Plaza Beirut

... was surprised at all when they told me $20 would be a lie. Now how is it that I can ride across a border in a van for $10 but a ten minute cab ride is double? Oh hell no. <br><br>This schmeckelhead offering the $20 ripoff told me to sit and I noticed he was moving towards the key in the door lock which was down by the floor. Now here is why on my worst day I am still smarter than him. I knew if I sat down I would be locked in so I tossed my big bag over to ...

... int he corner of their living room, because they work for the kill police (English: Army). They donned me up with guns and took some pictures, and eventually we got to go to the ruins themselves (QUITE an interesting morning..). Baalbeck was awesome. The ruins are barely that - they are huge, and in an amazing state, making them (arguably to the dimwits) the most impressive ancient site in the middle east. The massive stones on the ground still have post holes big enough to ...

... pertinent à propos de Beyrouth. Je suis arrivé dans la capitale libanaise ce mercredi directement depuis Damas, après un voyage sur lequel je reviendrai probablement en fin de séjour au pays du Cèdre. Beyrouth est plus grande que Damas, en taille comme en habitants (ce qui surprend, à l'arrivée) ; elle est surtout bien plus ...

... or boyfriend. You hardly see single people going out. All you see are couples hanging out with couples in bars and restaurants. It is unbelievable. What makes it even more striking is when you consider how different this is from most of the other countries in the Middle East where the men hang out with the men and the women hang out with the women. Lebanon is so different from the rest of the region. At least Beirut is. This country should not be in the Middle East as it is ...

... along the corniche, then made my way downtown and saw the old Roman baths. After that I took a taxi to the National Museum. The museum was beautiful and the information was presented clearly so it was nice but nothing too spectacular. That night I met up with my friend Luayy from Amman. We went to a place called Music Hall, located in Beirut, with a group of people. It is in an old theater so the place is very spacious and open. There are ...

... shop, something like: "Life is unpredictable, eat dessert first." And, of course, cold as ****in ice on the McDonalds, "Your world changes; Big Mac doesn't." [On the side of the Hard Rock Cafe, metal letters on a background of fake bomb-damage: "One day you will see that we are all one" (or whatever) - John Lennon] If you can judge a place by it's internet cafes, then this is the West. Big and fast with nice computers and a bunch ...

... we were joined by another set of guys who we soon established were local Hizbullah officials in charge of patrolling the area. Most of them seemed fairly friendly except for a couple. The first, cutting a large, war-beaten figure, had a giant scar running the length of his arm. Throughout the whole experience he held in his hand a used-looking baton which he swung malevolently from side to side. The second wore a look of resentful suspicion almost as comfortably as the ...

... others were a complete ruin, bombed out much like ones I've seen in the city centre, however some of these were still inhabited. For the most part though this place just sweats money, the restaurants are divine, the bars fantastic and whilst I feel like I'm spending a packet, I'm living like a King in a way the would cost 100 times this in Rome, London or Monacco and I don't think that would be as unusual as this anyway ...

... kind enough to take us into the nearby mountain resort of Farayh the next day. The ride in and out of the city gave us a unique view of the city and may well be the reason to include Beirut on our top ten favorite cities list. As we climbed a windy road higher and higher we quickly appreciated how well Beirut leveraged its position along the shore of the Mediterranean. From that vantage point the city looked like something of a cross between Nice and Rio. The sight of skiers ...

... in the country. I was all set to go early to the airport in the hope of getting some sleep there before my early morning flight, but a couple of the guys I'd been hanging out with insisted we go out for 'one last beer' which needless to say turned into several, complete with smoking of waterpipes. It was a really pleasant way to round off my time in the country. I collected my bags from the hostel and set off to try and find a taxi - which usually isn't difficult. But as I wandered ...