Addis and that

ADDIS - The view from my 8th-floor room of the Hilton overlooks a shanty town not too dissimilar to the Katanga slum in Wandegeya. It is hard not to have preconceived ideas about a place like Ethiopia, with Band Aid and all that hunger and poverty stuff fed to us by the media about the place. We are the world, yes, but the luxury of the hotel is a far continent from the city a few metres away. Been here two days and yet to venture out into the city save for my drive in from the airport where two things caught my eye: the large number of Fiat Lada taxis, a legacy of the country's links with Italy, and several cranes at several construction sites across the city, a symbol, in large part, of the country's current links with China.

More about Addis later.