Beaching on a budget

ENAR

As the weather heats up, Lebanese traditionally head to the beach to cool down in one of the many private resorts along the Mediterranean. In the past few years, however, entry fees to such resorts have spiked to such an extent that for some, the idea of heading there is not so cooling any more. Many still enjoy the luxury offered at the more expensive resorts and gladly pay up the average entry fee of $26 and whatever their food and drinks cost — a big bottle of water will set you back $6 so you can imagine the rest. “I consider a day at the beach akin to a night out partying so I don’t mind paying what amounts to the same fee to have a good time during the day. I then stay home at night because I am too tired from my day anyway,” says Hazem, a