Eritrea: (2006) Photo album is here A beautiful country with a troubled history and a challenging present - it is still a great destination for the traveller. Eritrea is one of the safest countries to travel in on the African continent and has a diverse geography. From Asmara at 2400m to Massawa by the Red Sea, it is only a two hour drive. Asmara: This is a beautiful town showing off the best of old Italian architecture, Art Deco Style! It is also a very safe city to stroll around, and it is easy to fall in love with the atmosphere of Asmara. Where to stay: Selam hotel  is a bit run down but still a nice place to stay. Singel rooms are euro 10, double euro 14. Hamasien hotel is also a bit run down but still has lots of charm and is just a short stroll from city centre. Rooms are really spacious and has lots of character. The suites have two floors with a great sitting room on the upstairs with fabulous views of Asmara. At euro 40 the double suite is a great bargain. They also have good spacious single rooms for euro 25. What to do: There are great views from the church tower (Catholic church on the main street) -ask around and give donation of euro 1 to climb the tower. It is lively around the market. Cinema Roma is quite impressive and has an old huge movie projector on display. Massawa: Hamasien hotel is quite run down but supposedly has the best beach. It is indeed a nice beach but rooms are really not good value at euro 16. It is quite a distance from Massawa itself so you need a car or taxi to get there. Massawa is built on two islands plus a big part of the town on mainland. The island furthest out is arabic in character and great to walk around and look at people and architecture. On the first island lies the tank monument which is interesting and shows three Russian/Ethiopan tanks that were taken by the Eritrean freedom fighters. You also find the old palace of Haile Selassie that was severely bombed by the Eritreans in 1978. It is interesting to walk around and see this place. The entrance gate has the iron lions of Haile Selassie (mentioned in the song by Bob Marley). There is a famous fish restaurant on the outer island called Selam that serves great grilled fish. It is a very basic place but still the favourite hang out of the president of Eritrea (he was there when we visited).  Dahlak islands: It is possible to arrange trips out to the Dahlak islands also. This is expensive so you need to join a big group. For approx euro 2500,- total, a group of 20 people will be taken the ca 4 hour boat trip out to one of the smaller islands and stay the night. There is nothing on the islands so you need to bring food, drinks, blankets, etc. We slept under the stars and had some great snorkling on a fabulous reef just off the island. One of my better snorkling experiences. The boat fished all the way out to the island and caught plenty of small tuna and kingfish for a nice BBQ in the evening. It got cold at night so you need a sleeping bag or warm clothes.  Trips like these are best arranged from Asmara as you need permits both to leave Asmara for Massawa and permits to visit the islands.   Ethiopia: (2007) Photo album is HERE Ethiopia has fascinating cultural history, beautiful and breathtaking scenery, and an unparalelled ethnic diversity. It's a huge country and distances are really far between many of the great sites. I have this far only visited on a job trip but I am already intrigued and fascinated by Ethiopia. It is politically both hugely important in the region, and also deeply troubled. This is probably also one of the reasons it is a hidden gem to tourists. Addis Ababa is a big city and you need to take minibus/taxi to get around. It is a huge construction site and in no way a beautiful city, but interesting with a bustling life. Mauritius: (2007) Photo album is HERE This paradise island has a lot to offer. Yes, the beaches are fantastic and make great postcards, and you can enjoy crystal clear water and clean white beaches with overhanging palm trees. But there are also pictoresque mountains, wonderful Mauritians, beautiful botanical gardens, water sports, snorkling, big game fishing, great sea food, good beer and great rum. The Mauritian Green Island Superior Rum is superb. Smooth with hints of spice. The main brewery on the island, Phoenix, makes two very good beers: Phoenix and Blue Marlin. Most restaurants offer lobster (langust - the one without big claws) at reasonable prices. Naturally you also get great fish, squid or shrimp dishes also. There are plenty of smaller islands where tour operators gladly will take you for day trips including food and snorkling. Prices on Mauritius are reasonable. A full day big game fishing trip will set you back euro 320 for the boat which takes 2-3 of you. We booked through Exotic tours in Pereybere which gave us a great day out at a competitive price. The main season for marlin is December and January but you may have lots of luck and catch one any other time of year. Most likely you'll have a great day at sea and catch some beautiful dorado and some tuna. We did just that and also had a big group of dolphins visit us. Most companies will keep the catch themselves and sell at their local market, but give you a few slices that you either prepare yourself or let your restaurant of choice cook for you. Where to stay: We got a wonderful villa through www.homelidays.com . We stayed at Pereybere which was the perfect place for us. It is a small village with two good beaches. Very quiet and more intimate than the bigger beaches of Trou aux Biches, Mont Choisy,or the lively center of Grand Baie. All of these are on the northern tip of Mauritius. Flic en Flac on the West coast is also very popular and is a very long stretch of good beach, but seemed to us more touristy and quite crowded. What to do: Port Louis is worth a day trip. The Waterfront is scenic and a nice place to shop but slightly expensive. The markets are also fun to visit. The Botanical Gardens at Pamplemousses  are well worth a few hours. Its star attraction is the some with the huge water lilies that form big saucers. There are also lots of other beautiful trees and plants, as well as deer, tortoises and lots of birds and fish in the ponds. Black River Gorges is a National Park that offers a different side of Mauritius with deep gorges and highland terrain (6-700m altitude). There are many hiking treks but also good viewpoints along the road. Mauritians come here in the weekends and pick wild guava which is everywhere when in season. On the western end of the park is Varangue sur Morne, a restaurant with magnificent views and prices as steep as the gorges.   Sudan: (2007, 2008) Photo album HERE Juba: The Peace Agreement of 2005 has meant a crazy boom in the capital of Southern Sudan, Juba. It is actually the most expensive town in the World (2007) as there is very little toget there yet, and with so many international aid workers present, the market rules completely. The price of a night in an old basic container with common showers of pumped unfiltered Nile water is around USD 200 (2007). A colleague of mine bought a small loaf of bread for USD 10. But as Juba is developing and competition in the market becomes real, prices will naturally drop (and have already started to). Apart from the cost in Juba, it still has a small town feel, but that might also change rapidly as building and construction continues and infrastructure is improved upon. Lying on the banks of the River Nile, Juba is also beautiful in many ways. A boat trip at sunset is highly recommended and you will get a chance to see some of the life along the river. Yei  is close to the borders of Congo and Uganda and here there are quite a number of goods available. There is good development here, but you have to stay on the roads as areas outside town are mine fields (work being done to clear the area but taking time). Akot, Yirol and Rumbek are towns in Lakes state and home of the Dinka people. The cattle camps are very interesting.