BEYFlyer

Awesome pictures!!! Thank you for sharing. Finally, they removed the scaffolding off of those pillars ^ ^

OccasionalFlyerPerson

For some reason, I'm not allowed to 'like' the pictures of the ruins. I'll just say that they look fantastic.

bsagator

The best part of Baalbek, for me at least, is there were probably only 10-15 other people total touring the ruins. Compared to Greece, Italy, or even Petra, it makes a huge difference in the experience. I felt like I had them to myself, and was able to roam freely the entire time. A few more pics from my trip now that I'm home.


Barbwire and beauty.

Enjoying turkish coffee in dt Beirut.

New downtown Beirut.

Rooftop coffee at the 4 points Sheraton.

Hummus with Kibbeh at Loris.

Bekka Valley. My driver took me to his family home they were building.

Religous contrast.

"The Throne" KL744C AMS-LAX

Taoyuan

Thanks for these pictures. I'm really excited for my upcoming week in Lebanon now.

bsagator

Some advice I can give. Uber is super convenient and cheap. Most cars are always 1 to 2 min away, and the most expensive ride I had was $6 usd. I'm not sure what your home country is, but all my rides were in USD and you can only use cash, as credit cards were not accepted by the app. I always just gave each driver 10k lbp, which is now roughly $6.63. Most of my fares were just about $5. I have Tmobile and it works in just about every country for free, but not Lebanon. Most restaurants and bars have free wifi, so just ask for the code and order your uber from there when you're ready to leave.

Now speaking of credit cards, it was really hit or miss who took them and who didn't. Also, it seems like with currency fluctuations there were a run on atms, so alot of them were out of service. Bring alot of USD/Euro with you. Find a convenient place next to your hotel to change money daily. It seems like the LBP kept on falling and every other day when I changed money I kept on getting more back. I spent around $800 USD in the 6 days I was there, not including hotel, but I also enjoyed the nightlife almost every night. Drink prices were only slightly cheaper than prices at an average place here in LA.

For Baalbek, my hotel was asking $200 USD for a day trip, and the local taxi company was asking $150 USD. I found an Uber driver that I liked who said he was from Baalbek, and offered him $120 for the trip. He was very happy to do so, but he unexpectedly ended up bringing his brother and his young son, along with another friend. It was awkward at first, but they were really nice and we ended up going to a butcher shop and they bought meat straight off the lamb and the butcher shop cooked it right there on a grill and made a bunch of the traditional Baalbek meat pies at the bakery next door. We ate it at the family home they were building in a village up in the hills, which I pictured above.

Also, just like Jordan, everyone smokes in Lebanon. Old, young, Male or female. Everyone. And they can smoke a lot. I actually like to have some cigarettes while I drink, and ended up smoking all the time because everyone else was doing it. My throat still hurts a few days later. Marlboro lights are only $2. Other brands are even less than $1/pack. I know a lot of Asian countries smoke, but they are mostly male dominated. In Lebanon the women smoked just as much.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask

Taoyuan

Thanks!! This is really helpful. I'm from the US and will be visiting for 7 full days.

I'm aware of the currency issues going on -- is it difficult to use LBP over there now? I will definitely bring plenty of USD like you suggest, but am wondering how much LBP I'll want to take out.

Was it easy to find a driver to Baalbek? I remember when I went to Jordan, nearly every driver was more than eager to take on more business.

SJOGuy

Thanks for the pics and info, bsagator.

As for the smoking ... I didn't think of that. Not wanting to start a debate here, but as someone who dislikes cigarette smoke, I'll ask: Can you at least escape the smoke?

bsagator

LBP is very easy to use, and everyone takes it. The problem is withdrawing money from the ATM with the currency issues. The majority of restaurants and bars will give you the total bill in LBP or USD, and you just decide what to pay with. I always preferred paying in LBP as I think the conversion rate isn't as good as the money exchange place I used. I stayed at the 4 points, and there is a mall next door with a money exchange that had a set exchange rate, so I didnt need to negotiate with them and didnt feel like I was getting a foreigner rate. I just exchanged $200 USD at a time, and then kept an additional $200 USD on me, and the rest in my hotel safe. Outside of the airport duty free, I didn't find anyone who accepted Amex, just Visa.

Every uber/taxi driver would be more than happy to take you to Balbaak. Uber quotes $60 one way from Beirut, in which the driver keeps 75% I believe. Finding one who will do it for $100 USD off app should be easy, just make sure you do a normal ride with them first so you have a record of the driver just in case something fishy happens. I'm not saying there is even a small chance something could happen, but I always like to play it safe. I took a screen shot of my driver and car info and sent it to my family group chat. Also make sure the car is decent, as you will be driving through mountainous roads. If you like him, you can also ask him to drive you to other areas outside of Beirut. If it bothers you, you can make the point that he won't smoke in the car if you hire him.

bsagator

Most restaurants have non smoking areas, but you won't be able to sit outside on the verandas. Alot of them do still have smoking inside as well. As for bars, it was 50/50 whether they allowed smoking inside or not. If they didn't, there was usually more people standing outside smoking than there were people inside sitting.

SJOGuy

Thanks, bsagator. Yeah, it's something I'd have to think about. I realize I'm not about to change a culture, but as we non-smokers sometimes say, having a no-smoking section in a restaurant is like having a no-peeing section in a pool.

SergeyKulkinov

I was there and most of them are westernized but in the south where Hezbullahj supporters are not really big fans of the west

danger

If anyone has a recommendation for a driver (at this stage, just for a transfer to and from the airport and the Four Points), I'd appreciate it.

bsagator

Just email the hotel and they will arrange for one at $28 USD. An uber will cost less than half that, but the peace of mind with someone waiting for you might be worth it. [email protected]

She is the one who helped me.

danger

Thanks for that. I did see the USD28 on their website and also that Uber is a lot less. It's my first time in Lebanon and although I'll be arriving in the middle of the day, I agree there's a lot to be said for peace of mind.

bsagator

They just use the local taxi company, but they are waiting at arrivals with your name on a board. You can probably negotiate with a taxi driver for $15-$20, but they will start at $40. It's definitely not worth the hassle. Now coming from the 4points to the airport, I would definitely take an uber. It's an extremely short trip.