Day 1 - "Cabin doors to manual..."

First impressions - cramped conditions, a seething mass of humanity living cheek-by-jowl, strange food. Still, enough about British Midland economy class, what about Ethiopia?

Bole airport was the first surprise - a bright, modern, glass structure which immediately embarrasses any visitor expecting a dirt landing strip and a couple of chicken sheds. We were briskly whisked through immigration to be met by a hotel greeter who immediately noticed that within our party was Reading's number one David Beckham lookalike, David Spencer Webb. David was soon to learn that whenever he introduced himself by his christian name, the immediate response would be "Beckham!!!", which demonstrated not only what a global brand he is (Beckham, not Spencer Webb), but that he probably looking for a bit of part-time lookalike work on the side (Spencer Webb, not Beckham). Note to Beckham - if you ever visit Addis and discover to have a reputation for overpaying for taxis, now you know why.

We arrived at the hotel at around 2am, again a modern, clean, glass-fronted edifice with the friendliest staff imaginable. It emerged that the travel agency had failed to pay for the rooms in advance, but the attitude of the staff was "Hey, don't worry, go to bed and we'll sort it out later". Try that in your local Travelodge and see how far you get.