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So, as you can see from this update, I am still alive after crossing through the centre of Afghanistan from Herat to Kabul.

First Herat, a bustling city and a good place to get accustomed to Afghanistan. It has some interesting and beautiful sights, like the Jameh Mosque, the Musalla complex and views from the citadel in the old town are superb. I stayed in Herat for 3 days, checking with the tourist office how security was on the central route. The guy at the tourist office was very helpful and asked around with drivers who were plying the route how the situation was... All the drivers said nothing had happened as of recent, so I decided to take the chance... And I am happy I did... Though the road is horrendous, more like a mule track than a road and all the minibusses serving the route have to be 4WD and even than it is difficult for them (and this is in dry weather, in winter it must be impossible...)

The first part of my journey was to Garmao, a 15 hour trip, probably for about 300 kilometers.. We had to stop quite a few times to repair the minibus, and get dust out of the filters, because if anything Afghanistan is very dusty... Often we all had to get out of the bus and walk up the hill as the bus couldn't make it with passengers in it...

Accomodation is in the little teahouses along the way... You start at 05:00 or earlier in the morning, drive the whole day, and stop at around 20:00 at whatever teahouse... Then all the passengers and the driver pile in, they roll out plastic mats and serve the food on it (typically bread or rice with some kind of meat stew...), tea is served and after everyone is done, the plastic mat is rolled up again, blankets are given and you sleep on the spot... You just pay for the meal, so mostly it is about 1 dollar for dinner and accommodation...

Anyway, Garmao is the place to be if you want to see the Jam minaret, which I wanted... Not that there is any public transport to the minaret, but it is the closest place... I was lucky and got a lift with a nice French couple working for an NGO in Afghanistan and on a short break... Jam minaret is awesome, just getting there is fantastic and the remoteness of it all is really special... To find something like this in the middle of nowhere...

Next I got a bus to Chagcharan which is the half way point... Another long and dusty journey... But the landscape is breathtaking; I can understand why people fall in love with this country... The mountains might be bleak, but they are beautiful in their own way, with the different hues of the rocks and sand, red, white, brown, orange and everything in between... And than you have the valleys which are well watered and full of little villages, trees, blue streams and locals going about their daily business of harvesting, children playing in the fields and women washing the clothes... As it is autumn the leaves on the trees are all turning yellow and red, together with the mountain scenery and the outfits of the hospitable locals it makes for postcard sceneries...

After this I took the driver of my bus to Chagcharan up on his offer to bring me all the way to Bamian via Yawkawlang and the Band-e Amir lakes for what I thought was a reasonable price.. It was more of the great same scenery, perhaps even better but the road was so bad... 18 hour drives, bumping around, it makes you very tired, but makes for terrific sleeps even on the hard floors...

The Band-e Amir lakes are just incredible, you have to see it to believe it... I have never seen such beautiful lakes... One word... Wow!! Not really a word, I know, but it still sums it up quite nicely I think...

Than Bamian, ones famous for the carvings of the larges standing Buddha’s in the world... But the Taliban thought otherwise and decided to blow them up... Now all that remains are the niches where they ones stood... Still the valley in itself is very nice and it is a poignant reminder of the stupidity of war...

After this I took the bus to Kabul, on the more dangerous southern route, which was not my plan... But I made it, my Afghan outfit must be doing something...

Kabul is a city in transition... The west and south were completely devastated in the war and most buildings there are destroyed and riddled with bullet holes, but the centre is bustling, with brand new glass shopping males being erected all over the place.. The museum is another sad reminder of the destructive nature of war with two thirds of its collection looted or destroyed... Still it is an interesting city...

And the people, so very nice and hospitable... Sick and tired of the war, just wanting to get on with life and live in peace... Of course then there is this very small minority called the Taliban and Al-Qaida, who have their own form of hospitality to foreigners... They like them so much for their brilliant ideas that they like to separate the mind from the body... As I like my head where it is, I endeavour to steer clear of that kind of hospitality...

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