Trip to Beirut, Lebanon – Sky Bar Grand Opening

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  History at the Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon. Sky Bar Grand Opening Photo By: Michael “Stylez” Colon

  First off let me say that this trip was AMAZING in every way possible and I had a great time with everyone I traveled with. The only down part that was somewhat tiresome, was the 7 hour flight to Paris plus the 2 hour layover, then the 4 hour flight to Beirut…a total of 12 long hours in the air each way. Being there with the people I went with made the trip all worth it. Would I do it again within the next 2 weeks? NO!!! But the adventurous part of me might convince me to. This is how I would break down the duration of the trip: 50% laughing 50% being tired from no sleep and another 50% of just having a great time with some down right good people.

  To all my food critiques-I wouldn’t be able to give you an accurate critique because as a group we opted out of having any Lebanese food. After being subjected to the food we had on board the plane the decision was to stick to what we know, but if you know me you would know that’s always my decision. To make a long story short our stomachs disagreed with everything we ate on the first 2 flights :-/. In the hotel we stayed at, there was an international restaurant so I had to keep it real New York and go with the cheeseburger and fries. Overall the food was on point and it kept me smiling, I even prepare it sometimes with the Best Food Dehydrator from Village Bakery.

  

  Dancers Walking Through The Airport In Beirut, Lebanon

  

  Abandoned Building In Beirut, Lebanon Across From Hotel

  The rooms we stayed in were quite elegant and I was lucky enough to get the biggest suite with a hot tub included. It’s not like we needed the beds because no one had a chance to lie down to get any shut-eye. Literally, we had no sleep since we left New York City, but there were no worries on my end. Taking a trip to the Middle East was a first for me and so far I was having a good time. Across from the hotel was an abandoned building you could see when you walked out on the room’s balcony. In NYC a view of that nature would turn off the average Joe but for me it sort of gave me the raw Middle Eastern experience. One thing that I can say that sucked a little was, having to pay for the room’s Internet on a per device basis. Let’s say you had an iPad, iPhone, and Mac like I did 🙂 you would have pay for 2, 6 or 24 hours of service for each device. If you ask me that’s a smart way to hustle us Americans that needs to use all 3 to get anything done.

  

  History and Wyclef Jean at SKY BAR Grand Opening in Beirut, Lebanon Photo By: Michael “Stylez” Colon

  The venue the performance was held at is called Sky Bar. The name is self-explanatory because it’s basically a huge bar on a rooftop in the sky… Sky Bar. The group I flew out to Beirut with is called the “Amount Boyz” who are known throughout the hip hop industry for always putting on great performances and always getting the job done. I was told that this club always has celebrities passing through to perform for special events. The celebrity that happened to perform on that night was Mr. Wyclef Jean. Not only did Wyclef perform that night but he also jumped into the cipher to throw down and show that he could still keep up with us, the “new generation”. It’s hard to explain it but seeing him dance like he was 25 again really shows that he still appreciates the art and the culture that we’re continuing to build.

  While we were all waiting back stage, although it was said, the majority of us forgot that there were going to be fireworks before we went on. So while we were patiently waiting to go on stage you heard a HHHUUUGGGEEE explosion followed by another, and another, and another. I can’t name drop but one person (African American, LOL) dived under the table. I was on my way to begin running down the hall and everyone else was completely shocked. Remember! At the moment we weren’t in the US, its not the fourth of July and we weren’t watching any kind of movie. We’re in the Middle East, where you only read and hear on the news about bombs going off etc. etc., etc. I can’t speak for anyone else but it felt like my heart grew legs and was trying to find a way out my body to run for cover also. After we all realized that it was fireworks it continued for about 10 long minutes. I forgot to mention that the fireworks were about one flight up from where we were and all the windows were open so we really heard everything up close.  The driver who picked us up from the airport left one of the cars behind so he decided to go in reverse on the highway while there was still oncoming traffic. But that pales in comparison to how scared I was when I heard those fireworks going off.

  When we performed, it was on the stage which was also connected to bar. Ok…so imagine a stage, then at the edges of the stage picture 2 long bars going towards the crowd to make a point. Or, you picture a stick figured house and rotate it to the right and that was how the stage was set up. I think it would of been cool to move to performance onto the far end of the bar/stage but we didn’t have that kind of time to set up for those changes. After we performed we stayed a while to have some drinks, party and enjoy the Beirut nightlife. After everyone finished dancing up a storm (except me. I held down the wall and played it cool as usual) we headed back to the hotel to have breakfast and grab our luggage to head back to the airport.

  

  Run Through At Sky Bar in Beirut, Lebanon

  By the time we knew it we were in the air heading back to the US on a 16hour flight. I had to come prepared with a little snack to keep me busy while in the air counting clouds. Even though our stay wasn’t that long I really enjoyed myself. Best believe I made sure to redeem all these sky miles so I wouldn’t have to reach for my pockets when I’m ready to take a break and go on vacation.

  

  Returning Flight To New York City From Beirut, Lebanon

  

  History’s Continental Snack For His Flight To Beirut, Lebanon

  Thanks for reading my blog and until next time, (Jerry Springer voice) Take of yourself and each other. 🙂

  If you enjoyed the read leave a comment or facebook like it to share with others.

  
  
  June 13th, 2012 | Kendell Hinds | 2 Comments | Tags: Amount Boyz, Beirut, dancers, Grand Opening, History, Lebanon, No Woman No Cry, Performance, Sky Bar 2012, Sound Check, Trip, Wyclef Jean

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