Jalalabad Hotels
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Lunch and rockets in Jalalabad
Entry 13 of 44 | show all | print this entry |
The drive from the Khyber pass into Kabul was going smoothly. My jeep was working out well - I had arranged to be picked up at the border, and my contact, Rohollah, was there on time with two other afghanis to assist us - a driver and a friend who knew all of the local dialects in the regions we'd be passing. They came dressed as locals ("It's my first time wearing a turban," his friend, used to working for an NGO wearing a suit, confided!), and I was unshaven, with a scarf and pakistani clothes. They had covered the windows of the jeep with oil and mud so you couldn't see in. "Window tinting is for foreigners. A dirty car is safer."
We stopped in the city of Jalalabad for lunch, and had a fantastic flat bread and kebab meal in a really cool restaurant. The many afghans in the restaurant sat on carpets with low tables. My german friend, Sebastian, without thinking, said "wow this is great - there's lots of locals here." it seemed like a natural thing to say... for any other country. but here - - there only WERE locals! afghanistan has few tourists, and most of the foreigners live behind walls in Kabul, or on military bases.
While we ate, the driver stayed with the car "to make sure nobody put a bomb in it." It seemed ridiculous - - the streets were lively, full of normal people... the threat of afghanistan seemed completely fictional. ...like a big media exaggeration. When we were driving home, Rohollah noticed a lot of government traffic felt certain that something was going on - - something had happened. I brushed it off, and didn't think of it again. However, the next day I caught some people watching CNN and discovered that there had been two rocket attacks that day - - in Jalalabad! - after we had left. nobody was killed. it makes you think...
The old saying is: Afghanistan is safe .... until it's not.
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