Ethiopia
I’m not sure it really counts. I was only in Addis Ababa for one day on an long layover. However, I did get out to see the city a bit and had lunch with a distant relative.
Medhane Alem Cathedral
I had a very short layover in Addis Ababa when flying from Kenya to head to India.
At the time they gave out short duration transit visas - I believe for stays less than 24-72 hours. I’m a little fuzzy on the details. However, the short stay visa includes a really good hotel room in town. The process was quite straight forward at the airport - I paid 50 USD. Dinner and breakfast were also included, so not a bad little deal.
I dropped my bags at the hotel and headed out into the street. I had lunch plans with a distant cousin who was staying in Ethiopia at the time for work - so I hit the pavements to get there. Following lunch and a coffee ceremony, my cousin returned to work. I took the light rail - the first light rail built in Sub-Saharan Africa - about the city. It had just opened that year and was in pristine condition. People seemed to be excited just to ride it around which was fun.
While there is a variety of ways to avoid additional fees while traveling - I have personally found the Charles Schwab Investor Checking to be one of the easiest and most straightforward accounts to utilize on the road.