[deuce]

Hey guys,

I'll be in Beirut for the above time period. 3 hours a day will be committed to Arabic lessons but other than that it's gonna be fun in the sun...never mind the rockets.

I have rented an apartment in Ashrafiyah, if anyone would like to grab a few drinks that would be awesome.

[Hencredible Casanova]

(06-09-2013 04:55 PM)deuce Wrote:  

Hey guys,

I'll be in Beirut for the above time period. 3 hours a day will be committed to Arabic lessons but other than that it's gonna be fun in the sun...never mind the rockets.

I have rented an apartment in Ashrafiyah, if anyone would like to grab a few drinks that would be awesome.

Amazing. I was in Beirut in April/May 2011. Fun city. Sick talent. I would love to go back. Hamra Street is an absolute must for day game, as well as the American University of Beirut (short walk). School is out but there will be some students still around. Try Lebanese American University as well.

For nightlife, Gemmayzeh Street is poppin. Just a long strip of bars and clubs in the Christian quarter of the city.

Keep us posted!

[deuce]

(06-09-2013 06:57 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

Amazing. I was in Beirut in April/May 2011. Fun city. Sick talent. I would love to go back. Hamra Street is an absolute must for day game, as well as the American University of Beirut (short walk). School is out but there will be some students still around. Try Lebanese American University as well.

For nightlife, Gemmayzeh Street is poppin. Just a long strip of bars and clubs in the Christian quarter of the city.

Keep us posted!

HC, thanks for the info; I'm really looking forward to this! The Lebanese girls with whom I've been exchanging emails all mention Gemmayzeh so I'll definitely have to check that out.

On that note, Lebanese women seem to be very receptive to messages (I'm using OKCupid & POF). +1 to Roosh's pipelining guidelines.

Even the ones that aren't interested in meeting or are in relationships respond to requests for nightlife information and are very polite. Such a nice change.

And holy shit are these profile pictures looking amazing.

[Cocoonero]

U will enjoy ur stay there for sure. Beautiful girls and great nightlife as u mentioned before Gemmeyzah street. As summer began, there will be a lot of beach and pool parties in Sky bar and Riviera. If u r interested in electronic music so dont miss B018 club. Enjoy and give us your feedback :-)

[deuce]

Apologies, this post is going to be all over the place as organization is not my strong suit.

Lebanon was fantastic, I can't wait to head back there again!

I did end up cutting my stay in Leb short to head to Greece for some BASE jumping with a UK jumper.

Overview:
I was in Beirut, Lebanon from June 26, 2013 to July 14, 2013. Flags obtained: Serbian, French, Lebanese, Syrian (in that order).

Details:

First I want to mention that English and French are spoken everywhere (the Lebanese want to be French so bad) and lack or Arabic or French will only be an issue with taxis. Everyone 35 and below will speak English.

My apartment (through Airbnb) was located in a Christian section of Beirut called Ashrafiyah (or Ashrafieh - the phoentic spelling of Arabic words varies). Not much in the way of bars there but the Starbucks and Coffee Bean located near Sassine Square always had loads of talent and seemed to be gathering spots for students. This would be a good spot to practice daygaming in a somewhat familiar environment. Coffee shops are coffee shops are coffee shops, right?

It's about a 15-20 minute walk from Ashrafieh to Gemmayze, a street with many small bars/pubs/clubs frequented by foreigners and Lebanese alike. My Beiruti friends said that Gemmayze is not as hot as it once was but there were always many people out and about; I would still give it a shot.

About halfway between Ashrafieh and Gemmayze there is another short section of 5-6 small bars that was quite crowded every time I walked past, with the exception of Sunday evening.

The way most of the pubs are situated makes it fairly easy to assess the ratio/vibe of a place. Usually the bars are narrow but deep, with completely open entrances (like a garage door) making it easy to see everything inside. Almost all establishments have free WiFi as everyone uses WhatsApp, Viber, or Tango to communicate. These apps are a must if you hope to get any communication accomplished.

Notable places to check out in Gemmayze and the surrounding area:
Internazionale (pub)
Cafe Em Nazih (restuarant)
Coop d'Etat (rooftop bar of Em Nazih)

I specifically want to mention Cafe Em Nazih and Coop d'Etat. Both of the establishments are located on the grounds of Saifi Urban Gardens, a hostel/language school that is very popular. There are loads of women (Lebanese and foreign) either drinking or studying here, people are open to meeting strangers, and the vibe is friendly and fun. I only pulled one girl from here (the Syrian) but honestly I had more luck using the laid back, international vibe of this place to make guy friends, get into their social circle, and expand my knowledge base of places to go and tactics to employ.

Hamra is another area in a Muslim area of the city but it has many daygaming opportunities. I did not go to any clubs in Hamra, just coffee shops, pubs, and restuarants. One place to check out is Taa Marbouta, a leftish coffe shop/pub that attractes students and (pseudo?)intellectuals. Whatever your political bent is, I liked it as there are many things you can use as props to initiate conversations (books on the walls--it's kinda like a library, a menu with stuff us Westerners have never heard of, a few local brews to chat about, and a nice outdoor patio area with students studying or in groups). There is another Starbucks very close to Taa Marbouta that attracts students and women shopping as well.

In Hamra I said fuck it one day and decided I would only chat up women wearing hijab (the headscarf only-not to be confused with a burka or the ninja suit). Most were willing to chat and some were outright flirtatious but if you're not Muslim you're probably not going to get anywhere with a women devout enough to wear hijab in the middle of the summer. I would steer clear of chatting up Muslim women in the company of another male though. Asking directions or whatever is okay, but direct all questions to the male until the female speaks to you. Just a tip. On the whole, everyone was very friendly and helpful.

I will do another post later detailing Byblos/Jbeil (where I scored my Lebanese flag), what you need to know about the taxi system, and other admin stuff.

Once again, I apologize for the rambling nature of this post.

[Vaun]

fantastic trip, one of the few places in the middle east I want to visit. Have always heard they have the best food, how was it?

[Flint]

Great report so far, deuce. Could you elaborate on your fling with the Lebanese girl? Beirut sounds like a fantastic place to go to and I'm keen to hear more about it.

[Hencredible Casanova]

(08-02-2013 06:44 PM)deuce Wrote:  

Overview:
I was in Beirut, Lebanon from June 26, 2013 to July 14, 2013. Flags obtained: Serbian, French, Lebanese, Syrian (in that order).

I think myself and others would be more interested in the details about these flags you acquired. Pretty nice assortment.

What's the background info? How/where did you pull these chicks?

One other great coffee shop is Cafe Younes in Hamra.

I think it's the oldest coffee shop in Beirut and definitely a place where progressive/liberal Arab chicks go to see and be seen while studying or catching up with friends. It's one of those spots where everyone glances at you when you walk in. In my case that may have had something to do with being black and rolling in with an half Arab/half American chick. But I think it would be true of others as well. Certainly some opportunities for those who like to approach in coffee shops, which are plentiful in Beirut.

I didn't spend enough time in Beirut to figure out what angle works best with chicks. I just know it's a city with deep divisions along religious/economic lines and that it's also the most liberal Arab city you can visit, but that doesn't mean the girls are necessarily easy by any means.

Btw, Deuce, what's your ethnic background?

[deuce]

Sorry for the late reply, guys.

For the record, I am a white American.

The food was really good but I've always enjoyed Mediterranean cuisine. But going to the source will really open your eyes as you will be more exposed to different variations and stuff that may not normally be found in Lebanese/Middle Eastern establishments elsewhere.

Anyway, on to the girls:

#1 Serbian: Chalk that up to luck. She was staying in the same apartment as I and we went out for drinks the first night I was there. The other guy in the apartment was a nebbish academic sort who generally was a buzzkill. After the second night of going to Gemmayze, I just pulled her into her room and started kissing her. Easy peasy.

Granted, she was early 20s and in full on party mode so not much effort was required on my part.

#2 French: Student at Unviersite Saint-Joseph. Actually the roommate of the Syrian girl haha. Emboldened by how easy it was to approach women here compared to home (I don't live in a city with a large international community), I came out guns blazing when the Frenchie and Syrian invited me to go salsa dancing with them (we went to Che in Gemmayze but I hear it's becoming passe). I met them at Cafe Em Nazih the night before and we had exchanged numbers.

I have no idea how to salsa (or dance in general), but smiled a lot, kept up light touching, and was truly having a good time and I think that showed. I also made it a point to dance with the older ladies in the room and the instructor's wife. Syrian and Frenchie were eating it up.

I invited them back to my apartment (the Serbian had left), the Syrian girl went to sleep and I invited Frenchie onto the balcony for some wine. The balcony has just enough of a view of the mountains to the east and the sea to make it pleasant. Before going out, I had rearranged the balcony furniture to ensure there was no table between us and our chairs were at right angles to each other. Initiated contact with my leg touching hers, met no resistance, moved to the forearm and hand. After getting up to "refill the wine glasses" I just pulled her up and close to me. Began making out, pulled her to my room, blammo. Just as with the Serbian chick, zero LMR. I'm lucky in that these girls were ready to go from the beginning.

#3 Lebanese: the girl who owned the apartment I was renting. This took 3 sorta-dates. We met the first day I arrived in order for her to show me around, give me the keys, etc. I thought she was quite cute but a little more artsy than I usually go for. Perhaps this contributed to her willingness to shag a foreigner. In all honesty, this may be her game (hooking up with travelers that rent her apartment). Who cares.

Anyway, she contacted me on whatsapp saying she was going to be at a pub. I didn't reply as she had mentioned it was one of her regular hangouts and I knew there was a high probability of her being there. My plan was to have her see me having a good time with other girls and pull the "oh hey, you're here too" card.

Went to the bar an hour earlier than she had said she would be there, got my buzz on, started talking to anyone and everyone. Quickly made friends with a group of younger students from the US and UK studying at AUB. They seemed to be intrigued by the older American guy traveling not due to school, just for the hell of it.

I made sure to befriend the guys first to feel out who was with who and that I wasn't a threat. We quickly bonded over football and talking about useless university degrees. Anyway I had the the guys and girls laughing and we were all having a great time when sure enough, Lebanese girl walks in and sees us having fun. I invited her to our table and two girls from the UK did a great job of talking me up (the chicks from the US just scowled the whole time). Nothing happened that night.

Next day she shows up at the apartment to "check on the washing machine" (it wasn't broken, was brand new). I suggested that she join me for a beer on the balcony. We had a beer during which I employed the same strategy as with the French girl. However, this one resisted the make out. I tried twice, then laughed it off, saying I probably shouldn't get with her as if I made her mad she would break the washing machine and I needed that. She playfully hit me on the arm and said, "I'm just not that simple." Maybe she meant easy? There was still the barrier of idioms between languages. Whatever. She left, but smiling.

A few days later (these people party nearly every night) she texted that she was leaving her bar early but if I would like to come over to see some of her art projects at her place she would be up for a while. You bet I would. Went over, drank a few beers, she smoked a J while explaining her art. I was lightly touching her the whole time and as we were standing over a few pieces she would move closer to me until our hips were touching. I let the tension build for a minute or two and then just went caveman and grabbed her head, pulling her toward me. Same as before, zero LMR.

I will detail the Syrian later as she took the most work.

Once again, sorry for the late reply and any typos. Hope this helps.

[luggage]

Nice

Was Security an issue because of the civil war next door?

Can't wait for the second part of the story.

[deuce]

Well, security is a relative term in this part of the world. But I didn't really have any problems. Stay out of the southern suburbs of Beirut, don't go east into the remote mountains, and don't go to Saida or Tripoli.

Most people will help you out about questions like this; they understand and it's a daily part of life for them.

If you want to keep up to date on what's going on and are interested in local news, the Lebanon Daily Star (the major newspaper in Leb) has a great iPhone app and fantastic realtime local reporting.

As an aside, the cops and soldiers were very courteous and professional as well.