Blogs from Beirut, Lebanon, Middle East - page 5

I was not quite sure what to expect from Beirut (or Beyrouth) before I came to Lebanon, coming with the civil war and bullets in the news all the time, but also knowing Beirut was very fashionable, trendy, modern, home to ceder trees, famous clubbing and Lebanese food is one of the most authentic cuisine in the region, that's all. And despite what was the news talking about, finally I am in Beirut. This day is one I have been looking forward to the most. I am not sure if it is because there is so much sad news about Beirut. The Emirates Airlines A330 plane flew over the harbour of Beirut into the runway, it was 4 hours flights from Dubai to Beirut, after my 18 hours flights from Hong Kong and Australia, so I ... read more

A Blog from Beirut ‘You should know, there is only one rule in Beirut, there are no rules.’ This slogan was more or less the first thing my taxi driver said to me as he picked me up from Rafik Hariri International airport on my arrival into Lebanon and the Middle East. At the time I thought little of this rather dramatic cliche as the conversation moved to more trivial matters such as why was it that I hadn’t taken my National Service yet and why exactly had I come to Lebanon to study politics! However, during my first week here in Beyrouth I have heard this slogan on several occasions, from University professors to street venders. This made me wonder, why is this expression so common and what exactly does it mean? After all, 40 ... read more

Zszokowana, zachwycona, porazona Beirutem. Mieszaja mi sie w nim Ateny, Beverly Hills, PhnomPenh i Berlin. Z Aten obwieszone zielenia domy, strome ulice, morze, klimat; z Beverly Hills - absolutnie luksusowe samochody, sklepy i kobiety; z PhnomPenh - opuszczone budynki, swiadomosc konfliktu; z Berlina - plac budowy. A do tego orientalna przyprawa w postaci polozenia miedzy Syria a Palestyna, bogata historia, orientalne umilowanie przepychu. Miasto bylo wielokrotnie niszczone i za kazdym razem udawalo mu sie ozyc i ponownie blyszczec. Teraz powoduje, ze architektura w Berlinie wydaje sie nie byc na czasie. Po horyzont widac dzwigi, ale miedzy nimi nadal tkwia szkielety zbombarowanych domow. Wsrod nich goruje ogromny budynek hotelu Holiday Inn - ukonczony na chwile przed wojna 1982 roku, dzis to tylko beton i dziury w betonie. Na ulicach zatrzesienie luksusowch samochodow, w nich wypac... read more

Here we are! DAY 0 wouhouuuuuuu... I should be ready, everything' check. hum .. AAAh na, il me manque encore une chose! I still need to pass by Kath's to get my e-ticket, very very important.. eventually ;p lets start the journey.. well the long long hours before getting there: Here is my Itinerary: Beirut - Doha. Doha- Bangkok. et la derniere ligne Bangkok- Hanoi Un bon petit trip de 24h! :) C'est parti mon kikiiiiii ... read more

After a long and interest border experience coming into Beirut, Felipe and I were looking to relax in a cheap hotel somewhere. Unfortunately, we discovered the not much of anything is cheap in Beirut! After checking into our hotel, we went for one of many walks along the corniche (seawall). Beirut is an interesting city in that there are very liberal people (miniskirts and fancy clothes, etc) living in harmony with people in traditional garb (niqabs, burkahs and robes). But for the most part, it was hard for me to ignore the opulence and excess of this place. With fancy cars and huge SUV´s everywhere, it reminded me too much of many of the things I dislike about my own home city of Calgary. It seemed that people here were too considered with status, which is ... read more