num_pages: 250
description: Three men. 470 kilometres. Twenty-one days.Welcome to the Downhill Hiking Club . . .At a boozy cricket-filled afternoon at Lord's Dom Joly convinces his two closest friends to agree to the a challenging hike across Lebanon from the Israeli border in the south along the spine of the country's mountain range all the way to the Syrian border in the north. For Joly it is something of a homecoming having grown up in Beirut. It was a happy childhood though he did go to school with Osama bin Laden.Arriving in Lebanon armed with copious amounts of Vaseline - and no walking experience bar taking the dog for the occasional stroll - Dom Chris and Harry don't quite know what they've got themselves into. Joined by their bemused chaperone Caroll they meet a variety of characters along the way including Ali a stony-faced Hezbollah Museum guide who seems unperturbed by circling Israeli jets and part-time Londoner Raf who challenges Dom and the boys to a brain-freeze drinking contest. From a hair-raising creep along the 'Valley of the Skulls' to accidentally flashing an unsuspecting Ethiopian cook the three friends just about manage to keep going.With more than a smattering of persiflage and some cringe-worthy moments The Downhill Hiking Club is a big-hearted witty and affectionate love letter to Lebanon and its rich history with a meditation on family and homeland at its heart. Written with Dom's trademark humour it is a paean to both the simple joys of friendship and to growing old disgracefully.
language: English
title: The Downhill Hiking Club: A short walk across the Lebanon
publisher: Constable