, and failing that, English football, or just
any sound at all, and this is Africa, so when any music is played on electronic equipment the volume must be turned up to eleven, so that almost everything is distorted beyond comprehension. There are many good things about Ethiopia, and I know the culture police may try to arrest me for saying this, but Ethiopian music is terrible, there appears to be no actual instruments - just badly synthesised approximations thereof, and most of the lyrics are screeched rather than sung. There also seems to be a limited range of choice, so that the same songs will be played five or six times each night. The racket makes conversation in the bar pointless and sleep nigh on impossible, even with ear plugs firmly fastened. So I hear you say, find a hotel that isn't a bar, well that doesn't work either, because inevitably somewhere within hearing range there will be a bar playing music at full volume. Contributing to this is also the way that Ethiopians tend to speak at the top of their voice, whatever the subject, location or time of day. As all buildings are made from cement and then lathered with tiles the booming voices echo throughout the building, so even when the music stops at 3am, there are still plenty of noises keeping you awake.The one thing that offsets all of this is the tendency for the power to go out in most cities. In some places it is regular, from around 11 in the morning to 8 or 9 in the evening, in other places it is random, everything shuts off and there will be no power for a couple of hours. Travelling around to different cities it was difficult to say with any certainty when the power would go off or come on as locals tended to treat the question with disdain. So when the power went out or was out around bedtime, I found myself secretly hoping that it would stay that way until the morning time. No power meant no music which usually meant no customers, which meant no noise. Unfortunately a couple of times power returned at around 11 or midnight, the music would be cranked up, whether or not there were any customers, and I would go back to counting sheep in Amharic.
Oh yeah, there is also some old castle from the 14th and 15th century in Gonder too.
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