Originally Posted by
AlreadyThere
If you get in too late for your hotel shuttle, you'll discover that the post-10pm flat rate for a taxi to go the measly 3km is 500 birr ($25), which is outrageous for Ethiopia. So keep your walking options open! (You can easily walk under the motorway in question.)
I mean, I can afford the $25, but it's a matter of principle!
It is actually very easy to talk this down to $20. Still outrageous, but it's a matter of principle.
For safety at night: I won't risk walking alone at night in Addis. There's too much that can go wrong. There seems to be too little control of what's going on at night and also regular power blackouts happen frequently (including street lights).
I haven't felt unsafe in Addis during daytime, although it can be very tiresome to walk around and suddenly having a lot of new 'friends' who demand to take you for a traditional coffee session or traditional dance show (with a huge and unexpected bill at the end), or even 'just want to talk to you to improve their English' and the contents of their wallet, obviously.