Does anyone know a cheap place to stay in Beirut? (possibly
under USD 10).
Is there any way I can get in touch with locals BEFORE I
get there? I would appreciate if I could talk to someone
who is local... ABout general interests, reconstruction,
culture, etc.
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It is no problem to find a room in Beirut for under $10. The
Pension Home Valery -THIRD FLOOR- is the place to be. Jamal,
the owner and manager charges $5 and can give you, in
impecible english, incredible information about Beirut and
all of Lebanon.
The hotel is really easy to find. Just go to the Hard Rock
Cafe (the one on the water, there's two!). Walk away from
the water on the street between McDonalds and the Hard Rock.
After one long block, the building is on your right. Look
for the Wash-Me car wash with the car hanging above its
entrace. At the main entrance to this building walk to the
back of hallway and then the stairs to the third floor.
There is another Pension of the same name but different
managment on the second floor. I can't vouch for it but it
may be a satisfactory back-up. I'm really enthusiastic about
Lebanon after my visit and I don't think it's possible to
miss the energie there. Goodluck and e-mail if you have any
further questions.
Wait! I found the number: 364906
I don't have the coutry code and moreover, I'm not sure all
the land lines in Lebanon have international capability, but
you'll soon find out.
If you are both on a tight budget and would like to avoid
being ripped off by the airport (and for that matter: any)
taxi drivers, you can walk from the airport to the city. It
is about 5k along a main motorway and shouldn't take more
than 1hr. Although overcharging incoming travellers is one
of the ubiquitous problems at any airports around the world,
the Lebanese taxi gangsters seem to be most notorious for
that...
Although I walked at night, it is not exactly recommended
due to a certain crime rate around the southern suburbs.
Maybe I looked to worn down even for them... But it is an
option for daytime which can easily save you $10 (or
whatever these bandits demand). It is enough to make your
way to Cola interchange/bridge (the place with tons of
busses, minibusses, taxis) to find some reasonable
transportation to downtown.
By the way, I have heard about municipal and private busses
that go from the airport to downtown sometimes but they
haven't convenient time schedules (i.e. something from 7am
to 6pm). These would cost you a couple of cents only (500LL
= 30c) and save you the walk...
If you don't mind the noise of traffic in Beirut and aren't
pissed off by the ubiquitous honking, you will find it a
nice place.
The Lonnely Planet subWWWay has some excellent link where
you can find all sorts of information regarding cultural
events etc. happening throughout the year in the country and
hotel info etc. I might add that if you are intersted in
reconstruction, you must check out:
http://www.solidere.com.lb/. Also, http://www.beirut99.org/
has all the information related to Beirut being the UNESCO
Culture Capital of the Arab World, for 1999. Also,
http://www.lebanon.com/where/ has some more information
which could be of help. I visited Lebanon this winter and
had an absolutely wonderful time. As a young woman
travelling alone, I fealt as comfortable as anywhere in the
US or Europe. Best of luck!
I might be able to add something to Brandon's post: the
country code for Lebanon is +961 and the city code for
Beirut is 1. So just add +9611 infront of the number he
mentioned. All telephone lines in Lebanon can receive
international calls offcourse, however subscribers may
activate/deactivate outgoing international calls. The
people in Lebanon are hospitable to the extreme and I am
sure you will be able to settle yourself easily!