Kfardebian, Lebanon

I kept allowing my alarm clock to go off and I kept procrastinating waking up, putting it off as long as I could – I was very tired and dehydrated from last night’s drinking. I finally woke up at about 09:00, had some much needed water, showered, dressed, grabbed my laundry (which had been washed and dried last night), packed my bags, paid the hotel manager, and then hired a taxi to take me to the hotel I reserved in Kfardebian (I was too exhausted to put up with switching buses to get there and just wanted one vehicle to take me all the way). The taxi arrived, I said goodbye to the hotel manager, left my nasty eight-month old shoes on the balcony, and then got in to the taxi. The taxi driver spoke no English, so he had to call his boss for me to talk to in order to confirm where I was going and how much I would pay; the boss then relayed this information to the taxi driver. We then drove off, up the winding roads, to the snowcapped mountains. The taxi driver did not drive smoothly at all and for a while I feared I would vomit; I still felt sick from all the Absinthe I had had last night and this ride was not at all welcome with me. As we neared Kfardebian, the taxi driver would stop and ask just about everyone to make sure he was still going the right way; at this point I could see the town and knew to just follow all the other cars, but the taxi driver had no intuition for such things and was dependent on everyone else. Eventually, we reached Kfardebian and then drove around trying to find the hotel; it is a small town, but not many know the names of each hotel and asking people was not so helpful. Finally, I saw the hotel with its large red sign and the driver took me there; I was glad to be out of the car and I then checked in to the hotel. The hotel room is very nice (kitchen with dishes and silverware, fireplace, two sofas, balcony, nice bathroom, very warm, etc.), but unfortunately looks over the large main parking lot at the Mzaar Ski Resort; this parking lot was also very crowded, but it is a Sunday and the Lebanese weekend, so the remaining time I’m here will probably not be so busy. After dropping my bags off in my room, I walked around the town trying to find a convenience store and a restaurant; I did not find a store, but did find a restaurant and I had a pepperoni pizza, hummus and bread, and beer. I then returned to my room, relaxed for some time, and ended up falling asleep on the sofa while watching bits and pieces of ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Darkman’. I woke up from my afternoon nap at 17:30 and the parking lot was empty of all but one vehicle; actually, most of Kfarbedian was empty after sundown and it felt dead everywhere I walked (apparently few people stay here and most just make it a day trip from whatever city they live in; so sad that it lacks the “resort” atmosphere). I ended up walking outside again, to a convenience store I remembered passing while the taxi driver was trying to find the hotel; at the convenience store, I bought some groceries for the rest of today and the next few days; I then returned to my hotel room, tried using the internet (it is terribly slow here), ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant, and then had “Lebanese Pizza” (ham and mushroom – not sure what makes that “Lebanese”) and a bottle of Lebanese Cabernet Sauvignon that was pleasant and tasted of blackberries, blackcurrant, and cherries. I then wasted more time watching television while I finished my wine and I even had a cup of Arak. Afterwards, I went to sleep. Yep, it was pretty much a wasted day; the highlight being when I watched the end of ‘Darkman’ – what a silly film.