Emily will be writing to Somalilandpress about her experience in Somaliland and will be offering tips to anyone who may want to visit the unrecognized republic along the way - discover Somaliland from a Non-Somali perspective. This is the first article - planing the trip.
In late March, the opportunity to spend the summer working in Hargeisa arose. I was intrigued. I had heard that Somaliland is a sort of enclave of stability in the region, but to the best of my knowledge still a place that foreigners would be foolish to venture to. But how can one know? And who could I ask? First I turned to my Somali friends living in the United States. All of them are from southern Somalia, with little familiarity of Somaliland.
Nonetheless, they did make requests that I bring back certain items with me, if I go. If I honor all of these requests, among the things I will return with to Boston include gold, clothes, pots and pans, a camel, and if I can’t take a camel, a goat. Now, back to the investigation. Still lacking information about Somaliland, I turned to my American friends who have worked in Eastern Africa. I finally was introduced to a friend of a friend who spent time in Hargeisa two years ago. He said it was safe, and raved about the beaches. I looked at Thorn Tree travel guide on Lonely Planet, which provided a greater wealth of first hand information. The reports and stories were mostly positive.
Still, I needed more information. On a whim, I typed “Somaliland” then “Somaliland Boston” and “Hargeisa” into the facebook search bar. To my surprise, I even found a facebook group called “Hargeisa…summer 2009!” I messaged people in the group and got in touch with Somalilandpress in Boston. Surprisingly, all of these investigative initiatives led me to make connections with many knowledgeable people, so that I started feeling more confident about going and better informed about the situation on the ground.
Okay, so I’ve decided that I will definitely be spending two-and-a-half months working in Hargeisa this summer. What now? All the planning is overwhelming and I don’t even know what airlines fly to Somaliland. A lot of research is in store. After inquiring with other foreigners who have been to Somaliland and looking on the Somaliland government’s website, it seems to be the consensus that the best way to get a visa is to head to the Somaliland embassy in Addis Ababa.
I have heard contrasting feedback about obtaining a visa. While my fellow foreigner friends all tell me that I have to get a visa in Addis or London (but better Addis), my Somalilander friends tell me that a visa can be obtained at the Hargeisa airport for $40. I am not sure which solution is best for me, and perhaps Somali ex-pats who visit are subject to different rules than foreigners. In any case, I feel better knowing I will have a visa in hand upon arrival. And anyway, I have a friend in Addis who can show me around. I will let you know how the visa process goes when I arrive in Addis next week.
Next on the agenda: booking a flight! Finding a flight from Boston to Addis is not so hard, but being that I am a graduate student on a limited budget, I am after the best deal possible. In my extensive research I have uncovered an essential travel tip, for the frugal out there: it turns out that buying two separate round trip tickets rather than one round trip ticket is cheaper (from Boston to Ethiopia).
This is why my itinerary consists of one round trip ticket from Boston to Paris, and another round trip ticket from Paris to Addis Ababa, which will even give me the opportunity to visit some friends and family when I stop over in Paris. From Paris, the most reasonable tickets I found to Addis are with Turkish Air, Emirates, and Lufthansa. At the time of my search, Turkish Air had the best price, but a very long layover and inconvenient arrival times. For only $90 more I chose to take Lufthansa and save 14 hours round trip, plus arrive at a reasonable hour. Finally I take the plunge and book my ticket. Total price? $1100. Ouch, but expected.
Now for the trickier part: how to get from Addis to Hargeisa? After speaking with my contacts in Somaliland and doing other investigations, I learn that I basically have four options to explore: Daallo Airlines, Ethiopian Air, Air Ethiopia, and the bus. My instinct tells me to go with Ethiopian Air, but then I look on their website and call the airline, only to discover that all flights to Hargeisa are still suspended. And while I have gotten mixed reviews about many topics, one thing has remained consistent: avoid Daallo airlines if you can. Luckily, (or perhaps it will be unlucky, as I have yet to take my flight and find out!) a contact in Hargeisa told me about Air Ethiopia, a relatively new airline that has flights from Addis to Hargeisa every Monday and Thursday.
I contact a travel agent as well as the airline directly, and they say they will hold a space for me, though I have not put any money down and certainly have no e-ticket as proof. I will simply go to their office when I arrive in Addis to pick up the ticket and pay. Sounds good to me.
It seems like everything is nearly set. Now I just have to pack my suitcase accordingly. Simple? Not as much as you might think. You see, my Somali friends in Boston are very excited (and also nervous) about my trip. They have all filled my already stuffed suitcase with gifts to give their family, or family of their family, or who knows who. Some gifts include clothes, Obama gear, magazines, a Blackberry, USB key, and more.
Not only that, they have showered me with Somali clothing which I have been instructed to don when I am there. I give a little fashion show to some friends, thinking that I have mastered how to wear their clothes, but as it turns out, I never noticed the little details: what size scarf to wear with a skirt versus a dress, how to tie each scarf so it looks right, what to wear under the skirt, and so on. Luckily I have a few days before I leave to learn these intricacies and patient teachers ready to instruct me.
Hopefully the people I meet in Hargeisa will be as patient with me as my Somali friends in the U.S. have been in helping me prepare for the trip! Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
By Emily H
Source: Somalilandpress
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