Day 148 Sunday 28/03/10

We had an early start to meet Rena, Issam and Samir to go back to the pothole in Mechane. There was still some stabilisation to be finished off. MC set off down the hole to rig the pitches, followed by Issam and Samir with the tools and chicken wire. EP and DA set off for a hike to look for new caves.

We got some of the wire fixed before the drill battery died, so Issam went back out to fetch a fresh battery. When he returned, we found that the new battery was faulty too, so we all headed out of the cave.

We got home in good time and went off for a meal with Hadi in Hamra.

Day 147 Saturday 27/03/10

Due to the fact of not getting to bed before 4am, we decided to have a late start. Hadi had to go into work in the morning, so we arranged to meet for lunch in Hamra. After lunch Hadi went back to work and we three wandered back home.

Later in the day we went in search of some shopping and cables to conect Hadi's TV to his DVD player. We headed back home to cook a meal of Chicken Pasanda and Key Lime Pie.

Day 146 Friday 26/03/10

A quick trip into Kannan Cave in the Antelias quarry. We visited this well decorated cave in January and decided to go back with the camera kit. Unfortunately we had flash slave problems, with none of them working properly - which made it difficult with only two people. We got a few photos taken before heading out.

In the evening we were invited to a charity event to watch "Alice in Wonderland" at a Beirut cinema. We got a bit lost trying to find the place, but got there in the end thanks to Loucy directing us in by phone! After the cinema it was off to the airport to collect Dave Appleing, who was joining us for 10 days.

Day 145 Thursday 25/03/2010

A lazy day to rest Em's hamstring that had been sore since running.  We worked on our local cave rescue group's handbook in the morning, then met Hadi for some delicious Lebanese food.  In the evening, we headed up to Speleo Club du Liban's HQ for an excellent talk and great photos of their recent underground trip to Syria.

Day 144 Wednesday 24/03/2010

We set off hiking under the summit of Jebel Sannine (2628m), trying to follow part of the Lebanese Mountain Trail (LMT).  We had heard about the difficulty route finding on the LMT, but we managed to traverse under the cliffs to descend down to the town of Baskinta.  Once here, we picked up the Baskinta Literary Trail, although had difficulty locating the start of the path.  Reluctant to walk on the road, like the two hikers we saw in the morning who we suspect could not find the path, we kept searching and eventually found the path which led us down into the gorge below.  We passed the Cave of Sauf el Dawla, but due to the light left and the distance still to walk, we did not have time to climb down the side of the gorge and back up to the cave which was across the valley.  We eventually reached the car at 6pm, just before it started getting dark.

(The LMT is aimed at supporting the mountain communities in Lebanon and hikers are expected to use local guides and stay in local accommodation.  For this reason, there are very few signs to indicate the route and route-finding is not straightforward, even with maps).

Day 143 Tuesday 23/03/2010

We drove south to visit the World Heritage Site of the town of Sour (Tyre), and visited the nature reserve on the beach (famous for its turtles, although we saw none).  Then onto Qana, where we visited a tourist grotto, the centre of a debate as to whether this is the biblical Qana where Jesus turned water into wine.  We saw no wine but instead spotted a huge brown snake with a bulbous head and neck which gave us both quite a shock as it jumped in front of us!  We then headed to the centre of the village to the site of the Qana massacre where in 1996, an estimated 800 people were sheltering at the UN peace-keeping base, when the base was shelled by Israel, killing 106 and injuring 120.  One of the survivors came and met us and showed us around.    

We then headed back to Sour, which was swarming with UN soldiers shopping and taking photos of the archaelogical sites.  We walked along the coast and harbour before having a quick look at the archaelogy.

Day 142 Monday 22/03/10

We collected our hire car - getting a free upgrade to an automatic, slightly larger car. After a quick stop at Hadi's flat we headed north to Jounieh and took the telepherique to Harissa. The ride up is a steep one and passes very close to some high rise properties as it leaves Jounieh. There are some fantastic views of Beirut and the surrounding areas to be had from the top.

Day 141 Sunday 21/03/10

We joined SCL to stabilise one of the potholes of the Mechane area.

Day 140 Saturday 20/03/10

Waking up to blue skies again, we went for a jog/walk along the Corniche. Later we walked back into Hamra to sort out the internet connection for Hadi's modem and our notebook.

Day 139 Friday 19/03/10

We arrived in Beirut at 1:00am and got to Hadi's flat by 1:45am. After a late start we took a walk into Hamra to get some money and do a little shopping. We met Hadi for a Chinese lunch and as he went back to work, we called into the cinema to see what was showing and decided to stay and watch "Green Zone". There was only 4 people in the whole auditorium!

Wednesday 03/03/10

Time to fly back to the cold!

Had a free upgrade to Business Class for the flight to Mumbai - which was very nice! Landed back in London at 5:30pm and 5 degrees!

Tuesday 02/03/10

Our last day in Thailand.

After checking out of the hotel we headed for the floating market. We took a boat trip around the market but there are more tourist boats than traders or locals at this market. This market has become geared for the tourists rather than the original purpose, but it made for an intersting couple of hours.

We then headed to the other side of Bangkok to spend the night with Ivan, Nom and Mac. We had to be at the airport by 6:30am the next day, so an early start was required. Ivan and family live only 30 minutes from the airport, so it was a much appreciated stop for us.

Monday 01/03/10

We set off from Surat Thani in the morning and planned to get to Phetchaburi for the night. We got there by early evening,  after missing the town and having to turn round, only to be met by hoards of scooters and manic traffic. The place was the busiest town we had seen in three weeks!

We could not find a hotel but stopped at a restaurant as recommended by the Rough Guide - not the best meal we have had in Thailand! Something was telling us Phetchaburi was not for us.......

We carried on towards Bangkok and found a hotel in Damnoen Saduak, west of Bangkok. This place has a famous floating market each day and attracts alot of tourists. As we had time the next day, we decided to pay it a visit.

Sunday 28/02/10

Whilst having breakfast in Phangnga, a procession came down the street. Many businesses laid out tables on the street with offerings. Some of the participants of the procession had metal skewers through their cheeks and ears.

When we got out of the town we started looking for Tham Racha Phuttha, the cave we tried to find yesterday. We spent over an hour looking and were about to give up when we tried one last track. The GPS showed that we were getting close and by sheer fluke we found the cave!

We spent 5 hours surveying the cave, but ran out of time. We left survey stations marked for others to continue. In the cave we found the skin of a snake. We did not wish to meet the previous occupier of this skin as it was over 1.7m long!

We then drove back to Surat Thani to begin our travels back to Bangkok.

Saturday 27/02/10

Heading North West from Krabi, we travelled towards Phangnga. We had more caves on the “hit list” to look for. We started by finding Tham Prasat Nalakhiring, a showcave run by monks. The report we had was of a cave with a streamway and had great exploration potential. On entering the cave it was dry and we found no leads for further exploration. When we exited the cave, we were met by a storm and heavy rain. The rain soon passed and it was back to warm sunshine.

Whilst driving to Phangnga we decided to look for the cave for tomorrow. We spent 2 hours driving down tracks following the GPS and asking locals without success. We gave up and went looking for a hotel room.