The Beirut Experience
Sri Lanka came & went and I really enjoyed it this time. Before leaving I'd spoken online with an Aussie/English guy, bloomsbury, who is living in Colombo. We caught up a few times while I was there and he showed me the 'cool' stuff which I missed the first time. I really enjoyed it and look forward to going back sometime. Being so close to India during the Mumbai situation was a little spooky but if you worried about drama all the time then you wouldn't go anywhere.
Next stop was Beirut, Lebanon. Having been to the Middle East several times now I was pretty sure I knew what to expect but every trip is an adventure and Lebanon was definitely that.
I arrived at night and had been travelling all day so I got into the hotel and crashed. And what a surprise when I woke up and opened the curtains in the room. Check out the view:
I suspected I was onto a winner here. Stunning hotel with fantastic views of the Mediterranean. It was time I went out for a walk and checked this place out.
About a 5 minutes walk along the Sea's boardwalk were the Rawcheh Rocks. This city is really funky.
I'd made friends with my cab driver the night before and he said if I wanted a city tour to give him a call. So I rang my buddy Ali and he came around to the hotel and took me out to Sida, about 30 minutes from Central Beirut and one of the oldest areas in Lebanon. I walked out to the Castle of the Crusaders, and took photos back of the city. The history in Beirut is so impressive.
The next day I booked a tour of Baalbeck and Anjar - both archeological sites. I'd never clambered over Roman ruins before and I'm glad I did, it was a good choice.
The tour also stopped at the Ksara (Winery) Caves. I didn't even know wine was stored in barrels in caves - apparently not only Lebanon but also in France & Italy. It was a bit early in the day for wine tasting but that didn't stop me - no big surprise - I tried them all.
It was a great day, good company on the tour and a knowledgeable and really pleasant Lebanese tour guide. The Lebanese were really welcoming & friendly. And they love speaking about their country and happily answer questions from everything about nightclubs to tourist attractions to their problems with civil wars. Of course there is a bit of a dark side to the country but it's not troubling, you can walk the streets safely, everyone speaks English (if not, definitely French) and I felt at ease speaking to the big Lebanese soldiers wearing SWAT gear and carrying machine guns. In fact I did that more often than I probably needed to ;)
The trip home was a long one, and I was happy to see Pete at the airport. We're waiting for another gig in South Africa or Turkey which means I'll take him with me. Hopefully in 2009.