Just arrived back from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Moshi (foot of Kilimanjaro) via Nairobi again.
Ethiopia in a word: breath-taking !
It's been added to the top of my prestigious "favourite countries in the world" list (a position previously occupied by Vietnam)
Loveliest people I've met in any country! And uber-cheap to eat the delicious food! I'm going to miss my injera 
Unfortunately internet (not to mention electricity itself!) was only available sporadically while I ventured around, so I'll write it all up when I get home.
I'm back staying at the cheap-but-cheerful Kindoroko hotel in Moshi and the reception staff all greeted me back like an old friend ... got an especially nice room as a result too. Good to have connections 
I also splashed out a bit and bought soap-stone and ebony carvings for the (relatively) cheap price of 40,000 shillings (about 30 euro) ... bought directly from the artist, Kibeera, that made them ... got the guy down from 89,000 on account of some damn fine haggling (not to mention it's the end of the tourist season here).
Evidently no hard feelings over the price as we went out for some beers and local Tanzanian food with his mates after ... yummy BBQ beef (you buy the meat raw by the kilo). Very nice (although Ethiopian cuisine will be very hard to beat for some time to come).
I'm off to Dar tomorrow on the bus ... arrive around 6pm I think... then off to a hotel before getting the flight home in the morning.
All-in-all this has been an outstanding (albeit exhausting) introduction to the "real" Africa ... it was unfortunate that I couldn't update the blog on the road but I'll try to compose every blog-worthy shred of my memory when I get back (I really hope I don't forget anything)
I didn't really get a chance to experience Tanzania beyond the heavy "active outdoorsy tourist" scene (for example I've only really been based around one town, Moshi, from where I did Kili and the Safari), but what I did experience was outstanding and will stay with me forever (particularly the huge elephants in Lake Manyara).
What really captured "Africa" for me, though, was Ethiopia. Although my time there was brief, I got to experience a country where the people have been so genuine (most, not all - as with any country obviously!) and where ancient ANCIENT (!) historical artifacts are so "freely available" for first-hand contact. One of the most touching moments was in the final days (when I was feeling better) and I was low on cash, and several people who had barely enough to eat themselves insisted on buying me dinner and breakfast.
I only hope that as tourism picks up in Ethiopia (as it inevitably will) that the people will not grow weary of faranjis and this integral kind-nature will not be lost.
You can read more when I write it all up next week .... bye all!
P.S. By the time I'm heading home, I'll have passed back and forth over the equator 4 times on this trip. Not bad mileage for 3 weeks.