Your experiences living/traveling to Afghanistan?

[randolph85]

I went to Afghanistan for the first time in my life back in 2007 for about a month which was an awesome trip. Surprisingly, the Ariana plane was a lot more roomy and comfortable than the planes from the US and UAE, except the service sucked. We had to wait on the plane for an hour because people from the plane were missing. It was weird to see so many tribal Pashtuns in Dubai at the airport gate. Lungee's, long beards, henna beards, the whole deal.

Kabul was cool, a lot of Pashtuns. Kabuls Pashtun population ratio is probably the highest its ever been in the cities history, as many Pashtun refugees chose to live in Kabul, and because of insecurity in their own towns. There was a lot of construction going on in Kabul which was a good sight to see. Most of it was from wealthy Afghans from abroad who have come back to invest. There wasn't much Gov't construction going on, except roads. The roadside kabob was the best I have ever eatten. My dad got into an argument with a cabbie who was trying to rip us off and there was a huge crowd. The cabbie was some young fool and he said he was going to call his boss to straighten us out, when the boss arrived he recognized me dad and asked if his name was ***** and my dad said yes. Turns out they were old college buddies, funny stuff. I got to say most cabbies were really nice, we talked to them and after the ride they would say we didnt have to pay and we were his guests, we still paid but it was still nice.

Next, I went to Jalalabad and the drive there from Kabul was beautiful and scary. Scary because people drive like maniacs and there are a lot of accidents on that road. Since Jalalabad has been pretty secure, there was a lot of commerce going on and hustle n bustle. We visited Amanullah Khans grave and the park near the palace. Also the fish place on the Kabul-Jbad road near Jbad was awesome.

The last night there I got violently ill, I mean really bad. We had to get a doctor to see me and everything. I was just glad I got sick on the last day instead of the beginning.

All in all a great trip. I felt totally safe there, except when in a taxi and on the major highways. Also when some NATO sob pointed his gun at us for being too close to his vehicle.

What are your experiences?

[Michin Khel]

Thank you ,it was an interesting read.

[graveyardofempires]

i was there in 2009 and i should say it was a bit the same experience but i wasnt with ariana airlines but safi airlines and i think its better than airline since i heard a joke that before landing the ariana airlines crew members say through the mic "please say kalima shahadad,we are landing"LOL.
when we landed it was a great feeling and it was extremely crowded at the checking point.one woman wearing alot of gold wouldnt listen to the security guards and she was pushing it.
we went out first sight was some poor lets say airline coolies and later say som efrench troops in the front of the airport.

went straight to jalalabad and our car almost crashed at may-par due to break failure.
i was so happy,seeing those mountains etc on the road.

in jalalabad it was all fun but extremely hot ,i did kite flying after a long time and i was still goot at it and cut about 5 kites .
went with cousins to a place called TANK and later went swimming thats when i saw two black hawk helicopters flying above us low.

and it was also election fever so there were like thousands of posters hanging almost everywhere,rekshaws,walls,building,hanging from old traffic lights.
there was a chowk called pashtunistan chowk with pashtunistan flag flying high but the flag was damn old.

american convoys used to drive through the city all the time and ppointing guns at all the people around the.we went a little bit campagning for ashraf ghani in the city centre and it was fun we took pictures with people.
about three times when stopped at police check point they thought i was a politican or a major police officer and i would play along.like this one time the police guy said"komandan sayab tase de kome nahyee astey,or the other time komandan sayb taso pe sada kalo ke astey"lol that was funny.

we also went to kunar and that was also alot of fun but much more dangerous.

[randolph85]

lol sounds like a good time.

when we stopped at the fish place on the road near jalalabad we had a lot of kids there asking for money. since my pashto is bad, i would tell them simply "na larum" and they would keep asking. then they asked my dad if i was arab, since i had a full beard without a mustache, i also had a lot of police in kabul asking me where i was from because of this look. i would tell them in dari i was american but kabuli from my parents.

its funny how you get profiled by different people in the country because of how you look. none of the profiles were bad, but people expect certain things from you based on your beard.

the funniest thing was going back to dubai from kabul and you see a group of hindus and siekhs going somewhere and they see us afghans and look so intimidated, its hilarious.

[graveyardofempires]

yes it sounds much fun
i didnt stop at the fish place but at a small shop and carwash
there the kids were standing next to it and asked me some money,i wanted to guy them each one of those 100 rupey soft drinks but than my cousins said thats silly just give them some money they dont need this drink they need money.

the fun thing about it all is ,i have it all on on tap ein HD.

all the way i was recording the highway in the city and all over the place.
my father would say dont do it its dangerouse but i was like no way,i,ll not miss this chance.
once i was recording and we stopped at this check point on the way to kabul from jalalabad and all up sudden the police officer came running at me asking why i was recording,i told him i was from abroad and on visit and thats why im recording.
after that they were nice and i could go on recording.

[sahil112]

um went this summer to kandahar, was a mixed experience 3 of my cuzans passed away becouse they had a car crash, there was a lot of inner family feuds going on which got to the point that 1 of my own cuzan wanted to kill me and my other cuzan

this aside it was so good to be back on my own soil cous there is nothing better than that and kandahar was lookin as beutifull as ever. i loved the nights sleeping on the roof and the bandarr goin into the morning and all that :D

wonder if there are any kandaris here who are like family...
my uncle works in gumrok and my grandad used to be in charge of kandahar cinema before the taliban nocked it down to build the mosque

muz sayedan yu

[Laila]

My experiences are very similar to yours

I went to Afghanistan for the first time in my life back in 2007 for about a month which was an awesome trip.

I went to Afghanistan for the second time the summer of '10. And i gotta say, it was one hell of a rewarding experience. The best place i have ever been to.

Surprisingly, the Ariana plane was a lot more roomy and comfortable than the planes from the US and UAE, except the service sucked.

I took Pamir. It sucked! LOL but hey its the only way to get there. Our flight from Dubai was at 3 am and we were at the Dubai airport for hours!

We had to wait on the plane for an hour because people from the plane were missing. It was weird to see so many tribal Pashtuns in Dubai at the airport gate. Lungee's, long beards, henna beards, the whole deal.

AHAHAHAHA!!!! ~omg~ same here! It was crazy for me to see tribal men too. And they were all staring at me We were the last ones to reach the gate, so we had to sit near the men. And they would not stop staring at me.

My father, the Laghmani that he is, goes and starts talking to them. So my father was telling all these jokes and all the Pashtun men were so entertained.....they kept on telling my dad to continue telling stories

Kabul was cool, a lot of Pashtuns. Kabuls Pashtun population ratio is probably the highest its ever been in the cities history, as many Pashtun refugees chose to live in Kabul, and because of insecurity in their own towns.

And people outside of Afghanistan fail to see that Kabul is full of Pashtuns, that speak Pashto. I was so surprised how much i heard Pashto in Kabul. In fact, many schools offer *only* Pashto to students who do not want any other language.

There was a lot of construction going on in Kabul which was a good sight to see. Most of it was from wealthy Afghans from abroad who have come back to invest. There wasn't much Gov't construction going on, except roads.

Many new complexes are being constructed, of course only for people who can afford it. There is an area in Kabul City, Ariana City, that will be for the wealthy class. Many of these constructions for beautiful condos are being built there. Did you see the tall white apartment buildings there?

The roadside kabob was the best I have ever eatten.

OH MY! I totallyyyyyyyy agree. The best kabab was also at AFC. It is in the Wazir Akbar Khan district. It has honestly the best chicken kabab there

My dad got into an argument with a cabbie who was trying to rip us off and there was a huge crowd. The cabbie was some young fool and he said he was going to call his boss to straighten us out, when the boss arrived he recognized me dad and asked if his name was ***** and my dad said yes. Turns out they were old college buddies, funny stuff. I got to say most cabbies were really nice, we talked to them and after the ride they would say we didnt have to pay and we were his guests, we still paid but it was still nice.

LOL! Typical Afghans something similar like that happened to me, except it was in one of the bazaars. This man i guess he knew i was not from nearby so he tried to rip me off. Then he asked for my family name.....and my cousin replied. Right away, it happens that he was best friends with my shaheed uncle. He didnt let us pay for our dresses

Next, I went to Jalalabad and the drive there from Kabul was beautiful and scary. Scary because people drive like maniacs and there are a lot of accidents on that road. Since Jalalabad has been pretty secure, there was a lot of commerce going on and hustle n bustle. We visited Amanullah Khans grave and the park near the palace. Also the fish place on the Kabul-Jbad road near Jbad was awesome.

OMG! Kabul-Jalalabad Road was stunning. The mountains were scary to look up. And the river was beautiful, and soooo blue. Ha ha ha the drivers are all lunatics :D

The last night there I got violently ill, I mean really bad. We had to get a doctor to see me and everything. I was just glad I got sick on the last day instead of the beginning.

You are very lucky it was the last day, not that its good to get sick.

Me, on the other hand, i got sick the 5th day i was there. I wasnt just sick, i was completely in a deadly state. My electrolyte was so low, i was pale white. I was shaking like crazy, i felt cold and constantly had the shivers. My father did not trust the doctors there, so instead he got me hooked up to an IV at home. Everyone honestly thought i was dying, that is how sick i got. I dont remember anything of my illness, i just know what i have been told.

All in all a great trip. I felt totally safe there, except when in a taxi and on the major highways. Also when some NATO sob pointed his gun at us for being too close to his vehicle.

What are your experiences?

I will go back to Afghanistan in a heartbeat. I was in absolute awe there. i never felt so at ease and comfort besides there. I have serious plans to live there, inshallah we will see how my wedding plans turn out.

[IamDZJ]

avoid traveling by klm flights. their planes are freakishly small so your eardrums will literally burst. one time in dubai there was a red bearded kaka that was holding on to a clear see through plastic bag with this huge chakki of paneer in his hand. he was staring at us with such a serious look on his face so my brother asked him kaka cherta zey..? he showed us his documents thinking we were the custom agents. yeah my father totally forbid us from speaking to each other or giggling from then on.

[Laila]

^ Yeah they are small. The flight from Dubai to Kabul is only 2 hours. And i am so claustrophobic i felt like shooting myself. It felt like the longest flight ever.

LOL @ the kaka. Let me tell you a story

Ma wa padarem da tiyara-e Pamir bood em. Besyar khord boot, walla nafasem tang bood. Kho dega yak zyan hamrai shawar e khod shesten. Zyan yak sya niqab pooshe da bood. Yak dega adam pershe e shan shesta. Hamrai e khod yak camra dashta wa aqse tapay-e kabul megereft. Yak dafa flash az camra-esh amad. Yak dafa mard da saresh gham a ghal mekad. koft ta bood, "Oh ********* chera aks e zyan e ziba ma megere." LOL other other guy got so worried because the husband was holding onto his collar, threatening him as to why you are taking my wifes picture when the bechara man was taking pictures outside of his window view. I remember it was mayhem there for a good solid 15 minutes. Some guy out of no where even three his shoes while the husband was hitting the poor man

[IamDZJ]

i know!! it's a two hour flight only but its so difficult because by the time you get there you are so exhausted and nervous. there are babies crying everywhere. you start getting self conscious because people start staring at you...and then some idiot takes the liberty to listen to the hindi music from his cell phone with out using the head phones...and they don't have tvs..as my little brother would say..but for some odd reason it feels so good. you look around you see afghans everywhere..that is such a wonderful feeling.
last time the plane stopped in a corner of airport because there wasn't enough space near the terminal for it as yet and this poor old man who was probably not that familiar with airplanes got up pulling on his handbags thinking it was time to get off...the rest of the passengers were so rude to him.. they called him nadeeda and stuff like that..it made me feel so cheap.. and then everyone started telling everyone else to shut up...very very uncomfortable.

[Laila]

^ yeah and it feels so crowded, as if you are so physically close to everyone. I felt weird being with only Afghans in the plane. Not that it was weird, but it was one hell of an experience :D But at least the food they serve was good Its actually funny how everyone thought like 10 suitcases can fit in one of those shelves where the small luggages belong

[randolph85]

I took Pamir. It sucked! LOL but hey its the only way to get there. Our flight from Dubai was at 3 am and we were at the Dubai airport for hours!

yeah we had to wait there for several hours as well, it was past midnight and like over 100 degrees.

Many new complexes are being constructed, of course only for people who can afford it. There is an area in Kabul City, Ariana City, that will be for the wealthy class. Many of these constructions for beautiful condos are being built there. Did you see the tall white apartment buildings there?

I think those were the ones being built off the road east of the airport, there were a few under construction while i was there but from the pictures i have seen lately, its a very large complex now.




there is also "golden city"



and this other complex that i dont know the name of






we went to ahmad shah baba mina in kabul where a relative had a home and it was really underdeveloped but from the pics i have seen recently, the area has changed a lot in just a couple of years.

You are very lucky it was the last day, not that its good to get sick.

Me, on the other hand, i got sick the 5th day i was there. I wasnt just sick, i was completely in a deadly state. My electrolyte was so low, i was pale white. I was shaking like crazy, i felt cold and constantly had the shivers. My father did not trust the doctors there, so instead he got me hooked up to an IV at home. Everyone honestly thought i was dying, that is how sick i got. I dont remember anything of my illness, i just know what i have been told.

sorry to hear that. i expected to get sick since most people who go there get ill. i tried my best to avoid a lot of street food but it was the damn kabob and fish that got me, i gotta say it was worth it though lol

I will go back to Afghanistan in a heartbeat. I was in absolute awe there. i never felt so at ease and comfort besides there. I have serious plans to live there, inshallah we will see how my wedding plans turn out.

yeah i would love to go back when i have some money saved up. its ironic that it cost so much money to travel to one of the poorest places on earth

[Laila]

@ Randolph

Yeah apparently near Khair Khana there are supposed to be some new complexes. And then there is the development of Macroyon 4 to have these big apartment buildings. I think instead of building all of these lavish developments, they need to really focus on 1) the dump problem in Kabul City 2) Better school materials 3) More schools developed 4) Hospitals and clinics. I think those areas should be heavily focused on. But hey, as long as developments are towards helping the country

Our plane tickets cost us near $ 5,000. It's crazy . Now i am saving up for the next 3 years for my next trip. But hey it was worth it.

[کیش]

I could save at least 2,500 of my own money by next summer. Will that be enough to travel to Afghanistan, and Pakistan?

[IamDZJ]

depends on which season you travel in. high season tickets cost me around 2800 but before june is almost 900 cheaper. save at least a grand or two for travelling expenses.