Overland 1972 - Day 47

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Day 47 - Wednesday 29th March

I was still feeling off colour and was worrying at the prospect of being left in a sickly state in Kabul whilst my friends moved miles away on towards Pakistan. Fortunately by midday, my health started to improve and I began to feel hungry - clearly a good sign. By 2pm, I felt well enough to walk to the Post Office and to my relief, my post included a package containing the replacement student cards, which would be vital in reducing fares throughout Asia - and of course everyone knows that so many cards are counterfeit and risk not being accepted. I could now go to the Ariana offices (Afghan airlines) and arrange for an ongoing flight into India. I was informed that fares would be going up in April. It was clear that I would have insufficient time to get overland to Lahore and so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a ticket from Kabul to Amritsar - flight date 31st March. The airline offered a very poor exchange rate and so I had to find a bank - fare still quite expensive for my budget at £16.30.

Outside the airline office, I was accosted by an English author who was collecting information on the general cost of travelling through Asia and also on potential routes to Istanbul - an interesting discussion. I stopped again at the Kyber restaurant in the highly unlikely chance that my wallet had been found (and with money intact) but alas no. I was feeling so much better now and could eat something - yes but at my own hotel for my stomach's safety. I spent most of the rest of Wednesday playing cards, reading and writing letters.

The money changers here in Kabul were quite fair. I managed to get a very good rate for Indian rupees and although the rate was for hard cash, they eventually accepted my sterling travellers cheques

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