Ethiopia suffers from a bad image thanks to the war and famine of the 1980s. As my series on travel in Ethiopia showed, however, this is a land of friendly people, beautiful nature, and fascinating historic sites. Infrastructure is slowly improving and the Ethiopians are ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Zimbabwe
Ethiopia tops list of African nations improving quality of life
Ethiopia suffers from a bad image thanks to the war and famine of the 1980s. As my series on travel in Ethiopia showed, however, this is a land of friendly people, beautiful nature, and fascinating historic sites. Infrastructure is slowly improving and the Ethiopians are ...Tourist killed by lions while showering at Zimbabwe fishing camp
Five lions attacked, and a tourist died. Washing himself at an outdoor shower, Pete Evershed had no idea what was coming. Enjoying a vacation in Zimbabwe, he took advantage of the fishing camp's outdoor shower shortly before dark. It was his last. Evershed was found by other ...Controversy over Condé Nast Traveler's World Savers Awards
The popular magazine Condé Nast Traveler hosts the annual World Savers Awards to recognize the efforts of hotels, airlines, tour and cruise companies that give something back through their environmental or social programs. But one recipient of the 2010 award is ...Zimbabwe's Harare airport holds air crash drill - forgets to tell anyone
In a serious case of what were they thinking, the Zimbabwe Civil Aviation Authority held a massive air safety drill at Harare airport, but forgot to tell anyone else. When smoke was seen from miles away, reporters were told that a plane from London had been involved in an ...Beauty queens help homeless kids in Zimbabwe
What could warm the heart more than seeing beautiful women helping out needy kids?
Samantha Tshuma, recently crowned Miss Tourism Zimbabwe, has been busy donating blankets to street children in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare. She was helped by her second princess ...Hitchhiker's Requiem
My father taught me to never, ever hitchhike because I would die. He illustrated the point with dinner table horror stories starring chopped up teenage bodies strewn along the highway and acid-crazed madmen speeding across America at 120 mph: "Those are the kind of people ...The ultimate road trip: 12,500 miles across Africa on a motorcycle
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/11/25/the-ultimate-road-trip-12-500-miles-across-africa-on-a-motorcyc/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
Thomas Tomczyk is serious about motorcycles. He's done three motorcycle trips across India, from the steamy southern tip ...Relative stability brings tourists back to Zimbabwe
For a while now most news out of Zimbabwe has been bad. Gross mismanagement by President Robert Mugabe led the country to financial ruin and hyperinflation, with people using gasoline as currency because nobody wanted the government's $50 million dollar bills.
But with the ...Another plane mishap in Africa. This time lava is the problem
If you've ever seen a lava flow, you know that once the stuff cools and hardens, it's hard to move. In the Congo, this has created a big problem at the airport in Goma. Back in 2002, when the Nyiragongo Volcano erupted, lava flowed onto the runway, thus shortening it. A ...Plane hits pig on runway and passengers panic
It wasn't a wolf's huffing and puffing that led to the demise of a pig on the runway at the Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe last Tuesday. Nope, it was a MA60 60-seater attempting to take off. The wild bush pig may or may not have seen the Air Zimbabwe plane coming. ...On the trail of the Kalahari bushmen
A few days back we posted about 18 unique travel experiences that even the seasoned traveler would find interesting. One of the suggestions on that list was to travel to the Kalahari Desert to stay with bushmen and partake in an initiation hunt with the tribes that still ...A visit to Victoria Falls
Back in 1855, Scottish explorer David Livingstone was nearing the end of his exploration of the Zambezi River when he came across a sight that was quite unexpected at the time. For days he had heard from the local tribes about a great water fall that lay ahead on his ...The scariest swimming pool EVER
Acrophobia is described as an uncontrollable, irrational, and often crippling fear of heights. I'm not sure if this concept has an opposite -- acrophilia, maybe? Love of heights? -- but that's how I'd describe anyone brave (crazy?) enough to go for a dip at the Devil's Pool. ...Bad idea bear: Roadtrippin' through Zimbabwe
Would you give up Christmas, New Year's, and three weeks of your winter vacation to travel to a country wracked by every malady you can think of--economic collapse, political turmoil, widespread starvation, etc? Yep, I'm talking about Zimbabwe, which has paradoxically been ...Zimbabwe residents turn to gasoline as currency
Tired of carrying around stacks of $50-million-dollar bills to pay for their groceries, Zimbabweans are turning to gasoline vouchers as substitutes for their hyperinflating currency.
Because the government of Zimbabwe will not allow transactions to take place in US ...Zimbabwe introduces $50 million dollar bill
Remember my award-winning post from way back in January about Zimbabwe's introduction of a $10 million dollar bill? (Nod "yes" and let's move on.)
Anyway, that was two-and-a-half months ago, and the country's 100,000% inflation rate has already made it necessary for another ...What is going ON in Zimbabwe?
This weekend, Zimbabwe is slated to hold democratic elections to elect the new leader of the country. The defending candidate of 28 years, Robert Mugabe, is facing some fierce opposition, but many are worried about the validity and fairness of the election. Despite the ...Simbabwe: Easy to play but hard to escape from
When I used to play Sim City, one of my favorite computer games back in the day, I would always think: This is fun, but when will they come out with a Zimbabwe edition? Finally, it seems, my prayers have been answered.
Introducing Simbabwe. Hailed as the "leading Zimbabwe ...How to swim at the top of Victoria Falls (without killing yourself)
The video above shows a couple of guys having a blast, inches away from certain death. They're at Devil's Pool, a little known natural rock inlet at the very top of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Here's what Virgin Media had to say about the experience: Life on the edge swim; ...
Zimbabwe releases $10 million bill
As the US economy inches ever closer to a recession, it might provide a little perspective to look at what a real economic crisis looks like. Plagued by hyperinflation of over 50,000% a year, Zimbabwe's central bank recently decided to issue $10 million notes-- believed to ...
