It took 24 hours on a bus, traveling halfway across the continent of Ethiopia to arrive at this ancient city but it was something I knew I wanted to do.

While there are many benefits to road versus air travel, bussing halfway across Ethiopia was a little less than ideal. First of all, being in the same position for 12 hours is never a good thing, especially if you leave your compression stockings at home. The temperature ranged from freezing to scorching. No middle ground. Also, you will most likely find yourself sitting next to someone who,

A.      Talks to themselves the entire bus ride

B.      Takes up not only their seat, but also yours

C.      Is a screaming child

D.     Tries to hit on you the entire trip and becomes increasingly obnoxious with each additional khat leaf chewed (local stimulant)

Then there is the deafening Amharic traditional music blasting from the overhead speakers, starting from 4:30am, stopping only for the equally loud and obnoxious Ethiopian comedy shows, also all in Amharic. After four detours due to car accidents, five stops to allow the camels to cross the road, one flat tire, one lunch stop at another food poison-inducing roadside restaurant, two stops to let the men off the bus to relieve themselves on the side of the road (while the women are painfully trying to ignore the fact that they too will soon explode), one very long face-making competition with the kid in the seat in front of me, and multiple attempts to ward off marriage proposals from horny khat chewers, we finally entered through the ancient gates of Harar.