Lessons from Our Trip to Bahir Dar:
1) Bahir Dar is Beautiful
2) Visit the Blue Nile Falls
3) See the Monastery on the Peninsula (Ura Kidane Meret)
4) Meet Bisrat
5) Avoid Tour Agents that Lurk in the Hotel Lobby
6) Have a drink on the Tana Hotel patio and watch the sunset (it is worth it)
7) Take lots of mosquito repellant and take an anti-malarial medication (Bahir Dar is a malaria region and make sure to stay at a hotel with mosquito nets on the beds (the one things Summerland did right)).
8) Don't wear dress shoes to go hiking!
9) Eat the French Toast at the Summerland Hotel (probably the best thing about the place)
10) Fly to Bahir Dar. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. The price difference with the mini-bus and the flight is there for a reason. The roads to Bahir Dar are BUMPY and taking the mini-bus for that long is not fun. Trust me. Take a flight. You will be much happier.
