Unfortunately just as we crossed the border it started to rain hard, then as we drove through the pass it got very foggy. Luckily the driver was sane and the fog slowed the bus down. So I didn't get to see the mountains because of the fog and rain, and I didn't get to see Beirut because it was dark by the time we arived. Spent at least five minutes bargaining the price of a taxi down to 6,00 lira (he started at 10,000). Had the taxi driver take me to a bank machine to get local currency (ah back to civilization - Syria had no ATMs). He then droped me off at the hotel and I paid him. It wasn't until a couple hours later that I realized the total rookie mistake I'd made. I'd given the driver three 20,000 lira notes instead of 3 2,000 lira notes. Of course the driver didn't point out my mistake (and thus my US$4 taxi ride became US$40). Not the best of starts. I've got to be careful when dealing with a new currency, especially when you're tired. Live and learn...

I found the hotel nice, although expensive. What I'm spending per night here would have paid for a week at the most expensive place I stayed in Syria (no exageration). Aparently none of the cheap hotels survived the war. After getting settled in my room I decided to walk down the stairs from my 5th floor room. On the first floor I had some trouble getting by some of the "options" offered by the hotel - the first floor is a brothel! The other interesting thing was that the stairway is locked between the first and ground floors, looks like you have to take the elevator even in case of fire or power failure (I've already seen one in the couple hours I've been here).