Hurray

I've arrived in Beirut, for the middle-third of my middle-east travel adventure. Despite the fact that it's pouring rain right now, I'm having a fantastic time.

The instant replay looks something like this...

I've only been in Beirut a few hours, but already I can tell that I will love the city. Think Paris, moved 3000 miles to the east, with more mosques, hookahs, falafel, and a Mediterranean Sea view to boot. Hurray for things that feel both familiar and unfamiliar!

Syria was amazing, and it seems sad to me (and to every Syrian I talked to) that more Americans don't go there. Damascus is far and away the most charming old school town I've been to in the middle east - think city walls, tiny alleys running helter skelter in all directions, and two-thousand-year-old charm everywhere you look. And the surrounding countryside has even more to offer, with mountains, castles, Roman ruins, camels, and Beduins. Hurray for a genuine travel adventure!

And lastly, it turns out that my passport worries were completely overblown. I have one more checkpoint to cross through before I'm totally in the clear, so I hope I'm not jinxing myself here... But, so far, things have been so hassle-free that I'm reasonably convinced I didn't need to bother getting my second passport in the first place. Hurray for over-preparedness!

The rain is abating, so I'm going to strike out now in search of a bar that has a free wifi connection. Hurray for dueling addictions!

...

Epilogue - when I said the rain is abating, in fact I meant the exact opposite. So now I'm soaked to the bone. But who cares... I'm in Beirut. Hurray for good times and bad judgement!