Shalom Lebanon. Shalom Israel.

Beirut, Lebanon.

When I woke up on my first morning in Beirut, I noticed that my laptop had not charged over night. I checked the power point, tried several combinations of adaptors and chargers and still I had no luck.

So I asked the dude at the counter (the same guy with the gun, for more click here) and he said, “Oh yes, that is because we have black out every day because Israeli Air Force bombing in 2006. Now we use generator for lights only during the blackouts, the other power doesn’t work”.

For this dude, it was just a matter of fact; there was no anger in the statement. If anything, he seemed frustrated with the Lebanese government for not fixing it soon enough.

This was the first real mention of the war with Israel.  I didn’t think that the effects would still be so tangible.  

It was a strange feeling, because the next day, I checked out, flew to back to Jordan and crossed the border into Israel.

Here are some photos from my last day in Beirut. I was in the student quarter of Hamra for the most part. Like much of downtown, it’s full of bars and cafes.

Stay tuned for tales of Israel, the Western Wall, the King Hussein Bridge and the War of the Cab Drivers in the next post. 

Graffiti in the student quarter.

More graffiti

I wish I could translate this minni poster for you, but your guess is as good as mine.. 

As a University student I always wanted an old Datsun like this. I think it's a 120Y. A beautiful car.

The local beer is pretty damn good.

The 8mm Bar in Hamra. 

My travel dudes, Matt and Caroline in a restaurant in Hamra.

Smoking shisha and playing backgammon is bloody great. Thanks to Caroline for teaching us how.