Le Commodore Hotel Beirut

... a cigarette three intense minutes after everything had been consummated. Now here's the weird thing...when they were done not two minutes later several people came to their door. Being nosy, I peeked out the peephole, and it looked like their parents. Now if that isn't disturbing I don't know what is. <br><br>This sex palace is the Beau Rivage Hotel which means beautiful shores. I came to find out that the hotel had been closed for a few years and reopened ...

... chance to open and was severely damaged during the fighting. Like many other towers, it still stands, stripped of everything and anything of value, and serves as a stark reminder of this nation's violent past. <br> But just beside the Holiday Inn - and beside every other hollowed-out, bomb-ridded tower - there are new luxury condominiums rising. The new downtown, dubbed Solidere and financed through Rafiq Hariri (former prime minister) and lots of Saudi oil money, is a gleaming ...

... just chatted. Dropped them off about 12:30 and headed to the airport. We got a ride by the hotel manager to the airport and we basically went to VIP with our bags, no hassle. Ate some lunch at a café next to our gate called Cafematik. I had a Halal Club sandwich.

... are all that important here. At one point he was even talking on his cell phone and shifting gears with his right hand. We ended up getting back to the hostel at 4 pm. I took it easy for a while but then went out to see some memorial sight nearby. Because it was the anniversary of the assassination of the former prime minister, a memorial sight was put up in the middle of the city. It was interesting to see. There were pictures everywhere of the Prime ...

... after the start though anxiety was all gone. Going down hill, i watched the treres beautiful mountains, waved to people who were saying 'hello' I even forgot about ceren and Pinar for a long time. Then my chain broke a few times, i didn't even care. It took me 10 minuted to get confident on the bike. Then came the uphills. I pushed myself a bit then went with the flow and kept the bike walking for a bit. Rather than crowded front side, it's more fun to ...

... some gorgeous mountain vistas. Both our driver and every other car on the road, however, drove like total madmen and so one couldn't fully appreciated the views, as fear-of-death seemed to taint their serenity. Then, after an hour or so of suicidal driving through the mountains, Beirut finally revealed herself amid her stunning backdrop. Over her back towered the mountains, some still stubbornly wearing the glistening white of the winter snows; at her feet lay the still ...

The Greeks called it Heliopolis, originaly called Baalbek but either way Lebanon's number one historic attraction had a lot to live upto. I'm still to be convinced if visiting Baalbek on a day trip from Beirut was a good idea, I had intended to stay the night after partying in Beirut Thursday night. But that was my Naivety thinking that the Lebanon would be working to a Muslim working week rather than a Christian Saturday and Sunday break. So with ...

2 hours on the plane (not flying) to evict the drunk and his luggage from the flight to Beirut; 2 immigration officials scamming the visa system ("No, no, just tuck the USD 20.00 inside your passport"); 2 taxi drivers haggling over the fare because they "have many problems" which can ...

... Walking through the square the other night it was hard to belive that it was the same place I watched on CNN so many times only a few months ago. Strolling through the streets of downtown Beirut, you can look up at any number of the highrises and apartment buildings and the pock-marked concrete walls tell you the story of a country that has endured so much conflict. The bullet holes serving as a reminder for everyone that the peace being enjoyed now was hard-fought for.