(boring techie stuff follows, feel free to skip to the next set of brackets)
I got a whole lot of kinda boring stuff done as well – mainly centred around working out how to obtain SP2 for a copy of XP which isn’t exactly fully licensed – and working out the only way to do that was to get a network admins copy from Microsoft – which weighs in at 260 odd MB – and over a microwave connection, and with a dodgy power supply, I wasn’t very hopeful of a successful result. Still, I looked for a decent freeware download manager, and actually found one at the dubious sounding “freedownloadmanager.com” or something like that – nothing very convincing anyway – I had to read about three independent reviews from reputable sites before I dared install it. And actually, it’s great – I started it at about 3.30pm, and its still going now at about 10kbps; it should finish just before 11pm, which is when the power got terminated last night (without any warning, thank goodness for laptop batteries and torches). I also was weeding out a very cluttered old laptop; using a selection of tools which I haven’t used for a long while – mainly based around msconfig and “hijackthis!” which I thought had stopped being updated, but the genius who put it together has gone back to regular updates. It’s one of the few freeware things out there where I’m actually tempted to click on the paypal donate button. I may well still do. Anyways, I’ve rediscovered a whole new slew of fantastic freeware utilities – and some more besides – that I’ll be bringing back to blighty with me.
(OK, boring bit over, welcome back, normal people!)
Between downloads and digital disinfecting, I took a trip to the roof with the decent camera that my work colleague (well, strictly speaking it was his wife, bless her) very kindly leant me to give it it’s first outing. Results below:
You can see that having a clear sky and a decent camera with a decent telephoto certainly makes quite a difference!
So I thought my trip to the roof would be as much as I could expect from today, but we need to get some RAM for the laptops here, and a few other bits and pieces – I was going to do a through audit of the components before we went into town, but it was suggested we go into town today and scope things out and then go back tomorrow – I jumped at the idea. I crammed a hat on my head to hide the shiny white dome of my head, stuck my little camera in my pocket on the off chance that I might be able to grab a sneaky picture or two without being killed, and got into the car with four other guys from the compound – including a security guy, H****, and our cook (who we dropped off on the way). We threaded our way into town past the bottom of the central mountain – I was right by the window facing the mountain covered with vertiginous stickle brick housing clambering up the brown rock face – an amazing sight, although I was too nervous to ask for the window to be pulled down and shoot a couple of pictures – although I was absolutely aching to get some; the sight was amazing, and the light was fantastic.
Soon afterward, I got more involved with the people than the scenery – I quickly realised that Kabul is full, jam-packed with people. And dirty cars. And people on bikes. And armed police at roundabouts (I was a little nervous as I’d gone out without ID). And old Toyota Corolla yellow and white (well, brown really) taxis, and busses. And one motorcycle. At least, that was impression I got until we turned into the street in the electronics part of town – and then I was faced with the rather daunting prospect of actually getting out of the car and being on a very busy street mixing it with the locals. I suddenly became very aware of my jeans and jacket, and my very pale face. I became aware of all the bustling going on – and the hundreds of ways I could get separated from my guides. Then I managed to relax a little and start to enjoy it. For a start, it may have been as busy as Oxford Street on Christmas Eve, but it was a whole lot more interesting. I was almost disappointed when we stepped into the computer place. I can’t call it a shop, it was more of a multilayered courtyard, feeling a bit like a slightly modernised and amplified version of some of the courtyards I’d managed to stumble into in some of the darker recesses of Istanbul’s labyrinthine markets – and I loved the dank atmosphere, with computer shops stacked on top of each other like battery chickens.
We trotted up to the third floor into a little shop known to the guys – well, it was the owner, not the shop that was important, obviously – and it became pretty clear that, as far as hardware is concerned, I’ve got a little way to go. Still, I have a few hours tomorrow to get my facts straight before we go back – guess what internet stuff I’ll be doing tonight? So much for the flown in expert, hey? Oh, I don’t feel so bad, I never said I was a hardware expert when I asked if they could use my help here – and it’s not like I didn’t know what I needed, just a few of the details!
Anyway, we’re at the top of this amazing place, and I’m starting to feel a little more secure, like nobody’s about to kill me, and so I finally get the courage to get my camera out, though I did ask H**** to take a couple of pictures initially for me; hence the cheesy one of me next to the laptop shop.
The courtyard, looking down
Then I discovered there was a balcony that looked over the street, and I was in heaven (not literally, you must understand).The view was outstanding – from the view of the buildings and mountains, to the countless thousands of people who could be seen in the middle distance crawling alongside the Kabul river and down the roads leading to and from where we were. The sheer scale of people was amazing – the last time I’d seen a scene anything like as busy and muddy as that was when I saw an exhibition on miners in Brazil in indebted servitude crawling over open cast gold mines. It was amazing. I’m sure my pictures don’t do it half the justice it deserves – tomorrow I’m going to take along the decent camera.
When we finally spat ourselves back onto the street, waiting for out driver, I saw a street vendor cooking corn in hot sand – I think it was corn, although it certainly wasn’t for the cinema market. I’m quite pleased I got a photo at all, the street being as busy as it was, and not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. I thought I got it, until I checked the actual picture at full size tonight and realised that some dude had managed to walk in frame exactly over where the guy was. And the dude was blurred, to add insult to injury.
The drive back to base was even more spectacular than on the way in – we drove through the market, and inched through the mass of people I’d seen from the balcony – and I started feeling nervous again – what if someone took exception to my face, and dragged me out? We were travelling at less than walking speed, and we weren’t in the 4x4. Still, I found the market incredibly engaging, with nearly all the stalls being on handcarts, with a few on boards on stools, and an unlucky few being on sheets on the ground. I lost the opportunity to ask what the big piles of orange coloured nut type things were – what particularly attracted me to these (invariably huge and well proportioned) mini mountains was not so much the product as the few spindly plants stuck into the top which looked like they might have once been flowers.
I also had more overwhelming urges to take pictures, but common sense made me stick to trying to shoot out of the windshield from the fairly unobtrusive vantage point between the shoulders of the two guys in the front. Sadly, but rather predictably, the pictures weren’t great – a shame, as being crammed in the crowds reminded me what a handsome lot these Afghanis really are. Obviously hardship is good for the face, if not a warm sense of security.
The guys took pity on my photographic efforts once we’d cleared the melee, and we stopped for a couple of seconds, my window was wound down, and I managed to get a picture of a pretty yellow mosque which looked like it had been designed by a 19th century Bavarian architect.
When we got back I was exhilarated, and can’t wait to get back out there. I’m especially looking forward to getting fitted for my Salwar suit - the sort of suit that most of the men wear here. It doesn’t seem particularly warm, but these guys are a hardy bunch, and I guess I’ll have the option of getting a waistcoat and hat (I’ve wanted one of the afghan pie type hats since I first saw them on students at my old University, over ten years back)
The evening was quite relaxed after my busy day – I got to know some of the local staff a lot better, and gave news of some of the people I’m friends with back home who have been through Kabul in years gone past. They remembered C**** and M**** with particular affection. Then I taught some of the guys the much underrated game of “lie dice” and won some instant converts. I plan to expand my dice playing empire tomorrow.
