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My new base. Flying from Skopje, I had my flight changed, so it was 16 hours in transit at Istanbul's airport, and I couldn't go to town without a visa. Arriving in Beirut, it was another hour to reach this village.

The driver was a very pleasant ex-cop, Ali, who had never traveled. "I love Lebanon too much!"

Ali's daughter and three grandchildren are in Australia. His wife has visited them.

Ali drank from a can of Heineken as he drove. "I drink when I drive. I drink beer and scotch and whiskey. I drink beer in the morning, afternoon, evening, night."

"How many beers do you drink a day?"

"I don't count them."

"Do you drink beer at a cafe, in your village?"

"I'm the only one, drink beer, in my village!"

"Wow! So where do you drink?"

"I must go to another village."

"We should go drinking!"

"Yes."

"I almost never drink alone. I like to watch people when I drink."

Al-Quala'a is Muslim, so no alcohol, but there are Christian villages nearby that serve alcohol, so I'm set, especially with Ali as my drinking buddy.

Ali, "A friend invite me to America. He say he pay for my plane ticket, give me money to spend. I say no. Another friend invite me to Arabia. If I don't want to go to America, why I want to go to Arabia?"

"Just go, look around, eat new food?"

"No, I like it here. I love Lebanon."

Not averse to traveling, Ali's wife has visited Syria, Iraq and Iran, on top of Australia.


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