Coral Beach Hotel & Resort Beirut

(SIM) Beirut is one of those cities that subliminally slips under your skin; it's an itch that has to be scratched, every corner has you eager to explore it further, and every conversation leaves you with just one more question that has to answered! The city has a resounding pulse that remains unperturbed by its troublesome past. It's vibrant, alive and chic, yet it's rich in a history that is ever present.<br><br>Beirut is a city of contrasts, the desolate war-torn ...

... to Che (since Ahmed had never been there). Chuck was tired so he ended up going home. We stayed at Che for a while and then at about 2am we went to 37 degree's again, Ahmed finally got to experience why I thought it was so much fun. We stayed till 3:30am and met some new peeps. Time to head to bed because we have to wake up early tomorrow to have coffee with the owner of our hotel and have lunch with the Muslim girls we met a few days ago. Then it's off to Dubai!!

... me suis impregné de son odeur assez profondément. A vrai dire, après la déjà bien urbaine Damas, j'aspire surtout à retrouver calme, culture arabe trad et solitude. Ce qui explique que je quitte dès cet après midi la capitale libanaise, pour une traversée du pays en deux ou trois jours au terme de laquelle nouvelles seront données.

... passed it and that I should take a taxi to get there. The guys were nice enough to find a taxi for me and negotiate a decent price. About 20 minutes later, I was dropped off at this military retreat. I thought this is where I was supposed to go. Two armed guards looked at my passport and said I could go in. I walked around for about 15 minutes before I realized I wasn't in the right place. I remember Jacquie saying that I should ask for "ATSL ...

... drinks there and then headed to a club called Crystal. It was nice but we only stayed there for one drink. After that we went to BO18 and then later in the night, or early in the morning, we stopped by Silicon but also didn't stay there too long. It was a nice club-hopping night, as I had wanted to check out as many different places in Beirut as possible. The next day LuAyy and I wanted to go to Je'itta Grotto, which is two supposedly ...

... to the COLA, which is where the buses to Balbeek stop. From there we took the local bus to Balbeek for another 10,000 LL. The Phoenicians named the city after their god Baal. This is the same guy the Israelites of the Old Testament got so incensed about. The Greeks called it Heliopolis or city of the sun and the Roman really built it up with several monumental temples the biggest of which was the Temple of Jupiter. What really impressed us, as unsophisticated wannabee ...

As a seasoned traveled, I am embarassed to share with you the story of my arrival in Beirut and my excellent travel pre-planning. I guess in the midst of all the excitement of starting the independent travel part of my journey, I simply forgot that i actually had to organize things on my own!! I've convinced myself that this minor forgetfulness is a normal symptom after "back-to-back ...

... a ledger, another guy checks your purse and waves his wand all over you, they talk to you quickly in Arabic and practically shove you down a long smoky hallway leading to who knows where. Maher was right beside me the whole way up until this point, thank heavens! Down the hall, I found my self at baggage claim and had to walk to the far end to the KLM desk. No one there. Waited. No one. Back to the other end. They said they'd call. Back down again. Wait. A random man points me ...

... we suggest you pay a visit to Baalbek. If you do make the trek, however, you are likely to find a very different place than the one we visited. Apparently the UN has dedicated some 17 million dollars to ongoing excavations at Baalbek and the ambitious plan is to tear up much of the surrounding area to unearth other sections of the outpost and to connect the three existing temples. We took a few 'before' snap-shots of the temple area, so let us know when you get the 'after ...

... access to two caves, and were although the set up of the place is a bit like disneyland - theres a cable car which takes you about 200m up a hill, and a 'train' which takes you back down - it didnt detract from the wonder inside the caves. it was really awe inspiring. ive been thoroughly enjoying the food ive had so far - much better than i was expecting, from what little i knew at home. and on that note - its time to go and get something to eat!! Jo xxx