Leaving all the political stuff aside - which I don’t really have any reason to write about Aghanistan and its people are very interesting and by enlarge very friendly. Given that the have been at war for for the last 25 years this country in some respects is better than India - but I won’t dwell on that.
The people are really very happy that the Taliban are no longer in power with their draconian laws and whilst the democartic process is a bit of a mystery they are starting to build a new life. We will just have to see how the Americans will mess it up for them.
Burkas do take getting used to and do make it look like the country is full of cartoon characters. They do have their uses though as it is very dusty here and do keep your clothes clean. Depending how you interpret the Quoran depends on how you view the burka. Apparantly you don’t have to wear them but many women do feel more comfortable and safer with them on. And according to local sources you can still tell what the woman is like by looking at her shoes and ankles!
It is very very dusty and dry here, I have never washed my hands so much as they constantly feel all gritty. The day after we arrived at the Karzai rally Richard got sun burn’t and three days later we are having to wear fleeces - especially when the sun goes in. The difference between the sun and shade is amazing.
Karzai rally:
We also went out with Brit forces in Kabul on a patrol. You can see why we are much better than the yanks at this as our guys walk around in floppy hats and minimal body armour unlike the Yanks - which when they do it - are so paranoid they are fully tooled up for battle. The difference in signals given off is huge. Even as a westerner you feel more scared of the Americans than any one else.
Brits on patrol:
Half an hour after we landed in Kabul I was arrested by the American forces guarding President Karzai. Marched off at gun point whist waiting for him to leave the airport it was a bit perplexing - but I had filmed a cavalcade which I wasn’t supposed to. Secret you know - though its exactly the same as a US presidential one so the big deal? These goons - Dy-corp are renowned for being complete morons with huge guns and ignoring the law. They have annoyed everyone - including the US embassy here. A couple of weeks ago they were attacked and from what we are told they had it coming.
No visit would be complete with out entertaining the kids in the villages. I do like doing this - and with my new camera I can also very easily show them the video I have shot of them - priceless.
And of course you have to climb on a tank or two. These belong to the local war-lord in Mazar-e Sharif and have been decomissioned. The important bits have been sent 500 miles away- trashing them cant’ be done here for local reasons.
Sorry about all these pictures of my lardy bum but I tend to get annoyed if the camera is in front of me.
Muqim is our 25 year old translater who will become a good business man. He already has a fleet of cars he hires out - including Surfs, provides tours and logistics throught the country. He has big plans which I hope will be successful.
Here we are standing in front of a shop where they make kilns for baking bread - which is truely lovely. The pots are made inside and they get fired by lighting a fire inside the kiln - a practice which has been going on for hundreds of years with no change.
Its our last day today - hopefully. We have a couple of lives to do, pack and ready for the plane home tomorrow.
Its been a hard couple of weeks with Thai trip too, so it will be good to get home to the family and also see how big Sandy is.
