  Lebanon
Click to get the inside scoop from
real travelers here at VirtualTourist. See the Lebanon Travel GuideInside advice from real people on:Overview, Hotels, Things to Do, Restaurants, Nightlife, Shopping, General Tips, Transportation, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Warnings or Dangers, Local Customs, Packing Lists or Sports Travel.
 2882 Lebanon Tips.4779 Lebanon Photos.0 Lebanon Videos. Lebanon Pages by coceng
| Page Views: 11,088 Last Visit to Lebanon: April, 2005 | The Land Of The North & The South... by coceng - last update: Sep 4, 2005 |
EURO TRIP 2001
EURO TRIP 2002
EURO TRIP 2003
EURO TRIP 2004
MIDDLE EAST TRIP 2005 :
LEBANON
SYRIA
JORDAN
EGYPT
April 2005 :
When I told my travel agent about my cancelled trip to Israel, he suggested Lebanon or Syria to me !
I thought I might as well cover these 2 countries !
He said, "Excellent !"
Furthermore, I could get a cheap ticket flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beirut !
I said, "Excellent !"
I actually first knew Lebanon from the massacre in the early 80's ! The war...
Little that I knew then that I would be seeing this country.
Bought a guidebook right away which was combined together with Syria.
Read attentively about the places; Seeing photos on VT but none of the VT members that I was in touch with would want to see me...
Elsewhere on The Net, I managed to get in touch with a guy who could take me around & he lives in Beirut.
He could also take me to some places around the north or Lebanon. So, I set the date for my journey to begin...My Flight Journey from Kuala Lumpur
Lebanon is nice but also a bit disoriented at first.
Beirut is just a city & not as Paris Of The Middle East !
Baalbek is so impressive !
The driving is sheer craziness !
Almost hassle-free country !
At least when you say NO twice, they would have understood !
Easy to travel around but especially the northern part, check whether the snow is still melting as some roads might be closed.
There are also military check-points in the south & also in the estern part of Lebanon.
There are many off the beaten sites around Lebanon.
It is really a cheap place to travel around... |
| My Itineraries Around Lebanon... |
MY ITINERARIES...
5th April 2005 (Tuesday) : Flight from KL, stopped over in Dubai. 10 hours flight, smooth one. Arrived in Beirut at about 1.30 pm. Got lost looking for my hotel !
Meeting Riyad in Beirut; Dinner & talk...He's showing me around Beirut at night. We also went to Mr. Rafiq Hariri's tomb. Al-Fatihah...
6th April (Wednesday) : Morning bus to Tyre, although had to change bus at Sidon.
On the way back from Tyre, stopped in Sidon. Meeting Ibrahim, a tour guide; We decided to see The Beiteddine Palace.
Arrived at 8 pm in Beirut; Met up with Paul. Dinner with Paul near his university.
7th April (Thursday) : 10.30 am bus to Baalbek. Arrived at 1 pm. Seeing the ruins is just so amazing ! Night photos around Baalbek !
8th April (Friday) : First decided to go to Hermel but changed plan & on my own went to Aanjar instead 'cos it's on the way back to Beirut. Hermel is too further to the north almost near Syria. Safely back to Beirut.
Today is a busy day ! Meeting Riyad again at about 2.45 pm, first we went to Jeita Grotto, amazing caves ! Reminds me of Postojna Caves in Slovenia !
Then, we were off to Byblos (Jbail); Just enough times to take some photos around the old port.
Then, Riyad drove me to Tripoli & left me there around 7 pm; I explored the night life of Tripoli on my own.
9th April (Saturday) : In Tripoli & also my last day in Lebanon. In the morning went to see The Citadel, so huge !
Then, checking the souqs & The Grand Mosque.
Riyad came again with his twin brother. Us 3 drove to the scenic Liban-Nord (northern-Lebanon), passing through Bcharre. We were actually going to another highlight in Lebanon : Al Arz or also known as Cedars Of The Lord ! I stepped on my first solid snow ! Sliding down the hill & my bum was all wet !
We went back to Tripoli & they left me for good & I took the night bus (at about 9 pm...) to Aleppo in Syria.
I was at the ticket counter to Aleppo & asked for a ticket. The guy asked me whether I had a visa & I said I didn't need one as I am a Malaysian & I do not need any visa entering Syria.
The guy replied back, "No Bus !".
I said how come as the last bus was at 12 midnight.
He kept on saying no bus & no bus & insisted that I took a taxi instead.
Slowly I took out a letter from he Syrian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur; The letter was a confirmation letter written in Arabic saying that I do not need a visa to enter Syria.
He read it & then smiled at me, "Oh ! The bus will be in 30 minutes..."
I bought my ticket but I was grumbling profanity in Malay language !
Bye Lebanon...Bye Riyad & twin brother; Bye Paul; Bye Ibrahim; Maybe 1 day I shall return... |
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| Pros: | "Each Town Has Something Different To Offer !" | | Cons: | "Well, Beirut Will NEVER Be Like Paris !" | | In A Nutshell: | "A Side-Trip If You Happen To Be In Syria Or Jordan..." |
coceng's Lebanon Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 4 - Photos: 11 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers
Tips: 3 | | | Transportation
Tips: 1 | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 coceng's Lebanon Travelogues | | | |
|
 Comments for coceng about Lebanon | | | | |
magor65 Thu Nov 24, 2005 12:19 UTC
Lebanon and other countries of the Middle East are on my wish list. I visited Israel a couple of months ago and hope for more. | stappm Wed Jul 6, 2005 05:14 UTC
Great Page - I cannot wait to get to Lebanon! thanks for the tips! | matcrazy1 Fri Jul 1, 2005 14:12 UTC
Good job! Nice pictures, good suggestions and very good warning tips :-) |
|
|
email me
add as friend
