Author archive
23 October 2004
Sightseeing I decided that we would have a relaxed start after all the moving around we’ve had recently. But we still woke reasonably early for breakfast at 0730. We were approached by drivers outside the hotel for trips for tomorrow and day after. We got some good information about pricing to help with our decision-making […]
22 October 2004
Above: Making a stop near the border. Today, all of four of us will venture from Syria into a new country, Jordan. We took a taxi to Baramke station to try find a service taxi to Amman. But we didn’t get very far because, en route, the taxi driver found us a service taxi that […]
21 October 2004
Moving down to Damascus Today we head from Aleppo down to Damascus to join up with Pat and Fiona who should have arrived from Hama and Palmyra. We checked-out of Mandaloun Hotel after breakfast and took a taxi to the bus station. We were able to hop on a departing bus immediately after a […]
20 October 2004
Aleppo’s historic hotels We had the breakfast around 0800 at the same basement restaurant which we ate at last night. They seemed set up for the German market with a selection of cold cuts in addition to the usual Middle Eastern egg, cheese, breads and pastries (but no pickles). I ate carefully at breakfast because […]
19 October 2004
Getting ready I woke at 0500 and lay till 0630. We got packed up and headed out for a brief walk around the town of Hama before breakfast at 0715. I wanted to see what changes, if any, since our visit two years ago. Text continues after this gallery. Pat and Fiona joined […]
18 October 2004
Above: Temple of Bacchus. See the size of the man at the bottom? Roman Ruins of Baalbek Today is a big day. We plan to start from Beirut to Baalbek for sightseeing, then hopefully continue to Hama in Syria. I have concerns that the border in the north of Lebanon may not be open to […]
17 October 2004
Hill summer retreats Breakfast at the hotel took a turn downhill today with no tomatoes and cucumber. It was quite a surprise as both are basics of a Mediterranean breakfast. We took a brief walk outside the hotel, recognising Starbucks and the juice shop from our previous visit to Beirut. We met Zakaria, our driver […]
16 October 2004
Taking a day-trip I loved my Middle Eastern or Mediterranean breakfasts! Tomato, cucumber, cheeses, hard boiled eggs, bread, cake, strong coffee/tea and the token cornflakes perhaps to make the selection more “international”. Fiona didn’t seem too comfortable with the food and stuck to the mini French bread, toasted and buttered with tomato slices on top. […]
15 October 2004
Flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beirut We woke at the Kuala Lumpur airport’s Airside Transit Hotel at 0545 and walked down to the departure gate at 0630 for the 0720 departure to Beirut on Malaysia Airlines, via Dubai on the same aircraft. With about 20 passengers arriving late from Melbourne, we departed a little late. […]
14 October 2004
Tonight, we fly to Kuala Lumpur for an airside overnight transit, in preparation for an early flight to Beirut tomorrow morning. With our departure at 2110 tonight, we have the day to kill. We visited my aunt around 1100 who took us out to the Singapore Swimming Club for lunch. We had a delicious a […]