Well, my entry for last night was so long that I never actually got round to researching the memory specifications for the laptops I’m tending – in fact, I was up so late that I was surprised that I got up and out for breakfast in time to get to the daily 8.30am planning meeting – in the end I had time to spare, and to be presentable as well, as I was woken by a brilliant sun shining into my room – which was a nice surprise. The range of weather here really is quite… British. I can see why we tried to control it for so long!
The highlight of my morning was bouncing through a low doorway a little too high, and almost scalping myself – I was dazed (and confused, though that’s pretty normal for me) for a fair old while, and I have a nasty looking graze / gash on my head, which at least produced a lot of sympathy at Lunch, and no, you’re not getting any pictures. The guys were saying I should say I got it from escaping a kidnap attempt by the Taliban, like ducking a sword or bullet or something similarly violent – but I feel it’s my journalistic duty to tell the truth, however prosaic it may be.
We actually had city power all day today (as well as all last night) – which is almost unheard of. We were trying to work out why – though I reckon it’s something to do with preparing for a huge demonstration that’s planned by the muhajadeen tomorrow against the government – there’s a high violence forecast, and the police are going to shut down all the roads in Kabul tomorrow – which means we get to stay in all day. So don’t be worried if you hear about any suicide bombs in Kabul tomorrow – well, don’t be worried about me, anyway, as the demo is going to be happening in a different part of town, and I’m not going to be there.
In the afternoon I was totally spoiled – I got to go into Kabul twice – the first being our electronics shopping. This time it was only me and H**** – it’s amazing the difference a day makes, as I felt almost relaxed wandering through the busy streets with him, and got far more into conversations – and haggling (though only a little, mind you, still have to get up to full speed on that area) with the shopkeepers. Didn’t see the corn seller though, even though I took my little camera on the off chance. I didn’t take any pictures though, even though we went back through the market and along some amazing streets- as I was just enjoying the scenery, and looking in a little more detail at the people and produce- and guess what? Those orange things yesterday were actually oranges, I was just a little way away. It was really fascinating to see barrows full of just one or two products – it was particularly arresting to see a big barrow completely full of Garlic. It’s also quite strange to see meat sold out in the open air, hanging from strings, exposed to the elements (which today seemed to be mainly dust). I’ll just keep drinking strong black tea. I’m a firm believer in the medicinal qualities of strong black tea.
So what did we actually buy? The only real success was two voltage regulators – at present I’ve got five computers hooked straight up to the mains – and the supply is highly dodgy, spiking all the time. It’s only a matter of time before they all fry. The trouble is, I have to wire and slice these things up myself – I got a walk-through by the shopkeeper, and feel fairly confident of getting it right, although it’s a far cry from plug and play! We were less successful in getting laptop RAM – we got quoted some prices that, to local resources, were pretty eye watering – so we went on a hunt to another area, with only slightly better results.
After we’d come back, I had a brief debrief with D**** and then we headed back into town with the guys – to Kabul City Centre – which turned out to be a hotel with a mall. It had a kind of 70/80s aesthetic to it, although it was only built a couple of years back. So we did a little shopping – got a couple of new DVD releases, looked for a (working) toaster – but of course, things are always different in Kabul. I also happened to ask about laptop RAM in one of the shops, as was shown a module which was less than half the price that I’d been quoted to me earlier in the day. I am almost certain that it had been mispriced, not that I was going to let that on when I was buying for a lean local charity, from a (comparatively expensive) electronics shop in one of the highest rental and probably highest foreign income locations in Kabul. Still, I haven’t bought it just yet, as I’ll go back with a laptop to check that the thing works.
The highlight of my morning was bouncing through a low doorway a little too high, and almost scalping myself – I was dazed (and confused, though that’s pretty normal for me) for a fair old while, and I have a nasty looking graze / gash on my head, which at least produced a lot of sympathy at Lunch, and no, you’re not getting any pictures. The guys were saying I should say I got it from escaping a kidnap attempt by the Taliban, like ducking a sword or bullet or something similarly violent – but I feel it’s my journalistic duty to tell the truth, however prosaic it may be.
We actually had city power all day today (as well as all last night) – which is almost unheard of. We were trying to work out why – though I reckon it’s something to do with preparing for a huge demonstration that’s planned by the muhajadeen tomorrow against the government – there’s a high violence forecast, and the police are going to shut down all the roads in Kabul tomorrow – which means we get to stay in all day. So don’t be worried if you hear about any suicide bombs in Kabul tomorrow – well, don’t be worried about me, anyway, as the demo is going to be happening in a different part of town, and I’m not going to be there.
In the afternoon I was totally spoiled – I got to go into Kabul twice – the first being our electronics shopping. This time it was only me and H**** – it’s amazing the difference a day makes, as I felt almost relaxed wandering through the busy streets with him, and got far more into conversations – and haggling (though only a little, mind you, still have to get up to full speed on that area) with the shopkeepers. Didn’t see the corn seller though, even though I took my little camera on the off chance. I didn’t take any pictures though, even though we went back through the market and along some amazing streets- as I was just enjoying the scenery, and looking in a little more detail at the people and produce- and guess what? Those orange things yesterday were actually oranges, I was just a little way away. It was really fascinating to see barrows full of just one or two products – it was particularly arresting to see a big barrow completely full of Garlic. It’s also quite strange to see meat sold out in the open air, hanging from strings, exposed to the elements (which today seemed to be mainly dust). I’ll just keep drinking strong black tea. I’m a firm believer in the medicinal qualities of strong black tea.
So what did we actually buy? The only real success was two voltage regulators – at present I’ve got five computers hooked straight up to the mains – and the supply is highly dodgy, spiking all the time. It’s only a matter of time before they all fry. The trouble is, I have to wire and slice these things up myself – I got a walk-through by the shopkeeper, and feel fairly confident of getting it right, although it’s a far cry from plug and play! We were less successful in getting laptop RAM – we got quoted some prices that, to local resources, were pretty eye watering – so we went on a hunt to another area, with only slightly better results.
After we’d come back, I had a brief debrief with D**** and then we headed back into town with the guys – to Kabul City Centre – which turned out to be a hotel with a mall. It had a kind of 70/80s aesthetic to it, although it was only built a couple of years back. So we did a little shopping – got a couple of new DVD releases, looked for a (working) toaster – but of course, things are always different in Kabul. I also happened to ask about laptop RAM in one of the shops, as was shown a module which was less than half the price that I’d been quoted to me earlier in the day. I am almost certain that it had been mispriced, not that I was going to let that on when I was buying for a lean local charity, from a (comparatively expensive) electronics shop in one of the highest rental and probably highest foreign income locations in Kabul. Still, I haven’t bought it just yet, as I’ll go back with a laptop to check that the thing works.
Anyway, after all the retail excitement, I went to the roof and took some photos with D****, and then went to the café in the lobby and had a banana milkshake. All very civilised. We then went and did a little more shopping (well, all I really felt I needed was a razor), and managed to get a toaster (not that it worked by the time we got back) – and by this time it had got dark – which was really exciting – it was great to be driving through the ill-lit dusty streets, with the cars casting yellow halos with their lights through the dust, fumes and smoke that curled over the dark roads, with tiny houses staked up the mountains on either side as we crossed the pass. This is where Kabul Zoo is (With the late lamented, famous one-eyed lion), and the wall that bisects the mountain in the centre of Kabul, with various stories about warring factions and dissenters being killed and placed into it’s construction.
PICTURE REMOVED
D**** in his Afghani gear
The TV masts on the central Mountains of Kabul. The other side is covered with little white flags where they've cleared the mines. I'm not sure if they've done this side yet.
Mountains, Looking Northwest.
The street running down the side of the hotel - this ones woth looking at expanded, if you can.
Bet you didn't expect to see this in Kabul, hey? Mind you, this now nullifies any credibility I have as a rugged adventurer. I guess I really will have to try and risk life and limb for some good street shots now.
OK, so it didn't take me too long to risk life and limb, although it was dark. Still, I didn't exactly know how this fellow would take being in the centre of a photo. He just wandered on by, blithy in the middle of the road, much like the majority of Afghans (or is it afghanis? I think that's how you refer to the currency) I've seen.
It’s funny to think that tomorrow, Friday, is the local (well, whole Islamic worlds, really) equivalent of Sunday. We’ll be all sat here at home, unable to go out, so I guess I’ll have to find a few Sunday type things to do. I’m sure I will. And probably watch one of those new releases too, I imagine.
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