Travel Report : Liban - tidbits

Some tidbits on my trip to Lebanon recently... (hehehe.. still talking abt the trip... hahaha)

1. for the first time i travelled without any map in hand... mmg serious, tak pegang map.. n belasah je lah mana driver kitaorg bawak. setakat 3 hari tu, our driver quite reliable. although none of them tahu mana tpt nak g visit, especially the first driver tu... but they know apa tempat yg patut pergi. so depa bertanya. meanwhile, in beirut, teksi2 takde bermeter... with price max LL10,000 (approx. USD6.67) u can go to almost everywhere in town. the price maybe pricy... but we are tourist, mmg selalu kena ketuk ngan harga mahal... :-)

2. Hotel location... Hamra Street is a good place... hotel near Rouche pun ok especially yg dpt meditreanean sea view... but i think (my personal opinion) area downtown tu a bit upscale... food around that area pun mahal2... but night life ok lah kot :-)

3. If you like Roman history and batu2 lama ni... Baalbeck and Sur/Tyre is a must... kalau tak minat, still try go to Baalbeck... impressive... tp kalau tak cukup time tak per... and in my opinion Harissa mmg blh skip... and Byblos u stop in case u nak g Tripoli... maybe i should go to Faraya hari tu... different experience. To the south plak, Beitaddine ok to be missed... Saida have loads to offer if u have plenty of time...

4. Ka'ak is delicious, try one... menurut kata arab2 kat sini, one of the best thing in lebanon is their food... better than other countries. but i would say the price is a bit pricy, sama mcm doha, or a bit more... sbb at least kat doha portion dia besar blh share ramai2. i do not know how to guide u to the place, sandwich tepi jalan tmpt pakcik to bawak, seriously sedap. oh, u also can try armenian food. plenty of restaurants around Dora area (tk g sbb tak sempat melawat beyrouth)

5. Loads of festivals in Summer... lebanese org yg suka berparty... Baalbeck, Anjar and Beitaddine mmg ada summer festivals. so if you plan to go in Summer checkout the shows... :-) anyway, during summer blh gak g ke beach... enjoy the meditrenean beach... surely best... (lebanese girls are pretty... tp masa sejuk2 ni semua pakai bertutup... hahahaha)

6. Kalau ada plan keluar dr Beirut... save ur shopping (for souvenir) kat luar dr beirut... common sense... shopping kat beirut mahal skit... saida souq gives u a reasonable price for souvenir same goes to Byblos... anyway, Saida souq best gak pergi... loads of things... and its meant for locals... tak lah superficial... byblos souq tu agak touristic skit...