The Lunch
It was around 08:00 when I woke up in the morning. There was no breakfast in the hostel. Also, I realized that I didn’t need to extend my booking as this hostel would always have beds. I took a quick shower, re-packed my rucksack, and checked out.
I decided to have breakfast near the bus station. Though it only takes 40 minutes to reach Batroun from Beirut, it was my first day using public transport. I never bothered about public transport as I was with Claudia for 3 days and we were using a private taxi.
I waved at a guy on a two-wheeler and asked him about the bus station. He said you need to get a van off the highway. He offered to drop me off at the highway. I thought there would be something to eat around the bus station. I sat on his two-wheeler and asked him if he was Lebanese. He said he is Syrian. A Syrian in Lebanon helping an Indian. It shows humans are beautiful and wars destroy everything but humanity.
He dropped me in the middle of the highway and the vehicles were all driving in all directions. I thought the bus station would be off the highway.
There is no bus station or schedule for buses in Lebanon. You need to stop vans on the highway to get from one point to another. They can pick you up from any point on the highway and drop you off anywhere on the highway. I saw an old Lebanese uncle walking towards my direction, so I asked him how to get to Batroun. He stopped a van and asked the driver to drop me off in Batroun. I sat next to the driver and followed the map so I didn’t get off at the wrong location. I took my GoPro and mobile out and started capturing highways in Lebanon.
A young Lebanese woman soon sat next to me. It was a seat, for one, but we two were adjusting ourselves there. After sometime driver slowed the van and said this was Batroun. The young girl told me that I could take these stairs from the highway to go to Batroun.
I checked the map and it showed that my Airbnb was indeed 400 meters from the location. I was walking with my 6 kg rucksack and hoping to reach my Airbnb in a few minutes.
Life had another plan for me. I went to an apartment and thought there would be a way out from there. There was no way to go anywhere. I asked a couple for directions, and the man understood English and helped me. I noticed that a guy in an old car was listening to the conversation. I didn’t pay much attention and started walking in the direction the man told me.
The guy slowed his car and stopped. He was a young man in a uniform with parcels everywhere in his old car. The first thing he did was to show me his ID and tell me that he was from a Lebanon post. I guess he showed his ID to establish that he was not a random person, but somebody from a government organization. He had one parcel to deliver, so we first visited that place and delivered it. He was not able to speak English and I couldn’t speak Arabic or French. He dialed a number and I spoke with a lady. She said don’t panic, the person is from Lebanon Post and will drop you to your location. He then checked the map on my mobile and asked me to call my host. It is all done with simple English words. The man understood the location and after driving for 5 KM on various streets, we found the airbnb. He didn’t take any money and I had to insist that he at least take an energy bar. I showed him my biceps and told him that the energy bar was from India for energy.
The host messaged me on WhatsApp to tell me where the key was and how to unlock the door. I opened the door and unpacked my rucksack, then decided to find a place for breakfast. I messaged Karelle to suggest some places and she told me to have a light breakfast. It took me 3-4 minutes to reach the center of Batroun. I already found a few places around me for breakfast. I was at a small coffee shop and asked the woman if she had something for breakfast. She said she served coffee and juices. I ordered coffee and we started chatting. She told me that she was from Jordan and she owned the place and prepared good Avocado juice. She told me that she put dry fruits and other ingredients in to make it thick and delicious. I don’t know whether it was sales talk or if she was just excited about me trying her juice. I asked for one more coffee and I was thinking about whether to eat something or rely on juice. Karelle invited me for a local Lebanese lunch at 2pm.
It was post 12 o’clock and I thought avocado juice would be good instead of solid food. If I eat something solid, I won’t be able to eat and enjoy the food at Karelle’s home. I had more small talks with the owner of the coffee shop and asked her to prepare the juice. She was quick to prepare the juice and believe me, they were right. The juice was delicious. I had an hour before I left for Karelle’s home. I decided to walk back to my airbnb and take some rest.
It was around 1:30 and I thought I would leave for Karelle’s house. She shared her location, which was 20 minutes away from my place.
I reached her society, which was located in a gated community right next to the coast. The security asked me where I wanted to go and I told them I’m waiting for my friend. I thought building security was only in India because I never found security protecting buildings in Armenia or Japan. After a few minutes, Karelle showed up and we greeted each other. We first went to her flat and I met her parents there. Her mom was preparing a lot of Lebanese food. I was talking to Karelle for a month or two and she asked me to bring spices and an Indian dress from India. The family was excited to see me and curious about those spices. They were talking about spices in Arabic and finding their equivalent in Lebanon. Lunch had some more time, so Karelle offered me to show her society. The society is located next to the coast line and there were construction of swimming pool and premium villas. We talked about Lebanese culture, current affairs, inflation, the economy, and politics at length.
We headed back to the flat for lunch. Lunch was served and we sat at a round dining table. Her mother prepared Manouchet Zaatar (thyme), Manouchet kechek (dried goat yogurt with spices), Chicken wings with garlic and coriander, Hommos with tahina and Eggplants with tahina, and all the dishes were delicious. After lunch, we talked for some more time. Karelle’s father, Mr. Wilson, is a curious personality. He knew about ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and the satellite that was launched by the organization. I wasn’t expecting this but seems like our space agency is popular even in small towns. Mr. Wilson was curious to see my GoPro and I had the best selfie with him. He insisted on me playing chess with him, but he didn’t know that I had never played chess and didn’t even know the rules.
Karelle and I decided to meet again at 17:20. I went to my Airbnb and slept for a while. I messaged Karelle at 17:00 and started walking again towards her home. I’m in Batroun again, but this time with a local to explore more places. We started with a church. Karelle knew about the church and other structures in Batroun. She explained to me about the church. The next stop was the Diaspora Village. It looked like something from a fairytale. We walked through narrow, lit lanes and reached the Batroun Souk. I was hungry and we decided to try a small piece of a few Christmas market snacks. We started with lemonade and masala corn. Batroun is popular for lemonade and Hilmi’s House of Lemonade claims to be serving the best lemonade in the world since 1888. Karelle told me that Hilmi’s became touristic and we tried lemonade from the market. We explored the market and visited a few more places. Karelle explained to me about the Phoenician civilisation and the story of the Phoenician wall in Batroun.
We decided to end our day, and I walked to Karelle’s home. Her mom packed a few local cookies for me. I greeted them and left for my airbnb. There was one stretch near my airbnb that was dark and nobody in sight. When you are in such a situation, you keep cool and walk with confidence. I reached my airbnb, had those cookies, and went for a good sleep.
Attractions of the day:
- Karelle’s home
- St. Stephan’s Cathedral
- Batroun Souk
- Diaspora Village
- Phoenician wall