Travel Report : Liban - Day 3 - Beirut and around...

Disebabkan small argument dgn driver tentang masa keje dia, setelah berbincang ngan dia mana nak g, dia decided utk ambil kita org jam 9pg. As discuss pada hari sebelumnya, hari last day ni kitaorg akan ke jeita, jounieh, harissa dan jbail. Cuaca hari ni tak secantik 2 hari sebelumnya. Hari ni very cloudy, langit putih je... tak mendung dan tak berapa sejuk.

since pagi keluar lewat, we've decided utk pusing2 sekitar beirut utk sesi photography... ye lah.. kitaorg sebenarnya tak melawat pun beirut setelah 2 hari kat sini. asyik keluar dr beirut je... we took pictures kat tempat rafiq hariri (ex PM) dibomb - 14 Februari 2005. Rafik hariri ni kiranya PM yg byk merubah kehidupan kat lebanon. dia dibunuh masa naik motorsikal, dibom dgn 1000kg TNT. katanya berlubang jalanraya tu sedalam 15 meter... bangunan hotel tu pun rosak. sekarang ni ada monument menandakan tempat tu... dan dekat dgn tempat tu ada patung rafik hariri (for more citer rafik hariri, blh tgk kat wikipedia... mcm tak tahu kan?)

pastu, kitaorg bergambar kat pigeon's rock (rouche). ni lah batu yg boleh dikatakan simbol beirut. tp aku tak tahu plak naper dipanggil pigeon's rock :-)

right after that terus ke hotel. our pakcik driver dah tunggu dah... awal dia datang... after pack the bags dalam kereta terus menuju ke jeita grotto. jeita ni gua batu kapur. nominated one of the 7 nature wonders. tapi based on my personal opinion, aku rasa lebih kurang gua tempurung kat perak tu, not really impressive. but facility disediakan kat tpt ni jauh lagi bagus lah dr gua tempurung. gua tempurung tu tak commercialise langsung... apa punya government lah kat perak tu! (ooopss... termasuk kisah politik plak)

2 jam abis kat situ sbb ada naik cable car, naik train n naik bot. kitaorg terus ke bandar jouneih utk menuju ke harissa. ramai org naik ke harissa naik cable car dr jounieh. tp our driver kata buat per bazir duit haram (ooh btw, he is christian) since dah naik cable car kat jeita, dia kata dia nak drive je ke atas. dia kata nanti dia menunggu kat bawah, dia kata haram (oooh dia cakap all in arabic, aku assume je ni translation dia). anyway, harissa tu actually tpt letaknya patung christian and ada notredame church kat atas tu... other than that... takde apa2... tp view from above cantik lah.. nampak jounieh seluruh nya.. kalau weather good, takde awan... surely lagi cantik.

sekejap je kitaorg kat harissa... dan terus ke tempat seterusnya... on the way ke sana, kitaorg singgah beli ka'ak. sejenis roti yg selalunya dijual oleh org berbasikal. tp kitaorg g beli yg fresh from oven on the way dr jounieh ke byblos. ada mcm2 perasa.. but we all like the chocolate taruh pisang :-) yummy.... a must try kalau korang dtg ke lebanon.

next, byblos/jbail.. said to be the oldest town on earth. katanya sejak town ni wujud, ia sentiasa berpenghuni... longest inhibitant town in the world. we went to the old town... pusing2 souq... dan menghabiskan all our USD... hahaha... tot nak makan kat one of the restaurants kat situ... again, our driver kata... haram... sini restaurant mahal2... buat per sorang nak abis kan USD25... makan sandwich sudah...

so we stop at a local eatery beli sandwich dan pakcik driver bawak kitaorg makan kat beach... really a local taste... best giler!!! baru lah hidup macam local... and indeed the sandwich was really good!!! mcm kebab wrap je rupa dia, tp roti dia dibakar penuh, so a bit rapuh... sedap!!! hang out sekejap sambil sembang2 ngan pakcik tu (cakap ayam ngan itik, sebab dia cakap arab... aku paham lebih kurang je.. hahaha). before kitaorg g ke airport, we turn back to kedai ka'ak and beli lagi utk bawak balik.. hahaha... oh on the way tu, singgah kat casino besar kat lebanon ni. casino du liban... sekadar bergambar hehehe..

masa check in aku dpt privilege berehat2 kat first class lounge :-) since aku ni Qmiles silver card holder... at least blh relax2 n makan... ye lah duit USD aku semua dah abis pun.. hahaha... flight was uneventful... sampai doha at 1am... :-D

Travel Report : Liban - Day 2 : to the south...

Hari kedua bermula agak lewat... driver kitaorg on first day cakap (on the night before) yg dia kena buat keje kat tpt lain, so new driver akan ganti... kita org mengharapkan seorang yg lebih tahu pasal jalan or at least berbahasa inggeris... but too bad, kitaorg dpt org tua yg hanya bertutur bahasa arab... jadinya dlm kereta... kitaorg sembang sesama kita je lah...

First stop is Bettadine Palace... Istana yg dibina oleh salah seorang emir 220 tahun dahulu... it's huge courtyard, but the finishing is pretty simple... tak lah kagum mana sgt... :-) tp lokasi dia kat atas bukit make it a good place to hang out... therefore, istana ni masih diguna oleh presiden sekarang, dia buat jadi dia punya istana hinggap masa musim panas. in fact ada bilik dlm istana ni dikhaskan utk mesyuarat dengan tetamu kerajaan...
An hour selepas Beittadine, kitaorg sampai kat Sidon atau Saida... dahulunya bandar ni famous sbb pelabuhan... masih ada lagi bot-bot nelayan kat situ, tp pelabuhan dia tak lah besar dah. Saida ni famous ngan souq dan sea castle nya... from Saida sea castle, kitaorg menikmati pemandangan laut meditrenean dgn membelakangkan pekan2 kecil kat atas2 bukit... cantik...

like other souqs, pasar ni mmg digunakan oleh local, so harga barang tak lah giler2 mahal. in fact ada souvenir yg murah kat sini berbanding kat Beirut. tp yg tetiba aku fikir masa jalan2 dalam souq ni, mungkin kah begini rupanya gaza... pekan yg agak padat dgn rumah2 yg bersambung antara satu sama lain. mmg aku rasa begini kot rupanya gaza.
kitaorg enjoy the souq dan seterusnya makan lunch kat restoran yg menjerut leher... sekembalinya kitaorg ke kereta, our driver cakap dia nak kena balik ke beirut sbb dah lewat... lagi 2 jam cukup tempoh 8 jam dia bekerja... kalau nak teruskan ke south/sur... mmg akan lebih masa... tp kita org suruh jugak dia ke sur... so perjalanan kami ke sur selama lebih kurang sejam tu dihiburkan dgn perbalahan... driver tu dgn boss dia... dan kawan aku (kak tak you yg in charge pasal kereta) dgn org yg kita book... alhamdulillah semua settle... dan kami sampai jugak ke sur... anyway, mesej of the arguments... kalau nak guna driver lebih masa... hulur siap2... jangan konon2 nak bg tips later... depa prefer dpt siap... 'haram' keje lebih masa sehingga dia penat, nanti bahaya kalau dia tertido semasa memandu... anyway, in our part plak... dia dah berehat lama while we were in souq and makan :-)

Sur is the closest town to Israel. dr pantai di sur (or in english Tyre) kita blh nampak tanah israel. the town is small which again aku nampak strong influence of Hezbollah. merata-rata ada bendara hezbollah dan gambar pemimpin dan syuhada mereka. pada asalnya, aku bercadang nak mencari2 khemah pelarian palestine kat bandar ni. tp since kitaorg sampai agak lewat... kena lah cancel (plus, setelah gaduh2... aku takut nak ajak dia g ke khemah tu.. hik hik hik). But one thing for sure, perjalanan ke selatan ni lebih banyak askar checkpoint and more ppl with guns surrounding the area...
another thing kat sur ni yg worth a visit adalah hippodrome zaman roman. serious besar and terpelihara... siap ada main stage lagi.. am impress :-) - kalau nak tahu apa hippodrome, cari lah kat wikipedia...
malamnya kitaorg had dinner kat HRC dan jalan2 kat corniche... and by 11pm kitaorg balik hotel n tido....zzzz...

Travel Report : Liban - Day 1 : Baalbeck

very short time for a wonderful country like Lebanon (a.k.a Liban or dlm bahasa melayu, Lubnan). ada quote cakap, lebanon is a place where u can ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon... tp aku tak lah adventurous as that... and in fact, i neither ski nor swim :-) anyway, it was an excellent weekend getaway.

kitaorg fly dr Doha jam 5pm, so kiranya last thursday tu agak rush lah, sbb lepas office terus g ke airport. Flight was uneventful. sampai kat airport beirut lebih kurang jam 7.30pm (time difference +2gmt). our driver for the 3 days kat sana dah tunggu kat airport. we didn't do much that night except g ke HRC (kenapa lah org malaysia suka sgt beli souvenir kat HRC?) dan Soledad a.k.a downtown. after dinner we went back hotel n tido...

a quick summary on lebanon. negara ni berborder kan syria kat utara dan barat... lautan meditranean kat timur dan Israel kat selatan... a very small country. mainly Muslim dan Christian... and muslim plak ada syiah dan ada sunni... selalu berperang.. kalau tak ngan Israel, ngan Syria... kalau tak pun antara Islam dan Kristian... tp selalu gak antra puak syiah dan sunni... for more details... tgk wikipedia.. :-)

Day 1 : Road to Baalbeck (west of Lebanon)

kitaorg decided utk g ke Baalbeck. apa ada kat Baalbeck.. ntah... aku cuma expect ada tinggalan roman sahaja. sbb kan Baalbeck ni jauh, kitaorg keluar dr Beirut around 7.30am. It was on Friday, so jalan agak sesak utk keluar dr Beirut. tp ntah mcm mana... we met with accident... burn sejam masa utk settle kan accident... it's a very minor accident yg kalau kat M'sia... kita settle kat tepi jalan je... tp kat sini, depa siap kena tunggu adjuster... mind you... driving in Beirut agak susah... lampu traffic light pun mcm tak wujud... kalau tak berani.. mmg susah lah drive kat sana... nasib baik kitaorg pakai driver.

perjalanan ke Baalbeck mengambil masa lebih kurang 2-3 jam... melalui pekan Chitura dan Zahle... cross over banjaran Lebanon, accross the bekka valley dan menghampiri banjaran anti-lebanon. on the way tu ada nampak satu bridge tgh reconstruct... bridge ni dulu pernah kena bomb masa israel serang lebanon tahun 2006. masa kat bekka valley... kiri kanan jalan penuh banyak ladang2 anggur... area ni mmg famous dgn pembuatan wine... dan sepanjang jalan ada jugak nampak askar lebanon... plus sebelum masuk dan keluar pekan/small town, mesti ada askar checkpoint... but no question asked lah...

We reached Baalbeck around noon... Baalbeck yg penuh sejarah, wujud beribu tahun sebelum masihi... an extract dr Wikipedia...

Baalbek (Arabic: بعلبك‎) is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 1,170 m (3,850 ft), situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, known as Heliopolis was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire. It is Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, and it can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved.

Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshipped here, the Triad of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are also seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design. (more on Baalbeck... kat wikipedia.. hehehe)

it is really beautiful... in fact i would say lagi cantik tinggalan roman kat sini berbanding kat rome itself.. :-) for more pictures.. click on collage below...

after 2-3 jam kat Baalbeck... kitaorg menuju ke anjar. Anjar ni diduduki oleh org-org armenia. agak terceruk skit nak g anjar ni. aku plan ke sana pun sbb nak tgk tinggalan Ummayad... ada lah some batu2 and ruins... nothing much, and not many info on it.. in fact, kitaorg je visitor kat situ. and apparently aku rasa Anjar now dihidupkan only on weekends... byk restaurant2 besar area tu... there is where we had our lunch... a so-so lebanese food at a quite high price.. :-

On the way balik ke Beirut, we stopped at Zahle... another town yg happening only on spring/summer... Zahle ni kedudukannya tinggi dr aras laut.. sejuk gak.. kat sini pun ada satu tempat utk lawatan n berhibur.. tp since kitaorg dtg masa winter... tempat ni tak lah happening mana... no one actually there...

Right after that kitaorg pun balik ke beirut, reached hotel around 9pm... have coffeee with the driver, since the next day birthday dia... later around 10+ balik hotel terus tido... setelah seharian tgk 'batu' :-)

Holiday...

Just for a weekend...

Slum-fog

- ini lah benda2 aku buat last weekend... -


*khamis mlm jumaat*
Mesti ada antara korang dah tengok citer slum-dog-million-aire tu.. yg menang anugerah golden globe dan dapat pencalonan 10 ocsar. aku dah tgk 2 kali, in fact i've read the book. very simple story, tp kalau citer tu berbackground kan malaysia, mesti kena haramkan... mesti kerajaan malaysia tak sanggup tunjuk benda sebenar... mesti tak sanggup mengaku itu mmg sememangnya berlaku.

kat doha ni mmg byk rakyat dr india... ada gak antara mereka (yg aku kenal n sembang) kata apa yg ditunjukkan kat citer tu agak melampau... tak wujud benda2 tu... tp kan for me, since ramai org india kat negara qatar, kenkadang aku rasa blh je relate citer tu ngan life kat sini, especially masa org2 ni tgk tv ramai2... serius it happened here... kalau kedai tv tu... ramai2 tgk dr luar...

go watch this movie... really entertaining... relax... and plus... soundtrack dia best...



*jumaat pagi*
since cuaca dah best... cooling... kitaorg pun plan for picnic kat corniche... dah lama tak buat... and mcm minggu sebelumnya, minggu lepas kitaorang berpicnic kat corniche lagi... and mmg sejuk. awal2 pagi tu around 8am, kabus tebal menutupi seluruh doha...


loads of food... cadangnya nak main bola lah... tp sbb masing2 dah tua.... baru 5 minit dah pancit.. hik hik hik...

*sabtu tghari*
abe dan che le ajak main boling... the last time aku main boling masa sebelum bulan puasa rasanya... so almost 4 bulan tak main... but to my surprise.. i hit my highest point in my life... 207!!!! plus... i played quite consistent... 8 games dgn average 173 :-) tp since che le tu mmg expert dia still lah juara... lagipun dah pakai bola dia.. kena lah bg dia menang... hahahaha.... :-) (tp dia mmg handal pun...) - bila lah aku nak beli bola


** oops.... update... td main boling lagi... still ngan abe n che le... both of them mmg expert... siap join tournament.. penuh skill, sorang spinner, sorang main bola curve (apa term nya utk org main cam ni?)... tp aku ni main str8 ball je.. hayun je.... hahaha.. but still i beat them both.... for the 10-frames game... i hit an average of 165, abe 164... che le 162.. hahaha.. (sekali sekala merasa menang) but abe get the highest score... 200++ anyway, good luck for them for the doubles game... kalau nak kawan utk sparring dan menyibuk, sms ok!!!


Lastly... Selamat Menyambut Ulangtahun ke 25 Pemerintahan DYMM Sultan Azlan Shah, Sultan Perak (I believed u all will agree with me, he is the best Sultan among all kat Malaysia... ok, the close fight ngan current agong jugak lah kot)

another clip from slum-dog..