The Last Evening

We had breakfast in Jounieh and then explored the area on foot. During our last visit to Jounieh, we went directly to Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

Since it was the New Year holiday, all the shops were closed and the streets were deserted. We saw a few kids playing football and a few vehicles on the road. The environment was peaceful and quiet. After being there for only 10-15 minutes and taking some photos, we decided to leave for Beirut.

We were unable to find any available cabs on Uber or Bolt, so we asked a cab driver and negotiated a fair price. The gentleman, who was in his mid-50s, was professional. As usual, I got down first at The Colony Beirut. I was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.

I woke up around 17:30, and Claudia was urging me to get going because it was our last day together. She had a flight to Jordan in the morning, while I was headed home. Claudia was staying at her new hostel, Hamra Garden, which is located in the Hamra neighborhood. I booked a cab to Hamra Garden hostel and met Claudia there. Although this hostel is expensive, it is quite good and located right in the middle of Hamra. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a dorm bed there, so I had to settle for Colony Beirut.

I needed to buy postcards and magnets for my friends back in India. Claudia and I walked around, looking for souvenir shops. Claudia became interested in fashion stores that sell duplicate LV and Chanel bags. After checking the quality, we left. Eventually, we found a person selling souvenirs, and I ended up buying 5 postcards and 3 magnets. I couldn’t negotiate much, but I felt that we should be generous when leaving Lebanon, since I was indebted to their hospitality and super helpful nature.

We were looking for a place to have dinner but couldn’t find one. We even went to a few restaurants but left without finding anything. Finally, we decided to visit a fast food chain called Deek Duke. I ordered a Batata Wrap, Cheese Balls, and Claudia ordered Chicken Wings. It costed us around $9.

We wanted to grab some beers before heading back to our hostels. As it was January 1st, many businesses were closed. We experienced the same thing in Jounieh while we were walking around. So, we decided to sit in a cafe. I ordered a large milkshake and Claudia ordered tea. It was shocking to receive a $10 bill for just the milkshake. We had dinner for two for $9 but paid $10 only for the milkshake. Even in Tokyo and New York, it wouldn’t cost that much.

Claudia’s hostel was a kilometer away, so we parted ways and I booked an Uber to go back to my hostel. I promised Claudia that I would invite her to an Indian wedding as she wants to experience it. I reached my hostel and found that I had already packed my luggage before leaving to meet Claudia in the evening, so I went to bed and crashed for some sleep.

Attractions of the day:

1. Hamra
2. Deek Duke