You were in Christchurch eh? I just moved there six months ago dammit I should have seen you while you were here!

I was only in Christchurch for a little while, when I was in the South I was pretty much traveling all over the place, never in one spot for an extended amount of time! The furthest south I went was Te Anau. I didn't get to go to Dunedin, which I am gutted about :( We should've caught up! Well... no doubt I will be back there again soon :P Are you still in Christchurch now? How are you finding it?

Sorry if I'm underestimating your knowledge, but I thought I'd point out that the further away you get from the earth's equator, the more seasonality you have in the amount of daylight .. so, the closer you are to the poles, the more difference between summer and winter. :)

You consider that cold? That's my favorite kind of temperature.

Exactly :) Also, the further you get from the equator, the more variable the weather is. So, in Melbourne for example, we have hot summers but very cold winters. We also have huge variation from day to day as well.

I always wondered what Australia's difference in winter and summer were, I ofcourse had a rough estimation, but I can't go wrong with the information of a current Australian! :D I suppose that it gets much colder at night as you would have less clouds than I? We don't get much difference in day & night temperatures unless its a very clear sky! Then it gets super cold at night. I think Auckland or Melbourne would be my perfect place to immigrate to, they sound like climates I could handle! :D (if only, it'll probably remain a dream). Ooh, I always knew Brisbane was warm but not too warm I imagined. My 2 half brothers stay there :( I may visit them one day!

Haha, do you stay in the South Island? 250mm of rain is really alot for 2 days! I just looked up what we get annually and its 4577mm, I've no clue wither thats alot or not haha. We've had similar temps to you right now! The other day was 11oc but that was quite cold for it coming into summer. But it was also snowing a couple of days ago. Weather here is unpredictable, I've seen it amazingly warm one day, snowing the next! Madness. As for winter 2009-2010 I seen it at -20oc many times! But the summer has been about 18oc and such, warm! I'm getting a tshirt tan and no longer look ill through being so pale!

Naw naw, I'm very poor at asking wording what I mean lol. I was just wonder because Australia's winter is equivalent to my summer if there days got shorter and longer too, because I was curious wither temperature effected the day lenth in some way! :)

To numberninedream:

Where do you think is the most interesting city/site/place/area in Lebanon? I ask because I'll be in Lebanon in a few months, and I'll only have two or three weeks there. Lebanon's the country I'm actually most excited to go to (also going to be travelling through syria, jordan, israel and egypt) so I'd like to pick your brain a bit :) Where would you tell someone to go that would allow them to experience as much as they can in just 2 or 3 weeks?

(also, I'm Canadian but live in Turkey, so if anyone has any questions about either country, shoot)

I'm in Auckland, in New Zealand. That doesnt seem to be in the active members thing so you should add it :D

Wow, glad you asked.
I think 2 or 3 weeks are pretty good, to discover and get blasted in a little country such as Lebanon.

So...
If you're in BEIRUT:

Overrated places to avoid: The Downtown, or what we call "Solidaire". Boring place, that's expensive for no apparent reason, and full of tourists that only want to brag about their money.

For a good nightlife:
-Gemayze: Easily the busiest street in Lebanon. Over 50 pubs. You can have your pick of classy, very expensive pubs, to very familiar/homy ones. here you go.
-Monot: 5 minutes from Gemayze. Another street with more than 20 pubs. If you just wanted a less crowdy place.
-Hamra: Leaving the best for last. A genuinely Lebanese place, if not the only one. It's the place to go, if you want to have a drink in a cool pub, listening to some quality music. From Jazz pubs, to pubs with Local Underground bands. Plus, it's much cheaper than the two other streets mentioned. Pubs I'd recommend "Walimet Wardeh", "Obrous", "T Marbouta", "Graffiti" and "Barometre". Pixi.

A PLACE TO AVOID IF YOU'RE TURKISH:

I know you're Canadian, but just don't be too obvious about living in Turkey when passing by a place called Borj Hammoud. It's the place to go if you want to get everything for 1$, but it's populated by Armenians that haven't much mixed with the rest of the population. So they're still angry about the whole Armenian Genocide thing.
I'd recommend this area, if you want to buy pirated DVDs of very good quality, with 0,66$ each. In a place where Internet connexion is very slow, the people needs to replace movie downloads with something.

ECO-TOURISM:

A lot of cool places, for the lovers of nature.
-Jeita Grotto: Possibly, one of the biggest caves in the world. Very much recommended for any visitor ready to be amazed by some underground wonder. Check it out.

-The Cedars of Lebanon:
Two places, with the rare tree called "The Cedars of God" (or "Arz el Rab"), only available in Lebanon, thus having this tree drawn on our flag.
Al Barouk (Chouf): My favourite forest actually. You can't but stand in awe looking to these majestic immortal trees. Trees R us.
Bcharre (North): It's the biggest Arz forest. Not as beautiful as the first, but it certainly is maintained better. However, if you're ever in Bcharre, don't forget to visit the Gubran Kahlil Gubran museum, built in his hometown Bcharre (obviously), where all his original paintings are preserved in his childhood house. It's a shame not to visit this village in the winter though. You can ski between the snow covered cedars. Snowtree.

-The Beach
And then of course there's the beach. A LOT of options in that area, so I guess you can just follow your instinct for that one.

HISTORICAL SITES:

-Baalbeck:
In the Valley of Bekaa. The largest city in the Roman Empire. The kind that gets the rumours of being built by aliens. Plus a festival is held there, between the ruins in July.Check-shee.

-Byblos:
In Jbeil, the first city in History, thus the oldest seaport is present there. It's in a way 4 cities built on top of each other. The first being Phoenician, then Roman, after there's the Crusaders, finally the Ottoman empire left, and the Lebanese built their own city there. Here is.

Other than the ruins there, there are the Souks, which are still pretty sweet. And at night, you can just get in some restaurant or pub in the ancient market. Proof.
Also, a festival gets hosted between the ruins in July. Archive and Gorillaz are coming, and a popular local band is singing there too. If you're here in July maybe you can catch a concert on your way.

-Beiteddine:
In Chouf, Beiteddine is the castle of our ex princes. A very neat place to visit also. And of course, a festival is held there in July. Pink Martini and Diana Krall will be there. Teh Castle.

On your way there, you can visit the neighbouring town, and the ancient capital of Mount Lebanon (during the Ottoman occupation), and my hometown: Deir el Qamar.
A very nice place, that is always buzzing with European tourists (the cultivated kind, with the Professional Camera). It's just beautiful to relax there, in the Midan. Pic for yeh.

In the South of Lebanon:

Tyr: Another city by the sea. 1 2

Sidon: Right next to Tyr, another city by the sea. You know it.

Qana: (Jesus' cave, and the first miracle) Just down the road, from Tyre and Sidon. Stones.
If you're going to Israel, they too have another Qana that is said to be the place of the first miracle. I guess you can see both of them, and check for yourself.


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Well there's a lot of other places. But I think for a general idea that's enough. But if you have any thing specific in your mind, that I forgot to mention, you can ask.

Thanks for all the info! It all sounds pretty great. I think I should be absolutely fine in Borj Hammoud, Canada is more adamant that Turkey acknowledge the Armenian genocide than almost any other country (which is why I have to pay three times as much as any other country for a visa in Turkey, haha). Plus there's no way in hell I'd be mistaken for Turkish looking at me :)

I'm really interested in the Cedars, but I'm gonna be there in November, so kind of an awkward time. Not quite winter, so no skiing, but hopefully it'll still be possible to do some hiking in some areas?

Also, any other more modern, urban cities other than Beirut that might be interesting? Of course I'll be visiting all the major historical sites, but I'd also like to spend a couple days just wandering around a city that's not usually considered a "tourist attraction."