Addis Ababa is, as implied above, a big, dirty place. There is nothing charming about Addis Ababa other than the people. It, like Ethiopia more generally, has a rich cultural history, but that history has been squandered by a series of bad governments. Cross Third World corruption with a Soviet-style government and economy, and you get present-day Ethiopia. The "cradle of civilization" that was once the shining example of what Africa could become is now what Africa must avoid becoming.
I made my base at the Hilton Hotel, near Bole Rd. The Hilton is one of two large international hotels in the city (the other being the Sheraton, which is 5 star and a bit over the top). It is not within walking distance of much of anything, but I hired drivers for all my outings, and this was a cheap and reliable means of getting around. Cabs are cheap but totally unreliable, and most cab drivers in Addis can't find their asses to wipe them!
Hilton Addis Ababa
The Hilton turned out to be an especially good choice in that there is a reliable group of prostitutes who work the hotel and are accepted by the hotel staff. I pulled 5 girls from the hotel bar and lobby. I also brought in two girls from other locations, and had no problem. The hotel staff's position seems to be "don't ask, don't tell."
At the Hilton, you will find a few girls showing up beginning around 5 pm, although this seemed to vary a bit from night to night. They mainly gather in the lobby bar (to the back, right-hand side of the lobby), and sit either singly or in twos. There's no mistaking the pros. Just look towards any of the women sitting alone or in twos. The pros will meet your gaze and give you a big smile. Some pros also sit in the seating in the lobby itself, near the elevators. Again, just look over at any of the young women sitting in the seating there. If they look back and smile, you've found a pro. I was in the elevator one evening, waiting for the door to close. I looked out and smiled at a young woman sitting just across from elevators. She smiled and signaled, asking whether I wanted her to get into the elevator. It’s that simple.
Standard rate for a session (1-2 hours, but make this clear, because they will want to leave after 1 pop if you don't set your terms) is 500 Birr (or about $55), with no tip expected. This is higher than the pros in almost all other locations, but the Hilton is sort of the top end venue for hookers in Addis, so the higher prices are not surprising. And I found the girls ate the Hilton to be more attractive than most found in other locations.
My sessions with these girls were uniformly mediocre. Blowjobs (covered or not) are virtually unheard of. Sex was pretty standard, with nothing out of the ordinary. The girls were willing to try lots of positions, but almost never took the initiative. On the other hand, many of them were drop-dead gorgeous. The facial features of many of the women were stunning, with beautiful almond-shaped eyes, full lips, and straight noses. Unfortunately, Ethiopian prostitutes tend not to be especially affectionate, and kissing is almost always tame by the standards I am used to in many other places.
The good news is that the girls were generally compliant and didn't try to skip out after the first pop. I didn't try to negotiate any all-nighters at the Hilton, but it was clear that all-nighters are generally not available.
On two days I had some free time and wandered out to "Mike Leyland St." (named after former US Congressman Mickey Leland), the place that Loso reported on. Here I cruised the Christmas Light bars and found a couple of prospects. Asking prices were 500 birr in these places but all agreed quickly to 300 birr (just over $30). My driver would bring us back to the Hilton, where we would do the deed, and then he'd take them back to their bars. These Christmas Tree light bars can be found all over Addis, and generally signify the availability of prostitutes, but Mike Leyland St. has the greatest density of such places I found.
The sex with these girls was no different than the sex with the Hilton girls, although one seemed uncomfortable being in the "upscale" setting (believe me, the Hilton is hardly upscale by any standard other than the Ethiopian one).
I spent several days and evenings outside the capitol visiting some rural communities (work related, don't ask...). Out in these places my accommodations were a bit more basic (room with a bed, squat toilet, barrel of water for washing, etc.). But prostitutes were available even out in these very, very small towns. The first evening I checked into a guest house/hotel, the proprietor asked if I wanted a woman. I said I'd be interested, and he said he'd send a group up for me to look at. About 20 minutes later 5 women showed up at my door. Two were clearly significantly under-aged, no more than 16, and I sent them packing. I chose one who was 19, and she spent the night. These rural girls come from such poor families that they will do almost anything to sleep in a real bed. The cost? 30 birr, or $3.20! Three dollars is three times the average daily income of the people living in these areas. The sex was timid but acceptable given the price, and I got the sense that I could have done anything I wanted. Blowjobs were still not on the menu. The first girl wanted to go bareback, but having visited several AIDS clinics in Addis over the previous several days, that wasn't going to happen. Both Ethiopian govt. and UNAIDS data indicate that about 40% of Ethiopian prostitutes are HIV+.
One of the rural guesthouses I stayed at
The next night found me in another funky guest house, and the same scene played out. This time I took two girls (same prices) and sent one home after the first round. The second girl was so grateful that I'd kept her that she went three more rounds. Again, though, the sex was so-so. While I had the two girls, one sat to the side while I fucked the first, then they swapped places. Zero interaction, not even the annoying chitchat you often get when doing two Thai girls. It was as though there was only one girl in the room at a time.
Back in Addis, I finally had a high quality session, but with a non-pro. At least, I think she was a non-pro. She was a dancer in a cultural show to which I was invited. The last half hour of the show was “audience participation” and I thoroughly embarrassed myself by joining the professionals on the floor. One dancer grabbed me and kept me on the floor for the full time. She was stunning, and was an amazing dancer. At the end of the evening, as I left the restaurant to get a car back to the hotel, this dancer was sitting outside. I smiled at her and she stood up put her arms around me, like she had when we were dancing, and said “hotel?” It may have been the only English word she knew. I said “Hilton” and she smiled, which I took as a sign that she might be interested in coming back with me. I walked her over to the car and opened the door and she hopped in. She held my hand as we rode back to the Hilton, but didn’t say or do anything else.
Back at the Hilton I asked if she wanted a drink at the bar. I don’t know whether she understood me or not, but she dragged me straight to the elevator. When we got to the room she attacked me. We had our clothes on the floor within a minute of closing the door, and she completely surprised me with her aggressiveness. This was not something I’d experienced with any of the Ethiopian prostitutes. She had a killer body with huge D-cups that I’d admired as they bounced while she danced. As you would expect from a dancer, she was very strong. She also surprised me by going straight for my dick with her mouth, sans condom. I had become convinced that there was some sort of cultural taboo against sucking dick, but I was apparently wrong. I’m not sure oral sex is especially common in Ethiopia, but it was interesting that the one instance in which I received a bbbj, it was from a non-pro. Maybe the NGOs have gotten to the pros and convinced them that blowjobs are dangerous, but I don’t think that’s it. The girls in the rural communities all tried to bang me without a condom, so they obviously hadn’t gotten the “safe sex” message, but none offered up even a covered blowjob. So I expect that blowjobs, while not taboo, are not a standard practice, and that the girls that offer them are probably unusual.
In any event, my little dancer provided me with a wild final night in Addis Ababa. We hopped in the shower, as we’d both gotten pretty sweaty at the show, and she continued to blow me there. Back in bed she was active and took the initiative where the others had been far more passive. She pushed me back onto the bed and made a pantomime that I interpreted as a request for a condom. She slipped it on quickly and then climbed on cowgirl-style, and rode me hard. When they dance, Ethiopian girls do not use there asses the way Brazilian girls do, but she had all the moves I’m used to from brasilieras. She was also the first Ethiopian woman I’d met who clearly wanted to get off, so she worked me pretty hard.
In the morning I woke up and she was in the shower. She hopped out and kissed me—she was not averse to deep kissing like almost all of the others—and indicated that she had to leave. I got dressed and walked her out, and when I tried to give her some money she shook her head. I did convince her to take some cab money, but only 10 birr (basically, one dollar). I did get her name and phone number, so if I’m back in Ethiopia (likely, for work reasons) I have someone to call, although our conversations were more limited than any I’ve had anywhere else in the world.
I would not come back to Ethiopia just to monger. Addis Ababa is an awful place. It’s crowded, polluted, noisy, and chaotic. We had three power outages during the week (and power went off every evening in the rural areas), and lost water service for half a day. The food is just tolerable and ranges from Ethiopian to Italian, with almost no other options. I managed not to get sick, but almost all of my colleagues did end up with stomach problems. The one thing everyone seemed to like was the coffee, and since I don’t drink coffee, I missed out on that. Most importantly, the sex with the pros was uniformly weak. Cheap as it was, especially outside Addis, it wasn’t worth the time and effort. The trip allowed me to check off another country on my mongering hit list, but Ethiopia ranks well down the list. The most obvious comparison I can think of is with Mexico. In terms of the quality of the sex and the enthusiasm of the girls, Ethiopia reminded me greatly of Tijuana. Sex was clearly a job, and was not something that the girls enjoyed to any considerable degree. The setting, Addis, is even grimier—although substantially safer—than TJ. Sex was available at a fraction of the cost I’d paid in Mexico, but the quality of the sex was similar. The Ethiopian girls never rushed me the way that many TJ girls will (“you dun yet?”), but I never got the sense they were having a good time, which is also my sense of the typical TJ puta. Neither the Ethiopian girls nor the TJ girls seem to enjoy receiving oral sex, and while you can get a bj in TJ, most I’ve had were hardly better than nothing at all (condom on, head bobs back and forth five times, end of bj). I’ve not been to TJ in 10 years, and have no desire to return. I have no particular desire to return to Addis Ababa as well. One excellent session with a non-pro doesn’t warrant a 24-hour flight. If the quality of the sex mirrored the beauty of the women, I’d be back in a nanosecond. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
(Message edited by BWana_dik on October 29, 2008)
. I'll catch you next time.