Two weeks in Syria was enough. Damascus and Aleppo is two fantastic old cities but a stomach infection and a hospitality that feels quite less welcoming than Iran I am delighted to get out of the middle east. Both mentioned cities have mostly typical middle eastern characteristics but also include old parts as well as christian/jewish suburbs with churches and indecently dressed girls with voluptuous bodies. But you could also find trendy streets with cool cafes and western looking people. But there as well as everywhere else you will find excessive use of hair gel among the guys. The attitude from these guys towards women was also something else I did not like about this country. While in Iran I could accompany one of the nice girls i met there, here in Syria me and the wonderful Lachlyn could hear Arabic remarks as walking past someone. And I bet it was a hundred times worse when she was walking alone.
Air Arabia makes it easy to move cheaply around in this region, and they even have a flight to Kathmandu! With a stopover in Sharjah, a UAE state, though. Spent one night in a youth hostel after a long search in a taxi for the hostel together with a Japanese guy with the great name Hiro. Also an English guy was staying at the hostel who lived four months in Norway, running a shop and living in Gronland (a suburb in Oslo). He left as he did not find the Norwegian drinking culture much cultivated and also he said it was hard to meet and get to know Norwegian people. He had to goto bars to meet people even though he despised alcohol and drunk people. Marijuana on the other hand..