Wandering Scotsman

(Pic : Sunset over Kabul from Murad Khane)
Although it’s only two days ago I left Kabul, it seems so long ago, especially flying into the modern metropolis of Dubai, apparently home of 20% of the world’s cranes.  If only some of the building equipment here could be moved over to Afghanistan.

Now I’ll never, ever, try to say I have an understanding of Afghanistan after a fleeting 10 day visit.  I was lucky to be able to speak to many people out there working – both Afghans and foreigners, Afghan businesswomen, many locals, and tour guides during my time.

(Picture : some traditional herbs used for medicine…and mulberry bread given to us by ex-mujahaddin, which they felt was necessary after I gave them a Scottish postcard as a thank you for tea and cakes in Panshjir valley)

(Picture : Carpet seller in old bizarre, downtown Kabul)

All the time I was speaking through interpreters, so I was never sure if I was really hearing the truth, especially some of the circumstances I found myself in.

(Picture : A typical butcher!  Yes, even next to the dusty roads)

One thing I am absolutely sure about though is that the country is not as dangerous to visit as you would believe if all you read if the western media.  Find other sources on the internet etc if you are thinking about travelling there.  Speak to the local guides over there.  Obviously the place is not without it’s risks – there were several incidents we heard of that would never make the news.

(Picture : a ’70 or 71 year old year – he’s not sure’ market pottery trader)

It’s a confusing place to try and grab a realistic opinion of.  Some people say the media is great now and pretty free to say what they want, as long as they are balanced, yet others say there are loads of problems with journalists being pressurised from officials.  No-one painted a great picture of the police force which is a shame as you see them everywhere.  But maybe they should be paid a bit more than the $50 a month figure I heard, assuming that’s true.

(Picture : a chickpea vendor in the market)

Some of the local’s seemed very hopeful for the future, whereas others apparently still don’t have any belief in what the future holds, wandering why large parts of their countries are still at war.

I can understand the Afghan’s frustration at the lack of progress.  In Kabul there are still hardly any paved streets, no street lighting, and power is still not something to be relied upon.  Meanwhile the American’s are ‘restoring democracy’ from a compound where the majority of them are forbidden to leave.

Although I met, and stayed with some great NGO’s I am a tad skeptical about this area of regenaration.  Some of the people I met were from superb educational backgrounds and had a real passion for introducing new (actually very traditional, old in reality) techniques to Afghan labourers, and letting them experiment to see what would work and what wouldn’t.  Many of these NGO’s were making a real effort to learn the language as well.  The labourers who worked for them seemed to enjoy their time there and totally appreciate the work and opportunities they had been offered.

There is a real need to fill the sad educational gap from the last few decades of war in the country.  However the cynical side of me fears there are too many NGO’s using countries like Afghanistan to try out their own pet projects, to do something they couldn’t do at home, get a shit load of funding, then walking away when it runs out.  If you were really cynical you may think it’s the place where people from Berkeley and Harvard end up when they don’t know what else to do (this is a huge generalisation as I met a load of wonderful people from this background who were doing a world of good out there – sometimes it just felt like I never met anyone without an educational background from Harvard, Berkeley or Oxford universities).

Anyway, that’s my waffle on Afghanistan as I sit in Dubai, recovering from ‘afghan belly’, preparing for my flight back to a cold Scotland in a couple of days time.

Everyone we met there was great, and the locals were fascinating, but sadly sometimes for the sad reasons that can’t really be described as fascinating – leaving their country due to war, or living through decades of hardship.  There’s a potential great future in the country, with loads of opportunities for tourism from trekking to culture to rafting and climbing.  If only the ‘powers that be’ can sort their shit out!

(Picture : the traditionally poorer end of the market)

Here are some shots of the war carpets I looked at in Chicken Street, just before we left Kabul.  Obviously the carpet shop owners weren’t going to let us escape without rolling out more rugs, but I had more than enough stuff to take back that my $7 sports bag I bought wouldn’t survive with any more in it.

All the ones were saw were cheap versions but that was fine as I wasn’t going to spend a lot on these.  You can only guess the quality based in the spelling in the carpets, but maybe I’m judging too much based on the lack of education the Afghan population has had to suffer over the last few decades.

Of course, like everyone we met the owners were more than happy to show us more and tell us their stories.

I never managed to venture further than the hammock out the back today.  Terrible sleep, and things coming out of places you don’t want to know this morning.  Seems like it’s my time to get Afghan belly.

It sucked not being able to do anything, but despite feeling completely drained, it was kinda nice to lie on the hammock and do bugger all all day long, apart from snooze.

It looks like Dubai will be a chilled out few days and I may not even make it in to town.  Although Afghanistan now seems like ages ago, despite feeling like we were there a long time when there, I think the manic 10 days is starting to take it’s toll!

Yesterday was my last day in Kabul.  We were lucky to get a free car from mid morning to take us to Chicken Street -the traditional hippy shopping street when the Silk Route was followed by many.

Needless to say I had to buy a war carpet as a souvenir.  There are different styles (all pretty ugly!) – some with the twin towers on them, and some with areas of Afghanistan depicted by the weapons of choice in the region.

We then headed to the airport and got dropped as close to the terminal as you can, with most people quite a bit further away than us.  Unfortunately news started to trickle through about our flight being delayed until somewhere between 6 and 9pm, when it was originally meant to leave at 1530.  Kabul isn’t the best airport to be sitting around as you don’t get anywhere near the terminal building until check in time.

After a while some people started to get offered flight changes to catch connecting flights that night, so suddenly we had a connecting flight too, organised by our ‘fixer’ in Dubai (therefore explaining why we never had tickets ;->).

After being barred from the airport by the Afghan police, and Kate being taken out again after managing to get through, we finally made it in.  At each step someone else tried to stop us getting further, even at the final hurdle of the x-ray machine.  One cop said “no”, while his mate took my arm and said “go through my friend”.  I was lucky at getting through all the stages without paying any bribes at all despite having probably 4 opportunities where I could have used one to ease my passage through.

Eventually we were in the last 5 people to get our Kam Air flights changed to Pamir Airways – so good the ISAF troops are banned from using them.  The stewardesses were grim not raising a smile once, and the pilot decided to pump his brakes at various points along the runway after we landed.  The interior was definitely due a refit, but I’m sure there are many worse airlines in the world.

Finally we landed in Dubai only 90 mins or so after our original arrival time, and my body seemed to lapse after a hectic 10 days in Afghanistan.  Walking off the plane reminded me of arriving in Bangkok after visiting Burma last year – it felt like you had just came from another world.  No dust, modern buildings, and everywhere was lit up.

Today was my last full day in and around Kabul….for this trip anyway ;->

It wasn’t quite as manic as some others but we stopped in past a couple of design houses in town before heading to Istalif, an hour north of Kabul. We went there to see some pottery projects to improve the quality of the pottery in the area for the export market.

I have a whole bunch of photos I’d like to show on this blog and on my site but I’m just so tired in the evenings now that all I can do is download my images, order room service, then crash out. 

Tomorrow is our first slow start in 10 days and we are getting a car to take us through Chicken Street in Kabul (the old ‘hippy street’ from the Silk Road travels) on route to the airport, then it’s destination Dubai.

I’m a bit sad to leave here as there is so much to follow up, and so many stories to find out more about, however it will be interesting to see if I can make my images work for me when I get back, and I am desperate for a bit of a chill out.

I have one full on day visiting galleries in Dubai, but the rest of the time there I can see myself just chilling by the pool and recuperating!  Usually I’d say this would be a waste of time, but it’s been a hectic 10 days here.

I moved out of the fort the same day where most of the residents were woken up by a couple of rockets going off in a nearby area – but nothing too much to worry about (if that doesn’t sound too mad to say!).

We headed out towards some coal fired brick factory to tie in with a potential architecture related story.  Yes, I know it sounds a bit weird but it was quite funny as we pulled up at a random kiln outside town in our 4×4 and chatted to the workers through our interpreter, the CEO of Afghan Logistics and Tours.

We then headed back into town to see a really important restored building whose name and purpose I’ve completely forgotten (it was a manic day).  Then it was time for some lunch at the tour company’s office, then some souvenir shopping at an overpriced tourist shop, but one that supports afghan artisans. 

Needless to say it was a bit too easy to get carried away, and I need to buy another bag.  I spied some funky synthetic ones labelled “Kabul Afghanistan 2008” I need to try and get my hands on if we have time.  I managed to avoid a really cool little wooden stool for $20 though which was a miracle.

It was then on to interview a leading American Afghan carpet maker who sells top end carpets to top end clients.  We visited him at his new villa which is nearing completion.  It was one of the most amazing homes I’ve ever been in, fully built by local material and craftsmen. We saw several of his top end carpets, and all the rooms in the house.  His company if far larger than I realised, employing thousands of families in Afghanistan (if I heard correctly while I was taking photographs), and even selling them through John Lewis in the UK.

After dropping in past the fort to grab our luggage it was a sad goodbye to everyone there.  You have all been fantastic folks and thanks for your hospitality.  Huge apologies to those who I never thanked and said bye to – our day was more manic than we thought.

Tonight and tomorrow is in the downtown 5 star luxury of the Serena Hotel, courtesy of the general manager.  Although it’s sad to leave the fort, it’s a beautiful place, and a total escape from the madness of Kabul, which lies just outside the hotel walls.  I have the TV on for the first time in 9 days, and I haven’t missed it at all.

Anyway, I should’ve been in bed ages ago as tomorrow is going to be even more manic – plans so far hopefully include :

herbal medicine shop
two designer afghan fashion houses
interview with a magazine editor
potential interview with local media people
and probably lots more I’ve forgotten!
Unfortunately, the following day is goodbye to Kabul for now, although I wish I was staying longer, but with a more chilled out timetable!

Here’s a shot of the bakery in the market I visited the other day :

Like a few other things I’ve said Kabul is not like you ‘expect’…or more likely are lead to believe.  I’ve hardly ever seen any military presence around the city, certainly not in an obvious manner.  The most arms you see around the city are with the local police force, or private security guards.  It is the first city I’ve ever been where the police have gun mounts on the back of their pick ups though :

There are a lot of police around the city although the general feeling I get is that they do little to protect the average citizen of Kabul.  Unfortunately I’ve also heard they are very badly paid for what they are meant to do (I’ve heard $50 a month, whereas labourers can get more).  There are a load of police checkpoints around although our car has never been stopped by one.

Today I had the most sightings of military but we were travelling out of the city around the airport area, and the industrial parks where the likes of the UN food program have their compounds.  I reckon someone important must have been arriving as the traffic started backing up.

Today was also the first time I’ve been walked to a toilet by an armed guard!  I got a bit too hydrated before leaving the fort this morning so we had to stop at a petrol station for some light relief.