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It’s the ultimate freedom trip: all your belongings strapped to your back, a guidebook in your pocket and a multi-stop ticket in your hand. But it’s not for the fainthearted: cockroaches, 20-hour train journeys and dodgy dorms is something the backpacker will have to get used to. Got any good advice for making this the most memorable of all journeys? Post them here, or see below for our readers’ best backpacking tips

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    Al-Rabie

    Posted by Sakhr 13 September 2005

    Backpackers hotel in the centre of the new city, but just 5 mins walk from the old city. A reasonably well maintained hotel in a centuries-old Damascene 'Arabic House'. It's courtyard will transport you back through the ages - the ivy sheltering you from the sun, and the sound of car horns a couple of blocks away. Some rooms have en-suite facilities. Most rooms are double, but there are one or two dorms for the really tight-fisted. Prices are about £2-£3 per room per night. Yes, that is two pounds I've typed. Welcome to Syria! If you want something a bit higher standard, the nearby Al-Majed hotel is a world apart. Definately not for backpackers, this one. It's lobby and rooms feel like a three/four star hotel in Britain. Price per room is £15 per night.

    Al-Rabie and Al-Majed are in Souq Saroujah - very close to Merjeh Square (the centre of the new city). Most taxi drivers know Al-Rabie (pronounced Rab-ee-ah) in Souq Saroujah - they might have more difficulty finding the Majed. saroujah.blogspot.com

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