Kabul, A City Like No Other

Well we have finally arrived in Kabul and I must say we are all feeling rather relaxed! Maybe it is just because we've all been here before or maybe the security has actually improved. Last time we arrived here a female NGO worker had just been shot dead whilst walking to work. We stayed in a guest house just around the corner from where it happened. This was the first deliberate attack on an NGO worker in the city and there was a palpable tension in the air. NGO's held their breath to see if it was the beginning of a campaign against soft targets in the capital.

This time we have had a chance to meet with a number of NGOs and there are mixed thoughts about security. Whilst there hasn't been a return to the widespread practice of people routinely walking to work some expatriates will still walk around bazaars or cycle about town. Conversely a number of NGO organisations are starting to withdraw expatriate staff in anticipation of the predicted violence in the run up to the Presidential elections in August.

We have been able to move safely around town using the excellent Afghan Logistics and Tours' taxi service. Their fleet consists of good quality Toyota Corrollas, TownAces and Land Cruisers which are endemic in Afghanistan so we just blend in to the chaos on Kabul's roads. All the drivers speak good English, really know their way around and have both mobile phone and two way radio communications. This means you always know where you are and if you have a problem backup will come very quickly.

This freedom of movement has allowed us to see the variety of life in Kabul. It is certainly a city of contrasts. We have been shopping for everything from Heinz beans to Pampers nappies in the new supermarkets. We have seen the tragedy of widows and the disabled strategically placing themselves on the most savage speed ramps in the middle of the traffic chaos to beg from the fearful occupants of armoured Land Cruisers. We have passed through the endless security checks, metal detectors and blast screens to visit officials whose tour of Afghanistan consists of confinement to fortified versions of their own country. We have experienced the hospitality of people who give generously of what little they have.

I've always had a fascination and strange love for Kabul. It is the head on collision of the modern and medieval. Broadband and burkas. Restaurants and ruins. Aspirations and annihilation. We're keen to move on and continue our journey but we wish you well Kabul and all who dwell in you.

Afghan Mountaineers Train for Historic First

Four Afghan mountaineers are training to become the first of their countrymen to climb Noshaq, Afghanistan's highest mountain. If successful this historic ascent of the 7,492m giant will confirm them as Afghanistan's first high altitude mountaineers.
Mountain Unity joined them on the Mer de Glace glacier in the French Alps as they trained with Jean Annequin and Simon Destombes of the prestigious National School of Alpinism and Skiing.
As well as suffering the effects of extreme altitude the climbers will have to tactical a rock face just 600m below the summit.
If all goes according to plan the team will start their attempt in early July 2009. A documentary unit will be following the team to all way to the summit and the BBC's Persian TV service will be providing news footage for viewers in Afghanistan. The climbers, who have all been trained to work as mountain guides hope that media coverage of the event will re-ignite interest in climbing in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains. You can find out more at http://www.noshaq.com/