Tripoli 07/08/08

I wake, glance around, get the feeling it's still early and go back to sleep...

I wake, glance around, get the feeling it's still early and go back to sleep...

I wake, glance around, get the feeling it's still early and wonder why??? Checking the time I'm amazed it's after eleven! My room is almost completely light proof :)

The plan today is to do some writing, internetting, then head up to see the famous Lebanese Cedars. I spotted a cafe last night that had wireless so I head down there for breakfast. Breakfast is great but for some reason my computer doesn't work on their connection so finding another cafe I have a coffee and get to it.

Their wireless only works in spurts an after an hour I get fed up and try my luck elsewhere. I know there is an internet cafe near the hotel so heading back there it isn't until after four I'm finished with all my work. Oh well, Cedars another day maybe...

Finding a quiet little cafe in the central park I feel at ease sitting and drinking my tea. All the apprehension from yesterday has disappeared and I make the decision to continue my journey south. Tomorrow anyway...

"Hey mate. Where you from?"

"Australia"

"So am I!"

Turns out Abu Khulie is another Lebanese Australian here for the Summer, he spends six months of the year here and six months in Oz. We enjoy the next hour drinking tea and chatting...

"So, what do you think of this area?"

"It's nice. Very relaxed and peaceful"

"Have you seen the rest of the city?"

"Some...pretty wild"

Laughing "Yes, my house is a couple of kilometers to the east. Last week they were fighting in my street! I could see them from my apartment, very different from here. If you are free for dinner come out and have dinner up there"

"Sure, sounds good"

We arrange to meet at six and I head back to the hotel to relax. I was thinking of heading up north to try to get some photos and video as yesterday I hardly got any. I figured one run in with the military was enough for the day. But now Abu Khulie has invited me up to his place I will feel a lot more comfortable getting pictures with a local present...

Catching a taxi to the address given I'm a bit disappointed with what I find. It's definitely a big difference from the city center but still not looking like a war zone like up north. The pictures will have to wait...

All the locals are super friendly and super keen to come chat, ensuring before they leave they have bought me some kind of treat :) The street is filled with mechanic shops and it seems the local kids spend all their time tuning their cars and racing up and down the road, there is a constant squeal of tires in the background. Half of them don't even have license plates but nobody seems to care...

"Do they do this every day?"

Laughing "Every day?!? More like every hour of every day! Come back at two in the morning and they'll still be at it" :)

A couple of young guys take me for a walk to show me the view of the mountains. Passing a friend of theirs sitting in his car we stop for a chat. Another car pulls up next to us and the driver starts speaking harshly. The next thing I know my guide's friend has his pistol waving at the other guy out his window, but considering my guides are laughing I take it it's all in jest. The other driver reaches into his back seat and I'm expecting an AK-47, instead he comes up with a power drill and they proceed to have a mock gun battle. I then find out the guy with the pistol is the local policeman. Makes me feel much safer :)

Finishing the walk we eat dinner and saying a big "thank you" to Abu Khulie I head back to the hotel then back to last night's bar. A young woman is sitting next to me and we start to chat...

"You will finish in Jerusalem! Be careful, isn't it a bit dangerous over there to be walking around?"

"Probably not much more dangerous than Lebanon..." Better not be anyway ;)

"What do you mean?!? Lebanon isn't dangerous! Over there they are at war"

"In some places it looks like you are at war here as well"

"No it doesn't"

"Have you ever been for a look between here and syria?"

"But all borders have a military presence"

Laughing "Not like this"

"Lebanon is safe! I've lived in Lebanon seventeen years and have never heard of anybody getting shot"

Very un-diplomatically I fall of my bar stool in a fit of laughter...

Probably not completely fair to want to shatter her illusion but I decide to give the the option anyway...

"What are you doing tomorrow morning? If you want I will give you a tour of the north side of your city..."

She looks at me like I'm a fool, politely refuses then decides she has to go... :)

Solo saw me laughing and comes to see what I found so funny...

Shrugging "Yes, some people prefer to pretend there is nothing wrong here..."

So know I feel I have met almost every type of person there is to meet in Lebanon...and it only took two days! I have met people in support of Israel, people against Israel, people who like Israelis but don't like the government, pro-Syrians, anti-Syrians, people pro-Hezbollah, people anti-Hezbollah, Christians, Muslims, Australians, an Arab who thinks all Arabs should burn in Hell, people who think all Israelis should burn in Hell and finally, tonight, a young woman who lives on a completely different planet... :)

And I wonder why this place has so many problems...

I promised the old guy at the hotel I would be home by one, so some time around midnight I make a move. Walking back to the main road along the beach I'm in my own little world when suddenly I'm snapped back to reality...

"Hey Ben! Ben!"

Glancing up I see Abu Khulie and his friends sitting at a table next to the street. I remember him saying he comes down to the water front every night for ice-cream but we are all very surprised with the coincidence. He tells me this place sells the best ice-cream in the world so I can't resist his offer to shout me one. And I have to say his claim would be close, the ice-cream is superb! :)

Pilgrimage from Lebanese Border to Tripoli 06/08/08

Waking early I want to be up and about before I'm discovered to get my bearings. The beach is deserted and apart from the occasional car on the highway not a soul to be seen anywhere...

Heading off I realize my decision to set camp last night was very well timed. Meters from where I turned the beach is fenced off with barbed wire. The road is straight and flat with the majority of the buildings being military facilities. Actually, the majority of the traffic in these parts is military as well. Even most of the civilian cars are driven by people in uniform.

But still, I don't have to get far before a family invites me in for tea :) Muhammad lives in the middle of nowhere but has a beautiful spot next to the beach. Proudly declaring he has ten kids and much to the families amusement he starts making fun of Westerners only having one or two :)

Finally reaching civilization the locals are great. On finding out I'm Australian everyone falls head over heels trying to help me as most have friends or relatives who live there. I even find some fellow Australians here visiting family. It was a very similar experience in Greece when most people who can speak English speak with an Australian accent, quite bizarre...

The main point of interest in these parts is a Palestinian camp located on a headland to the South which is eagerly pointed out to me with motions of gunfire by everyone I pass. It seems this is the local tourist attraction and they're all very proud of it :) From watching the news over the last year I can remember some stories which I figure probably relate to this place.

On closer inspection I can see many of the buildings are destroyed, setting up my camera I start taking some pictures...

"Stop! Stop!"

I glance up to see a young guy in uniform and an older guy in plain clothes rushing over the road towards me. Oh oh....

"What are you doing? That's forbidden! Forbidden!!!"

They don't look impressed and I can tell this isn't going to be fun. Luckily for me they hardly speak any English so trying to communicate in Arabic and sign language gives me some breathing space...

"I'm a tourist. I'm walking to Tripoli"

"Where are you from?"

"Australia"

"Passport!"

These two have an air about them I don't want to mess with, the passport comes straight out. The older guy flicks through it and after locating my visa is on straight his mobile phoning in the details. The younger guy turns to me...

"Why are you taking pictures?"

Shrugging "I was told by the locals that there was a lot of fighting in this town so I wanted a picture"

"When did you arrive?"

"Last night at 8pm"

"Where did you stay?"

"I camped on the beach"

He continues with his questions while the other guy confirms my visa is valid before coming to join us...

"Okay, I need to see the photos"

Starting to flick back through I couldn't have asked for a better selection of shots than the last few days worth. There's a couple of the Palestinian camp, then two kids from down the street, Muhammad and his family, Muhammad's son and his cow, Muhammad's geese, my tent, a couple of the sunset...

The older guy shrugs then says in English...

"I'm a Lebanese Policeman. Come with me"

I wonder if that's the Lebanese equivalent of "You have the right to remain silent..." :)

He leads me across the road to a military facility...

"Wait here. I'll be back"

Taking my passport he leaves me in the company of a couple of young guys who think it's extremely amusing to now have this strange looking backpacker to look after.

"Coffee?"

I have to laugh...it appears the Lebanese hospitality extends to prisoners as well :)

"You are walking to Tripoli?"

"Yes"

"And after that?"

"I will walk to Beirut, then Damascus, Amman, then finish in Jerusalem"

I figure if getting arrested is going to be a regular occurrence then I might as well give them the full story straight up to avoid confusion. The good thing is, the fact I'm walking to Jerusalem doesn't faze them a bit.

Glancing around my surroundings I actually feel less safe sitting here encased by sand bags, barbed wire and armed guards than I do out in the street. If I get shot or blown up out there it's going to be because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I get shot or blown up sitting in a Lebanese army base it will be because I am sitting in a Lebanese army base :)

Half an hour later I'm starting to wonder if I will be here all day when the old guy returns with a big smile, always a good sign...

"Okay, there is no problem. Finish your coffee then you can go"

The small talk continues but now I have permission to leave I'm not so keen to chat. The coffee can't go down fast enough and before I know it I'm back on the street heading to Tripoli.

Stopping at a restaurant a father and son ask me to join them and insist on shouting me lunch. They are from a nearby village, with the son now living in Beirut working as a lawyer. The old guy is funny, he can hardly speak any English but is very keen to find out through is son what the Syrians were like...and very disappointed when I only have good things to say about them :)

Whenever the coast is clear he'll glance around, lean over and whisper...

"Arabs, all bad. Israel good"

Then sit back and wonder off in his own thoughts like nothing was said. I just smile and nod as does his son :)

Heading off once again I notice an interesting piece of graffiti, someone has drawn a big star of David in the cement on the footpath. Israel obviously has a lot more support here than I realized...

Then just to prove to me what a complicated country Lebanon is I don't make it another 500m before someone else wants to stop for a chat...

"Aaaah, you are walking to Palestine. Be careful it's very dangerous"

"Yes, I know"

"But tell me, why is America and England friends with Israel?" Making motions with his hands "Baby, baby, baby...Israel" He then proceeds to motions like he's gunning them all down"

Shrugging "Politics is politics, I don't know"

"What do you think? Do you like Israel?" He makes the same baby killing actions

This is a scenario often put forth by anti-Israeli vocalists and there's not much I can say to it. Does Israel regularly kill children...yes, as does any modern army at war. Unfortunately, it comes part and parcel with modern warfare. I say we should bring back the days where we all line up on a field and bludgeon each other to death with clubs and swords...much more civilized ;)

Normally in this situation I will point out the Arabs too are responsible for the deaths of children and it doesn't automatically make either side "evil", but this guy doesn't speak any English so it will probably be hard to get my point across...

"I don't like Israeli politics but I don't have a problem with Israeli people"

He answers with a flood of Arabic I can't understand and doesn't look convinced, but then he just smiles, wishes me luck and leaves me to it.

I'm sure many people when they think of Lebanon think it will look like a war zone and I'm pleased to say that from what I've seen during today's walk they would be completely right. Funnily enough it actually comes as a surprise to me. I have visited Lebanon before, but only to Beirut and a ski resort, and found it to be quite normal. Today is a different story...

Approaching Tripoli uniformed soldiers start to appear on every corner, holed up behind sandbags or sitting in APCs with .50 calibre machine guns. Road blocks are common and I pass bombed out buildings and burnt out cars at regular intervals. Many a shop window has bullet holes riddled through it and I have to admit, one big question keeps popping into my mind...

What the fuck am I doing here?!?

Considering I had the option of a totally safe, yet slightly hotter route through the middle of Syria I'm starting to think I made a wrong choice. This place is WILD! The main thing that gives me confidence though is that the people are all still super friendly. I just need to find a hotel, relax and decide if this is where I want to continue...

Even without the bullet holes in the windows or the military on every corner this part of town has a rough feel. Looking around I can see many bearded men with walkie-talkies and from thirty years watching Hollywood movies and CNN automatically brand them as Islamic extremists :) I can just imagine it would only take minutes after any incident to have the streets flooded with armed militia...

A group of kids suddenly bolt down a side street and my heart jumps into my throat. I didn't realize I was so much on edge. If it's going to be like this the whole way to Beirut I'm going to be a nervous wreck :)

I find out the area I'm most likely to locate a hotel is Al Tell. Two rough looking kids, probably seventeen or eighteen, come over for a chat and I make the mistake of asking them for directions...

"Come, come. We will take you"

I don't like the look of them right from the start and with my nerves on edge would prefer to be left by myself. But I don't get that option. The one that can speak some English is a bit simple looking and blinks way to much while the other looks friendly but with a cheeky side I don't trust. Straight away they start asking how much money I have and how much my camera is worth. I let them know I have very little money and the camera is virtually worthless. I can hear the simple guy talking to himself on the other side of the cheeky one as we walk along. Sticking my head around to hear what he is saying I can see he's in his own little world and doesn't even notice me watching...

"Give me your money. Give me your money..." He keeps repeating over and over in varying tones...

Not a good sign :)

I look at the other guy, he just shrugs and smiles, obviously not understanding what his mate is saying and makes motions like he is a bit crazy. I have been in situations like this many times round the world and am not bothered too much. If they had the balls to stick a gun to my head in the middle of the street and take me for all I'm worth they would have done it by now. From here on if they are going to rob me I will have to give them an opportunity. I ensure I'm always aware of where they are in relation to my valuables and continue on like everything is normal. I know that if I force their hand the are likely to act, so I don't stop to put away my cameras or tell them to piss off. If I can get to a safe place before they realize then I'll be fine.

I am also lucky I know roughly what direction I should be going so when they try to take me off course I let them know I'd prefer sticking to the main road. The street starts filling with people and they point down the road we are walking...

"Five hundred meters down there. Straight."

And then they leave me to it. I breath a sigh of relief and continue on. Two hundred meters down the road I steal a little glance behind me and sure enough they are following, 50m away. Slowing down I ask for directions and delay till the simple guy is walking next to me again...

"Where is your friend?"

"Don't know"

I look behind and there he is. Giving him a wave, thirty seconds later he rejoins us. Much better to have these two where I can see them. And now that they are here it's time to find an internet cafe and wait till they get bored...

"Ben, down here"

"No, I'm going to find an internet first" I stop to ask a shopkeeper and am very pleased there is a cafe 50m away...

The guys don't look so happy but smiling and wishing me luck they disappear. Let's just hope they are gone for good this time ;)

Now that I'm on the net I get the names for a couple of hotels in the area. The workers point me in the right direction and before long I locate Hotel Koura. The rooms are great, clean with a big private bathroom, but the $40 price tag is a bit more than I'm budgeting for.

"These rooms are very nice but I only want to spend $20 a night. If you can do it for $20 I will stay, otherwise I will look around a bit more"

Laughing "Twenty dollars, no way! Thirty finish"

"Okay, that's a good price. If I can't find anything else I will be back in fifteen minutes"

"No! Twenty five"

I feel a bit guilty bargaining over the last $5 but I know at this stage that I will get it for $20. And I do :) Wonderful!!!

Taking some time out to relax, I decide to go get a feel for this side of the city. As I wonder the streets I realize I'm a world away from the city I was in two kilometers to the North. The military presence is almost non-exsistent, certainly no more prevalent than in many major cities around the world and definitely no sandbags or APCs. The people are relaxed and look completely at ease. No bullet holes and no bearded men with walkie talkies...

Time to go get a beer ;)

The only strip of bars in Tripoli is located down near the waterfront. I walk down, locate the street and find a great little bar called Hollywood. Solo, the owner and bar tender is an awesome guy. The bar is quiet and he's happy to sit and chat...

"I'm amazed the people in this city are so relaxed..."

"Yes, we are all used to the fighting. Sometimes we can hear them fighting a street or two over and nobody cares. We just sit here and continue to drink"

Around midnight, after a few beers I head home. The hotel door is locked, I press the buzzer and wait. The old guy makes an appearance not looking so happy and pointing to his watch...luckily I didn't go out for a big night ;)

Pilgrimage fromTartus to Lebanese Border 05/08/08

Giving myself a sleep-in I head down to last nights restaurant for a wonderful mushroom omelet and fresh fruit cocktail. Perfect way to start the day but by the time I get moving it's after 10am.

The walk along the harbor is great, sticking to the coast the sea breeze is wonderful and even though I didn't start till late the temperature is fine...

"Hey, hey..."

A guy from a construction site calls me over for a morning tea. Thirty years ago he lived and studied in Russia but because he has forgotten most of it his Russian is as good as mine...pretty poor. He can speak English as good as I can speak Arabic, which is basically nothing, so the conversation is a very interesting mix :) But somehow we manage to get by and have a good half an hour chat...

"Are you religious?"

"No..."

"I'm Christian...a Christian communist" :)

I think he's joking but I'm to find he is serious. He goes on to tell me there are actually two active communist parties in Syria but unfortunately I can't understand any more details... :(

After 5kms my road comes to an end and I have to head inland to the main road. Not 100m from the shore the temperature jumps five degrees and now it isn't so pleasant...

I have seen some tourist brochures on Tartus with pictures of ruins and it seems the Gods are smiling on me today, my new road takes me straight to them :) Without knowing what they are I wouldn't walk far out of my way for them but the extra 50m is worth it :)

I hit the main road and it's a 20km stretch straight to Lebanon. My stomach is finally feeling better and my energy levels are high. Feeling extremely fit I'm sure I will be able to make the border before dark.

Stopping every five or six kilometers for tea the sun starts to get low and I can make out the border in the distance. I'm not very keen on wondering into Lebanon after dark without getting my bearings first, but the stretch of coast I've been walking along is perfect for camping and I can't see it instantly changing across the border.

I still have my camera in hand and want to tuck it away before hitting the border but a military base is next to me and I don't want to look like I'm hiding it. A guy in uniform is walking down the street opposite and crosses the road to cut me off...

"What's that?" He points to my camera...

"A video camera"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm walking to Lebanon"

"That's forbidden!"

"Give me your passport"

I give the guy a quick look up and down and don't like what I see. He might be in uniform but it doesn't look like he's showered in a week and his eye's are glazed. There's no way this guy is getting ahold of my passport. If he wants to look bad enough he can walk with me the 500m to the border...

"No, I'm going to Lebanon"

"Give me your passport! I need to see your passport"

Pointing at the border "Lebanon, Lebanon..."

His voice raises a few decibels and he starts to look extremely pissed "Passport! Give me your passport!"

Time to remove myself from this situation :) I point at the border, give him my best smile, wave and walk off. I'm followed by a stream of yelling which I don't understand anything of. Normally in this situation I will never look back as this gives them another chance to communicate. Without looking back, short of crash tackling me there's nothing he can do. But for some reason I break my own rule and steal a glance behind me. His arms are waving and he's gone red...

I smile again and give him another wave... :)

He can't help himself. Putting his hands to his head he breaks into a big smile, waves and walks off :)

Finding a quiet corner I hide the cameras and head for the border. Leaving Syria always seems to cost money, basically a bribe but always disguised as something else, and now it appears they have made it official.

I get presented with a "Permission to leave Syria" card issued by no other than the "Syrian Arab Republic Ministry of Finance"!!! Not the Immigration office or customs, but the Ministry of Finance! Classic!!!

"Six hundred Lira please"

The form clearly has "500SYP" written on it so I pass him 500...

"No, 600 Lira"

I point to the form...

"Yes, five hundred for the form, one hundred for me"

The problem with Immigration officers is they know, and you know, that they can't be argued with. If he wants 600SYP, he's going to get 600SYP :)

Making my way to the Lebanese office I spot an Australian Passport on the counter. Glancing around a guy comes up to me with a big smile...

"Gday mate, you Australian as well?"

"Sure am"

Pointing at the man next to him "This guy tells me your walking! He saw you on the road today"

Well...my covers blown :) One thing I don't want to look when passing through Immigration is nervous or uncomfortable so now he's talking to me he's getting the whole story, don't want to look like I'm hiding something...

"Where you walking to?"

"Jerusalem"

"Cool"

"And you are going to walk from here to Tripoli?"

"Yep"

"These guys are telling me it's a bit dangerous. They reckon there's heaps of dogs and hyenas and everything..."

I smile taking this as a good sign. Dogs and hyenas I can deal with, it's the wandering bands of heavily armed angry youths which I'm hoping to avoid. If that's all they have to warn me about I feel a whole heap safer :)

The immigration officer gets my attention...

"So, where will you stay in Lebanon?"

"Tripoli then Beirut"

"What hotel in Tripoli?"

"Any hotel"

"No, I need a name for a hotel"

I don't know how many borders I've passed through and how many times I've been stumped by this question but I never seem to learn my lesson and do some research before arriving. I turn to the Australian...

"Do you know the name of any hotels in Tripoli?"

He shrugs...

I quickly start running through all the words I know in Arabic searching for a suitable hotel name...

"Palace Hotel"

"The what? No, what hotel are you staying in Tripoli?"

"Yes, the Palace Hotel"

He gives me a look of disgust, waves me away and writes "Quality Inn" :)

I made it! I'm in Lebanon!!!

There was a small town on the Syrian side of the border which looked like it continued over to this side, but no such luck. No shops, no houses, no nothing. I'm just faced with a long empty road. The good news is though that the beach is still looking perfect for camping. It's fully dark so walking about 700m away from the border I find a nice little spot tucked away in some sand dunes and call it a day...

Pilgrimage from Arrawda to Tartus 04/08/08

Feeling good when I wake I take my time getting ready and head down to the restaurant for breakfast. It seems like every time I eat my body needs to shut down to cope, as soon as I'm back in my room I'm flat on my back in bed :( Luckily it only lasts a short while and it isn't long before I'm back on the road.

Winding my way around the coast there is always an offer for tea or coffee waiting to be accepted. I walk, rest, walk, rest until I hit the highway and decide to walk the last 15kms along it. Without the distraction of all the people and with the road going directly there I'm sure I can make Tartus by a decent hour.

One thing I have noticed about Syrians is they only have a very vague concept of time and space. While living in Damascus I would regularly want to meet with a Syrian friend for a drink. I turn up at the appointed time, say 3pm, and knowing they were going to be late order straight away. Thirty minutes later they are nowhere to be seen so I call...

"Hi, are you far away?"

"Aaaaah, Ben! No, no, give me ten minutes I'm on my way..."

I order another drink and after thirty minutes call back...

"Aaaaah, Ben! Wait, wait! I will call you back in five minutes..."

I order another drink and after thirty minutes call back...

"Aaaaah, Ben! Sorry, something has come up. Can we meet tomorrow?"

"Okay, sure"

"Great, same time?"

Now it's this last part that makes me realize we are living in two completely different realities. What exactly do they mean by "same time"??? I take it to mean somewhere between 15:00-16:30 and maybe not at all, that way there is never any confusion ;)

The reason behind this story is because the distance signs to Tartus follow a similar tale. I pass a sign saying "Tartus 10kms" and two kilometers later get another sign saying "Tartus 10kms". I walk six kilometers then get a "Tartus 1km", five hundred meters later a "Tartus 2km" then two hundred meters past that a "Tartus 4km"!

Now, if these signs were advertisements or home-made I could understand but they are all official, normal looking road signs. Surely the guy who stuck the "Tartus 2km" sign in would look up, see the "Tartus 4km" sign and think...

"Hmmmmm, maybe this is slightly out of place..."

The four kilometer sign must have been right and I stagger into Tartus feeling exhausted. I managed the last 10kms without a break and now I'm feeling it. Deciding to eat at the first restaurant I come to it turns out I'm getting a greasy hamburger for lunch. Not the best thing for my dodgy stomach but I figure maybe introducing some more nasty critters down there isn't such a bad idea. You never know, maybe they will wipe themselves out fighting for supremacy of my stomach... :)

Finding a nice little hotel I grab my camera and go to check out the old city. Luckily it's only 200m down the road because there is absolutely nothing to see! Still craving spaghetti I go from restaurant to restaurant and finally locate some goodness. Just what I need!

The atmosphere is great! Sitting on the street facing the Mediterranean sipping cocktails, it's the perfect place to relax and catch up on some writing...

Pilgrimage from Hreisoon to Arrawda 03/08/08

The restaurant workers are up and about early so I don't get much of a sleep in. The sea is looking too tempting and I can't resist a morning dip to start the day. Abdula makes an appearance looking slightly bleary eyed and his friend is looking even worse, I find out he still hasn't slept :)

We sit, drink coffee and after saying a big "thank you" I go to leave. Abdula must notice I have the same shorts on that I wore swimming and running inside comes back out with a new pair...

"Here, take these" :)

I set off around the coast and it isn't long before my guts start tying itself in knots again :( Twenty-four hour bugs are fine, any longer than that I can do without...

The walk is nice and peaceful, finding a long line of restaurants I pick one to lounge on the beach, listening to the lapping waves and drinking tea. The bill comes and I get a huge shock when the guy wants 150SYP. All the restaurants so far have been charging 25-50, because the bill is so ridiculous I give the guy 25 and walk off...

"Hey Australia, Australia. Come back, come back"

Bugger him I say :)

Making the outskirts of Banyas, I find a bench and set myself up with a fabulous fish picnic. It goes down a treat but as soon as I stand up I get knocked back down, before I realize it I've slept for two hours!

Setting off again I don't get far before some old guys call me over for a drink...

"Where are you walking to?"

"Jerusalem"

"Aaaaaah, Philistine. So...are you with the Arabs or the Israelis?"

I laugh and shrug...

The guy launches into a tirade of Arabic, none of which I understand, then much to everyone's amusement his friend starts hitting him telling him to shut up :)

The sermon finishes and he goes back to speaking English with a big smile...

"Come back to my house for lunch"

I really have no desire to eat anything but telling him I'm full doesn't convince him. I'll let the Gods decide...

"If we can walk I will come..."

"Walk! No way! It's too far"

They take their leave and I'm left thinking about how funny many of the foreigners living here are. Many a time while in a social gathering in Damascus I would be asked about my walk and would reply that I'm going to Jerusalem. There were always some in the group who would gasp wide eyed and look incredibly uncomfortable, before finding a suitable time to pull me aside and explain that I "shouldn't really tell people that".

But not once have I been told it's inappropriate from a Syrian or Palestinian, they all think it's great! The only negative response I might get is disappointment that they aren't able to come. It amazes me that the foreigners here are most likely some of the more open minded people on the planet, to be here in the first place, but still can't see past their own preconceived illusions...

Banyas is a funny town, very busy and very disorganized. Trying to locate an internet cafe is near impossible but luckily a young sailor who speaks Russian and a bit of English adopts me and acts as my tour guide. Cheers mate...

After a couple of hours on the net I have a craving for spaghetti, I think my bodies telling me I need some energy as my diet has been crap lately. I hardly feel like eating anything these days...

The chance of spaghetti is pretty much nil so I settle for a falafel role. It's so good I have to have another and the owner is so happy to sit and chat he doesn't even let me pay :)

Setting off I once again start to feel ill and feel the need to crash out. The first clearing I come across looks perfect. Dumping my bag I go to set myself up when suddenly two guys appear out of nowhere...

"What are you doing?"

"I'm about to have a rest, I'm walking to Tartus"

"You can't rest here" Pointing around "All military"

Sighing "Ok, no problems. I pack my stuff up and go to leave...

"Where are you going?"

Pointing down the road...

"No, come with us. You must drink tea" :)

Go figure. I can't sit on the grass across from the military compound but I'm more than welcome to sit in it!

The guys are all good value and I have to laugh at how racism filters through into all cultures. The mother of one of the young guys is Turkish and even though he was born in Syria, can't speak a word of Turkish and has never been to Turkey everyone calls him "Turk" :)

"Hey Turk, do this..." "Hey Turk, what do you think about that?"

Still feeling ill when I leave, and in need of a sleep the walking is difficult, but as the sun starts to set my body begins to feeling better. Maybe I will walk through the night...

Stopping for a snack I'm surprised when the owner of the shop starts speaking perfect English and lets me know her sister lives in Australia. Taking a seat I'm happy to stop for a chat...

"So, are you staying at the hotel next door?"

Hotel??? "There's a hotel next door?"

"Yes"

Perfect :) I'm happy to have a room to myself for the night and a sleep-in. Hopefully it will make me feel a bit better...

Pilgrimage from Snobar to Hreisoon 02/08/08

Feeling the sun rise I role over and try to catch a little more sleep. Next time I wake my stomach is doing backflips, I should make a move. My energy levels are fine and I don't feel sick but my tummy is not in a good way... :(

I start walking and don't have to travel far before my first invite for coffee :) As I go to leave one of the customers runs inside and comes back with some biscuits and a juice...

"Energy, energy..." :)

Next stop is a 7-up, which of course the owner doesn't let me pay for, then 500m down the road another tea seller starts yelling at me from the other side of the highway. Trying to convince him I want to keep walking is impossible and he is so enthusiastic I can't refuse. These guys are great value and once again I get loaded up with biscuits before leaving.

The plan is to complete the 15kms to Jableh before lunch, then attempt the next 18kms to Banyas in the afternoon. Four kilometers before Jableh a young guy rides past on his bike, does a u-turn and comes to chat...

"Come back to my house for tea"

"How far away is your house?"

He points at a house 100m away...

The house ends up being a shop run by his brother and he insists I drink a fizzy drink instead of tea. Suits me fine... :)

I go to leave just as his friend, Yassir, turns up who can speak English...

"You must come back to my house for lunch"

"Thanks, but I'm going to try to make Jableh before I eat"

Even though I haven't eaten anything today I still don't have an appetite, and the thought of trying to force down food under the watchful gaze of a Syrian mother isn't too appealing...

"No, no. You must come"

"How far away is your house?"

He points at a house 100m away... :)

"OK, sure..."

Sitting out in his front yard we get presented with a huge feast. I start tentatively but once I get into it my stomach settles. The neighbors come out to join us and it isn't long before they are trying to marry me off to all the eligible girls in the area. I suppose that's what I get for being thirty and single ;)

Arriving in Jableh around two I feel like an afternoon nap but coming to a great little restaurant overlooking the sea I decide to catch up on some blogs first. Ordering a tea I sit down to write and suddenly feel incredibly nauseous. Five minutes later I realize if I don't go and lie down very soon I'm going to vomit. Quickly packing everything back up I head off in search of some shade...

Luckily for me I don't have to go far, a restaurant is being built next door and is only half finished. A perfect spot to crash out...

I wake to a rock scuttling along the ground and I can hear kids down stairs...

Was that aimed at me?

Another rock comes flying over the balcony, skittles along the ground and comes to rest after hitting my sleeping mat...

Fuck! Little bastards!!!

Getting up I tentatively sneak over to the edge, scared another rock will come hurtling over at any second. Spotting the culprit, he has another rock in hand ready to throw. The funny thing is he isn't looking in my direction...

He lets loose with his missile and I hear it clatter around in the room below, but he still hasn't even glanced up. I have to laugh, after sitting and watching for a minute it appears they don't even know I'm here. It must have been a fluke the other rocks almost hit me...

Going back to sleep it isn't long before I'm discover, I wake to three kids giggling and pointing at the strange looking bum who's made himself at home in their cubby house. They sit around and chat for a few minutes before leaving me to go back to sleep.

Waking with the wailing if the mosque I realize it must be getting late. I'm feeling better and the good news is I have a big appetite. Locating another restaurant down the road I ask if they are serving food...

"Yes yes, take a seat"

"I dump my bag and set myself up to write. The waiter comes over...

"Sorry, we don't have any food. But if you want we can order you a sandwich that will get delivered"

"Sure, no problem"

I order a tea and start writing. Another tea and ninety minutes later I go to ask about my sandwich...

"Maybe in an hour..."

What the....!!! I can't believe he still has a straight face and I have to laugh. Obviously I'm not getting any food here so I pay for my teas and head off in search of nourishment elsewhere...

Town soon ends and I get a wonderful walk around the coast. No Restaurants but a magical view. The really exciting thing though is the missile sites right next to me. Just like the movies...real, big missiles sitting there waiting to be fired! I'm impressed :) I'm also itching to sneak a photo but I'm sure that at some stage while walking through Syria someone official is going to want to look at my photos and the last thing I want to have on my computer is pictures of Syrian missile sites...

As darkness starts to set in I search around for my torch, shit! I've either lost it or have packed it in my tent. Just then a car pulls up next to me and a guy pokes his head out from the window...

"If you have a couple of minutes please come back to my house for tea. Just five minutes then you can keep walking"

Mustaffa is extremely polite and well spoken, I can't refuse :) He use to work as a translator for the last president and five minutes quickly turns in to an hour as we sit chatting on his rooftop, eating grapes and drinking warm milk straight from the cow next door. It's well dark by the time I go to leave and even though Mustaffa offers to let me stay the night I want to keep moving. While I'm sick I figure it's best to walk when I can, who knows how i will feel tomorrow...

Many people call from their balconies as I wander past but i have to refuse their offers as politely as I can. Five kilometers later I hit a restaurant, yes! Finally some dinner :)

I order fish and set myself up to write. The owner, Abdula, and a couple of his friends sit at the table next to me drinking and it isn't long before I have a glass of Akrak in hand. Maybe that will help kill all the little beasties in my stomach ;)

"Where will you stay tonight?"

"I don't know. Maybe three or four kilometers down the road"

"If you want to sleep in the restaurant you are more than welcome"

"That sounds great, cheers" :)

My food starts to arrive and I watch in horror as plate after plate fills the table. Absolutely awesome but even if I was feeling well there is no way in the world I would finish it all. A huge salad, hommus, babaganous, yoghurt, pickles, chips, bread and 1kg of fish! A big meal for two and a nice meal for three, I don't know what they are thinking but I'm sure the price will be for three as well...

Rather than put myself off my meal further I decide to eat as much as I can then argue about the price later. The fish is superb and I'm amazed how much I manage to consume but it still hardly looks like I made a dent!

Sure enough when the bill arrives it's huge. Abdula is back at the cash register so I head over to find out what the story is about serving one person a kilogram of fish...

"Did you order a kilogram of fish?"

"Of course not. Why would I order a kilogram of fish for myself? Do you ever have a customer come in and order a kilogram of fish per person?"

He turns to the waiter...

"Did he order a kilogram of fish?"

"He asked the price of the fish, I told him it's 1100SYP per kilogram and he said "OK, I'll have the fish""

I have to laugh as Abdula shoots him a look like he's a complete idiot, I am glad he gave an accurate description of the conversation though. Abdula, still not wanting to to completely write off 700g of fish, makes me an offer and tells me to take have the rest of the fish for lunch. Normally I would stand my ground and only pay for what I ate but because I like the guy and because they are letting me stay here the night I make an offer which he thinks is reasonable. And anyway, I hardly have any chance to spend any money in Syria...

We shake hands and go back to the table to drink. They are all set to drink the night away but one glass is enough for me and finding a cosy little spot in the corner I soon crash out...

Pilgrimage from Latakya to Snobar 01/08/08

Sleeping on the roof is wonderful, apart from being woken by flies in my nose and ears first thing in the morning :) I still manage to sleep in till 8am though...

Tomas is probably wondering why I didn't turn up last night so I head straight to the internet to see if he's given any more directions, but no such luck. Nothing to do other than sit and wait...

Finally around 10am he calls and we arrange to meet at my hotel in a couple of hours. Going for breakfast at my new favorite restaurant I then head back to the hotel...

"Hey Tomas! Great to meet you and glad you made it. Sounds like it was a bit of a mission to get here!"

"Hi, yes, a long trip"

"Do you feel like walking this afternoon?" :)

Laughing "No way, let's stay here another night"

"No problems" Even though I'm pretty keen to get moving as this will be my third day off in a row I figure he deserves a break ;)

Tomas books himself into a room and we head up there to work out our plans...

"So you want to start walking tomorrow?"

"Yes, I need to get moving again, let's stop for a couple of days in Tripoli or Beirut"

"You want to walk down to Beirut from here?"

"Yes, that's the plan"

"I thought you said you were happy to bus around? In my schedule I can probably only walk four or five days..."

Ooooops...looks like we have a bit of a miss communication :) Tomas sent an email before leaving Slovakia asking if it was okay if he walked some then bused and hitched the rest because he only has a month and wants to fit more in. I let him know it wasn't a problem but I didn't realize he was expecting me to accompany him on the busing and hitching sections! He isn't interested in traveling by himself and thought I was going to be a travel partner through the Middle East...

"Shit, sorry mate. I would love to bus around with you but I'm committed to finish this thing first"

"Hmmmmm, so what should we do?" He doesn't look so happy and I can imagine why, he's come a long way :)

"I think we just need to keep in touch. Work out a plan of where you want to go and if we are in the same area at the same time come walking for a few days. There are heaps of backpackers traveling around Syria so I'm sure you will be able to find someone easy enough to hang out with"

"Hmmmm, maybe"

"But first do you want to go to Salahadeen castle today?" If Tomas wants to be a tourist and I'm going to be staying around anyway I might as well do some sight seeing...

"OK, sure. But let's get something to eat first"

Tomas has never eaten Syrian food before so I take him back to the same restaurant I ate breakfast. He's well impressed with the selection. Hommus, babaganoush, cheese, olives, jam, weird sesame dip, pickles, salad, eggs and bread...more food than we can possibly eat and for $2 each! Awesome!

Making our way to the castle I'm glad to have made the effort. Perched up on steep cliffs it makes for an impressive sight, but an hour wondering around is more than enough.

On the way back to town I make the decision to start walking this afternoon. Since Tomas isn't going to walk with me anyway I have nothing to wait for. He doesn't look so happy when I let him know and I can understand why he would be a little anxious. If I didn't know that Syria is an incredibly safe place and that the people are super friendly I would stick around but I know he has nothing to worry about. And also, there is a constant stream of backpackers coming through the hotel so I'm sure he will be fine...inshaallah :)

Heading back to the hotel and packing all my stuff I'm ready to make a move. Saying a big "thank you" to Muhammad and "good luck to Tomas" I get going. My stomach is feeling a bit dodgy again and I don't have an appetite, one of the disadvantages of eating $2 lunches ;) I feel I need some fuel to keep me going so stop for some baklava and cake.

"Can I please get the bill...?"

"Where are you from?"

"Australia"

"Aaaaah, Australia! Welcome! Welcome"

"Thanks" :) "How much is the bill?"

"No, no!" He says while waving me away...

"Welcome to Syria, welcome..."

Champion! :)

My legs feel great after such a long rest and I fantasize about making 30kms. Once again all the tea sellers want me to stop for a chat and it's hard work keeping them at bay :) Syrians are just too friendly!!!

A taxi pulls up next to me and I have to laugh at the sight. If I could draw a picture to challenge the normal preconceptions people have about an Arab country this would be it. A guy and a girl are in the front with the driver and an older woman, a child and another couple are in the back. All the females are wearing headscarves but both the younger ones have their arms draped over their (possible) partners shoulders in a flirtatious way. Both the guys are drinking beer and they all combine in yelling at me out the window... :)

"Here, drink, drink!"

Laughing "No, thank you" :) With my stomach not doing the best I'm happy to avoid beer tonight...

"No, drink, drink!!!"

"OK, OK" I take a can and have a sip...

"More, more!"

I take another small sip and succeed in passing it back...

"Welcome to Syria!"

Around midnight I have made 15kms and finding a paddock decide to stop. As I search around for a good place a family on a nearby balcony spots me and calls out. I head over to explain myself but am blocked by a big drop off. They are still too far away to communicate with so I figure if I'm causing them too much concern they will come and track me down.

As I'm setting up the families 12-14 year old kids make an appearance...

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to sleep here the night. Is that OK?"

"You will sleep here!?!"

"Yes, is it OK?"

"It's dangerous! There are snakes!"

"No problem, no problem" :)

"You are not scared of the snakes???"

Laughing "No, they are fine. Do you mind if I sleep here?"

"If you are not scared of the snakes it is fine"

They leave me to it and I decide to try my luck without the tent. Thirty minutes of getting bitten by mosquitoes and I concede defeat, out it comes...