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The Cost Of Being Thirsty At Beirut’s Airport
The bestselling item at most airports around the world is a bottle of water. Unlike soda or coffee, water is an essential liquid for human beings to survive. As a self-professed java junkie, I admit that coffee is also necessary for proper functioning but the only liquid that prevents dehydration is simple and plain H20.
Monopoly: not just a fun board game.
With few open windows, airports can get stuffy and you may find yourself with a dry throat by the time you get past airport security. In the process of healing your throat you have to inevitably hurt your pocket. Which brings us to Cafematik.
Everyone who has travelled out of Lebanon knows all about Cafematik—with its inflated prices and meager options. How much goes a bottle of water go for at the airport? 2,500LL (1.67 USD) It may not seem like much when compared to airports in Europe—in Paris, for example, water can cost up to 4 USD. But if you think about it, the price they charge at Beirut’s Airport is the equivalent of five bottles of water you can buy on the street.
Not to mention the fact that Europe’s airports have free tap water that is safe to drink, and FYI access to clean water is a human right. Oh, and the fact that the minimum wage in Lebanon is around 350 USD only adds insult to injury. Since everyone is captive once they pass security control, you really don’t have much choice but to submit to these ridiculous prices. It can be almost as irritating as a delayed flight.
One of the best things you can do is to have a healthy meal of hydrating veggies before heading to the airport—cucumber, celery, lettuce and tomatoes—all will help you keep thirst at a bay until you are comfy in your seat in the airplane where the flight attendant with pass by with as much water as you want. For free! (Well it’s not technically “free”— while it is complimentary, it’s been calculated in the cost of your ticket, but you know what I mean).
The second strategy you should take is to pack snacks with you in your carry-on bag so that you don’t have to shell out two bucks for a normally 35 cent bag of chips. Seasoned Lebanese travelers already embody this wisdom as is evinced by the overwhelming number of travelers who pack a dekanni’s worth of snacks in their handbags to graze on at the boarding lounge. Sorry Cafematik, we are not going to bite– this ain’t our first time at the rodeo.
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