Brrrr....It was cold and rainy last night and I discovered that the guest house lacks central air and heat. Our room was so cold it was unbearable to even be in without being under three mink blankets. I slept with my ipod, digital camera, and laptop under the covers with me because I was afraid that they would be damaged by the cold. It reminded me of having to sleep with my gear and M-16 inside my sleeping bag when I was in the Army in Korea. The "beds" were 1 inch pieces of foam set on a piece of plywood [View Full Entry]

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Hello, everyone. I am now back in the US from Afghanistan and am posting photos and my journal from the 10 day trip to this blog. I was unable to post from Afghanistan due to security problems that made it difficult to get to reliable and"fast" Internet connections. It's good to be home! Day 1 - Dubai to Kabul I knew the trip from Dubai to Kabul would be "different" as soon as I arrived at the airport. Ariana Afghan flights have been relegated to Terminal 2 of the Dubai airport - no fancy stores or palm trees, no food court...lots [View Full Entry]

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Well. the flights from DC to London (United) and London to Dubai (Emirates) were uneventful. I give Emirates Airlines two thumbs up - in seat video and good food. The on-demand video system includes GPS maps, as well as views from cameras underneath and in front of the plane. The word that most comes to mind to describe Dubai is...traffic. I took a "Duck" tour of the city - in an amphibious vehicle that starts as a bus, then becomes a boat. After a drive through part of the city, the tour then went down the Dubai canal. It was quite [View Full Entry]

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I am so excited. I leave for Dubai tomorrow. Today, I'm packing...and I NEVER pack ahead of time. I still haven't decided where I will stay in Dubai for Friday and Saturday night. I keep vacillating between being cheap or saying, "what the hell?" I ought to experience the Burj-al-Arab before I die. [View Full Entry]

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What to wear? seemed to be one of the biggest questions in my mind as I got closer to the actual departure date. Members of our group have received different information about what western women should wear in Afghanistan. My son, who served in Kabul and Kandahar said, "wear a burka with body armor underneath." He wasn't much help! The consensus of opinions seemed to be long pants, closed toed shoes, and a bulky tunic type shirt that goes down to right above the knees. I didn't want to waste a bunch of money on clothes that I'd never wear again, [View Full Entry]

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