Wednesday, May 10, 2006

ADDIS ABABA CITYSCAPE

This is what part of the city of Addis looks like...
Taxi drivers. Note dents on cars-- these guys charge only a few cents a ride, and to know where they are headed, you have to listen out for the guy who is standing with the door open, because his job is to scream it out loud and collect the fares! They randomly stop whenever someone wants to get on, which means swerving from the left lane to the right lane without blinkers, and aggressively getting back into traffic by betting on the fact that you don't want your car to be hit, and theirs already looks like crap.
Traffic jam. These cows are being brought to the slaughter house (you can see its wall on the right hand side) via the main road. Happens all the time. Sometimes one cow figures out that she's going to die and bolts for the end of the road. Then the others follow, and you are surrounded by a stampede of freaked out livestock. Traffic jam #2. Sheep use the main road too!
Fruit and vegetable vendor. This lady is laying out her goods for customers; some of the best produce you ever tasted can be found in these ridiculously cheap stands. Just to give you an idea, 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of bananas can go for as low as 3 birr (less than 30 cents, US).

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