When a planned trip doesn't go as planned, it's perfectly imperfect!
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Planning the trip
My sister and I booked
a last minute trip to Lebanon…
We were super busy before the trip and really didn’t have time to plan at all. A friend recommended Leslie from Yalla Emshe Tour Company, so we reached out, and within a day, Leslie had sent us multiple itineraries to choose from at very reasonable prices. I called Leslie to discuss the options and I knew right away she was going to be a really fun person to travel with! We ended up booking a 5-day tour with her... per the itinerary, we would start in the south of Lebanon in Tyre and work our way to north through Beirut, Jieta, Jounieh, Byblos, Batroun, and Tripoli. We planned to spend the last couple days of our trip visiting Baalbek and the Qadisha Valley with a friend of a friend.
Meeting our guide
bienvenue à beyrouth
Welcome to Beirut
Leslie picked us up at the Beirut International airport right on time and was as friendly as could be! We headed south to Tyre as planned, checked into a great hotel that she booked for us, and went for a nice meal. The following day Leslie had a knowledgeable guide meet us at the Tyre ruins, we had a fun day at the beach, and then we drove up to Beirut where we checked into a super cute, comfortable Airbnb in a cute neighborhood that she selected for us.
“Up to this point, we were traveling
according to plan and having a great time!”
The start of a historical
revolution
The night we got to Beirut…it began
RoadBlocks + Streets Burning
We really didn’t think much of it and thought it’d die down over night. The next day the sun rose and all over the news highlights were of last night’s demonstration. Groups of people took to the streets damaging road signs, store fronts, broken streetlights, crushed glass randomly along the Corniche and so on. That day we were scheduled to head towards Jounieh and check out the view of Lebanon from the sky by paragliding over the bay. Those plans changed however since roads were jammed and civilians were trying to head to the mountains to their villages to escape the Beirut demonstrations for fear of it turning violent. Instead of panicking and doing the same as the locals our guide thought it was best to stay put to avoid getting stuck in traffic and to avoid any possible road closures, because rumor had it the protesting was going to spread throughout the entire country.
“Thawra, Thawra, Thawra!”
revolution . revolution . revolution
Boy were those rumors right! We decided to walk along the corniche and head over to check out the famous Pigeon Rock of Rouche. On our way we could hear chanting and see mass groups making their way towards the center of downtown to revolt. As we were walking, streets were bare along the coastal road and all of a sudden here it comes constant honking from a swarm of young men driving scooters and mopeds zooming along the coastal road dressed in scarves and masks covering their faces screaming and chanting “Thawra, Thawra, Thawra!” (revolution, revolution, revolution).
Two girls from the U.S.
witnessing history in the making
They gathered nearby dumpsters and tires pushed them too the middle of the streets and lit them on fire so that vehicles could not pass. We couldn’t believe our eyes, two girls from the U.S were witnessing things firsthand of what we’ve seen from our living room televisions on CNN or the BBC. This was soo crazy to us and we definitely felt a little uneasy considering we could not understand the language nor what was going on. Luckily, we had our guide with us, and boy were we so happy and grateful to have her. Once we made it to Pigeon Rock we decided to stay and chill a bit to wait out the riots until the burning had stopped. Leslie took us to this super cute restaurant right on the sea, Al Falamanki. This place was so adorable and quant with the perfect touch of Lebanese decor highlighting its culture and history. Anyone visiting Lebanon should for sure check this place out!
As we wrapped up our meal and fresh juices we headed back towards our Airbnb in Mar Mikael, a neighborhood in Beirut. On our way back, as we approached the downtown area, we noticed that the protest as grew into mass crowds and the chanting was echoing throughout the downtown as if we were in an arena watching an ancient gladiator sporting event. It was something pretty incredible to witness. The closer we got the more curious we were. Leslie felt that it seemed pretty safe as we saw families with children, teenagers, middle aged and elderly making their way into the downtown joining the crowd. So, we decided to get a closer peek and moved towards the center. It was so unbelievable, civilians were united no matter their age, gender or religious belief, no matter their social status. People were in unison revolting against the corrupted government who had ruled over them for 30+ years. The elderly-teary eyed grandparents and great grandparents in the streets who were overwhelmed with joy to see such unity with their people, reminding them of their younger days before the war. Young people standing on top of vehicles singing and chanting with DJs dropping a beat as if it were a dance club taking over the downtown area. We had never experienced nor witnessed an event so historical. After we stayed a bit to watch and observe the gathering, we decided to make our way back to our room and get some sleep. Little did we know what was in-store for us the remainder of our trip…
country wide revolution…
DJs +street festivals . highways shut down . Dabke everywhere
“This is Lebanon”
Embrace the chaos + just go with it!
Day four of our trip we decided to wake up early, Leslie thought it was best as she stayed up the majority of the night figuring out a solution and making plans to ensure our safety first if the demonstrations were to continue. Oh, was she right, for the remainder of our trip, all major roads and highways were closed as well as many restaurants, stores, sites you name it, just about all were closed or had limited hours. This threw a wrench in our plans - but this is where Leslie really proved HOW AWESOME SHE WAS!! Most tours essentially stopped. (For example, the friend of a friend who we were supposed to see Baalbek with canceled on us.) But Leslie was determined for us to enjoy our trip and see everything we could, no matter what. In addition to going to the protests, which was an interesting experience, Leslie took us to the ruins and city of Byblos, Jeita Grotto (a MUST), Batroun, AND Baalbek (also a MUST). This involved driving small, crazy back roads, constantly changing routes after checking in with her friends and family around the country, waking up at ridiculous times, sitting in crazy traffic, driving on the opposite side of the highway against traffic, etc. It was incredibly stressful, and Leslie handled it like a pro and always had a positive attitude and a smile on her face. To say Leslie went above and beyond to deliver is a massive understatement.
“We were driving on the opposite side
of the highway against traffic!”
“A Truly Unforgettable Experience”
what an adventure!
Lebanon was a great country to visit - the food and culture is amazing, lots of interesting sites, and beautiful weather! Would highly recommend - but definitely travel with a guide... and I highly suggest Leslie! We had the best time and truly it was thanks to her!
-Jamie, B.
Chicago, U.S.A
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