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 ;)
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