The Al Rasheed Hotel

Admittedly, my little ol’ trip garnered more attention than I had anticipated. First, I want to say, “Thanks for reading my blog.” But I’d also note that this blog was originally sent out to a group of family & friends. They were meant as personal notes, journals of a personal walkabout, to share with those whom I chose. But now, more people than I had originally anticipated have found the peephole into Lesch’s little sojourn (with approval and disapproval). As it is now broadcast to the world, I thought it worthwhile to modify, slightly, how I approached the blog.

So, continuing where I left off…

Some people from the Embassy called when I was staying at the Palestine. Later, I discovered how they determined where I was staying (the details of which I will not get into now). One, in particular, had convinced herself that insurgents knew I was in Baghdad. She asked if I would go stay at a hotel in the Green Zone instead of where I was. I told her I was in a compound that also happened to hold a platoon of the 101st Airborne, and that there were other American reporters here without PSDs. I told her it was never my intention that my visit over here be high-profile – but that despite the recent media crescendo, I still intended to meet with a few people and be out of Baghdad before too long. In order to be cooperative, I relocated to a hotel in the Green Zone.

I soon discovered that news of my precise location was being leaked to the media. When asked by reporters, I confirmed that I was, in fact, at a hotel in the Green Zone. Unfortunately, when you say those words, everyone knows you mean the Al Rasheed. The Al Rasheed hotel sits next to checkpoint 3, and abuts the Red Zone. It is guarded by coalition forces – in this case, Peruvian. They were very professional and friendly. The concierge at the Al Rasheed told me that they had about 300 registered guests while I was there.

The Al Rasheed certainly had its share of problems. When I checked, there was no obvious evidence of military attacks, but upon closer examination, the wounds were evident. There had been insurgent rocket attacks which hit several points on the hotel, and which had not yet been repaired. They had what we in the states would call “a little bit of a mold problem.” Water service is unreliable. In the past, guests would crank the bathroom spigot to find nothing. They would then leave without shutting off the tap. In their absence, water service would be restored and would flood their room, and the hallway, and the floors below. Water pressure in the Al Rasheed was NOT a problem. When I first turned on the shower it reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer bought a black market shower head that had been used to hose down elephants. I could easily see how the flooding was an issue.

Folks at the hotel took their security seriously. When entered my room the first thing I saw was two smoke bombs affixed to the wall. I made note of how to use them.

While I was initially uninspired to move to the Al Rasheed, I was only more disappointed to discover that their amenities were even less full than what I could find at the bombed-out Palestine. Of course, they had no internet (believe it or not, The Palestine had Ethernet broadband connections in every room), so I had to find a place out in the hotel yard to set up my BGAN, which I finally had working. The only problem was, they wouldn’t let any guests out in the hotel yard after dark (snipers), and due to it being February, daylight hours were at a minimum. I’d have to make due.

From my room on the 11th floor, I was able to see a lot of Baghdad. It would be these streets that I would travel throughout the remainder of my week there.