Djibouti and the Better Ethiopian Lounge

I have a few photos from my windshield tour of Djibouti.  I actually just got an email from a reader who is passing through JIB in order to collect another country on his list.  I’ll give you the same hotel recommendation that I gave him.  See below.

This is the Kempinski Hotel and the only chain hotel that I am aware of in Djibouti.  $300 USD+ per night!  You might find something else, but you are likely taking your chances with a local hotel.  If someone has a better tip on where to stay, please let us know.

These shots give you a typical view of the better parts of Djibouti.  Pretty typical for most of North Africa and the Middle East.

There is a nice beach that the locals are using, but my Soldiers tell me that they would not recommend going in the water.

I didn’t include any shots of the Khat dealers, but they are quite prevalent alongside the road.  I did kind of like the local art stands.  The goats eating the trash was another typical shot of Djibouti.  Probably not going to end on the list of my top ten retirement places!

On the way back through Addis Ababa, I arrived at the domestic side and went to the international side for my flight to Frankfurt.  I easily found the Cloud Nine Lounge right along the line of gates and went in.

It was fairly crowded although about the same as most U.S. clubs.  I found space and was able to get on the weak Wifi.  I went to get a drink and snacks.

So the food was OK, but it was weird that I couldn’t get a beer or glass of wine, only the hard stuff laid out as shown.

I left the club being somewhat disappointed and went to get some gifts for the wife and daughter.  Then I discovered my mistake.  There was a whole other club next to the duty free and it was much better than the first one.  Go away a little way from the gates and look for the “Lounge 2” sign.

Inside it was much less crowded and better in every way.

So lesson learned.  Next time I go through ADD I will know better.