Author archive
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 […]
13 October 2004
Due to my body being on Auckland time, I woke at 0330, then 0430 and 0630. But I lazed till 0730. Kim’s mum, Fiona rang while we were having breakfast. Last night, their taxi driver had a little trouble finding their hotel. Then their aircon malfunctioned which necessitated a shift to a different room. Kim […]
12 October 2004
Arriving at Singapore, Kim helped his parents into a taxi to get to their hotel, Perak Lodge. We have a two night stopover in Singapore which Kim and I will spend at my step-dad’s place. Mum and step-dad had come to pick us up at the airport. But being a large airport, we had a […]
12 October 2004
Today we embark on a family adventure with Kim’s parents, starting in Beirut and finishing in Cairo. The largely-overland journey would take us through Syria and Jordan. We left home around 1015 for Auckland airport. After a slow check-in we boarded at a remote gate. A baggage container tipped over during the loading process and […]