I read Arnie Weissmanns story about the Libya
fam he accompanied [Take notice: Cruises ideal way to see Libya,
Dec. 7] with a smile on my face. His account
matches my impressions of the region.
Indeed, the people
I met were wonderful, sincerely bidding us welcome, especially when
told we were from the U.S.
But seeing Libya
only on a cruise provides a glimpse at only one side of the coin. I
was with a group handled by Bestway, which, considering the many
obstacles we encountered, did an excellent job. The obstacles? Lets
begin with the properties.
By and large, the
hotels are in a state of decay -- they remind me of hotels in
Russia in the 1950s. Apparently nobody gives a damn about fixing
them. Electrical outlets hang from the walls by their wires,
elevators dont work and sink stoppers and toilet-paper spindles are
missing everywhere.
The one hotel pool
I saw was filled with a pale-blue, milky liquid. Floors and
windows, even in so-called four-star hotels, remained
unwashed.
Exceptions are the
expensive, business-oriented Corinthia Bab Africa in Tripoli and
the Apollonia in Apollonia (the Uzo in Benghazi is not too
bad).
The Kabir in
Tripoli has an excellent location but is tacky and worn, needing a
complete makeover. Hotels in Tobruk and El Beyda are dumps to be
avoided.
Internet cafes are
around, but when open they are jammed with kids looking at porn. If
you finally get to a machine, the e-mail invariably does not get
through to the U.S. I never was able to send an e-mail.
Above all, my gripe
-- and it increasingly wore on me as the trip progressed -- was the
garbage piled up in the cities, even strewn across the desert,
ruins and beaches. Sitting in a tea shop would be relaxing if not
for the piled-up garbage (although it sure didnt seem to bother the
locals). Each city and village, it appears, drives the garbage out
of town and tosses it on the highway shoulders -- a sight you would
not believe.
Equally
disconcerting is that most hotels and local airlines are controlled
by the government. Without notice, you can be bounced out of your
confirmed and prepaid hotel room or airplane seat. My 12-day
program experienced sudden changes three times -- with no notice,
my group was switched from one hotel to another.
Libya has great
potential. But, if it wants to compete with neighbors Morocco,
Tunisia and Egypt, it has to get its act together by fixing its
tourism infrastructure and, above all, cleaning up the
garbage.
Rex Fritschi, a
travel veteran of more than 50 years, recently launched an upscale
leisure travel consultancy: www.rexclass.com. He also is associated with
Rex Travel in Chicago. E-mail Fritschi at [email protected].