Mr. T was in
Eritrea last week on a work-related trip. When people asked about his
whereabouts, I would say, Ethiopia. Not that I was geographically challenged,
but for some reason most people looked blank when I said, Eritrea.
Truth be
told, I hadn’t given Eritrea a second thought until this trip came up. I only knew
it was somewhere near Ethiopia. I did some cursory reading, mostly to figure
out how safe it was, and discovered that it was a deemed a ‘state sponsor of
terrorism’ and was under ‘UN sanctions’. Of course, I found this out this while
Mr. T was in Eritrea, and could do nothing more than ask him to ‘lock the doors
and windows at night’.
What’s it
like, I asked, the moment he got back. Cold, he said. Eritrea is about 7000 ft.
above sea level and temperatures reached a maximum of 24 degrees even in
summer.
What’s the
place like, I wanted to know. It’s quite like Goa, he replied. That was a huge
compliment as far as Eritrea was concerned. Mr. T, an eternal Goaphile, ranked
most places he visited based on their semblance to Goa.
It had an
easy charm, apparently. An Italian colony until the last century, it still featured
graceful, Art Deco buildings, especially in the capital, Asmara.
Like any place unused to tourists or travelers, credit cards were rarely
accepted, and currency exchanges frequently ‘ran out of dollars’. The ritziest
hotel in town was no more than a well-maintained lodge. And that’s where Mr. T
and his colleague happened to be staying.
The rooms
were squeaky clean but tiny. One could enter the room and fall into bed in the
same motion, apparently. Mr. T also ended up sharing the room with scores of
mosquitoes. And in the bathroom, apart from a single bar of soap, there were no
other toiletries.
One morning,
Mr. T and his colleague stopped at the Reception to check if they could get
some moisturizer. Because of the cold weather, their skin had turned dry and
cracked. The receptionist replied that the hotel had run out toiletries. However,
before they could turn around, she opened a drawer and pulled out her handbag.
She rummaged through it and came up with a tube of scented body butter. Before
they could object, she squeezed out a big dollop on both their palms.
“Have a good
day, sir,” she said, waving them off when they tried to thank her.
What Eritrea
lacked as a country, it more than made up by its people.
4 comments:
aw! that was nice of her! :)
Eritrea! Nice!
Why can't I travel to some interesting places for work too! :(
Leela: missed you .... welcome back (I am three posts late). Keep writing. I missed you. Love, ditoza
Nice to learn something new about a place I've never even heard of before.
-Lynette
Sanjana: I'm hoping Mr. T takes me on his next trip.
Ditoza Thank you. You always say the nicest things.
Lynette: It sounded like an interesting place to me as well. I'm hoping to tag along on Mr. T's next trip.
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