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Just a few snapshots that I've taken with my blackberry over the past three months.

Sunset on the way back from Bagram. Roshan advertising poking out

12 KM out of Kabul

Roshan branded volleyballs for Youth Sports Center opening next month

Hand-carved dresser I picked out at the furniture shops

Joel hard at work in the office

Fountains at Dubai Mall

Next to Burj Khalifa - world's tallest building, United Arab Emirates

Joel playing with our new puppy, given to us by the Afghan guards at Bagram Military Base. Joel is currently trying to figure out a way to sneak his new buddy back into America

Kam Air boarding pass to Delhi, Kabul International Airport. You would have never known I was going to Delhi, since there is nothing written on the ticket

Taxi getting involved in our card game

Boston Celtics and New England Patriots stickers on back of a Corolla, Kabul

Man on wall surveying his plot of land, just outside of Bagram

Line of ridiculous cars, Mall of the Emirates - Dubai, United Arab Emirates 



RIP Habibi's

Some of you may remember my post from October about my favorite burger place here in Kabul, Habibi's (Check out "Time Out: Kabul" here) 


I just found out that Habibi's has closed it's doors for good. Apparently the owner was running a prostitution ring out of the upstairs of his home, and a restaurant out back. I didn't even know Afghanistan had prostitutes. Never again will I taste a Habibi's cheeseburger.


Rest in peace old friend. 

Birthdays

Yesterday was my birthday and I turned twenty-seven. To celebrate, some friends took me out to Red Hot Sizzler on Friday night, where we ate nachos, fajitas, fake guacamole and sour cream and drank Long Island Iced Teas. My friend Dildar told me that according to Afghan tradition, it's usually the other way around: I am supposed to take all of my friends and family out to celebrate. Didn't happen that way, but it was a blast regardless - good company and good conversation.

The day itself was pretty tame: in the morning, I got into a minor car accident with the Director of Security. He was was driving a large Toyota SUV and as he was taking a left hand turn, a mini Corolla came out of no where and smashed into the back left tire. Not much harm was done to our car, but the aftermath was pretty chaotic. There is no insurance in Afghanistan and everyone drives like a freaking maniac, so accidents happen often. Following an accident, a crowd forms in the middle of the street, a police man rolls up, traffic gets congested, and everyone just yells really loudly at each other until it is decided who's fault it is. Then the other party pays for the damage. In cash, right there on the street. Since I was with two high level security guys, they simply called back to the office for another car/driver and we were wisked away after about fifteen minutes of hand gestures and yelling in Dari. I followed the security rules and stayed in the car and kept my eyes down. Car accidents are a legit way "they" can coax people out of the car to kidnap them.

Then later on in the day, just when I thought I was going to get out of the office early, we got a Security text saying that there were demonstrations on the road and that all locals and ex-pats were locked down until further notice. So, I was stuck working at the office until about 7:30 pm. Like I said, the day was pretty tame.

On another note, people say I'm lucky because I share the same birthday as the Aga Khan. He turned 74 yesterday, and has popped up all over the news recently. If you don't know who he is or what he does, check out the video below from MSNBC and article from CNN. He is a very insipirational man who is doing amazing things around the Middle East and Africa. His vision is also the reason Roshan exists today.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/10/healthy-speed-of-change/

Things I Miss Most about Home

1. Coffee: I was never a big coffee person. I grew up in a tea-drinking house. It wasn't until working at JWT did I start putting back at least one Americano every day. I'm not going to say that I miss Starbucks like a brat, but you have no idea how good a grande skinny vanilla latte tastes after three months of Nescafe grains from a jar.

2. Walking: Sure, being driven around in a van all the time sounds kind of awesome, but it's not. You have no idea what I would give to start at the Apple Store/The Plaza and walk down Fifth Avenue to the Union Square on a nice fall day in NYC. Or start in the East Village and walk through Soho to the West Side Highway and sit on a bench looking at the water. Even better, take a walk along the seawall in Vancouver and take in ocean, mountains and breathe fresh air all at the same time.

3. Air: This leads me to topic of air. The air in Kabul is thin because of the altitude and extremely dusty, well because of the dust. Sometimes it's hard to catch your breath when you wake up, let alone when you're running on the treadmill. To add to it, there is a rumor going around that 20-30% of the air here is filled with evaporated fecal matter... since some Afghans like to take dumps on the side of the street. I've seen it. It's gross. (That's not fair, they don't have access to proper means so they are forced to do it on the street. Doesn't make it any less gross when I breathe it in every day.)

4. Gossip Magazines: You all know the feeling. Come home from a long day; your head hurts, your feet hurt, you are annoyed, and all you want to do is curl up with a good trashy gossip magazine. I have many of those days and no magazines. You could argue that online gossip sites are a good replacement, but that's only if you have a fast enough Internet connection. There is nothing more frustrating than looking at a pink screen waiting for Perez to load because 75 other ex-pats are downloading Bollywood movies at the same time, eating up the bandwidth. I have caved a couple of times in airports when I see the full selection of American gossip mags calling my name. I am not ashamed to say that I've dropped almost $40 on 4 magazines. Hey people, I live in Afghanistan and earn money and have no expenses. Don't judge me for buying a $10 US Weekly.

5. Salads: They have salad in Afghanistan. The dining room will put out a really nice head of lettuce, some cucumbers and tomatoes at every meal. I eat them in moderation (I've realized everything here is about moderation, or you risk getting really sick.) But I also try and block out the story I was told about how the farmers get their lettuce looking so nice.

Once upon a time there was a farmer who produced some beautiful lettuce -- bright green, crispy and full of taste. He wouldn't share with the others how he got his lettuce to look and taste so nice. All of the other villagers were jealous of his heads of lettuce, popping up from the soil. Then one day, someone spotted the farmer on his way to collect his secret ingredient and found out his secret was human refuse, collected from the gutter on the street. He would wait until everyone was done with their morning dump, then scoop it up in a bucket and pour it allllll over his lettuce. 

First on the menu when I get back: Arugula and Parmesan with some fresh lemon. Or maybe spinach with goat cheese and a light mustard/vinaigrette dressing. Honestly, at this point, I'll settle for a good old fashioned Caesar.

Thailand: Part I-III

One of the biggest perks of working at Roshan is the vacation time. I was promised four "home-leaves" that total forty days of vacation, and the company pays for round trip tickets on these leaves. In addition to the home-leaves, there is a beautiful thing called public holidays. A couple of weeks ago, the Muslim world celebrated Eid and Afghanistan shut down for a week. Joel and I took advantage of this holiday by jetting off to Thailand for ten days. It was my first time in this glorious country and although we only had ten days, I think we nailed it. Below is a short summary of how awesome the trip was, and some tips on what to do if you're thinking about a quick trip.

Thailand Part I: Bangkok and Railay Beach

We arrived in Thailand 24-hours after leaving Kabul, tired and angry at the world. Six hours later we woke up in our guest house in Bangkok and took in the sights of Kho San Road. We ate, shopped, got Thai massages and drank buckets on our first night in Thailand before taking off to Krabi the next morning.

By 2pm the next day we were on the beach. Railay is marked by massive forested cliffs that push sharply into the sky. The water here is turquoise and the sand is soft between your toes. Railay beach is this tiny little town that actually compromises of Railay East and Railay West. West is for the day time: beach, kayaking, mango shakes at lunch and sunsets. East is for the evening: outdoor bars with live music, Jenga, Connect Four and most importantly, buckets. A bucket is a Thai phenomenon whereby they mix a 2-6 of Thai whiskey, coke and red bull together in a bucket, throw some straws in, and charge you $10. Then they make it even more attractive by offering you a promotion you'd be silly to pass up -- buy two buckets, get one free! Do the math... there were two of us. Krabi was a perfect start to the trip: we paid $40/night for an awesome room and the days/nights were filled with lounging, hanging, massages, napping and drinking.



Pad Thai and a Banana Shake for $1.50



Thailand Part II: Ko Phi Phi
Joel and I arrived in Ko Phi Phi overwhelmed and wishing we were back sipping banana shakes and green curry chicken on Railay Beach. This place is NOTHING like Railay. People everywhere; vendor stands, shops, restaurants, bars, bikes and lights on what felt like was a massive island. This was not the Ko Phi Phi that was made famous in the 90s with the movie "The Beach." Sure enough, after a bucket or two we opened up to the potential of the place. And by potential I mean Cancun-style parties on the beach at a place called "Slinky's." Slinky's was both awesome and terrifying.

Ko Phi Phi nights were a blur of buckets and Euro trance music. If you do find yourself in Ko Phi Phi, go to Carlito's on the opposite side of the island - it has a pretty impressive fire show every night. And two-for-one buckets.

Joel's first dive site, Bida Nok

Ko Phi Phi is also the place to dive. Joel and I did a full day of diving- his first scuba diving experience. He was little apprehensive in the beginning (the whole breathing underwater with an apparatus part doesn't always sit well) but before long, he was pushing me out of the way underwater to check out sea turtles and leopard sharks. He also insisted on being called, "Scuba Joel" for the rest of the trip.

In the end, Ko Phi Phi was my favorite stop. The highlight was this tiny hole-in-the-wall authentic Thai place called Papaya where I ate the best Pad Thai I've ever had. In addition to the food, I got to experience one of the things I love most about Joel. When he eats spicy food, you can actually gauge the spice level with the amount of sweat that forms on this head. It's truly amazing. Below is a before and after picture. 

Unfortunately, we overdid it by returning to Papaya twice in one day and Joel paid the price with a full day of the stomach flu. That's the nice way of saying he had diarrhea.

Thailand Part III: Ko Lanta and Bangkok

Ko Lanta is a massive island, and a boring one. The only good thing about this place, other than the truly breath-taking scenery, was that it produced perfect weather. We spent all day roasting in the sun, reading books and enjoying our legitimate beach front bungalow. After a week of sub par weather, it was a welcome change. (End of rainy season means generally comfortable temperatures but overcast days.) You can see how terrible Ko Lanta looks below. 

Joel and I were happy to return to Bangkok where we did more shopping, more eating and a little sightseeing. We topped off the whole experience with a "fish pedicure" where we dipped our feet into a tank filled with dead-skin-eating fish. It was horrifying at first, it felt like a torture device and insects were crawling all over my body. After 15 minutes it was fine, and after 30 I had super smooth feet. Check out the video below.

 

All in all, the trip was a huge success and a wonderful break from the monotony of Kabul. I would have spent an extra day in Phi Phi and Railay and skipped Lanta altogether but again, who am I to complain about spending a couple of days in total paradise and getting a beautiful tan?

Tree House bar we stumbed upon in Lanta

Beach front restaurant and bungalows, Ko Lanta