A defining moment happened on Monday of Christmas week, as I was driving from Bingham Academy to the SIM HQ clinic for my first day doing the job I came here to do. It wasn't the unusually chaotic and gridlocked traffic at the bottom of the road from Bingham, although as a result I had to go a different way - a route I wasn't sure of. It wasn't the unexpected closure of a major road with no hint of a diversion or where to go (they've dug the road up to install a light railway system). It wasn't the bumper to bumper morning traffic chaos I was driving through, although that certainly contributed. No, it was the bus that had veered off the narrow back street I had been forced to drive down and had embedded itself in the front of a small shop (shop is a kind description - it was a shack made of corrugated tin in a row of similar edifices). The bus was at an angle, partially blocking the traffic; people were everywhere, including police. There were no ambulances, although they are a great rarity in Addis. I was beckoned past by the traffic police into the next junction - the wrong way down the remains of a dual carriageway that has also been dug up for the railway. Mercifully I snaked my way out of the chaos and arrived at SIM HQ 30 minutes late and not a little stressed, but in one piece. I had been wondering how to get myself to work each day. Now the decision was made - no way was I going to drive myself through this mayhem every day.

The decision as to what to do about transport has been a challenging one. Bingham has vehicles for staff use but I cannot use them for personal commuting. And get this - I can't afford a car of my own in Addis. Import duty is 100% - 200% I think, making new vehicles stupidly expensive (vastly more than the most expensive car I have ever bought, ever) and cars here do not depreciate. (They certainly do deteriorate though - see Chris's description of her shopping trip by taxi). What makes used cars cheaper than new is the loss of the duty which is gone if the car is over 10 years old. Nonetheless, I may still need £50,000 (yes I know - eye-watering isn't it?) for a 10 year old Toyota 4X4.

So, in the interests of supporting local people, I have engaged a friendly taxi driver called Haile who has just lost his regular work bringing some children across the city to school every day. When I told him I needed regular transport to the SIM HQ clinic he was rejoicing and praising God that just when he thought he had lost his regular work, more comes along. An additional benefit of using Haile is that his 20 year old taxi has things that are often seen as optional extras here - like brakes and steering; not to mention seatbelts or even seats that are actually attached to the car. Very often we see and have sometimes been driven in vehicles that look like they will do this any minute:

So Haile will take the strain. I am leaving earlier (7:30) and coming home earlier (16:00) to avoid the rush hour at either end of the day.

In case you haven't seen it, check out the video on YouTube of traffic in Meskel Square. It's actually worse than this now as the lovely road you are looking at has been dug up for the railway:

We drove through there yesterday and down a road that no longer exists (if you watch the video the road directly ahead of the camera in the distance beyond the broad "square") to go to a supermarket to get a microwave oven. Mission accomplished - Chris, me, the microwave and more importantly the vehicle all arrived home in working order. I have put part of that journey together as a short video as well. Bear in mind the traffic is vastly less on a Saturday. Watch out for people, the road works, the way taxis behave, and the complete lack of road names, white lines, traffic lights and respect for traffic law. Chris was driving and I was filming on my phone. The first few seconds are the ring road which looks lovely doesn't it? Only a couple of people running over it. You should see it on Monday mornings. Enjoy!