Where We Stayed in Damascus & Aleppo

After telling you about the rip-off hostels in Damascus, I would like to tell you about the hostels where we stayed in Damascus and Aleppo. These hostels are not listed in Lonely Planet but were good finds nonetheless.

In Damascus we stayed at Al-Kindi Hotel. A double room with bathroom ensuite costs us only 800 SYP per night for the entire room. Eventhough the bathroom was in a bad condition, the location of this hotel made up for it - it's only a 5-minute walk from Souq al-Hamidiyya.

The daunting part about staying here is that only 1 of the staff is able to speak English. Whenever the other staff are manning the counter, we didn't bother to ask for anything cause we know we won't be able to communicate with them.

The other sore thing is that they charged us 100 SYP each for storing our luggage at the hotel for 3 days when we went to Aleppo.

Entrance to Al-Kindi Hotel

When we headed to Aleppo we didn't have any inkling of where we were gonna lay our heads for the night. By the time we reached the central area it was already late evening and we navigated our way to the clock tower area where most of the backpackers hostel are located.

The first hostel that we went to was Al-Gawaher. It was recommended by Kate who stayed there before. Unfortunately Al-Gawaher was full and we had to continue our search for another hostel.

In the next lane from Al-Gawaher, we saw Ammar standing in front of Hotel Radoun.  

He asked if we were looking for a room and when he informed that rates were 900 SYP for a double room, we asked to see the room first before making any decision.

The room was spacious and clean. And when we opened the balcony door and saw this view ...

... we immediately agreed to stay there.

Staying at Hotel Radoun was indeed a good choice because it's centrally located beside the clock tower and Sheraton Aleppo Hotel - both of which are good landmarks to navigate your way around.

Hotel Radoun is also walking distance from the Citadel, Great Mosque, souqs and Christian Quarter. So it was a good find, especially at 900 SYP per room per night. Moreover the owner Ammar can speak English.

 Room rates are displayed in Hotel Radoun's lobby.

So you see, the hostels that are listed in Lonely Planet are not the only hostels available. There are so many other cheap and maybe even better options. You just need to look hard enough and maybe let faith lead your path.

Damascus to Aleppo by Bus - Just Like Boarding a Plane

Travelling from Damascus to Aleppo by bus was like boarding a plane - procedure wise, that is.

First of all, when we got to the Pullman Bus Station in Damascus, we had to get our bags scanned just like at the airport. There was no body search or else I would have laughed my head off. 

I didn't snap any photos of the bag scan machine cause cameras were not allowed in the area. In fact, when we were waiting for the bus to leave, I went around snapping photos. And then a guy who was walking by said it's forbidden to take photos in the station. Weird ... but I think it's a security procedure.

Anyway, the Pullman Bus Station is not a bus terminal in a single building, but rows of shops selling bus tickets, food, drinks and all sorts of stuff.

 Rows of shops at the Pullman Bus Station.

Like a typical bus station from an emerging nation (I'm thinking Puduraya here), many guys were shouting out names of places and trying to get passengers to buy tickets from their counter.

After asking around a bit, we decided on a company whose bus was leaving shortly. A one-way ticket to Aleppo costs 200 Syrian Pounds (SYP) and we had to show our passports.

This is how the VIP bus looks like:

Reminds me of school buses in Malaysia.

Notice the guy standing beside the bus in the pic above. He was the bus attendant who had the job description of a flight attendant.

After the bus rolled out of Pullman Bus Station, he drew all the curtains, and made sure they stayed that way throughout the journey.

 Drawn curtains always makes me sleepy.

He also distributed mineral water and biscuits and went from row to row with a plastic bag to collect rubbish. Just before the bus reached Aleppo he made sure all the seats were in an upright position; exactly like what flight attendants usually asks us to do just before the plane lands.

Mineral water and biscuits are distributed free to all passengers.

I was glad the journey to Aleppo took approximately 3 hours. Otherwise I would have to nurse a numb butt.

When the bus reached Aleppo, we didn't know which station it was or exactly which part of Aleppo we were at because all the signages were in Arabic. Moreover my Lonely Planet Middle East was an old edition with outdated information, fml.

So we asked around and was directed to take a bus to the city centre cause taking a taxi would have costs us an arm and a leg. That 30-minute bus ride was probably one of the cheapest bus rides I've ever sat - flat rate of SYP 5 only.

We got off at the last stop and navigated our way on foot to the clock tower and Sheraton Aleppo Hotel area where we kamikazed our way to Hotel Radouan.