Here are some Lebanese facts (some of which I had
shared in my previous posts):
USD is good for tender in Lebanon: you can use it
on minibuses, at supermarkets, buying coach tickets etc. You will get Lebanese
Pounds in return of course. USD1 is tied to LBP1,500.
Internet coverage and WiFi connection are slow in
Lebanon. Some hotels charge extra for it. I had been offline in Myanmar before
so as much as I was reluctant to be offline, I wasn’t about to fork out money
for a slow crawling surf on the Net.
You need to exercise a lot of patience dealing
with the locals and waiting for and riding a minibus. Minibus condition varies
from downright dilapidated no longer road-worthy vehicles to almost new almost
clean vehicles. Bus drivers there are like the Metro bus drivers here when they
used to terrorise the KL roads (good riddance to them and polluting smoke!):
they wait on and on for passengers and take longer routes if it means an extra
passenger or two when a shortcut would suffice. Minibus drivers may promise you
they would take you to your destination but bring you only half-way there. And
they know they can get away with it as you can’t do anything about it when you’re
already half-way to your destination.
The army presence is heavy in Beirut and around
the country especially along the highways. Baalbek is less than 10 km away from
the nearest Syrian border and we were subjected to roadblocks on the way to and
from Baalbek. You can’t take photos of just about any building in Beirut; the
security guard or an army personnel may ask you not to do so.
There are some helpful locals but there are also
gruff unfriendly rude locals who won’t think twice about snatching things off
you. Be alert, be aware, even when you’re not walking alone and even when there
are security guards and the place is all lighted up. There’s also a scam to rob
passengers in service taxies where who you think is your fellow passenger is
actually collaborating with the cabbie to rob you.
The locals speak Arabic of course and French. You’d
expect the younger people to speak more English but not all do actually. At least
not those I approached to ask for directions.
The locals live in apparent harmony, Muslims and Christians.
Muslims also seem to celebrate Christmas and I believe I saw Bibles printed in
Arabic. Here, we are so worried that Muslims would be apostates and become
Christians if the Bible is printed in Malay (note: it’s printed in Bahasa
Indonesia in Indonesia). Who’s to say Muslims would practise their faith
anyway? Under
the terms of the 1943 National Pact between the various political and religious
leaders of Lebanon, the President of the country must be a Maronite, the Prime
Minister a Sunni and the Speaker of the House a Shiite.
And
now for some Lebanese cats and a Qatari:
I was welcomed by this kitty early in the morning of my arrival
Minutes
after that first cat, this scaredy cat was fleeing away from me. Maybe because I
looked like I eat cats for breakfast
Temple
guardians, Baalbek, with their personal butler
A local in Tyre (Sour)
Outside Natural History Museum, American University of Beirut
Campus
residents at the American University of Beirut
Local resident with The Corniche at the background, Doha
At Souq Waqif, Doha
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